Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-02-07
OUR FIsH INTEREs rs.

the State, and the one more deserving OF
praise than al others for good ard effective
work done during the past year, is the Fish
| Commission. They have been vigilant IN de-
tectiug, active in arresting and vigorous IN
! proceeding all violators of the fish laws. In
selecting Mr.. Jones as a special arresting Of
fcer the Commission used good judgment.
He is not only acquainted with all the fisher
men along the rivers, but in his rowboat he
is acquainted with and explores all the
sloughs, bayous aud tributaries thereto. Be-
fore his appointment the Chinese, Kanakas
and Greeks who lived by fishing defed the
laws of the State, as well as the officers who
sought to enforce them. During the past
year, Jones, with few brave men, invaded
by night the camps of these outlaws, and
more than 100 of them have been
CONVICTED IN THE COURTS
And fined $50 each. These fishermen are
| men not easily controlled, and will not sur
render without resistance. Knowing the
character Of the men they had to deal With,
the officers would always cGye7 hem With
their guns until their capture was complete
and satisfactory. The Othcsrs never use
force or violence unless the same becomes sn
y
during the year. and he was shot by Mr..
Jones 10 self.defense.
A few days ago four men were captured IN
a slough not far from Rio Vista fishing with
nets, the meshes of which were less than the
legal size, u inches in length. They were
taken to Rio Vista and lodged in jail. Yes
terday one of them pleaded guilty and was
fined $50. The others will stand trial.
Commissioner Buckingham says it is re-
| hat bar pf
Kanakas are fishing in the Sacramento river,
from Fremont up, with fyke and set nets, in
| violation of law A patrol will be sent up IN
few days, the parties arrested and their nets
confscated. These parties now practicing
their illegal vocation in the upper river are
the same that have been driven from the
bay and lower Sacramento by the officers.
With their hoop nets they take pike, perch
and small fish of all kinds, which is either
dried or sailed down.
MORE TROUT EGGS.
Commissioner Buckingham says he re-
| ceiVed, few days since, a letter from United
States Fish Commissioner Livingston Stone,
dated at Charleston, New Hampshire. He
Informs the California Commission that they
can have all the odd lots of trout eggs Matched
at the McCloud hatchery during the coming
season, and that the hatchery will be run
later IN the season than usual, just to accom-
modate and furnish the California Commits
sion with an extra and choice lot of young
trout.
A letter was also received By Mr.. Bucking.
ham from United States Fish Commissioner
Beard, stating that Mr.. Stone had been IT,
furnish if possible, the California Commits
sion with all the trout eggs they desired.
HOW THEY DO IT.
! During the past year the officers found
several hsh-packing establishments in &C.
cluded and desolste swamps, approachable
only by boats through heavy growths of tule
and eat-tails Here it was that fish, taken
| out of season and contrary to law, were
packed away in barrels and watts aud pre-
/ pared for market. From appearances, some
of these establishments had been standing
| for years, and remind one of the illicit dis
| tilleries Of the moonshiuers of Tennessee.
| Here, in the dark and dismal recesses Of a
seemingly impenetrable swamp, lived scores
| of darkskinned foreigners, who annually
| captured thousands Of dollars worth of fish
out of season and in open violation of law.
| -Four Of these establishments, fully equipped
with barrels, tanks, SALT ETC., were captured
| by Jones and his assistants. They were To-
lated as follows: One in Fisherman slough,
one in One. mile slough, enc in Three-mile
| slough, and one in Seven-mile slough.
! THE -DACE A FISH OF THE PAST.
| An old fisherman, in conversation with
reporter Of the RECORD. UNION yesterday,
said that il early days the Sacramento river
was full Of dace, a fish resembling somewhat
| the pike, but as a food fish equal almost to
! the perch. He said in 1854 he saw l, 400
pounds of dace taken from one net in the
Sacramento river at point about opposite
where the gas works now stand. The dace
! began to gradually disappear about 1860, and
! for the past eight years they have been re-
| gsrded as an extinct species. He added that
| he had in the early days taken ], 400 pounds
of perch from the Sacramento river in one
day, whereas now all tie fishermen on the
river during an entire season do not capture
a ton. When asked how he accounted for the
disappearance of the dace, and the scarcity Of
salmon and perch, he replied that it was
owing to several causes. First, Illicit fishing
second, rsclamatioE-the closing up Of the
oushs OF sloughs third, slickens, which de-
stroyed the spawning grounds on the Ameri-
car, Feather and Yuba rivers, lie said the
storing of wafer in the mountains, also, had
something to do with it. In the early
days OF California the salmon fishing in the
American, near its mouth, was the finest in
the world. He had known fishermen to
spread fifteen nets in that portion of the river,
and would average each night from 60 to 100
| salmon to a net.
Observation-Disclosures Bsrwick re-
ports as follows: The barometer reached
lower point at I P. N. yesterday than was
ever recorded during February, and it is the
lowest the barometer has been since 1850,
when it reached a little lower than yester-
day. 1t occurred on December 18th, and
J ~ . bo hat II IS
rain. The barometer has been lower than
yesterday, but such low barometers are
| usually rare. The following is the lowest for
each year since 1877, the lowest being re-
| corded in 1879 on November 9Th The low
| est barometer in 1877 was 9.56, July II h
/ in 1873, % IS, January 10th; in 1879, $3.50,
| November oh; in 1880, % 40, December
! lash 10 1881, % 80, September n in 1882,
! % 90, March 18th in 1888. % 81, October
81 in 1884, % 10. February 9th. The above
readings are correct for elevate n-that is,
.0S of an inch added to the barometer read
1 ings. The rainfall to date for February is
SO inches; for the season, 6S inches.
! lhe season Of 1877 s to q corresponding date
is 1927 inches 1889. ) inches: lS79-SO,
I Is inches; lSS0-i,, 2004 inches; 1SSl-2,
50 inches; 1898, 9.7S inches; 1883 /,
Is inches. The average for seven years
past is % inches The present season is
, IS inches less than a seven years average
The temperature, wind and weather. at u NJ
yesterday, was For Olympia 81, north
east and clear: Portland, 81, cas-, and clear :;
Fort Candy, SO, northeast and cls ar 4; Rose
burg, So, northwest and cloudy Meud)cino,
80, northwest and fair; Red Bluff, AZ,
Eor.h and clear; Sacramento, IL, west aud
clear; san Francisco, AS, northwest and
cloudy; Los Angeles, 81. northwest and
| threatening Salt Lake, 81, northwest and
threatening; Cheyenne, IL, southeast and
light snow: Denver, IL, north and light
snow North Platte, g., north ami clear
Omaha, u, north and lair.
SUICIDE EARLY yesterday morning a Ger.
man named c. Msuthy was found dead in
bed st the E1ner Hotel, and su empty bottle
labeled "prussic acid" on table in bis room
indicated that he had committed suicide
lie retired to bad about II o'clock Tuesday
night, without having given any indication
of dissatisfaction with life. His business
istterly has been that Of agent for an insur-
auce company. He was about IS years Of
age. Deceased leaves q daughter, aged IA,
and two grown sons The Chief Of Police
received a dispatch from one Of them yes
terday, saying that he had received letter
from his father to the effect that be was CO.
ing to commit suicide, and a request was
made that the Chief prevent his doing Sc.
The dispatch came too late. Coroner Clark