FOURTH DAY.] SALMON. 97 



A fish, hooked in a part of the mouth where the 

 force of the rod will render his efforts to respire 

 unavailing, is much in the same state as that of a 

 deer caught round the neck by the lasso of a South 

 American peon, who gallops forwards, dragging his 

 victim after him, which is killed by strangulation in a 

 very short time. When fishes are hooked foul, that 

 is, on the outside of the body, as in the fins or tail, 

 they will often fight for many hours, and in such 

 cases very large salmon are seldom caught, as they 

 retain their powers of breathing unimpaired ; and 

 if they do not exhaust themselves by violent muscular 

 efforts, they may bid defiance to the temper and the 

 skill of the fisherman. A large salmon, hooked in 

 the upper part of the mouth in the cartilage or bone 

 will sometimes likewise fight for a long while, parti- 

 cularly if he keep in the deep and still parts of the 

 river, for he is able to prevent the force of the hook, 

 applied by the rod, from interfering with his respira- 

 tion, and by a powerful effort, can maintain his place, 

 and continue to breathe in spite of the exertions of the 

 angler. A fish, in such case, is said to be sulky, and 

 his instinct, or his sagacity, generally enables him to 

 conquer his enemy. It is, however, rarely that fishes 

 hooked in the mouth are capable of using freely the 

 muscles subservient to respiration ; and their powers 

 are generally, sooner or later, destroyed by suffocation. 



