NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAt, 135 



fion to any thing red ; fo that the fifhermen that watch this Fifh 

 muft never wear jackets nor caps of that colour : a certain per- 

 fon here in Sundfiord for that reafort took all the red tiles off 

 from the top of his houfe, which is juft by the water fide ? and 

 covered it with blue ones. They avoid all kind of carrion, and if 

 by accident, or by the malice of ill neighbours, there be any 

 fuch thing thrown into the places where they fifh for them, 

 they throw a lighted torch into the place : but they fuper- 

 ftitioufly affirm, that it mull; be lighted by the rubbing of two 

 pieces of wood together till they take fire ; but this is a vulgar 

 charm. There conftantly Hand two men by the Salmon nets in 

 the Spring to watch them ; the one in a boat, or, which is better, 

 on a high poft, to obferve when the fhoals of Salmon come to 

 the net ; on which he calls out to the other, who remains on 

 the fhore, holding a rope that is faflened to the net. On the 

 fignal given, he draws the net clofe with the rope, fo that 

 the> Salmon cannot get out again. Sometimes by this means 

 they will take twenty or thirty at a time ; and even fometimes 

 fuch a prodigious number, that they muft let fome feores out 

 to prevent their net from breaking. 



The Salmon is a very ftrong Fifh : fifhermen have aiTured me, 



that one of them has been able to pull a man down when he 



has ftuck him with his Salmon fpear, which is a long pole, with 



three iron teeth at the end, like a trident. This Salmon-fpear 



is ufed in another method of filhing; namely, where they have 



built what they call the Lax-Kar, a-crofs a river. This is cora- 



pofed of a number of ftakes driven into the bottom of the river, 



pretty clofe together, between which they fwim in fhoals, and 



out of eagernefs to get higher up the ftream, they frequently 



flick faft there, till the fifhermen come and ftick them with the 



fpear. I have feen them catch twelve in lefs than half an hour in 



this manner. The eagernefs of thefe Fifh to get a great way up 



the rivers, may be known, firft by the following circumftance; 



for where the water is low, and the fand-banks lie but juft under 



its furface, fo that they cannot make their way along on their 



belly, they will throw themfelves flat on one fide, and in that 



pofture work themfelves through till they reach deeper water. 



We fee it alfo by their high and violent leaps againft the ftream, 



where there are falls of water from the rocks ; for if they meet 



with a cafcade of four or five feet high, they are not deterred 



from purfuing their courfe, but will raife themfelves upright, 



and leap with fuch violence, that they furmount this obftacle. 



Hence poffibly its Latin name Salmo is derived from Salio, to 



Part II. M m leap. 



