FISHES 



143 



salmon was once very abundant, but is gradually diminishing 

 in numbers for reasons that will be mentioned later (110). 

 " The salmon were made for the millions. The Siwash 

 Indian eats them fresh in summer, dries them, or later on 

 freezes them, for himself and his dogs in winter. The epicure 

 pays for having the fresh fish shipped in ice to his table, 

 wherever that table may happen to be. In mid-ocean, the 

 great American canned salmon is often the best and only 

 fish afloat. In the jungles of the Far East, in the frontier 



Fig. 107. — I'he Salmon. (Jordan and Evermann. Courtesy of Doubleday, 



Page & Co.) 



bazaar of the enterprising Chinese trader, it ' bobs up serenely ' 

 to greet and cheer the lonesome white man who is far from 

 home and meat markets. Even in the wilds of Borneo its 

 name is known and respected; and he who goes beyond 

 the last empty salmon tin, truly goes beyond the pale of 

 civilization. The diffusion of knowledge among men is 

 not much greater than the diffusion of canned salmon ; and 

 the farther Americans travel from home, the more they re- 

 joice that it follows the flag. 



" The common salmon of Europe, and also of Labrador 

 and New England, was accounted a wonderful fish both for 

 sport and for the table, until the discovery of the salmon 



