The Portland daily press., 1899-06-23
KIpLlNG's FISH STORY.
Pnzaiea by ~, an old Angler ASK. she
brilliant Writer for Farther De-
tails.

Aatlts
In last week Forest and stream. A. n.
Cheney, one Of Americas foremost an
thorities on game fish and fy fishing.
takes a mild ding at Hudyard Kipline.
The accuracy Of Mr.. KipllnR's detail in
describing subjects innumerable aud of
vastly differing fields has rarely been
questioned. bat in this instance the
writer. upon first plsnco at lsast, appears
to bs placed upon the horns of dilemma.
In his contribution TO the Forest and
Stream Mr.. Cheney says:
Last season while fishing for salmon
In the Restigouche, the conversation
turned one evening to the Pacific salmon,
and gentleman present made the state
ment that he would wager $1,000 that be
could go to a Pacific ooas stream ana
XIII Pacific salmon In the same manner
that he had that day killed Atlantic sal
mon with the fly in the Restigouche, aud
thought when he made the statement
that he could do.exactly as he said. The
wager was not for the purpose of making
money as he explained, but he wished 20
return to pay the expenses of the trip,
for he would go simply to decide the
matter, tor it was generally understood
that Pacific salmon would not take the
fly. One of the first stories l ever heard
In relation 20 Alaska after the purchase
was made by this country Was OF the old
Scotch Admiral who said: let the
Yankee have the blank country; the sal
mon will not rise to tue flee.
"Brom that time until this have not
heard of Pacific salmon being taken with
the fly except that possibly Admiral
Benrdslee did write me that he killed a
fish or so when he was In Alaska with
the Jamestown, but Of this l am not sure
now although i know of number of
efforts in this direotion-one by we'll
known Eastern salmon Hsherman-until
few days ago some one ielt ON my desk
q cppy of Kipling's American Notes,
and L opened the book TO find that Kip
ling has been SUCCESSFUL in killing Pacific
salmon with the fly. Twice / read the
chapter to make sure that my eyes had
net deceived me, but he states clearly and
positively that his salmon were killed on
the fly.
There is no n istaking that Kipllng is
fisherman. The chapter to which 1
refer begins: Il have lived The
American Continent may now sink unGer
the seat, or / have taken the best that II
yields, and the best was neither dollars
nor real estate. The best that 1t yields
was a Chinook salmon, or several of
them, and how the salmon were killed Is
told as perhaps only Kipling can tell 1t
First his companion California let the
gaudy drop in the tail OF a rifle. l was
getting my rod together, when | heard
the joyous shrek of the reel and the
yells Of California, and then three feet Of
living silver leaped into the air lar across
the water.
"There is no mistaking about the fly in
this case nor in the next. kipling's
own: Il went into that ice-cold river aud
made my cast just above the weir.
The next cast-oh, the pride of it, the
regal splendor of 1t The thrill that ran
down from tingertip to toel Then the
water boiled. He broke for the fly and
got it. There remained enough sense in
me tn give him all he wanted when he
jumped not once but twenty times,
before the upstream flight that ran my
line out to the last half dozen turns, and
l saw the nickelied reel-bar glitter under
the thinning green coils. My thumb was
burned deep when strove to stopper the
line. did not feel it till later, for my
sonl was out in the dancing weir, praying
for him to turn ere he took my tackle
away. And my prayer was heard. AS
bowed back the butt of the rod on my
left hip bone and the top joint dipping
like unto aweeping willow, he turned and
accepted each inch of slack that / could
by any means get in as favor from on
high There lie several sorts of successes
in this world that taste we'll in the
moment of enjoyment, but question
whether the stealrhy theft of line from
an able bodied salmon who knows exactly
what yon are doing and why you are do
ing 1t is not sweeter than any other VIC
tory within human scope
There Is much more OF this told in
inimitable style before the salmon is
finally landed by being thrown on the
tanks by the hands of the fisherman, for
Kipling would not have the fish gated,
but finally the fish Is killed and kipling
sings praises to him; The beauty, the
darling. the daisy. my salmon Bahadur
weighing twelve pounds, and have been
seven ana thirty minutesabringing him to
bank He had been lightly hooked on
the angle of the right jaw. and the hook
had not wearied him. That hour I sat
among princes and crowned heads greater
than them all.
at is ali well worth reading, and even
rereading; but a little further along there
Is very suspicious admission for a man
who has been killing salmon with fly
and here IL Is; sThen Portland took my
rod and caught some 10-pounders, and
my spoon was carried away by an I'M
known leviathnn.'
"This may be u pirated edition of Kip
ling's book; the spoon may not be in an
authorized edition, but In the volume
before me. the spoon Is as much in evil
dence as the fly. except that the spoon is
mentioned but once and the fly twice.
Now, what would really like to know
is this: We're the salmon killed on n fiy
or ON d spoon? If / can find out will,
In return for the information, give Mr.
Kipling what believe to be sound au-
vioe-to keep his hand of his line and
not try to stopper IL when his dsh is run
ming, il he wishes to contemplate his
serene highncss dead on the bank as a
datav and a DARLING -