42 



with regard to him as some of the naturalists, for, as he pointed out 

 the beautiful colors of the dying fish, Ttnna said, " there ! that fish 

 brotlier to salt-water salmon, only he forgot to go to sea, but stay in 

 fresh-water instead." 



The Schoodic salmon run out of the deep water of the lakes into 

 the outlets and streams both in spring and fall. In the spring they follow 

 the log-rafts through Gi-and lake in large numbers, attracted probably 

 by the olfal thrown overboard, and the insects falling from the bark 

 of the logs. The lumbermen sometimes take nnmbers of them about 

 their rafts ; and in trolling through the lake for trout and togue, I 

 never failed to take several salmon if I drew near a raft. To me this 

 fact is the best evidence that a fish cannot hear, for I do not think 

 any self-respecting member of the salmon family would voluntarily 

 remain v/ithin heai'ing of the unearthly din that a crew of Maine 

 "loggers" make in warping a raft through one of these lakes. When 

 they first arrive, these fish are covered with a thick green slime, which 

 is believed to be a species of parasite that cling to them during their 

 long winter residence in the deep water. In this condition many of 

 them are rather dull and sluggish in their movements, not rising to 

 the angler's fly with avidity. But a few days, or even hours, in the 

 quick water of the stream cleans off this slime, and their sides are like 

 burnished silver. At first they appear in small parties of six and 

 twelve and a scjore, till about the first of June, when there are gen- 

 erally two or three days in which they crowd in thicker and faster, 

 and the whole family seems hurrying into the stream. Once there, 

 they remain in its foaming rapids until July, when they return to the 

 cooler waters of the lake. About the tenth of September they run 

 into the stream again — this time to spawn. They begin to spawn in 

 October and finish early in December, The height of the spawning 

 season is about the fifth of November. It spawns at night and lies 

 quiet during the day, which is the reverse of the trout. It is at this 

 season that formerly the Indians speared vast quantities of these fish, 

 sending them to market in barrels, and packing them up for their 

 own winter food. It is doubtful if this illegal destruction of these 

 fish is now entirely stopped by the more stringent laws and efforts of 

 sportsmen. 



It seems useless, however, to waste any regret over the illegal fish- 

 ing of the past or the present, in vieM" of the inq^ending total ruin 

 of this most valuable fishery, for that it is doomed to immediate 

 destruction seems certain. A tannery has l)een built within the last 

 year on Grand Lake stream, just al)oiit at the point where the salmon 



