3'22 On ihe Ascent of Salmon over the Elevations 



circumstance of the fish being found in abundance above 

 the falls, and the indubitable certainty that they must have 

 passed them. I have never seen, in any publication, an ex- 

 planation of the manner in which salmon actually do ascend 

 these heights, and the general opinion certainly is that the 

 fish really leap over ihcin. 



This notion of leajiing is probably encouraged by observ- 

 ing, that when ihc rivers are but partially flooded, the sal- 

 mon actually do leap up against the falls. Great number? 

 of them may be seen thus employed for whole days to- 

 gether; but none will ever be observed to leap higher than 

 about three feet, whereas to the top of the fall is probably 

 many times that height. 



At some oi these leaps, indeed, it requires only a simple 

 inspection, and a moment's reflection, to perceive that no 

 animal unprovided with wings could possibly clear them 

 in the manner of a leap. This impossibility, however, has 

 been very little attended to ; and in some of the older pub- 

 lications on the subject, the very manner of the leap has 

 been described, by gravely affirming that the salmon coils 

 himself up in the form of a ring, and seizing his tail in his 

 mouth, by the strained violence of an elastic spring over- 

 tops the high ascent in an aerial somerset. 



So readily accessible is the marvellous in minds untutored 

 by reflection, that this most extravagant absurdity was 

 once a very general opinion, and is still credited by many. 

 The analogy of a bent cane flying oflT with an elastic bound 

 was deemed sufficient both to illustrate and establish the 

 fact, and no consideration was paid to the awkward cir- 

 cumstance of the tail and mouth of the fish being at right 

 angles to each other. 



It is now proper to say what is the real mode by which 

 salmon actually do pass over the heights iu question : and 

 this I shall speak, not from any speculative guess or reason- 

 ing on the subject, but from my own personal observation, 

 having frequently seen the transaction take place. In every 

 instance then, where salmon ascend those leaps, they do it 

 bv swimming up, and over the face and brow of the water- 

 fall, penetrating through the interior of the descending body 

 of water, by means of their vast muscular power operating 

 on the action of their tail. 



They never pass these leaps but at times when the stream 

 is very much flooded, and a large unbroken mass of water 

 is descending. Without such a solid column of water their 

 ascent would be physically impossible. At these times the 

 water, as in all cases of flood, is highly discoloured ; and 



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