traver] THE SALMON 153 



Now that the actual journey has begun, the salmon seem to be 

 in feverish haste to reach their goal. We can only guess as to 

 whether they know where and what it is, and our opinion is that 

 they do not know . We do not yet know enough about the impulses 

 caused by instinct, as we term most animal behavior, to say how 

 much the salmon know of the reasons for their strange migrations. 

 'At any rate, migrate up the rivers they do, and are not to be 

 stopped by possible obstacles in their path. The stories of the 

 marvellous leaps of the salmon are very familiar. Even quite 

 high falls the fish manage to leap — that is, the strongest do. This 

 seems to be another case of the survival of the fittest, and the con- 

 tinuation of the race through the medium of its strongest individ- 

 uals. The salmon may fail many times in their leaping, but per- 

 severe bravely ,even when bruised and torn on the rocks, so that 

 finally a goodly number work their way further up toward the 

 headwaters of the river. 



The salmon, who have now overcome all obstacles ascend to the 

 headwaters, where, in the gravel beds, beneath the cold, swift - 

 running spring water, the eggs are laid. The male excavates a 

 hole in the gravel beneath rapid water, at a depth of one to four feet. 

 After the eggs are deposited, the hole is covered again with the 

 gravel. The adult salmon then start to descend the stream, tail, 

 foremost. During their trip up the river most of them have been 

 bruised or cut, their fins and tail broken, and their strength nearly 

 exhausted. Parasitic worms enter their gills, fungi begin to grow 

 on the wounded flesh, and it is now positively stated that all the 

 salmon die after spawning, long before they reach the ocean again. 

 Quoting from Jordan: — "In the Yukon, a few ascend to Caribou 

 Crossing and Lake Bennet 2,250 miles. At these great distances, 

 when the fish have reached the spawning grounds, besides the usual 

 changes of the breeding season their bodies are covered with bruises 

 on which patches the white fungus develops. The fins become 

 multilated, their eyes are often injured or destroyed, parasitic 

 worms gather in their gills, they become extremely emaciated, 

 their flesh becomes white from the loss of oil, and as soon as the 

 spawning act is accomplished, and sometimes before, all of them 

 die." 



The young salmon hatch in 120 to 180 days. When hatched, 

 the young start for the shore. In the deep water are a great 

 number of enemies who love to gobble up baby salmon when 



