Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1900-07-26

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and al. Every morning the owners
Of the traps, II their boats, haul up
the nets. and, II a goo3 season, ind
them alive with the founderns sal
non, who have been bUtans their
heads into the piles and nets al night,
IN vain struggle 10 escape. some
times a big, powerful fellow actually
rsn3s a net and escapes, but he usU-
49,, finds himself in another Jrap IN
few minutes.
The money Invested IN traps in
Bakers bay IS enormous, as each Jrap
Is an expensive affair, requiring many
| feet OF net, and the driving Of a large
number Of piles. Most Of the traps
/ IN the river are IN Bakers bay, whose
waters are within the limits o; the
State O. Washington, and the amount
that 5 paid into the State every year
| Tor licenses : very large. Here and
there along tie Oregon shore Of the
Columbia, a,mos, as far up as the Cas-
cade Locks, are 70 be found a few
traps. but their number IS nothing Ike
as great as ,ha; Of the ;raps Oh the
Washington side.
The mos. deadly Of all the foes Of
the salmon however. awaits him :u-;h-
er along on his Journey up the ryer.
That IS the fsl wheel, an ingenious
/ contrvauce which was invented on
the Columbia river. and which gives
the salmon who suters is long lead
absolutely 10 CHARGE for his life Up
the Columbia, from Rooster Rock 70
the Cascade Locks, and again IN the
vicinity Of The Da,ies, these wheels
scores OF thsm-may be seen working
any day during the fishing season.
Sometimes, when the run Is large, they
are pitching salmon out 0: the river
faster almost than the attendants can
take care Of them.
The wheels consist Of large. shallow
nets. arranged about central az.es,
Ike the fans Of a windmill, and Dip
ping into the river Ike an undersho;
wheel, the current turning them slow
| " around. Long ".eadways are
built out into the river to defect the
fish into the channel under the wheels,
and, as they swim up stream, they
suddenly ind themselves lifted into
the air, shot down into a trough, and
thence to the slippery deck Of scow
or platform. where pile Of their fel-
lows are breathing their last.
The spring Chinook salmon, which
comes only into the Columbia nyer, is
admitted to be the finest fish Of his
kind that swims in Pacific waters. A.
though his average weight is between
ten and twenty pounds, the Chinook
sometimes run as high as sixty pounds,
and the man who gets one Of these
fellows in his net usually knows that
he has caught something before be
gets him out. He Is worth the trouble
it takes to get him, however, for at 6
cents pound he IS worth $500 at the
canneres and viii bring a great deal
more than that in the Portland mar
ket, where big fish are highly priced.
The spring run Of fish is the main
stay of the canneries, although the
run Of "silyersides, which come in the
fall, always goes to help out the pack.
The "steelhesd, the finest fish of all
for freezing and smoking, runs in the
winter, and a sprinkling Of them
comes with the run ofChinooks. These
are the fish that rise to a spoon at
Orange City, and for which Rudyard
Kipling angled at the Clackamas
hatchery. The "bluebacks,' small
but delicious fish, come with the last
Of the Chinooks. They are not Of
sufficient size to be of much CONNER
cial Importance, but they are a fine
fish for the table.
In the early days Of the settlement
of the country along the banks Of the
Columbia and It's tributaries, salmon,
in the spring season, were actually so
thick at the head waters Of the streams
as almost to Justify the statement that
a man could cross the water upon their
backs and hardly wet his feet. So
great was the rush to get up stream
that in shallow places many fish IN
the great schools Sere forced clear out
of the water by their fellows and died
along the banks. But year after year
the fisherman has been reaping where
he never sowed, and gradually the run
Of fish has decreased, till It has threat
ened to cease altogether. This haa
been prevented by the Inauguration
of methods of artificial propagation
which it is now admitted has greatly