The Dillon tribune., 1885-05-23
OREGON SALMON.

The recent frightful accident which
happened to 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 ~ drove of salmon.
Inc stage was instantly overturned,
and the hungry tisl, swarmcd over it. |
While the stage driver. with great pres |
ence Of mind, cut the traces of his
horses and, throwing himself across the
on wheel horse,--a powerful animal.
formerly the property Of DIR. Goodrich.
OF Olympla,-ma to escape. The
dispatch which conveys to us this pain
ful 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. It is much
larger than the salmon of the Atlantic
coast, and, unlike the latter, which is
q timid and inoffensive fish, it is fear
less, aggressive, and cruel. There is
scarcely a 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 rife. 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 q blow to be effective must be
delivered Immediately behind the pee
GOODNESS for 4 man to face the rush Of
q maddened salmon and wait until he
can stab him in the only vulnerable
part. Scores OF hunters who have snc-
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 a monster fish.
Were the salmon to contine 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 prey. Men, women, and
children have often been chased fol
long distances by salmon on the lonely
Oregon roads, and an enormous mum.
Der 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 u night passed that
some settler did not lose q valuable do
nestle 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 unarmed, anG
they lost so much sleep in consequence
of the nightly aud incessant roaring o1
the fish that life was really q burden tt
them. The town authorities offered ;
reward of 81, 900 for the head of either
of the two salmon, but no local hunter
was bold enough to make the attemp
to gain it. These formidable fish wer'
finally killed by aparty OF hunters
nine in number, from Tacoma, who
assisted by Il pack OF well-trained fish
hounds, tracked the salmon to thei
, lair in small pool OF stagnant waite
and shot them with Gatllng gun
Twenty-Five bullets We're found in TIL
body OF the male and seventy-four il
that of the female. The former fel
, dead at the first fire, but the latter. al
though severely wounded. rushed OF
the hunters, and succeeded III KILN:
, one and disabling eight dogs before sh
was finally conquered.
In winter, The Oregon salmon. rem
, dered more fearless than ever by wan
, of food, roam over the country in pack
: and tlroyes OF from twenty-five to
: thousand fish. No exact statistics a
Q to the annual loss OF lii" by salmon il
r Oregon are at present accessible but
. is believed that in proportion to 1t
population Oregon loses as many inhab
3 itants yearly by salmon as India lose
3 by tigers: .;
$ The only way in which to meet thi
$ great evil is Tor the state governmen
r to offer a reward of, say. 500 for ever,
i salmon killed within its borders. Sucl