NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY, 133 



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

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

 fon here in Sundfiord for that reafon 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 mufl be lighted by the rubbing of two 

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

 charm. There conftantly ft and 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 faftened 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 allured 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 fifhing ; namely, where they have 

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

 pofed of a number of flakes 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 

 poflure 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. 



