VI.] SALMON A LA CHASSEUR. 131 



given us by the natives of this fish. In the first place the Gultsi, 

 as pointed out to us, was a long fish with somewhat rounded sides ; 

 the under surface of a most beautiful salmon-colour, the body 

 marked with pink spots, and the back and upper surface dark 

 greenish. The fish were in perfect condition, the coloration being 

 evidently normal, and not due in any way to disease. To a 

 piscatorial, though un-ichthyological eye they were Charr ; a fish 

 with which I was quite familiar in Lapland lakes and rivers,^ but 

 they differed in having the curious, upturned lower jaw to which I 

 have already alluded.^ The fish that Steller mentions, with their 

 great breadth (depth) of ten inches, cannot well be of this species ; 

 and their migratory habits, and the fact that when they come from the 

 sea they are " without the red tint and spots," is, I believe, opposed 

 to what is as yet known of the life history of the Charrs. The 

 natives distinctly told us that the Gultsi remains in the rivers 

 throughout the year. 



Two other species of salmon are mentioned by Steller as 

 occurring in Kamschatka : — the Kundsha (S. leucomccnis) and 

 Mykysha {S. 2nirpuratus), but we did not meet with either of them. 



Late in the afternoon we arrived at some open grassy pools, the 

 head of a small affluent of the Kamschatka Eiver. Mallard and teal 

 were abundant, and having refilled our larder, we turned our 

 attention to the numerous salmon that were splashing about in the 

 shallow water. A^liether owing to the fact that the stream was 

 slightly warm or not I cannot say, but the majority of the fish were 

 in better condition here than we had hitherto generally found them, 

 and were in consequence less easy to gaff. After a few minutes' 

 waiting we were, however, able to obtain our supper in the shape 

 of two or three fine Kisutchi of from ten to fifteen pounds weight. 

 Salmon is never eaten to such perfection as in camp-life, where the 

 interval between its death and digestion is reduced to a minimum ; 



^ In some of the lakes in Lapland the Charr grows to a very large size. I have 

 seen one which scaled over fourteen pounds. 

 - Vicl. ant. p. 99. 



