of them may even turn and go out to 
sea again, not ready for the run this 
year. But more and more keep coming 
in. They stop playing and move forward 
in earnest. Nothing can stop them 
now. 
The salmon that run in the fall go 
only a little way upstream. Sometimes 
they seem to be in such a great hurry 
to reach their spawning ground that they 
go up tiny brooks only a few inches deep 
and die from lack of water. But the 
salmon that run in the spring some¬ 
times go one or two thousand miles up¬ 
stream. 
During the whole long trip, all the 
salmon’s strength and all their time is 
spent on only one thing — reaching then- 
goal. They do not even eat. And nature 
has prepared them well for the hard 
journey. When they leave the ocean 
they are husky, sleek, well-fed fish, with 
dark backs and silver black-spotted sides. 
22 
