into momentary confusion now and
then by a heavy swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate
the rearmost lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight
and solidity of the living wall.

Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or
more yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks
and weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within
ten feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and
draw them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are "jagged" at once,
and as the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line
around his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish
hooked amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless
thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike
sort of fishing, this "jagging," but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment
and fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a
full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail
enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror
or when chasing his prey.

Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the
vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way
steadily up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they
remain till spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their
numbers, and at night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard,
caused by the movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim
to and fro, and one section, meeting another, endeavours to force a
right-of-way. On the third or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises
appear, having followed the "schools" in from the sea, and wreak fearful
havoc among them. Sometimes in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river
one may see a school of perhaps five or six thousand terrified salmon,
wedged one up against the other, unable to move from their very numbers,
while half a dozen sharks dash in among them and devour them by the
score; and often as the current runs seaward hundreds of half bodies of
salmon can be seen going out over the bar. At night time the townspeople
appear on the scene in boats with lanterns and spears, and for no other
purpose than the mere love of useless slaughter kill the fish till their
arms are exhausted. At places within easy access of Sydney by steamer or
rail some few thousands of s