Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-14
Price Four Cents.

regarded as authority in piscatorial affairs.
 He states that the last season on the Colum-
 b1a was most disastrous one to all interest ed in 1t. The run of fish commenced several weeks later than usual and in consequence
 the canneries discharged the majority of their l hands. Late in July the fish came up from the sea in such numbers that in the hyper
 pole of Ellis, '.you could walk across the l r1Ver on em the wather was shtiff wid 'em /" | strike Of the fishermen had seriously con- phcated matters, so that the canneries were
 totally unprepared to dispose of the great l quantities of salmon taken There were only | a few weeks of the season left, and the han6S could not be collected in time The result was that thousands of fish were left to rot on | the wharves until the overworked cannery
 men found time to throw them back into the | stream. The fishermen could only dispose
 of limited supply, so that in the height of
 the season, which they had hoped to prove a | harvest, they were forced to remain ldle An 1 hours work, sometimes 15 minutes, supplied | them with all the fish they could sell One cast of the net actually brought up 700 sal l mon, ranging from 15 to 60 pounds and sufficient to load several boats. It was noth- ing unusual to throw back numbers of fish 1 into the stream and let them pursue their headlong way to the spawning grounds FL | hs, who has fshed in various parts of the ] world, and whose most distant recollections are of boats and nets says that he never saw  i both in their number and weight. The nets used were 84 and 8f inches in the mesh, SO that 10-pound salmon could pass through without moments hesitation.
 Over 50, 100000 pounds of fish were never theless taken from April to July 31, when the season closed. During the season of abundance few lives were lost, as there was no necessity to take any risks Fish could
 be found in all parts of the stream, It was during the early part of the season, when sal 1T II
 lowed up it's daily sacrifice. A few weeks of warm weather sent the snows into the Co., lumbia in torrents, and the great river rushed down to the ocean swollen and turbulent Great tracts were inundated and the tides af- fected The latter disturbance was what proved fatal to the fishermen. They watch the tides carefully, for at slack water the fish are easiest caught. Leaving their stations on the ebb tide they shoot out their huge seines, 300 and $50 fathoms in length, and drift down the river to be doated back on the flood. It is an important matter with them to know exactly when the tide shall turn. The best fishing ground Is close to the bar, and they want to venture no further. This year the tide table was not to be relied on. The great body of water thrown by the Columbia into the ocean delayed the floods, so that the fish ermen were sometimes half an hour and an hour ahead of time. Believing that they were on the lsst of the ebb they drifted down and found themselves close to the bar in a tide rushing on at the rate of eight knots an hour To pull their heavy 24-foot boats against such current was feat few of them were capa- ble of, and the only course open to the major ity was to face death with fortitude Others perished from the desire of gain. Some fish ermen having heavy boat would venture out In dangerous waters and return with great catch of fish Next day others who had toil- ed for days, perhaps, with indifferent suc- cess, would follow the bad example, to be h6ard m n mn Ina ,<aF Re6 ermen are old sailors, and, with the reckless ness of their class, are disposed to take des- perate chances.
 spirit of emulation proved fatal to many. Some fishermen anxious to display his seamanship and bravery, would venture out further than safe. Some other as- pirant for small degree of fame along the wharves of Astoria would go still further and so the contest would proceed. until several canneries wonld be minus boats and nets The majority, however, perished through fla tai mistakes with regard to the tides.
 The great storm on the 2d of May swelled the list of casualties to alarming size. Johnson and Ellis happened to be up the stream some distance; McKenna and Beretta were, however, close to the bar. The Italian, after sharp run for his life, escaped to the shore but McKenna was swept over the bar. Finding himself in the jaws of death he seiz. ed the only chance left him, and, in his open boat, stood straight out to sea. By this means he escaped immediate death but nearly died from starvation, as he was three days outside the bar without food He has fshed for many years on the Columbia, but, he says; five done with it it's too risky for me'' He asserts that in that memorable gale 60 men were lost. '"The cannery men," he as. sured Chronicle reporter, "never report half the men lost. All they care for is to get the they don't, what's the good of ever talking about it? It won't get them the boat, and it may keep away fishermen next year." This view of the matter is shared by Johnson, FL lis and Beretta. ''Of course,' said Ellis ''Tom ought to know better than I do how many men were drowned that night on the bar, for he was there; but the talk all along the river was that there were a hundred lost" The estimates of the fishermen may be exaggerated. It is characteristic of this class to treat figures In very reckless man. ner, but the evidence is strong that numbers of accidents occurred on the Columbia that were never reported Even placing the loss es at 150, which is far below the lowest esti- mate furnished by the fishermen, the sacri- flee of life is fearful.
 The cannery people say that they have no interest to subserve in suppressing the re- ports of accidents, and give all the informa- ton asked. Admitting this statement to be true it is quite possible for the fishermen's stories to be correct. The official report of 1978-9 gives the number of boats belonging to the canneries as 800. There are over 1,4O0 boats engaged on the Columbia-some say 1, 500. Many farmers have several boats and other parties own their own craft and supply salmon to the canneries. Of this private fleet the canneries know little, and they are certainly not under any obligations to keep watchful eye on other peoples en- ployes with view to furnishing them to the newspapers. The terrors of poverty as well ss of tide and storm, hung over the unfortu- nate fishermen this year. Many of them were unable to pay their board bills. Usually they clear few hundred dollars to fortify them against the winter. The price of fish is fifty cents, of which the cannery retains one-third for supplying the boat and net, valued at $625. The 35 oanneries on the Columbia river employ about 1, 900 China men in preparing fish for the market. It is safe to say that, were the work done for 1000 girls and boys labelling cans and other light work, The Chinese get $50 a month, and growing so independent that they struck several times this year for higher wages, and, on different occasions, of fered violence to their employers They never venture on the river, for the fishermen are not the class to tamely submit to such Some years ago a few adven- turous Mongolians joined the fleet, but they disappeared the same night Their boats were broken to pieces, and their nets cut up and scattered on the beach. The fishermen
 
 had drowned the intruders. and the authori- ties never investigated it. The work would have been idle
 Since then the white fishermen have had the field to themselves. As before stated, they explore it with great net, 300 fathoms or 1,8O0 feet, in length The top of the net is supported by corks, the bottom weighted with lead. When no Instructions are en- the net drifts along evenly with the tide, and the moment the fish strike it and ensnare themselves it is hauled in. The fisherman can tell by the corks where the captives are struggling, and he hau1s in that portion only. Sometimes, however, @ great school of freshly run sal mon, mad to reach the headwaters, dash against the whole length of the net and then comes the tug of war. In dull times, when the salmon are scarce, the fisherman has his patience sorely tried by the seals, who will watch the net as carefully as he does himself and rob it before his eyes. The seal has weakness for the jowl of the salmon, and will offer his epicurean palate only that portion. Having taken one bite of the fish he losses it aside, and in this manner