Plioto by George Shiras. 3rd 

 JUXCTliix nf TITE KEXAI AND RUSSTAX RT\'F.RS, SIKiWTXC TTIK ^III.KY, GLACIAL 

 \\"ATi;i<S (IF THE FORMER CO.M M IXGF.TXG WITH TTIF; CT.EAR, S1'R[XG-F|*.1) 

 WATERS OE THE OTHER (SEE I'AGE 461) 



til 111, and in that time the victim of this 

 relentless pursuit was driven on the bar 

 abiiut one hundred times. 



"in the second case the pair swam 

 side by side in a circle and seemed ami- 

 cable enou,L;'li until the inner salmon 

 gradually crowded tlie other on to a 

 shoal, when it would drop back and 

 seize the tail of its helpless mate and, 

 after rending it for a moment or so, the 

 twii would begin circling again. 



"The remaining salmon in the pool 

 \\'ere carrying on contests more or less 

 similar. In no case did thcv interfere 

 with another fish except ^^dlen it got in 

 the way or tried to occupy a position re- 

 served bv the others.'' 



The possible explanation for this strange 

 conduct — and the subsequent suggestions 

 come largely from those better informed 

 u])on the habits of these fish than the 

 writer — is this: (i) That the imprisoned 

 fish had not yet spawned (corroborated 

 by the fact that I saw no dead or dying 

 ones in these pools): (2) that the fe- 

 male, restrained bv the instinct from de- 

 ]M)siting her eggs except in small streams 

 triliutary to lakes, refused to spawn, even 

 though the ])eriod was about over; and 

 (3), that the male fish, mated from the 

 time ()f leaving the sea, had not only 

 become infuriated at the conduct of the 

 female, but likewise angered by confine- 

 ment, was venting his rage upon a mate 



in no wise responsible for the situation — 

 a trait not always confined to the male 

 of the fish trilje. 



I found it difficult, if not impossible, 

 to get satisfactory photographs of these 

 battles, for the lens loses its power to 

 ])enetrate the water whenever the sur- 

 face is broken or ruffled from any cause. 

 The pictures accompanying the text illus- 

 trate this, where a slowly moving salmtm 

 is plainly to be seen below the surface : 

 while where the two pair were fighting, 

 onl\' the ]3ortion (lut of water is visible 

 (see ])icture, page 471). 



In the main channel of the river and 

 its tributaries, where there was I)lent^• of 

 water for the fish to move about freelv, 

 I saw onl)- an occasional fight, possibly 

 near the spawning beds, and the nervous 

 energy of certain fish seemed directed 

 against the swift current, with which 

 they struggled desperately until repeated 

 inhalations of air above the surface pro- 

 duced a delirium and death apparently 

 by drowning; and that this was confined 

 to those which had alreach- sjiawned now 

 seems likely. At tidewater, where swift 

 and short mountain streams often bore 

 many of the weaker fish into the bays, I 

 saw one saliuon tear to pieces seaweed, 

 and in the final dash its teeth locked on 

 an ui^turned strand of vegetation and 

 thus it died. The next day I could see 

 it, head down and tail up, swinging in 



470 



