History and Habits 25 



simply for purposes of investigation, and with no 

 intention of eating it. The fact is that most flies 

 do resemble very strongly, in a general way, well- 

 known moths and butterflies. The Durham 

 Ranger, Toppy, and Brown Fairy, for instance, 

 are excellent imitations of insects common on 

 American or British rivers, and the natural vorac- 

 ity of salmon is such that, even when it is on the 

 wane, they are liable to come at almost any mov- 

 ing object. A red squirrel was once being carried 

 down a pool in the Restigouche which I was 

 fishing, and forty or fifty yards below me was 

 taken by a large salmon — at least there was a 

 big rise just where we were watching the little 

 animal, and it disappeared to come to the surface 

 again in a short time ten or a dozen yards fur- 

 ther down. He was not " mistaken for a shrimp," 

 as we so often hear, to account for salmon taking 

 a fly. Once when fishing the Chain of Rocks 

 pool I saw a salmon with great eagerness take 

 one of the large black and yellow butterflies so 

 common in July, which I dropped in the current 

 and which floated down over him. I then caught 

 another of the same insect, put it on a hook, and 

 cast over the fish ineffectually. Going down the 

 river directly after, I met a friend on his way to 



