See one eon' rrPon tT sSwAN 195 
A FISH TRAGEDY OF THE PACIFIC 
By ERNEST ELVA WEIR in Forest and Stream 
HEN the chinook salmon of the Pacific Coast leave salt water 
W and go far inland to spawn in shallow streams, they never 
return. Large, fat and healthy when the run up the coast 
rivers begins in the spring, the fish soon waste away from lack of 
food, as they never eat after leaving the salt water. During the long 
trip to the spawning grounds, hunger causes the fish to attack each 
other viciously, and it is a question of the survival of the fittest. 
The weaker never reach their destination, the stronger lose tails and 
fins in their: fights for supremacy. As a result of. the actual 
spawning following the run up the rivers without food, the fish 
change in color and lose all their scales and most of their skin, 
becoming a mass of white patches and blotches of decay. Their 
mission in life is ended, the old fish die and the newly born find 
their way to salt water, only to repeat the experience of their elders 
four years hence. The spawning ground of the chinook salmon is 
both his cradle and his grave.—Here is a fish tragedy unequalled 
certainly by anything in human annals. 
COMMENDS UNION COUNTY GAME WARDEN 
La Grande, Oregon, June 12, 1917. 
Editors Oregon Sportsman: 
A few words from the Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club of Tia Grande 
with reference to the way in which our game warden is handling the 
business of his office this year. Mr. Walden, our genial warden, makes 
every one he finds fishing show him their license, at the time taking 
their name and the number of the license. This is one way of 
getting the license money that is approved. Years before no atten- 
tion has been paid to persons fishing without license. 
I myself with a party was out fishing Sunday, and walked up 
the stream several miles. On our way we met two boys who 
informed us that they had been ‘‘pinched’’ for not having a license 
to fish. We walked up two miles farther and commenced to fish, 
when we heard the brush cracking and several big stones came 
rolling down the hill. We thought it must be a bunch of elk coming 
down to the stream for water. Getting out of sight we were sur- 
prised to see instead of the elk that we had anticipated, our worthy 
game warden making his way to the stream. You know he weighs 
320 pounds. We were safe as we both had our fishing credentials, 
so showed up and he took ‘‘our number.’’ 
But the boys are well pleased with the way things in the game 
line are handled. We have our small lakes all stocked with bass 
and are figuring on raising our own game birds for stocking pur- 
poses, as the County Judge, Mr. Phy, is a good sportsman and the 
county is going to raise ‘them for us. The Club is to furnish the 
birds for breeding purposes. We are also very anxious to get the 
Minam hatchery going. This is what we need to make this section 
the fishermen’s paradise. 
AL, ANDREWS. Secretary, 
Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club, 
