Page:Cathlamet On the Columbia.djvu/41

 as the little Indian could run about he commenced to hunt and fish, and in mere love of slaughter would frequent the streams and maim and kill the salmon coming up to spawn. The little creek by Cathlamet was a favorite stream of the Fall salmon, and here the little Indians would gather and spear fish until they were weary of the sport, and would then in mere wantonness throw their captures on the rocks to spoil. At thirteen and fourteen the boys would begin seriously to hunt for game.The old Queen Anne muskets that they had in early days would be carefully loaded, not a grain of powder or a single shot would be wasted, for these commodities in the early days were difficult to obtain. In his little one-man canoe the youth would silently paddle through the sloughs looking for ducks and geese, of which there were countless 21