w sandbank favorable
for landing a heavy fish; I therefore checked him as he reached this
spot, and I followed him down the bank, reeling up line as I ran
parallel with his course. Now came the tug of war! I knew my hooks
were good and the line sound, therefore I was determined not to let him
escape beyond the favorable ground; and I put upon him a strain that,
after much struggling, brought to the surface a great shovel-head,
followed by a pair of broad silvery sides, as I led him gradually
into shallow water. Bacheet now cleverly secured him by the gills, and
dragged him in triumph to the shore. This was a splendid bayard, of at
least forty pounds' weight.

I laid my prize upon some green reeds, and covered it carefully with the
same cool material. I then replaced my bait by a lively fish, and once
more tried the river. In a very short time I had another run, and landed
a small fish of about nine pounds, of the same species. Not wishing to
catch fish of that size, I put on a large bait, and threw it about forty
yards into the river, well up the stream, and allowed the float to
sweep the water in a half circle, thus taking the chance of different
distances from the shore. For about half an hour nothing moved. I was
just preparing to alter my position, when out rushed my line, and,
striking hard, I believed I fixed the old gentleman himself, for I had
no control over him whatever. Holding him was out of the question; the
line flew through my hands, cutting them till the blood flowed, and
I was obliged to let the fish take his own way. This he did for about
eighty yards, when he suddenly stopped. This unexpected halt was a great
calamity, for the reel overran itself, having no checkwheel, and the
slack bends of the line caught the handle just as he again rushed
forward, and with a jerk that nearly pulled the rod from my hands he
was gone! I found one of my large hooks broken short off. The fish was a
monster!

After this bad luck I had no run until the evening, when, putting on
a large bait, and fishing at the tail of a rock between the stream and
still water, I once more had a fine rush, and hooked a big one. There
were no rocks down stream, all was fair play and clear water, and away
he went at racing pace straight for the middle of the river. To check
the pace I grasped the line with the stuff of my loose trousers, and
pressed it between my fingers so as to act as a brake and compel him to
labor for every yard; but