Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-11-08
HOW FISH ARE CAUGHT AND
KILLED .0N. THE COLUMBIA
u N.ER

-AAA1l4As 49, w. - ~ A1-@-A
EVER
A correspondent of the New York
Evening Post, writing from the salmon
fisheries on the Columbia river, gives the
following description of a most ingenious
and detestable engine Of destruction
known as the 'Snair" The owner, says
the writer, had admirably planted it just
above the Upper Cascades on the north
bank Of the river the south bank being
at that point almost impossible to the
fish. 1t is was placed just where the
swift edge of the current makes a most
inviting eddy, through which the salmon
must naturally ''run" on their way up
yhe stream. Here the current was about
Ell ght feet deep. The salmon never swim
lower than four feet below the surface.
Erected over what would be the entire
Suspended within this an immense wheel
revolved, SO adjusted on pulleys as to
rise and fall with the changing depth of
water Upon the spokes or arms of this
wheel, eight in number, were fastened as
many wire nets, each thirty feet in diam
eter, loose, baggy and movable, resem-
bling in appearance the pouch Of a IeE-
can.
The current itself is the force that
turns the wheel like an undershot. Very
slowly it goes around The great scoop
nets spread lazily through the water,
one after another, ar lust the depth where
they are the most fatal Their arms al
most pause and float motionless through
the stream. But, though slowly, the
great wheel, called from this motion the
snail, F" does move, and with just the
right tardiness, for rs the nets emerge
from the water they are so flied with
the struggling prey, that Mr. Williams,
owner of one of the wheels, pronounced
500 an average amount. 1T proper
angle above the net is turned upside
down. Its contents are dumped along
the arm OF the wheel TO what might be
termedits hub; striking it they rebound
from tie trough to the bank tits stir
ring but a cruel sight, for there are many
small and unmarketabe fish in every
"haul., The theory is that these are re-
Jmned TO the water and live, but it is
like the"returns of the killed and wound
ed after a battle-so stunned and MAIN
ed are they that but few survive.
The wheel presents busy scene, and
the profits must be enormous, for the
simple contnvance costs but about $500,
and requires bat half dozen attendants
There are four Of these wheels on the
river, and gentleman engaged in the
fishing business informed me that / he
calculation was they caught about half
the salmon that go up. There is q wheel
ON Bradford's, above Bonneville, the work
OF which has become so notorious (n0t
merely killing merchantable fish, but in
so doing destroying a dozen times as rnany
OF a size as YET TOO small for commerce.
that the public press has demanded its
suppression. But all these wheels as has
been said, are the production of brain
which aims tolive without work" PROB
ably from $500 to 5000 salmon (for pro-
prietors of the Wheels are very chary
about giving actual fgures), large and
small, are caught every hour, night and
day, Of the week, save from Saturday to
Sunday night, Compute the amount.
/ know Of enc actual catch of 6400 sal
mon in q day--large fish suitable for the
canneries. An experienced fisherman
stated it as the result Of his observation
that about one in ten were used. Even
Of the number used, packed and sent
down in barrels, one wheel kept the large
cannery at Warn endale busy all through
the season, and then the cannery could
not take care of all.