400 
HOW THEY MULTIPLY BY THREE. 
a dozen or more men waded in among them with short, 
heavy clubs, and commenced striking riglit and loft at the 
heads of the largest as they darted around, the excite- 
ment of the scene and the lashing of the waters in- 
creased tenfold, I had never before imagined that so 
many fish could be taken in so short a time : we were 
certainly not on the spot over ten minutes after they 
began; and yet, as we marched off with a fine salmon 
added to our former loads, they must have already 
thrown at least a ton-weight of noble fish upon the banks. 
There they were received by the women and children, 
who, with a sharp knife and piece of board each, soon 
multiplied their original unity by the number three: that 
is, they would seize a salmon, averaging from eighteen to 
twenty-eight inches, by the gills with the left hand, lay 
him out on the board, and before you could snap your 
finger twice he would be divided into three pieces, of 
which the head, tail, and backbone constituted one, and 
the two sides the remaining. These latter were thrown 
in a pile by themselves, witli some regard to cleanliness; 
but the former were pitched about in the dirt in every 
direction, not because they were not to be used, but sim- 
ply from the fact that they were to be cured as winter 
provender for the dogs, horses, and cows. We had 
already seen vast quantities of them both hanging over 
the fires in their houses, and had, as I have already re- 
marked, seen a cow crunch up a head, tail, and backbone, 
with evident relish. And this I do not wish to be re- 
garded as a ^‘fish-story,” for it is true, though doubtless 
curious^ and it is as a curious truth that I introduce it. 
I have said that we did not remain at this scene of 
