The Washington bee., 1899-03-04
THE SALMON'S LEAP.
REMARKABLE AcRoBATlc FEATs PER
FORMED BY THIS FISH.

One Observer Recorded a Spring of E,ebt.
cen Feet-The Height That Can be At
tains1 Depends Upon the Build of the
Creasurs-speed Required at the Start.
A few years ago In a fisherman's
nook In London, we were discussing
the height to which salmon could
leap. and an EngliShman stated that
he had known salmon to make a clean
leap Of twenty feet perpendicularly.
This was questioned by Scotchman
present, who said that he had been
on many salmon river and had never
yet seen the salmog that could clear
ten feet perpendicularly. Several diff
ferent views were expressed upon the
subject and since that time 1 have
taken occasion to measure falls in
several rivers where salmon were leap
ing, for the purpose of determining
how far salmon can leap.
The question allows of some elabora-
ton, and several important factors
must be taken into consideration.
First, the character of the 'take-off,"
or, in other words, the water from
falls. If ne can start from a quiet,
deep pool or eddy just below the falls
he can make a much higher leap than
If he must start from broken water or
shallow water. In some rivers salmon
are much longer and slenderer than in
others, and the slender salmon make
much higher leaps than the more ro-
bust ones. A fresh run salmon may
be so fat that he is clumsy, and not
able to do his best at leaping, but
after three or four weeks spent in the
river he may perform some remark
able acrobatic feats.
In the Washecootal river l have seen
salmon thrown back time and again
from leap of. about six feet, and do
not remember ever having seen a
salmon make more than an eight-foot
leap in that river. On the Olomana
river / have seen salmon thrown back
repeatedly from a leap of ten feet,
but having been foiled several times in
succession these fish jumped approxi- |
mately fourteen feet on two occasions,
and sixteen feet in one instance, while |
was watching them. On the Kegash- |
ka river have seen salmon leap about !
twelve fee, but in this river the leap !
Ing place was not where l could meas
ure the height of the chosen spot. On
the Coal river, Newfoundland, salmon
seem to have difficulty in clearing
eight feet of the fall. and this is due
probably to the character of the rocks
beneath the fall, but as the water
rom which they leaped was white
water l could not see the character of
he 'take-off." On the north branch
If the Humber river salmon were leap
ng very much higher with ease over
alls similar in character to those of
he Coal river
The highest leaping that have ever
een was on the first falls of the White
Bear river, in Labrador. The salmon
n this river are not large, and the
dult fish weigh quite uniformly from
light to ten pounds; but they are very
lender and have tremendously broad
ails. photograph of one of those
almon of ten pounds weight placed by
he side of sea trout of four and a
alf pounds weight shows the breadth
1 tail and the more graceful outlines
the salmon of this river. / measur-
q the height to which the salmon
Tere leaping, approximately, by stand.
lg above the falls and letting NV line
1n from the top o. the falls into the
ool below, and this line was marked
nth knots three feet apart, so that
lille the distances were not measured
ccurately, | was able to determine
lat most of the salmon leaping i'm
le falls at this point were making a
ap of about twelve feet. Salmon
ould occasionally leap far past this
losen spot into another spot, which
as approximately eighteen feet from
lie pool below.
Reducing the question to one of
echanics we may estimate that a
llmon of ten pounds weight leaping
ON still pool requires an initial We
city at the moment of leaving the
ater of eighteen miles an hour in
der to have momentum sufficient TO
rry him twelve feet perpendicuIarly.
velocity of twenty-three miles an
'ur is required for carrying this
me fish eighteen feet perpendicu-
rly..