universal joy.

[1] Belluga?

The salmon (the New Caledonian staff of life) ascend Frazer's River
and its tributaries, from the Pacific in immense shoals, proceeding
towards the sources of the streams until stopped by shallow water.
Having deposited their spawn, their dead bodies are seen floating down
the current in thousands; few of them ever return to the sea; and in
consequence of the old fish perishing in this manner, they fail in
this quarter every fourth year. The natives display a good deal of
ingenuity in catching them. Where the current and depth of water
permit, they bar it across by means of stakes driven into the bottom
with much labour, and standing about six inches apart; these are
strongly bound to a piece of timber, or "plate," running along the
top; stays, or supporters, are placed at intervals of ten or twelve
feet, the upper end bearing against the plate so as to form an angle
with the stream. Gaps are left in the works of sufficient size to
admit the _varveaux_, or baskets, in which the fish are taken. After
the whole is finished, square frames of wicker-work, called keys, are
let down against the upper side, to prevent the fish from ascending,
and at the same time to allow the water a free passage. The keys must
be kept entirely free from filth, such as branches, leaves, &c.,
otherwise the whole works would soon be swept away. The baskets are
of a cylindrical form, about two and a half feet in diameter at the
mouth, and terminate in a point of four or, five inches. When the
fishing is over, all the materials are removed, and replaced the
ensuing year with equal labour.

To preserve the fish for future consumption the following process is
adopted. The back being split up, and the back-bone extracted, it is
hung by the tail for a few days; then it is taken down and distended
on splinters of wood; these are attached to a sort of scaffold erected
for the purpose, where the fish remains till sufficiently dry for
preservation. Even in dry seasons, during this process, the ground all
round the scaffold is thickly covered with large maggots; but in wet
seasons the sight becomes much more loathsome.

I have already observed that the salmon fail periodically, and the
natives would consequently be reduced to the utmost distress, did not
the goodness of Providence furnish them with a substitute. Rabbits
are sent to supply the place of the salmon; and, singular as it may
appear, these animals increase