The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-11-10
Fishes of the Upper Country.

Capt. Charles Bendire of the 1st
Cavalry, stationed at Walla Walla, is
a naturalist of requirements. The
United States National Museum has
lately received from him a collection
of fishes from the neighhOrhOod of
Fort Walla Walla, which is 10y far
the most valuable collection of fishes
ever made in the waters of the Upper
Columbia. In speaking of it Prof. D.
s. Jordan says: 1.-THE series is es-
pecially valuable, as it throws much
light upon the life history of the blue
back salmon or "red fish," and shows
apparently beyond doubt what no
one had before suspected; so far as l
know that the supposed land locked
little red salmon found in Wallowa
Lake, Oregon and Payette, and Sal
Lakes, l. T., is nothing but the young
breeding of the blue back salmon.'
Accompanying the collection there
are many valuable field notes on the
different species. He gives the fol-
lowing description of the celebrated
"red fish" of Wallowa Lake as fol-
lows: upper half and sides of back
bright scarlet red, posterior parts
shading off to a bright crimson, the
two upper fins same color as the back,
lower fins blueish OH lower parts, the
upper ends greenish olive, belly blue
ish, whole upper part of head light
greenish yellow, showing in strong
contrast to the body, base of upper
jaw steel blue, lower jaw blueish
white. The only place l saw any Of
these fish was on the bar, near the
head of Wallowa Lake, where they
can be seen in schools of 10000, more
at almost any time during the month
of August and later. Among any
number of fish is almost an endless
variation in color, caused, perhaps,
by some remaining longer in the lake
than others. After death, within
half an hour the color of these fish
rapidly changes. Nearly everyone
out here now comedies that the ''red
fish, is not a resident of the lakes
wherein it is found, and l am per-
fectly satisfied that they are anadrO.
surely cannot all die after spawning,
and sometimes one tEtt weighs as
much as ten pounds is caught, and
this fish is certainly older than five
FOUNDER; and it would not be pre-
suming too much to assert that a SAL
mon of this size must have made
more than one trip to sea-" In speak,
ing of trout from Waha Lake, l. T.,
which has no visible outlet, he says:
"All the fish caught there are apout
the same size, from to 10 inches
long. l believe 1t is new species or
variety, as no similar looking trout
tare found in the streams or lakes in
the neighborhood." And the Bull
trout of C9ur d'Alene Lake, he says:
"rhe lake contains some large fish,
particularly among the Bull trout, of
which specimens have been caught
weighing ten pounds and over. The
Bull trout seems to bear his name all
over this section of the country,
while for the others there are numer-
Ous names, no two parties agreeing
The more l see of these trout the less
hopeful 1 become of adding new spe-
cies among this family, and do not
believe that over four kinds are to be
found in this upper country.
| Anything tending to throw light on
the history of the salmonide of this
coast will be of great interest, as it is
a vexed question, and one of which
very little is known 1t is. probable,
that these fish change SO very mater
tally In their appearance according to
their age, condition and surrounding,
that the same variety is known by
different names at different places,
and from this fact arises many of the
Misunderstanding in regard to the
habits of these fish.