SALMON CHARGING A DAM. 9 
Sacramento River. In order to facilitate the capture of large 
numbers of salmon, for the purpose of collecting their eggs 
for artificial breeding, Mr. Stone erected a solid dam across 
the McLeod, a branch of the Sacramento River, which 
effectually barred their progress up stream, and he thus 
describes the first appearance of the salmon at this unwonted 
obstruction :— 
“Tt was announced that the salmon were making their first 
assault upon the dam. It was a sight never to be forgotten. 
For several rods below the bridge the salmon formed one 
black writhing mass of life. Piled together one above 
another they charged in solid columns against the bridge 
and dam, which trembled and shook continually under their 
blows. Not daunted by their repeated failures they led 
attack after attack upon the fence, one column succeeding 
as another fell back. Finding the fence impassable many 
fell back a little and tried to jump the bridge. This some 
succeeded in doing, sometimes violently striking the men 
on the bridge in their leaps, and sometimes actually jump- 
ing between their feet. For an hour and a half this fierce 
assault continued, when, exhausted by their efforts and dis- 
couraged by many failures, they fell back to the deep hole 
just below the rapids, arrested, for the first time since the 
McLeod River formed its channel, in their progress up 
the river.” 
On another occasion he says, speaking of the same dam, 
rebuilt for a similar purpose in the following year :— 
“The salmon were collected in vast quantities below the 
dam. There were so many that in a space of 20 yards wide 
by 100 long I have counted 100 salmon jumping out of the 
water within the space of aminute. When one reflects that 
this is at the rate of 6,000 an hour an idea can be formed of 
the great number of fish collected there.” 
