Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-05-08
OREGON SALMON.

The recent frightful accident which
happened to a stage in Southern Ore
gon can not fail, says the New York
Times, to call the attention of the state
authorities to the necessity of protect-
ing settlers against the attacks of sal
mon. The stage in question was cross
ing Applegate Creek. when it was sud
denly attacked by drove of salmon.
The stage was instantly overturned,
and the hungry fish swarmed over it,
while the stage driver, with great pres
ence of mind, cut the traces of his
horses and, throwing himself across the
off wheel-horse,- powerful animal,
formerly the property of DIR. Goodrich,
of Olympia, managed to escape. The
dispatch which conveys to US this pain
full story says nothing of the fate of the
stage passengers, but, unfortunately,
there is every reason to believe that
| they fell victims to the salmon.
The Oregon salmon has long been
regarded by experienced western hunt
ers as the most dangerous animal in
testing this continent. 1t is much
larger than the salmon of the Atlantic
coast. and, unlike the latter, which is
a timid and inoffensive fish, it is fear
less, aggressive, and cruel. There is
scarcely river in Oregon which is
free from salmon. and many of the
streams are rendered practically i'm
passable by the numbers and ferocity
of the salmon inhabiting them.
To hunt the Oregon salmon requires
iron nerves and great skill in the use of
the rifle. The usual practice of the
hunter is to hide himself on the bank
of a stream and to send in his dogs to
| rouse the salmon from their lair When
| the fish come within gunshot the hunt
er fires, and unless he kills or disables
the game at the first shot his chances
for life are small. The infuriated fish
will, in most cases, turn upon the hunt
er whose shot has been ineffective. One
blow of the salmon's tail almost invari-
| ably proves fatal, and if he can once
set his terrible teeth in the flesh of the
hunter he can not be shaken off. The
only chance of escape is for the hunter
to drive his knife into the tish's heart,
but such a blow to be effective must be
delivered Immediately behind the pee
toral fin, and it requires the utmost
GOODNESS for man to face the rush of
maddened salmon and wait until he
can stab him in the only vulnerable
part. Scores of hunters who have sue
cessfully fought the grizzly bear have
fallen victims to the Oregon salmon,
and scores of others, crippled and
mangled, survive to tell the story of
their blood-curdling experience while
in the very jaws of monster fish.
Were the salmon to contne them
selves wholly to the water they would
be comparatively harmless, for no man
would be in danger unless he ventured
into the salmon pool. But, unlike most
of our American fishes, the Oregon sal
mon is in the habit of leaving the water
and wandering through the forest in
search of pre-. Men, women. and
children have often been chased for
long distances by salmon on the lonely
Oregon roads, and an enormous num-
ber Of sheep and cattle have been kill
ed and devoured. Two years ago the
forest in the neighborhood of East Mel
vile, in Southern Oregon, was infested
by pair of salmon OF unusual size and
ferocity. Hardly night passed that
some settler did not lose valuable do
mestic animal, and no less than five
human lives were sacrificed almost
within sight of the Methodist meeting
house. The people of the town never
went out of their houses unarmcd, and
they lost so much sleep in consequences
of the nightly and incessant roaring of
the fish that life was really burden to
them. The town authorities offered a
reward of 81 900 for the head of either
Of the two salmon, but no local hunter
was bold enough to make the attempt
to gain it. These formidable fish were
finally killed by party Of hunters,
nine in number, from Tacoma, who,
assisted by pack of well-trained fish
hounds, tracked the salmon to their
lair in a small pool of stagnant water
and shot them with a Gatlng gun.
Twenty-Five bullets were found in the
body OF the male. and seventy-four in
that Of the female. The former fell
dead at the first fire, but the latter, al
though severely wounded. rushed on
the hunters, and succeeded in killing
one and disabling eight dogs before she
was finally conquered.
In winter, the Oregon salmon, rem
dered more fearless than ever by want
OF food, roam over the country in packs
and droves OF from twenty-five to a
thousand fish. No exact statistics as
to the annual loss of life by salmon in
Oregon are at present accessible, but it
is believed that in proportion to its
population Oregon loses as many inhab-
itants yearly by salmon as India loses
by tigers.
The only way In which to meet this
great evil is for the state government
to offer a reward Of, say, 800 for every
salmon killed within its borders. Such
an offer would cause an instant emigra-
tion OF thousands Of fearless hunters
from every state in the Union to Ore.
gon. Some lives would, of course. be
lost, but the salmon would soon be
practically exterminated, and it would
become possible for a stage to pass
even Applegate's creek without being
attacked and destroyed by salmon.