NATURAL HISTORY. 



669 



eat the blubber and oil ; the bone 

 they carefully extract and expose 

 to sale. 



^. The porpoise is common on 

 this coast, and as fur up the river 

 as the water is brackish. The 

 Indians sometimes gig them, and 

 always eat their flesh when they 

 can procure it. 



3. The skait is also common in 

 the salt Avater : we saw several 

 of them which had perished, and 

 were thrown on shore by the 

 tide. 



4. The flounder is also well 

 known here, and we have often 

 seen them left on the beach after 

 the departure of the tide. The 

 Indians eat this flsh, and think it 

 verVj line. These several species 

 of tish are the same with those 

 on the Atlantic coast. 



5. The common salmon and red 

 char are the inhabitants of both 

 the seas and rivers ; the former 

 are usually the largest, and weigh 

 from five to fifteen pounds : they 

 extend themselves into all the 

 rivers and little creeks on this 

 side of the continent, and to them 

 the natives are much indebted for 

 their subsistence ; the body of 

 the fish is from two and a half 

 to three feet long, and propor- 

 tionably broad : it is covered with 

 imbricated scales of a moderate 

 size, and gills : the eye is large, 

 and the iris of a silvery colour : 

 the pupil is black, the rostrum or 

 nose extends beyond the imder 

 jaw, and both jaws are armed 

 with a single series of long teetii, 

 which are subulate and inflected 

 near the extremities of the jaws, 

 where they are also more closely 

 arranged : thoy have some shaij) 

 teeth of smaller size, and some 

 sharp points placed on the tongue, 



which is thick and fleshy : the 

 fins of the back are two ; the first 

 is placed nearer the head than the 

 ventral fins, and has several rays : 

 the second is placed far back, 

 near the tail, and has no rays. 

 The flesh of this fish is, when in 

 order, of a (!eep flesh-coloured 

 red, and every shade from that to 

 an orange yellow : when very 

 meagre, it is almost white : the 

 roes of this fish are in high esti- 

 mation among the natives, who 

 diy them in the sun, and preserve 

 them for a gjeat lengtli of time : 

 they are of the size of a small 

 pea, nearly transparent, and of a 

 reddish yellow cast : they resem- 

 ble very much, at a little distance, 

 our common garden cu)rants, 

 but are more yellow. B6th the 

 fins and belly of this fish are some- 

 times red, particularly the m;de : 

 the led char are rather broader, 

 ill proportion to their length, 

 tiian the common salmon : the 

 scales are also imbricated, but 

 rather larger ; tlie rostrum ex- 

 ceeds the imder jaw moic, and 

 the teeth are neither so large nor 

 so numerous as those of the 

 salmon : some of them are almoit 

 entirely red on the belly and 

 sides ; others are much more 

 white than the salmon, and none 

 of them are variegated witli the 

 dark spots which mark the body 

 of the other: their tiesii, rocs, 

 and every other particular, w ith 

 regard to the form, arc those of 

 the salmon. 



G. Of the salmon trout, we ob- 

 serve two species, ditfering only 

 in colour; tliey are seldom more 

 than two feet in length, and nar- 

 row in proportion to their length, 

 much more so than the salmon or 

 red char. The jawf^ are nearl\ of 



the 



