They are uniform in size, rarely exceeding a quarter of a
pound in weight. They are of a whitish color, longer in proportion
than the lake, river, or brook trout, have fewer specks upon them, and
those not of a golden hue, but rather like freckles. They are found
among the broken rocks where the shores are bold and bluff, or near
the mouths of the cold brooks that come down from the hills. I caught
them at every trial, and whenever we wanted them for food. Their flesh
is white and excellent--better, to my taste, than that of any other
fish of these waters.
We rejoined our companions in a little bay that lay quietly around a
rocky promontory, where we found them enjoying a dinner of venison and
trout, under the shade of some huge firtrees, by the side of a
beautiful spring that came bubbling up, in its icy coldness, from
beneath the tangled roots of a stinted and gnarled birch. Happily,
there was enough for us all, and we accepted at once the invitation
extended to us to dine. Towards evening, we rowed back to our shanty.
The breeze had entirely ceased, and the lake lay still and smooth; not
a wave agitated its surface, not a ripple passed across its stirless
bosom; the woods along the shore, and the mountains in the back
ground, the glowing sunlight upon the hill-tops were mirrored back
from its quiet depths as if there were other forests, and other
mountains and hills glowing in the evening sunshine away down below,
twins to those above and around us.
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