The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-08-05

is brought to the bank. and we take to
the shore, with every precaution that
the pressure is not slackened upon the
line for an instant, and that the foot
makes no slip on the smooth stones.
But clearly he is now of the mind that
this thing has gone quite far enough,
for he is as immovable as the everlast-
ing hills. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes
pass, and 1t is still "prll Dick, pull
devil" Our arms now ache as though
they would drop off at the elbow joint.
''Stone him, Tom. Do something. l
can't stand this much longer" So
Tom tosses in stone after stone, none of
them large and none of them thrown
with violence, lest they strike and part
the leader-seeminGly without effect.
At last the reel begins to move. It
speaks slowly at first, like the pendu-
lum of Il clock; you can count each
tooth of the ratchet wheel by the sound;
then faster. faster. till again it screams,
and the line willis away from the reel
like dew before the sun.
"Quick! the canoe! the canoew and
we shamble down the bank, one eve on
the vanishing line, and one upon the
pdlH We 10 1OllOW.
At last. at the very crisis of possible de-
feat, the canoe reaches us. We tumble
in, and are off after fish apparently as
fresh as Mt the very outset.
For another half-hour we fight him
from the canoe, working him down
stream. he running, jumping, and sulk-
ing, until we land again on the other
side of the stream three-quarters of a
mile below where we first took to the
bank.
We again try to work him in by the
same tactics, but our first effort comes
to a stand at once. He begins to Zig"
"a series of short, heavy, and sudden
jerks fill us with apprehension, and it is
plain we must wait his pleasure still.
He stops, and we begin. He begins,
and we stop. At last he yields, and
gradually step by step swings in toward
the bank. Slowly Tom approaches,
gait in hand, no part of him in motion
except his feet The salmon is now a
pretty sick fish, and again and again
rolls upon his side, though recovering
himself almost Immediately.
He sees Tom. At once he RECEIVERS,
and is off again. But the pristine vigor
of his rush is no longer there. He can
take no more than half tho line before
his failing strength compels halt. So
we follow him down the bank working
him in when we can. letting him go
when we cannot, playing the great game
of give and take.
Once more we work him inshore,
showing increased signs of distress.
But again he sees Tom-it is wonderful
how they hate him-and again he is off
But we are at the end of the landing
place, and so heavy fish could not be
drawn up against the current though he
should remain perfectly passive. We
must take to the canoe, and try HIM
again at the next landing-place, some
half-mile farther down.
He is quite discouraged now, and
does as he is bid with little remon-
STRANGE. We land again, and though
he sulks some, we work him slowly in
without difficulty. Tom anticipates
about where he will arrive, and motion
less awaits him, gaff in hand. Peter
hunts for a long thin stone. The ex-
hausted fish rolls on his side, when a
well-timed impulse of the rod slues him
still nearer the shore and within reach.
Like flash the cruel gaf is around his
backbone, he lies on the bank, the lad
hammers him on the head with the
stone, the scales show thirty-two
pounds, and we drop the rod and
sprawl out on the bank, utterly ex-
hausted, after a contest of one hour and
fifty minutes.-H. p. Wells, in Harper'S S
Magazine for July.