Jack the Young Canoeman: An Eastern Boy's Voyage in a Chinook Canoe

by George Bird Grinnell

Before night had come the canoe had gone up the Inlet to Fannin's shop. Here they went ashore, and that night, for the first time in weeks, sat down at a table and slept in beds. It was learned at Hastings that the Indians were catching a good many salmon at the head of the North Arm; and it was proposed that instead of ending the trip here, the canoe should keep on up the Arm and see the fishing. The next morning, therefore, they went on up the Inlet.

On the way they met three canoe loads of returning Indians, and each canoe was piled high with beautiful silvery salmon, weighing eight or ten pounds each, which the Indians had caught with spears and gaffs in the Salmon River. Fannin, who spoke with the Indians, told the others that this was the fishing party, and that now there were no Indians at the head of the North Arm. It was, nevertheless, decided to go up there.

When they reached the mouth of the river they found the tide lower than it had been when they had been there some weeks ago; but soon it commenced to rise, and as the water deepened they began to pole the canoe up the stream, though frequently all hands were obliged to jump overboard and push and lift the canoe over the shoals and into the deeper water. As the tide continued to rise this became necessary less frequently, and before long the water was so good that they could push along with but little effort. During the passage up the shallow stream many salmon were seen in the clear water—fine, handsome fish, dark blue above; sometimes showing, as they darted away from the approaching canoe, the gleaming silver of their shapely sides.

The sight of these beautiful fish greatly excited Jack, and several times he struck at them with his paddle, but always miscalculated the distance, and could never feel even that he had touched a fish. At length he called out: "Mr. Fannin, can't we stop here and try to catch some of these fish? They are so big and splendid that I want to get hold of one."

"Oh," said Fannin, with a laugh, "wait a bit. You are going to a place where you'll see a hundred for one that you see now."

"Well," said Jack, rather grumblingly, half to himself and half to Hugh, "I suppose he is right, but it seems as if we might stop right here and catch some of them. The sight of these fish is enough to make any man a fisherman right off."

Again he called out: "Do you think we will be able to catch any fish to-night?"

"Yes," said Fannin; "I think that with the spear or the gaff we ought to get all we want."

"But just think," said Jack, "what fun it would be to catch one of these with a rod. It looks to me as if they would break any tackle that we have."

"No," said Fannin, "you can't catch them on a hook when they get into the fresh water. I thought I had told you that before. The salmon in fresh water will not take a hook. They will take one in the salt water, but as soon as they enter the river, no. I'll tell you about that to-night when we get into camp."