THE OGMORE. 8? 



of day warns them to depart. The quantity thus 

 destroyed in one season is immense, every farm 

 and mill being provided with its winter stock of 

 dried salmon.* One Thomas of the Leychard, 



* A somewhat similar mode of killing salmon is practised 

 upon the vast lakes of the British dominions in Canada. 

 " The evening," says Captain Head, " turned out remarkably 

 fine, and the water was smooth as a looking-glass. Every 

 thing was ready for my fish-spearing expedition ; the prepar- 

 ations for which were extremely simple. The fish-spear con- 

 sisted of a straight handle, about fifteen feet long, to which a 

 couple of barbed iron spikes, of sufficient size to pierce a mo- 

 derately-sized salmon, were affixed. The birch bark, for the 

 purpose of light, was prepared in pieces of three or four 

 double, each the size of a large quarto book ; and one at a 

 time of these was stuck in a cleft pole, five or six feet long, 

 placed at the head of the canoe, overhanging the water in such 

 a manner that the blazing bark might shine upon it. It was 

 no sooner dark than I went to the water's edge, where Liberte 

 and another Canadian were ready with the canoe. As he 

 held the vessel to the shore, I steadied myself by his shoulder, 

 and, stepping in cautiously, took my seat in the middle. Thtf 

 canoe was a very egg-shell, and as cranky as a washing-tub, 

 more fitted to carry ghosts than men ; while Libert^ was as 

 ugly as Charon himself: a boy of twelve years old could 

 have carried it, notwithstanding it was to hold three of us. 

 We had an establishment of tinder and matches, and some 

 pieces of fat pork, cut into slips, as a substitute for candles. 

 As soon as we embarked, the men paddled away along shore 

 towards the head of the bay; and when we came near 

 some small streams which set into the oay, we stopped, and, 

 the men having struck a light, kindled the birch-bark in the 

 cleft pole. Crackling like soft fat, the unctuous matter pro- 

 duced a clear flame, which lighted up the watery depth beneath 

 us to the brightness of day. The light ashes, which fell 

 G 4 



