There is a fat, eighteen-pound salmon strug- 

 gling to hold his place. The cruel gash in 

 his side shows all too plainly that he failed 

 in his jump and was hurled back upon the 

 rocks. 



To stay here now is death to Kopseep; 

 for even should he escape the bear and otter 

 and eagle, a multitude of parasites, plant and 

 animal, would fasten upon the wound and 

 suck his life away. That is what his slime 

 is for, to oil his silver sides and keep away 

 these deadly fungi that swarm in fresh water. 

 Once the scales are scraped away and the 

 tender flesh laid bare Kopseep has no pro- 

 tection, and to stay in the river is sui- 

 cide. But even here Nature is not unkind ; 

 nor does she ever forget a creature's needs. 

 Other salmon eat nothing while they are 

 moving up the rivers to their spawning beds, 

 and appetite itself vanishes ; but the wounded 

 fish there suddenly feels within him the need 

 of recuperation, and takes to feeding greedily 

 upon whatever the river brings him. Toss 

 in a worm, a bit of meat, a fly, — anything 

 eatable, and he rises to it swiftly. In a few 



333 



kfiere ffie 

 Salmon Jump 



