Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-11-29
NUMBER 48.

Gus morning. we Qiu the uSe mheS
from the village In seventeen minutes"
"And how Is your measly patientT
asked Fraser.
Hes doing well, thank you" She
stepped to the door to admit Chaka-
wana, who had evidently hurried
around from the other house and now
came in, bareheaded and needless OF
the cold. bearing bundle clasped to
her breast. 81 brought the little fel-
low home with me. See!"
81 dare say Kalvik Is rather lively
during the summer season." Emerson
remarked to Cherry later In the day.
"Yes: the ships arrive in May, and
the fish begin to run In July. After
that nobody sleeps"
ut must be rather interesting"
TT is more than that; 1t Is inspiring
Why, the story Of the salmon IL an
epic In itself. You know they live Q
cycle Of four years, no more, always
returning to the waters Of their nativ.
fly to die. And have heard 1t said
that during one of those four years
they disappear. no one knows where,
reappearing out of the mysterious
depths Of the sea as II at signal
They come by the legion, In countless
scores Of thousands. and when once
they have tasted the waters Of their
birth they never touch food again. nev-
er cease their onward rush until they
become bruised and battered wrecks,
drifting down from the spawning beds
When the call of nature is answered
and the spawn Is laid they die. They
never seek the salt sea again. but car
pet the rivers with their bones When
they feel the homing impulse they
come from the remotest depths, head
ing unerringly for the particular par
ent stream whence they originated. II
sand bars should block their course In
dry seasons or obstacles intercept them
they will hurl themselves out Of the
water in an endeavor to get across.
They may disregard thousand rivers
one by one, but when they finally taste
the sweet currents which flow from
their birthplaces their whole nature
changes, and even their physical fea-
lures alter. They grow thin, and the
head takes on the sinister curve OF the
preying bird.
"Why. you just ought to witness the
run These empty waters become
suddenly crowded. and the fish come
in great silver horde. which races up.
up, up toward death and obllteration.
They come with the violence Of sum.
mer storm; like prodigious. cleaning
army they swarm and bend forward,
eager. undertaking, one purposed It's
quite impossible to describe 1t, this
great silver horde. They are entirely
defenseless. Of course, and almost
every living thing preys upon them.
The birds congregate in millions. the
four footed beasts come down from
the hills, the Apaches Of the sea harry
them In dense droves. and even man
appears from distant coasts to take
his toll, but still they press bravely on.
The cl2nk Of machinery makes the
hills rumble: the hiss Of steam and
the sighs Of the soldering furnaces
are like the complaint Of some giant
overgorglng himself"
"Iow long does II all lastT'
"Only about six weeks; then the
furnace fires die out. the ships are
loaded, the men so to sleep, after
which Kalvik says back into Its ten
months coma. becoming. as you see II
now. dead. deserted village. Stunned
by man."
"But don't see how those huge
plants can pay for their upkeep with
such short run"
well. they do, and. what's more,
they pay tremendously. sometimes loo
per cent year or more.
1.-Two years ago ship sailed Int"
port IN early May loaded with an army
of men with machinery, lumber. coal.
and so forth They landed. built the
plant and had II ready ~ operate 10y
the time the run started. They made
their catch and sailed away again In
August with enough salmon In the hold
to pay twice over for the whole thing
Willis Marsh did even better than
that The year before. but Of course the
price OF fish was high then. Next sea-
| son will be another big year"
How Is thatI'
Every fourth season the run Is
large; nobody knows why. Every time
there Is n presidential election the fish
are shy and very scarce: that lifts
prices Every year in which a presi'
dent of the United States Is inaugural
ed they are plentiful"
Emerson rose.
~ had no idea there were such prof
It's In the fisheries up here
Nobody knows 1t outside OF those
interested The Kalvik river is the
most wonderful salmon river In the
world. for 1t has never failed once.
That's why the companies guard 1t
SO jealously"
1t was evident that the young man
was NltuIIy luteEesteu noN'
What does 1t cost to install and op-
crate cannery for the first season%
About 100000. / am told. But be-
lieve one can mortgage his catch or
borrow money on 1t from the banks.
and 50 not have to carry the full bur.
den."
whats to prevent me from going
into the business"
Several things. have you the mon
eyT
POSSIBLY. What elser
"A SITE"
"That ought to be easy
Cherry laughed. ION the contrary.
q suitable cannery site Is very hard to
get, because there are natural condi'
tions necessary. fresh flowing water
for one, and. furthermore. because the
companies have taken them ali up"
"Ah! see." The light died out OK
Emerson's eyes: the eagerness left his
voice. He flung himself dejectedly Into
a chair by the fire, moodily watch
ing the flames licking the burning
logs. All at once he gripped the arms
Of his chair and muttered through set
Jaws. "God, I'd like to take one moro
chance"
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