178 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 
Thus they batter through the boulders 
On their journey to be wed, 
Shattered when the four-year passion 
Has been sated and is dead; 
Tho’ fulfilled the great ambition, 
Listlessly they linger still, 
When their rotted fins no longer 
Fan the current as they will. 
Tongued, yet telling naught of anguish, 
Backed and thrust from pool to hole, 
Tailless, finless, unclean, fungoid, 
Ne’er will they feel ocean’s roll; 
Goaded by that ardent instinct 
They have swum to waters far, 
Putrid bodies now must gather 
On some reaching gravel bar. 
Oh, you Royal Fish of beauty, 
Death is what you ever won, 
When you journeyed up the river 
To defend the SILVER RUN! 
WILD LIFE IN BENTON COUNTY 
By Deputy WarpeEn C. C. Bryan. 
Angling in Benton County has been very poor up to the middle 
of June, due to so much cold weather. The greatest number of fish 
have been taken from the smaller streams. The largest catch reported 
was by E. L. West, near Blodgett. He caught 62 trout in one day. 
There has been more fish taken from a small stream called “Muddy” 
than from any other in this section up to date. The largest catch 
made in one day was 40 trout, by M. L. Burnett, of Corvallis. The 
Hastern Brook trout sent out by the State Fish and Game Commission 
are evidently thriving. A number of them have been caught recently. - 
Dick Kiger and Jess Foster, of Corvallis, made a trip to the McKenzie 
River and returned with 50 Rainbow trout. 
There seems to be a goodly number of Bob White Quail in this 
section. With favorable weather conditions for June and July, we will 
have a sufficient number of Chinese Pheasants to insure a good crop 
for the fall hunt. On June 7th Dr. Stowell, of Corvallis, reported 
having seen a brood of Chinese Pheasants that were large enough 
to fly. 
It may be of interest to some of the readers of The Sportsman to 
learn of my experience in erecting scarecrows or dummies to drive 
away animals and birds destroying corn crops. The work of destroy- 
ing the corn crop is charged by a great many people to the Chinese 
Pheasant, but this fact has never been determined. There seems 
to be a difference of opinion among the farmers. May 30th I was called 
to the farm of Joe Hite, near Corvallis, where Chinese Pheasants were 
destroying his growing corn. We erected a number of scarecrows. 
On June 11th I phoned Mr. Hite to learn what effect the scarecrows 
had on the birds. He informed me they had proved a success. His 
corn had not been disturbed since the dummies had been put up. 
