Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-16

he hoists his sail, lights the fire in his
little stove and cooks breakfast while
slowly tacking UP the mighty river
Other Methods of Catching Salmon
There are other methods besides the
one mentioned of capturing salmon. In
Bakers bay, near the mouth of the
Columbia, four hundred fish traps lure
the salmon to his death. Long nets
to 600 feet into the river, are sup
ported by small piles. The unwary
salmon, swimming sturdily up the cur
rent with thousands of his mates, Is
turned aside by the leaders and be-
comes entangled in the meshes that
form the trap.
Farther up the river immense seines,
half mile long, dispute the way of
the salmon as he passes over a bar
and thousands are caught this way
and horses. struggling in the breast
high current, the ends of the net are
drawn together and the Hopping fish
are hauled high on the sandy beach,
1t would seem impossible for any
fish to escape into tae upper river,
yet at the Cascades, 200 miles from
the sea, and again at the Grand Dalles,
nearly fifty miles farther, gigantic
fish wheels, operated by the current,
scoop up thousands of the refugees.
The fish that escape all the snares
laid for them by the greedy fishermen
climb the falls at Cello and mount
higher into the little tributaries in
Idaho and British Columbia. There
they deposit their spawn and die.
Eggs Eaten by Other Fish
Investigation has proved that of the
eggs which the salmon lays, over so
per cent are eaten by other fish. Arti-
sary in order that the supply of fish
be maintained, and this has been done
extensively and successfully. over
100000 chinook salmon fry have
been planted in the Columbia river and
its tributaries since 1895. A short closed
season is provided by law in order that
the fish hatcheries, which are operated
by the United States government and
the states of Oregon and Washington,
may secure supply of fish from
which to obtain the spawn.
OF the five varieties of salmon
found in the Columbia and it's tributar-
les, chinooks, blueback, silverside, dog,
and humpback-the chinook is by far
the most valuable, although all are of
commercial Importance. The hump
back is rarely found. Chinooks bring
on the average five cents a pound at
the canneries, but the price varies ac-
cording to the size of the pack.
While cold storage and pickling
plants have within recent years done
a profitable business, canning salmon is
still the principal industry. Last year
the Columbia river pack amounted to
twenty million pound cans. The pro-
cess of canning is not complicated, |
The fisherman unloads his haul at the |
cannery, and the fish are weighed; and |
then washed and cleaned and sent to
the cutting tables. There they are
placed under circular or semi-circular
saws, which separate the different parts
into suitable sizes and shapes for the
various cans. They are then taken to
the packing tables where deft fingers
of Cinnamon fill the cans and pass
them to the washing machines, where
they are again cleaned. The tops are
then put onto the cans and the fish is
thoroughly cooked by steam.
Big Salmon in Cold Storage
Chinook salmon weighing over twen-
y-five pounds are those selected for
cold storage treatment. The cold stor-
lge pack for 1904 amounted to nearly
1000 tons. Those to be picked are split
,pen. cleaned and deprived of their
ZONES. They are then placed in huge
asks and the casks are sealed. Most
# the salmon preserved in this way are
Ihipped to Germany by way of Cape
Horn, and there served as table deli
acies. Some of the salmon are smoked
md a few steeheads are packed in
asks, covered with water and frozen
old. Chinese labor is employed in the
for the most part, but the
'osses are all white men. The can