Chapt. vi. Spinning up stream. 77 



very different. It swims up stream just as much as down 

 stream; indeed if it did not it would find itself down at 

 the sea in a single season. It swims across also, as much 

 as up and down. Certainly it does sometimes allow it- 

 self to drop down stream tail foremost, and that action 

 as well as others may be imitated occasionally, but it is 

 not a common action, and only adopted when the fish 

 has but a short distance to go, or in a rapid. When a 

 fish, whether large or small, wants to go down stream 

 it almost invariably turns round, and swims down head 

 foremost, for the obvious reason, that it can then see 

 before it, and avoid rocks, snags, falls, etc. though when 

 the rapid is strong it requires to descend tail foremost, 

 so as to regulate its pace by partial swimming. When 

 swimming down head foremost, what with the force of 

 the current and its own swimming, it ordinarily moves 

 more rapidly than when sauntering up stream. Besides 

 which, it never goes down stream, except in rapid pursuit 

 of some food that has been carried past it, or for the 

 purpose of returning to, and again taking up, the post 

 of observation it has lately left. Whereas when coming 

 up stream, fish often saunter upwards, watching for what 

 the stream shall carry down on either side of them, 

 lazily stemming the current, and frequently remaining 

 stationary. At such times when moving most leisurely, 

 and when most intent on their own food, they must offer 

 much better opportunities for being surprised by big fish 

 than when moving more rapidly; I should conclude there- 

 fore that it is the position in which the larger predacious 



