136 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 
In the first place I would remark, that Mr. Girard's description of the color of 
the belly (yellowish) has doubtless arisen from his description being taken from 
the specimen as preserved in spirits, as it accorded with the coloring of my 
fish, which had been only two weeks in spirits ; whereas, when put in. they 
were bright silvery below the medial line and over the belly, as is the case 
with all the fish taken at the outlet of the Grand Lake, on the western branch 
of the St. Croix River, as I also found them many years since on this stream as 
well as the eastern branch, in the fall of the year. These fish are taken also 
in moderate quantities lower down the stream, but in the waters below Lewey's 
Island, which are of a darker color, and constantly filled with sawdust from 
the mills, the fish lose their silvery brightness and have the appearance of 
having been immersed in a yellowish dye ; these fish, too, are always in poor 
condition. In the young state, say from six to eight inches in length, they 
have almost invariably an irregular row of bright red spots placed along the 
medial line, some on one side, and some on the other. It was considered a 
very remarkable circumstance by the fishermen on the spot, that a fish so large 
as the smaller of these two should have the red spots, which this one had very 
distinctly before it was put in the spirits. 
It has been heretofore considered by those who were acquainted with this 
fish, that they were entirely confined to the waters of the St. Croix, including 
its two branches and their lakes, in fact confined almost entirely to the lakes 
and their outlets; and it is only on this trip that I have heard of specimens 
having, been taken, as a rarity, in three small lakes which empty into the lower 
St. Croix, and into the Passamaquoddy Bay. The fish described by Mr. Girard, 
as found in Union River,, would have but a short distance farther to travel in 
the salt water before entering that river. It is therefore pretty certain that 
they are, as far as yet known, confined to the waters of the St. Croix and 
streams of easy access therefrom by sea. They appear not to be known 
in New Brunswick, except in one of the small lakes alluded to, which empties 
its waters on that side of the river Mr. Perley is said to be unacquainted 
with the fish, except from report. I will mention another fact in regard to the 
Union River, which may throw some light on the history of this fish. I met 
accidently at Bangor with a gentleman of that place, an ardent sportsman, 
who told me he had caught in a small lake tributary to that river, a small 
.salmon ; that the waters of this lake had been dammed for saw mills about 
thirty years ago, shutting off as he supposed, the return of some salmon which 
had entered it for the purpose of spawning, and, that they had continue^ to 
breed there since, and had from want of access to the sea, deteriorated in size, 
and said also that several had been taken since. Now this gentleman had never 
seen the salmon trout (its universal name there,) of the St. Croix. Now taking 
into consideration that Agassiz has pronounced this fish the true Salmo Salar. 
which has at some former time, by some convulsion of nature, been shut up in 
these St. Croix Lakes, and only had the access to salt water restored by 
another geological change after the fish had been bred there so long as to lose 
its habits of migration, we need not be surprised that this gentleman should 
take this fish to be a small salmon. 
These fish, as taken, may be said to run from, one to five pounds in weight, 
as it is very rare to take fish of a size intermediate between the small fish with 
the red spots and those of the size of these specimens. I regret that I did not 
procure the small fish. I took a number of them at Lewey's Island, but could 
procure no spirits to preserve them, and after returning from Calais, I could 
catch none of the fish. 
As a game fish, affording fine sport to the fly fisher, I doubt whether it has 
its equal on this continent, with the exception of the true salmon. Its strength 
and agility are surprising ; when hooked it will frequently make a succession of 
leaps of two and three feet clear of the water. It is most readily taken with 
the fly in the most rapid waters above the dam at the foot of the Grand Lake, 
which has been made for the purpose of running logs. They are readily taken 
[June, 
