ead of
some rapids only a short distance down the river. It was then too dark
to show this big fish to Pierre and his companions, but early the next
morning, Pierre was down at the pool. He looked over a big rock into the
pool, that was formed by a back eddy, and, sure enough, there was an
especially large salmon swimming about in the quiet water. In another
moment, Pierre had out his fishing tackle, but to no avail. The big
salmon would have nothing to do with anything Pierre offered him. He
tried one fly after another, but without effect. It seemed as if the big
salmon despised his efforts. As if in defiance, every now and then the
fish would swoop up to the surface and jump two or three feet out of the
water.

"Pierre grew stubborn. All that day, he stayed by the pool, either he
himself fishing or watching the old chief try every while to entice the
giant salmon to take that hook. At night they all returned to camp and
told stories of phantom fish that could not be caught except by black
magic. They came to the conclusion finally that the big fish must be one
of that kind, with something uncanny about him, and they decided that it
would be bad medicine to try to catch him. Pierre was the only one that
dissented from this.

"He got up even before dawn the next morning and was early down at the
pool. He procured a little pitch and some black flies and stuck them
together in such a way that, when they were thrown on the water, they
looked just like a half dozen flies floating down the stream. He got out
his smallest leader and fastened a hook among the flies. When he had
finished, it looked very lifelike and Pierre was proud of his handiwork.
Carefully approaching the stream without making any noise or permitting
any shadow to fall on the water, he threw his semi-artificial fly far
out on the stream, so that the back eddy would ultimately bring it into
the pool. Sure enough, the little black spot on the water whirled around
and finally floated calmly and slowly around the pool. Twice it made the
circuit and Pierre had just about decided that he was doomed to
disappointment again, when he saw a streak fly into the air and his reel
fairly sang as it spun around. Unfortunately something jammed and the
rod was jerked out of his hands. Pierre saw it disappear over the edge
of the rock, but he was after it and just caught the end of the rod as
it was being dragged under. Pierre held on like grim death. In another
minute he