TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 143 



progress, and though we remained, fascinated, for an 

 hour or more, the end was not when we left. 



The shores of the river were strewn with the bodies 

 of stragglers pressed out of the water by sheer weight 

 of the multitudes forcing up in serried ranks, and 

 the cry was "Still they come!" We gathered up 

 a number of fish for drying, beautiful, shining 

 salmon, of exquisite proportions, fresh run. 



The salmon never jumped, only the fins and noses 

 showed above the surface of the water. And as I 

 gazed in interested wonderment, it seemed 'difficult 

 to believe that this great swim, this stressful journey, 

 was the last the strenuous salmon would ever take. 

 It is, I believe, an indisputable fact that of this 

 triumphal procession not one fish would live to return 

 io the sea. It makes one ponder and ponder how 

 it can be that the supply is kept up yearly. And 

 yet it never fails. 



In a land where salmon are so easily caught by 

 simple methods, fishing with rod and line is un- 

 known, but the lure of a spoon ensnares some 

 monster fish, and provides some unforgetable sport. 

 One evening, as the salmon came into the inlet in 

 shoals, Cecily and I had out the ship's boat, and 

 Ralph and the Leader the dory, when we had a 

 lively two hours' trolling, fishing with spoon bait, 

 and successfully landed some fine fish, successfully 

 losing still finer. It was quite an education as far 

 as the customs and manners of Alaskan salmon were 

 concerned. The instant I threw my spoon over- 

 board a fish seized it with such avidity that he bit 



