SALMON IN JAPAN. 39 



and the Japanese are wonderfully intelligent, totally 

 the reverse of the self-conceited, pig-headed China- 

 man — that I dressed a couple of what I considered 

 "the most killing specimens, and which he promised 

 to use, as instructed, on the first available oppor- 

 tunity. 



An intelligent Russian officer whom I some 

 months afterward met at Tien-tsing, in Northern 

 China, and who had been for years stationed on 

 the Pacific, gave me the most glowing account of the 

 immense quantities of salmon that frequented the 

 Amoor River and its tributaries, and his information 

 perfectly tallied with that obtained from my Japanese 

 friend. Now the mouth of this river, and the north- 

 ern portion of the Japan group of islands, are in 

 about the same latitude, and are only separated by 

 about three or four hundred miles of sea, showing 

 that most perfect credence might be given to both 

 informants. 



Fifty years ago, who would have thought of 

 Englishmen going to Norway to fish ? Possibly, as 

 the world grows older, with the rapid strides of 

 improvement in machinery and transportation, we 

 may hear of fishing parties being organized for 

 Japan and Siberia, and, in addition to the numerous 



