THE SAGUENAY AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 171 



" ' But he is most abundant on the north shore, and in 

 those streams which are beyond the jurisdiction of civilisa- 

 tion. He usually makes his appearance about the 20th of 

 May, and continues in season for two months. Nearly all 

 the streams in this region abound in water falls, but those 

 are seldom found which the salmon does not surmount in 

 his 'excelsior' pilgrimage, and the stories related of his leaps 

 are truly wonderful. His weight is commonly about fifteen 

 pounds, but he is sometimes taken weighing full forty 

 pounds. The common mode of taking is with a stationary 

 net, which is set just on the margin of the river at low 

 water. It is customary with the salmon to ascend the 

 St. Lawi-ence as near the shore as possible, and their run- 

 ning time is when the tide is high ; the consequence is, 

 that they enter at one tide, and are taken out at another, 

 and it is frequently the case, that upwards of 300 are taken 

 at one time.' " 



" MTaat does the fellow mean," said the Captain, by 

 "entering the net at one tide and being taken out at 

 another ? " 



"I don't know," said the Commissioner, "except it be 

 an awkward mode of communicating the fact that they 

 become entangled by their gill covers in the meshes of 

 the net, while the tide is high, and that they are taken 

 out dead, by the fishermen, at low water." 



The Priest continued to read. 



" ' The Indian mode of taking them is with the spear. 



