The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1893-12-15
Dog Salmon as Food.

| 600 cans and represents a very salts
| factory output, considering the cOndi-
tions which prevail everywhere. This
product has been caught by 100 fisher
men, 81 trap men, packed by 81 China
men, helped in various ways by ID
other men, making about 200 employees
in all. The Cinnamon were paid by
| the case. Fishermen have made about
$3.50 to the boat, or 1919 to the man,
during the season. Both the fishermen
and the trap men have had an UMPIRE
cedented catch this season. The for
mer have earned altogether about $685.
600 and the latter $4,000, and 200
men have made enough to support
them, if they live economically, for II
whole year although the season is not
more than three months long
Dog salmon are more numerous IN
Gray's harbor at times than elsewhere,
and the immense waste of these beau
tiful fish during the canning season
has led the writer to make some inves-
tigation of the respective merits o.
the fish as compared with the silver
sides.
Aside from the question of merit as
TO quality of flesh there is one quality
or rather characteristic of the dog sal
mon not possessed by either the silver
side or black salmon, which charac-
teristic renders the dog salmon far
more valuable to the ranchers OF this
county than either That characteris-
tic is that the dog salmon enter the
small streams and never stop until
they have gone to the very source.
| The streams that enter the harbOr
have channels extending clear out to
the main channel of the haroor, and
as soon as the dog salmon come to
these channels they Immediately
begin the ascent of the streams, If it
is ebb tide, for then the current is per
ceptlble. They travel up these stream
at speed as variable as the rivers
themselves are different as to depth of
water and amount of obstruction. The
writer caught one by thrusting the
fork through the tail. Tieing small
cord to it he put it back into the river.
Just twenty-four hours later he caught
it Just three-fourths of a mile away,
while three silver sides took just twelve
hours to travel about half the distance.
From which it is seen that these fish
ascend the streams in which consider
able obstruction is found at less than a
mile day
} The dog salmon come by hundreds
and by thousands. They reach the
, | o. lO oh
October 18th, and pour up the shallow
waters in one constant procession for
thirty days unless big freshet comes
, and sweeps them back to the harbor
1t is when they are clambering over
each other crossing the shoals and
maneuvering for a favorable chance to
) get over or under some obstruction
that they are particularly accessible to
the rancher He can wade in and
drag out as many as he wishes, take
his. choice and has twenty or thirty
days to do it in.
! Now if these fish are good for food
they are, without doubt, a very great
b resource to the rancher, remembering
that smoked salmon sells at Is cents
; per pound, and thousand pounds are
! worth Yl0O to the man who can use it.
, | have before me two smoked fish,
a silver side and one dog salmon. The
silver side was brought along with
twenty-four others, from the cannery.
The dog salmon was caught at nv
door five miles from the har5or at West
t Aberdeen. Both were cleaned in the
same manner. sailed for thirtv-six
t hours, then hung up in a small house
and smoked for seven days. As they
were cut open down the backbone
1 spread out and kept so with small
4 sticks they are flat in the shape of a
!. angle. Those two fish were of the
: same size, but the silver side is heavier
/ and its flesh is somewhat thicker
/ which two things are to the advantage
OF that red fish. as for the same
f. amount of labor one would get more
o food. They are Of nearly the same
r color, the silver side being slightly red
o dish. The dog salmon can scarcely be
y told from piece of dried beef Living
: side by side on the table, the silver
q side appears redder, but when picked
TO pieces there is no apparent differ
ence between the size of the fbres
; which would indicate that the dog
salmon is no cOurser than it's more
beautiful brother. But the silver sides
breaks up into smaller particles, the fl
bres separating easily and breaking in.
to small bits, actually crumbling tc
pieces IN the mouth, while the dog sal
mon breaks into chunks and contains
: less OIL. Doubtless that the oil that
i the silver side contains gives to it its
4 particular taste and in that onlv can
: the two fish be really said to differ
J, Inc silver side Is superior to dried beef
t IN taste and ease of preparation at the
e table. while the dog salmon is it's equal
III either. The silverside is delicacv
Y Its color alone recommending it to the
h eplcure, while the dog salmon is good
), food Tor any one who would consider
d dried beef of sufficient merit for it's use
S The result of these comparisons has
e lea the writer to ask who gave to the
s dog salmon its reputation of not being
r good food fish. There are hundreds
!, OF people today in this state who could
have had nice supply of food for win
ter, the lack OF which may cause hard
3 ship had they purchased or caught
. good qualities of these splendid fish.
4 1t seems well that people who have
not been accustomed to a country
. Astounding in such natural products
should make haste to investigate the
{ flsherles OF Western Washington.
Ledger Correspondent.
e