ANGLING AT HOKE AND ABROAD, * TITERE are hills beyond Pentland,
and streams beyond Forth. The rivers of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Norway do not monopolize all the salmon fishing of the world. The author of one of the books before us begins his first chapter by laying down this fundamental proposition, that any one who doubts that Canada has its share of the sport is mistaken. He believes there is as good salmon fishing in Canada as in any other part of the world, and better, much better, than in a great many highly vaunted countries." His editor is even more emphatic, and declares that on the lakes and rivers of British America fre- quented by the great maskanonge salmon bass, white fish, &c., the fisherman from the old country:, would find such scope for his oat that home fishing would appear to him very tame ever after. "Take," says the author a map of Canada, -find out Quebec ; then run your eye eastward along the loft hand or northern side of the river and Gulf of St. Lawrence ; you will see many streams marked there almost every one of -them is a sal
in every one of them that has been tei off from Liverpool on the is a pity he did Aot tell u °anent sport h been had, and heavy fish killed."
this a few months earlier in
sayturearaa, y in y for May to have bee in order to arri
, By a Resident. Bdited by Colonel Sir James Ed-
(
Fourteenth Regiment, Author of "Explorations - Illustrations. Published by Longman and Co. \
a Salmon Fishing in Canada. ward Alexander, Ent., K.C.L.S in America, Africa, Ste:" WI
Quebec about the middle of the month, and have time to that strange old city and its magnificent environs, and to e the necessary preparations for the angling cruise, upon h W sliould have started about the 10th of June. The n fishing season is generally at its height on the Canadian in the last week of June or the first week of July. We , therefore, not see Quebec this year, nor Montreal, chief of dian cities, dean, handsome, and solid in appearance, on oh a Yankee pronounced his opinion ; "Well, I guess it looks a a city that was bought and paid for." One might, perhaps, Wen yet arrive in time to intercept a few belated " water-angels, ' as a Yankee writer calls salmon ; and even should this hope fail the enthusiastic sportsman, he would have whale fishing in the St. Lawrence to fall back upon, or he might immortalize himself IV being the first to drag to shore another ferocious and hitherto aticaptured monster occasionally to be met in that river. Says nir author -" At this moment I have before me an official Report of the Commis- sioners for exploring the country lying between the Rivers Saguenay, Saint Maurice, and Saint Lawrence,' ordered to be printed by the House of As- sembly on the 22d of March, 1831. These commissioners are gentlemen of the highest respectability and intelligence, Messieurs Andrew and David Stuart, who would not be likely to be deceived in a matter of the kind, and would be the last men to attempt a deception upon others. At pp. 16 and 17 of their report, are the following words, being an extract from the Jour- nal kept upon the occasion :— " Sunday, August 26th, 1829.—Embarked at 7 a.m. to go down to Bale de l'Echaffaud du Basque, or Riviere aux. Canards ; but, when we reached the Point of Baie des Roches, the wind blew too hard for us to pro- ceed, and we put ashore in a little cove till noon, when we embarked again, and kept close in shore, with the tide and wind in our favour. We had not proceeded far, when we were pursued by a monstrous fish of prey, in conse- quence of which we put ashore again. The animal was four hours about us, and apparently watching us. It came sometimes within twenty feet of the rock on which we were. It was at least from twenty to twenty-five feet long, and shaped exactly like a pike; its jaws were from five to six feet long, with a row of large teeth on each side, of a yellowish colour. It kept itself sometimes for nearly a minute on the surface of the water. At 5 p.m., seeing nothing more of it we embarked again, keeping close in shore, and at 7 p. in. put in for the night at the fishing-hut at Echaffaud du Basque. Two men, named Baptiste Simard and doton Folio'', who were on their way toldalbay, hunting for seals, put in at the same time as we did. Thermo- meter 71°, 77°, and 69°?"
This book, besides being full of special, and we doubt not au- thentic information, is very amusing, and is adorned with head and tail pieces in an original and highly comic style. The author, an Irishman long resident in Canada, is a capital story teller, a clever draughtsman, and a parson par-dessus le morale, in proof whereof he actually treats his readers to a sermon—a regular ser- mon on the text "I go a fishing" (John xxi. 3).
Mr. Simeon, the author of a very pleasant volume of Stray Notes teaches his readers not only how to catch all sorts of fish in fresh water and salt, but how to cook a fish when they have caught him.
"There is a way of dressing fish, which may be resorted to by the side of the water with pleasure (and not without advantage should your stock of provisions run short) during the middle of the day, when fish do not generally feed so freely as at other times, and when your sport is often im- proved by giving them, as well as yourself, a rest. It is managed as follows :—firat collect a lot of small dry wood and set it on fire ;—when a sufficient quantity of ashes has been thus obtained, which will be soon done, take a sheet of paper (an old newspaper will do) and wet it thoroughly ; shake the drops off it, and then, filling the mouth of your fish with salt, wrap him up in it just as he is, uncleaned, simplex inimunditiis,' and digging a grave for him in your ash-heap, put lam bodily into it, covering him well up afterwards with the hot ashes. When you think he ought to be done, allowing from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour according to his size, partially uncover him and tear off a small piece of his winding-sheet If his skin comes off with it, he is sufficiently done, and out with him. Should however the paper come off minus the skin, cover him up again, and give him a little more law, until this test shows him to be perfectly done. On being turned out of his envelope, the whole of his skin should adhere to it. As for his inside, you may disregard it altogether, or opening him, turn it out, which you will find there is not the slightest difficulty in doing en masse. Pepper and salt him, if you have such condiments by you, and you will only be sorry that your own kitchen does not afford you the means of dressing your fish thus at home."
But why should it not ? The ashes of a turf fire might be used for the purpose, and a cheap artificial turf, which would serve for it very well, is hawked about the streets of Loudon for the use of laundresses.
"We have heard of strange modes of dressing food in use amongst un- civilized tribes, but I doubt whether any 'traveller's tales' have ventured on the description of one more eccentric than the following mode of pre- paring Skate for the table, the ingenuity of which is only surpassed by its exceeding nastiness, and which I was not a little taken aback at finding adopted in a corner of our own enlightened kingdom. The fish, when cleaned (a somewhat unnecessary preliminary one would think), is buried in wet horse-dung, where it is allowed to soak for about twenty-four hours. It is then taken out, (washed, we hope), and boiled for the table where it is pre- sented as Sour Skate a vana deleecious dish,' according to my infor- mant, who evidently spoke of it with considerable gusto. If, as has been asserted, the progress of the gastronomic art affords a fair teat by which to estimate the march of civilization, what conclusion might not be drawn from this little circumstance with regard to our friends of the Hebrides ? "If some of the Scotch have strange fancies in the matter of diet, their cattle it would seem, occasionally take after them in this respect. I was one day fishing the Ness out of a boat, when I noticed a cow inquisitively examining some things which I had left by the water-side. On landing I found she had been influenced by other motives than those of mere curiosity, having eaten up the whole of one side (the button half) of a new macintosh. Happening shortly afterwards to meet the miller whose pro- perty she was, I exhibited to him the mangled evidence of her misdeeds expecting at least to meet with something like sympathy for my loss. Hilt Sympathies were'however all on the other side. He surveyed it for some tune in silence and with an air of dejection, and then simply exclaimed, Eh, but she'll no be the better o' the buttons!'"
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