THE FISH OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 387 



rich in oil. Flocks of gulls hovering over the shoals 

 announce the arrival of these fish ; and their extra- 

 ordinary numbers may be imagined from the way 

 in which the Indians take them. The river is 

 literally alive with fish, and the native fisherman 

 carries a long piece of wood, armed with sharp-pointed 

 wires on each side, like the teeth of a rake. This 

 he sweeps through the water as he sits in his canoe, 

 after the fashion of a paddle, and at each stroke brings 

 up a row of hoolicans impaled upon the spikes. Three 

 fresh species of salmon continue to ascend the river in 

 succession during the summer and autumn, and in 

 the winter a fifth variety makes its appearance in the 

 harbours and inlets along the coast. We saw some of 

 fifteen to twenty pounds each caught in the harbour of 

 St. Juan in the month of December. Salmon of some 

 kind is thus in season all the year round. Trout 

 abound in the mountain streams and lakes, and the 

 sturgeon frequents the deeps of the Fraser. In 

 Burrard's Inlet oysters are found in great abundance ; 

 and, in fact, everything good in the way of fish seems 

 to be collected in this, so far, highly favoured country. 

 From the richness and extent of its pasturage, 

 and the dryness of its soil and climate, British 

 Columbia ofiers great advantages to the breeder of 

 stock. But there are certain drawbacks, the principal 

 of which is that an immense extent of country would 

 be required by each stock farmer. The only gi-ass 

 is the '* bunch-grass." It covers the terraces of the 

 Fraser, and the rolling swells and mountain-sides of 

 the central region. Growing in the separate " tufts " 



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