down the eagle swooped. As the king 
of the river rose to the surface — swish! 
The strong claws of the eagle had seized 
him. 
The salmon squirmed and battled 
madly. The eagle could hardly keep his 
hold. Digging his claws deeper into the 
fish’s back, he tried to rise into the air. 
The salmon struggled so hard that the 
load was too much for the eagle. Unable 
now to tear his claws free, the great bird 
was drawn under the water and drowned. 
FISH FAMILIES 
A man named Pliny, who lived long 
ago in Italy, gave the salmon its name. 
He called it salmo. That was a name 
he made from a Latin word, satire, which 
means to leap. The salmon is a real 
jumper. It is a thrilling sight to watch 
a run of salmon making their way up 
a river, flinging themselves high into the 
air to pass rocks, rapids, or even falls. 
6 
