214 The Trout s of America 



however, has as yet been found in American 

 streams north of Wrangel, Alaska. 



The Columbia River trout has a moderate- 

 sized mouth, the upper jaw not reaching posteri- 

 orly far beyond the eyes, and the body, as a rule, 

 is long, somewhat compressed, and the head is 

 rather short. The length of the body is usually 

 four times its breadth, and the head (from the 

 snout to posterior gill cover) is about as long as 

 the depth of the fish. The scales are small, and 

 there are about ten rays in the first dorsal, or back 

 fin, and the same number in the anal fin on the 

 posterior part of the belly. The red slash on the 

 throat is said to be always distinct, and there are 

 numerous round black spots on the back of vari- 

 ous sizes which often extend to the belly. While 

 the cut-throat is said always to have the crimson 

 or deep red blotch on the lower inner edge of the 

 mandibles (lower jaws), the general coloration is 

 extremely variable. The ichthyic authorities 

 state that only the male of this species has a red- 

 dish lateral band and patches of light red on the 

 body. If this be so, I had an unique experi- 

 ence among them in the Upper Spokane River, 

 Washington. I fished an entire morning and 

 caught a large number of these fish, a specimen 



