SALMON. 45 
(as far as I know) has ever been tempted to take 
a bait of any kind in the fresh water above the 
tideway. The Indians all say that salmon never 
eat when in the rivers; and I could never dis- 
cover that they had any recorded instance, or 
even tradition, of a salmon being taken with 
bait. 
I tried every lure I could think of, to tempt 
these lordly salmon. The most killing salmon- 
flies of Scotch, Irish, and English ties, thrown in 
the most approved fashion, were trailed close to 
their noses; such flies as would have coaxed 
any old experienced salmon in the civilised 
world of waters to forget his caution. Hooks, 
cunningly baited with live fish, aquatic larve, 
and winged insects, were scorned, and not even 
honoured with a sniff. Others of the Com- 
mission also tried their powers of fascination, 
but with equally unsuccessful results. 
I have opened a very large number of salmon 
at various Indian fishing-stations, on their 
first arrival, and during every stage of their 
wasting vitality, and after death had ended their 
sufferings; and not in a solitary instance did I 
ever discover the trace of food in the stomach or 
intestinal canal. But in every case where a 
salmon was taken in the tideway or saltwater, 
