Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-08-31
When KjpEng
Wore a Crown--

Rudyard kipling, From Sea to Sea"
imagine a stream 20 yards broad d.
vided by a pebbly island. running ovei
seductive rifles, and swirliiig into deep
quiet pools where the good salmon goes t.
smoke his pipe after meals. Set such {
stream amid fields OF breast-high crop.
surrounded by hills OF pines; throw IL
where you please quiet water. log-fencet
meadows and a lO0-foot bluff. just to keel
the scenery from growing too monotonOus
and you VIII get some faint notion OF the
ClackamaS.
I went into that .ce-cold river and
made my cast just above a weir. and all
but toul-hooked a blue and white water
snake with q coral mouth. who coiled her
self on a stone and Missed maledictions.
The next cast-ah, the pride Of it, the
regal spiendor OF 1t. The thrill that ran
down from the finger tip to toe! The
water boiled. He broke for the fly and
got IT.! There remained enough sense in
me to give him all he wanted when he
jumped. not once. but 20 times before the
upstream flight that ran my line out to
the last half dozen turns. and i saw the
nickeled reel bar glitter under the thin
| ming green coils. My thumb was burned
| deep when / strove to stopper the line. hut
u uiV g - tAsS ~ ~ SO 10N VS
out in the dancing water praying for him
! 10 turn ere he took my tackle away. The
! PRAYER was heard. As ! bowed back. the
butt of the rod on my left hip bone and
the top joint dipping like unto a weeping
i willow. he turned, and l accepted each
inch Of slack that 1 could by any NEAR
| get In as q favor from on high.
There be several sorts of success In this
world that taste we'll In the moment OF
L ootnvp,ort hY,t question WhAth0r thu
stealthy theft OF line from an able bodied
salmon. who knows exactly what you are
doing. and why you are doing 1t. is not
sweeter than any other victory within
human scope. Like CALIFORNIA; Ash. he
ran at me head-on and leaped against the
line. but the Lord gave me $50 pairs OF
fingers in that hour The banks and the
pine trees danced dtzzily round me. but j
only r~eeled-reeled as for life-reeled for
tinued to give him the butt while he
sulked in a pool.
Az I drew my breath the weary hands
slackcned their hold. and I forgot to give
him the butt. A wild scutter in the water.
a plunge and a break for the headwaters
OF the Clackamas was my reward. and the
hot toll OF reeling in with one eye under
the water and the other on the top joint
of the rod was renewed.
A dozen times at least this happened
ere the line limited he had given up that
battle and woul be towed in. He was
towed. The landing net was useless fol
one OF his size, and I would not have him
/ gated. l stepped into the shadows and
heaved him u with a respectful hand
under the gill. for which indness he bat
tered me about the legs with his tail, anG
1 felt the strength of him and was proud
California had taken my place In the
shadows, his fish hard held l was up the
bank. lying full length on the swee
scented grass. and grasping In compan!
with my first salmon caught. played. ant
landed on an eight-ounce rod. My hand
were cut and bleeding. l was dripping
with sweat, spangled like harlequin wit!
scales. wet from the waist down. supreme
~ and c~onsurnmately happy. He. tn
beauty, the darling. the daisy. my Salmon
Bahadur, weighed IL pounds, and I ha.
been seven and 30 minutes bringing hin
to the bank! He had been lightly hooks
on the angle of the right jaw and the hoo
had not worried him. That hour I 50
among princes and crowned heads-great
er than them all.