Year after year the mighty Elwha churned with salmon thrashing against the current leaping up waterfalls The rushing river called them home from the sea Bears otters and eagles caught some of them The rest laid eggs in shallow riffles before dying Their bodies enriched the soil that grew the forest that fed the mice the deer and the elk In spring millions of salmon eggs hatched The young fish preyed on tiny insects in the river and grew and grew until the time came to swim for the sea On their journey some became meals for other fish and birds The river fed the salmon and the salmon fed the river
A SAFE PLACE FOR YOUNG SALMON Alevins newborns usually hatch in spring and live close to their redd underwater gravel nest for a few months Alevins become fry juveniles and stay in the river for up to a year When fry swim for the sea they become silvery smolts with scales They feed at the mouth of the river and adjust to saltwater life Males and females die soon after spawning Males compete to fertilize eggs The female covers the eggs with small rocks Adult females swim upstream to find good redd sites They turn on their sides to dig with their tails Salmon spend up to seven years in the ocean They follow scents chemical clues and even the sun to return to their home river to spawn lay and fertilize eggs
When the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe arrived the salmon fed them too They call themselves the Strong People and the river flows in their blood The Strong People caught salmon in traps along the river grateful for the abundance taking only what they needed and allowing others to escape upstream to spawn
The river also nurtured life on its banks Plants for the Strong People's medicines deer and elk for their meat clothing and tools spicy smelling cedars for woven baskets and sturdy canoes and sweet berries to savor For thousands of years river forest salmon and Strong People nourished one another Until 1790 when the current changed THE CONTEST One day many tribes held a contest to see who could lift a big log to the top of an unfinished longhouse Each tribe chose their strongest men but none could lift the log The mighty Klallams remembered that logs float in water They rolled the big log into the river and the strongest men waded in after it They floated the log onto their shoulders and walked out of the river The other tribes praised the mighty Klallams strength and wisdom They all shouted Nəx sXáyəm Nəx sXáyəm which means Strong People Strong People
