THE SALMON. 13 



the fish as miss their leap, which the foaming of the 

 torrent not unfrequently causes them to do; and 

 the late Lord Lovat, who often visited these falls, 

 taking the hint from this circumstance, formed a 

 determination to try a whimsical experiment on the 

 same principle. Alongside one of the falls he or- 

 dered a kettle full of water to be placed over a fire ; 

 and many minutes had not elapsed before a large 

 salmon, making a false leap, fell into it. This may 

 seem incredible to persons who never saw one of 

 those rude salmon leaps : but surely there is as 

 great a chance of a fish falling into a kettle as 

 on any given part of the adjacent rock, and it is a 

 circumstance that would certainly take place many 

 times in the course of a season were but the ex- 

 periment tried.* 



* " An. We now direct our course towards the river Errit, 

 where we may inform ourselves of a practice among the na- 

 tives there, that murder a salmon without a rod, net, or spear ; 

 and cook him almost as soon as they catch him. 



" TH. How can that be ? pray unfold the riddle. 



" AR. It is discoursed by every body, when a stranger comes 

 among them, that the inhabitants presently run and fetch a pot, 

 which they circumspectly place upon some part of a rock, and 

 then dexterously convey some live coals under it (or it may be 

 turf), which is no sooner fanned by the breath of air, but im- 

 mediately the flames fly all about. Now you are to consider 

 that the race of salmon, especially the female in the vernal 

 equinox, is for the most part picking and casting against the 

 rapid streams. And in this river Errit it's always observable, 

 there are plenty of stumpy, knotty rocks, to which the native, 

 without difficulty, can pass and repass from one rock to an 



