“COFFIN" FOR A SALMON

Southland Times, Issue 19461, 28 January 1925, Page 4

“COFFIN" FOR A SALMON

CATCHING A 70-POUNDER. CAMPBELL RIVER EPISODE. The story of the taking of a phenomenal salmon, is told in the London Field, by R. J. Musgrave. He writes:—“l was in British Columbia in the winter of 1895 and heard of a river, named Campbell River, which held very big salmon, so I determined to go out there again next year and try for a big fish. larrived in September at Victoria, and prepared for the expedition. A friend in Victoria bet me 10 dollars I would not catch a 50-pounder, but one of the conditions was that I was to bring the fish back to Victoria, partly for the pleasure of seeing a big fish and partly, I think, to see that I had really caught one. “Well, dear old Charlie Vernon and I were always having small bets and trying to get the better of each other and, as 1 would rather have taken 10 dollars off Charlie than 20 dollars off anybody else, I began to think how I could do it. It might be a week or ten days before I could get the fish to Victoria, and there might be some trouble, so I went to Mr Fannin, the curator of the Natural History Museum, and explained things to him. He advised me to get a big water-tight box made, and put the salmon into it after filling with water, and for every gallon put in a tabloid of some chemical which he gave me. “A nephew of General Gordon, who was quartered at Esquimault, came with me, and we started on an American steamer bound for Alaska. On board some Americans saw my big box and asked me what my ‘coffin’ was for. When I told them it was for a big salmon I was going to catch they remarked, Waal, we have met a gentleman who has caught a salmon, and who gets a big box to put it in, but you are the first one we’ve met to get a big box before he has caught the fish.’ IN CAMP. ‘Arriving at the mouth of Campbell River, we were put ashore amid the good wishes of the passengers and the flutter of a handkerchief. We soon put up our tent, got Indians and two cances, and made ourselves comfortable. I’ll never forget that night hearing thhe splashes of the big fish into whom we hoped to be stuck next day. Our hopes were realised, as we got about six big fish—Tyee or King Salmon, between 301 b and 501 b, and eight or ten Cohoes averaging about 131 b. “On the second day, Gordon got a 64pounder, and for the next few day.% twirled his moustache, and said, ‘I am champion. I’ve got the biggest salmon ever caught with a rod.’ This went on for three or four days, till I got rather tired of it. Then, on the fifth day, I came back in the morning with my big fish, and found Gordon asleep in the tent, and, kicking him up, I twirled my moustache and said, ‘Get up, you old brute; I am champion.’ “I was very lucky getting him. I anchored in the middle of a stream and at once killed a 38-pounder. In gaffing him my Inlian used too much force and my gaff straightened out. We were about half a mile from the mouth of the river when I hooked my big fish. He took the bit in his teeth and never stopped till we were in the sea. There was a forest fire and a thick fog, and we were soon out of sight of land in a very strong current running toward Seymour Narrows, a dangerous place, anywhere near half-tide, on account of the whirlpools and big waves The fish made strong dashes never throwing himself entirely out of the water, but making a mighty splash every now and then. I began to be rather anxious, without a gaff, out of sight of land, and getting unpleasantly close to the Narrows. In an hour and a-quarter I got him tired, and brought him up close to the other end of the canoe. What was to be done? SAFE IN THE CANOE. “My Indian, however, soon solved the difficulty. He took hold of the line quietly, lifted his head a little out of the water, and gave him the devil of a stroke with a club, dropping his hand at the same time so as not to snap the line. Then he put a hand in his gills and hoisted him aboard. You can imagine my feelings when I saw the Indian catching hold of the line! With difficulty I suppressed a yell, but I was rewarded for my self-restraint, and we had him safe! My 10 dollars were safe, too, and I did Charlie that time. “We popped him into the ‘coffin,’ and got him safely to Victoria, where I had him weighed properly by Fannin—a Tyee, 701 b, length 52in, girth 32|in. He took a spoon about 2sin long. A cast of the fish is the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. “I caught, that week, 19 Tyee salmon, averaging 49}lb, and 40 Cohoes, averaging up to 641 b. We got a deer as well, some duck, teal and ruffed grouse. It was a paradise. Now, there is an hotel near the mouth of the river, and a logging camp, and the place is properly spoilt.”