The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-07-25
SALMON MYSTERY
STILL UNSOLvE
Efforts Being Made to Trace
Their Wanderings.
QUEER TRAITS LITTLE KNOWN

to dispatches from Ottawa, in al
effort to trace their wanderings an
to fathom some of the unsolved mys
teries in the lives of these importan
fishes
Some of the queer traits of salmon
known to few of the million who ca
these fish from tin cans, are told O.
In bulletin from the Washington, D
c., headquarters of the Nationa
Geographic society. The bulletir
quotes Robert F. Griggs, who in his
book, 1.-THE Valley of Ten Thousand
Smokes" tells of finding a run OF
salmon in a partially ashchoked stream
In the heart of a region devastated BY
the great eruption of Katmai volcano
In Alaska The observations were
part of comprehensive scientific
| study of the region made directed by
the National Geographic society.
Everywhere we kept sharp look
out for salmon" says Doctor Griggs,
'but found none until 1917. when we
| discovered one little brook in which
| red salmon were running In cOnsidera-
i BILE numbers. This stream did not ap-
| pear different in any way from 4
score Of others which coursed down
the mountain side to join Katmai
river. But although we could find
no fish in any of the other streams,
we caught them here almost every
time we came by, taking altogether
about fifty In the course of month.
Hugo Fish in Tiny Streams.
Readers unfamiliar with the spawn
ing habits of the salmon may be
surprised to learn that fish two feet
long could be found In a stream only
few inches deep; but the initiated
will recognize that there ID nothing
unusual in such an occurrence. 1t Is
well known that some species of
salmon work their way up into brooks
30 shallow that their backs stick out
before they deposit their eggs"
Commenting on the remarkable
"homing instinct" of salmon, especial
~ the sockeye, Doctor Griggs wrote:
"At Brooks Falls in the outlet from
the lake of the same name, at the
proper season one may watch the
salmon as they jump clear of the wa
ter and ascend the falls Here we
stood for hours, held by the fascina
ton Of one of the most wonderful
sights afforded by the animal kingdom,
as the endless procession of fish kept
leaping high in the air, over the falls.
"Never did second lapse between
jumps. Sometimes as many as six
fish were in the air at once. The
jump appeared to require their full
~ do 10 M owo
at the lowest notch in the falls, and
none jumped clear over in way to
suggest that they could have gone
much higher If necessary. Many of
the leaps were so wide OF the mark as
to give the impression that they were !
not serious attempts, but rather in
the nature of reconnaissances-eff efforts
to learn the best place for the ascent. |
Often the fish struck themselves on |
The sharp rocks. Among those below
the falls were many terribly lacerated |
by such accidents-so far gone that
there was little probability of their i
ever succeeding in the leap.
perhaps the most interesting fea-
ture of the whole performance is the
instinct that urges the salmon over
the falls. How can they tell that
there is another lake above? Yet by
some means they are unerringly guided
to the outlets of lakes above, for they
do not run to other streams. Why
should they seek the upper lake, when
the waters they have just passed
through would serve as WELL as is at
tested by the fact that they are per-
fectly satisfactory to other thousands
Of their brethen?
Return to Spot Where Hatched.
Professor G. II. Gilbert of Stanford
who knows the habits of
he salmon better than anyone else.
ellis me there is good evidence that
he individual salmon returns to the
particular water in which 1t was
latched. AS indicated by the anomal-
Jus run observed in a tributary of
Iatmai river they are apparently able
o find, not merely the same general
ocality. but by some instinct are
.uided back to the particular spot
where they began life. The mysterious
ense by which they choose their way |
mong waters apparently indistinguish- /
BILE is quite incomprehensible to us. \
IF, like the bird migratiOns, it were Il
journey undertaken every year dur
1g the life of the fish, 1t would not be n
o remarkable. for the old. fish could H
each the young the path. But the \
almon make the trip only once, at the
nd of their allotted span. When they X
ave spawned they turn over and edie,
saving windrows OF rotting carcasses :
n the shore. .
Their only previous experience with
ne stream was when as small fry
ley passed down from the spawning
round and out to sea. Can 1t be that /
ley retain something analogous to
lemory Of the landmarks passed