THE SALMON FAMILY. 265 



rather fish, along the back from head to tail, to the very 

 bone. In the movement of Salmon-spawning, the males 

 have often been seen chasing one another ; but such a 

 fray as this has not been witnessed by the oldest fisher or 

 poacher on the Findhorn." 



The weapon of attack in all these battles appears to be 

 the cartilaginous horn or excrescence on the point of the 

 lower jaw, which is used as a sort of battering-ram, the fish, 

 as described by Mr. Walsh, rushing on open-mouthed, and 

 turning on his side in striking. In the case of the male 

 fish being captured or killed, the female retires to the 

 nearest large pool in search of a fresh mate, with whom she 

 returns and completes the process of depositing her eggs *. 

 This she will repeat several times if her partner be 

 removed ; and it is mentioned as a fact by Mr. Young* 

 that nine male Salmon in succession have been thus 

 killed from the side of a single female, who then brought 

 back with her, as companion, a large yellow Trout. In 

 consequence, we may suppose, of the arduous nature of his 

 military duties and reddish colour at this period, the term 

 'old soldier' is frequently used to designate the male 

 Salmon after spawning ; and I recently examined an old 

 soldier in which the whole of the back and head was one 

 mass of scars and wounds. It is probably owing to these 

 exhaustive contests that the finding of the male Salmon 

 dead on the fords in December and January is a matter 



* See Evidence before Committee of the House of Commons, 1824, 

 1825. 



