El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-28
SaImOnFiirst CannedIn 1864
over $50. 100000 Is Invested In the
Salmon Industry on the
Pacific Coast.
-RE Ereleric j. Haskin ---

wTAsHINGTON D. C, Nov rs

/ = W = ASdlNAIION- u. - nov 20
! M Excepting the oyster and the
herring. the salmon has the
! greatest commercial value of any fish
| and the salmon fisheries of the Pa
/ cific coast produce the finest in the
( world. The American salmon fishing
I interests, including California, oregon,
! W Washington and Alaska, together with
( British Columbia, represent millions of
I dollars of investment and produce mil
/ lions Of dollars OF output annually
/ Five species of salmon are found in the
/ northern Pacific waters, the most I'm
pOrtant and best known of which is
the chinook, Quinnat and king salmon.
The first salmon canning factory in
I the United States was erected by
1 George Hume, on the Sacramento river
in 1864. At first no one would accept
/ the new product and Mr. Hume used to
! fill q basket with cans of salmon and
start and distribute it gratuitOUsIy
among his neighboTs who in this way
became acquainted with its good quail
tiles.
Changes Color With Seasons.
The king salmon changes color some
what with the season. In the spring
the body is silvery with more or less
! numerous round black spots upon the
back, dOrsal fin and caudal In and
the sides of the head have a luSter re-
Sembling tin. In the fall the color is
in some places black or a dirty red The
average weight Of this fish is about
p pounds, but individual fish weigh
ing from 20 TO 100 pounds are some
times taken. One salmon was caught
in KlaWak, Alaska, in 1909, which
weighed 109 pounds dressed and with
out the head In most of the places the
flesh is of a deep salmon red, but in
some localities, especially southeast
Alaska Bristol Bay, Puget Sound and
British Columbia, sometimes as large a
proportion as One-third of the fish viii
have white flesh. Sometimes a fish
viii be found with one side Of its body
red and the other white, or with mot
tied flesh, and so far no satisfactory
explanation has been given for these
peCuliSrities.
There is a great deal Of mystery
about the salmon. 1t is known that
the fish is born in fresh water and
goes out into the ocean Tor the active
part of its life; but how far it goes,
what its food consists of, and how
long IL remains away, no one can say.
Sometimes there have been great
schools of them found hundreds of
miles from land, but they were always
headed towards the land. They travel
in such numbers that the smaller
streams are sometimes almost chOked
with them.
When returning from sea. salmon will
go as near the head waters Of a stream
as they can get. In Alaska, when the
schools are coming in. il is not unusual
to see fine specimens batter themselves
almost to pieces IN their attempt to
jump falls which are too high for
them For this attempt they will re-
tire down the stream for some distance,
make a flying rush and then leap up
ward out of the water to an Incredible /
height
The sockeye or blue back salmon,
which forms the gree test part of the
canned salmon OF the world, is smaller,
the maximum weight being II pounds
and the length three feet, while the aV-
erage weight is not more than five
pounds. In Alaska the sOckeye Is gen I
orally known as the red salmon, be-
cause it has considerable crimson in its !
q = 10
Sacramento river, but IS most frequent
in the Fraser river and all Of the
coastal streams of British Columbia, /
while Alaska furnishes the greatest /
American supply.
The Columbia river has produced !
more salmon than any other river IN
the world Many years before the ad-
vent of the white man, the indians Wis
tied its banks and caught and pre-
served their annual supply OF winter ]
fish food. In 1888 a small trading slOop I
under command Of Capt Lamont came /
into the Columbia and dropped anchor !
near what is now known as st. Hell /
ems While waiting for a return cargo, /
the captain sailed down a number of /
Jamaica rum kegs for the purpose !
This is the first record of tho export Z
Of this fish.
The first fishing operation by white I
men was begun soon after the settle I
ment of what is now Seattle, in 1852. I
The fish was sold either fresh or sailed /.
Sound was erected in 1877.
Employment for $4,000.
According to the detailed reports of !
the Pacific salmon industry, S25.15T,SlS !
is invested in its apparatus and build ;
ings. More than half of this sum is !
invested in Alaska. Nearly 10000 men, /
women and children are employed {
About tWO-thirds of these are white /
and the balance are Chinese. Japanese !
and indians. The total products for the /
year 1903 were 365,336,4S2 pounds, /
which yielded to the fishermen the
gOOdly sum of S7,224024. These figures /
refer only TO Alaska and the three (
states of Oregon. California and Wash !
ingtOn. The yield Of British Columbia
did not fan far behind.
The Pacific coast yields a number Of !
other valuable fish products one of the
most important Of which is halibuL !
There is also a considerable amount of I
cod to be found upon the Pacific coast !
and il is believed that this fish can be 4
cultivated to such a degree that the /
western cod fisheries Of the future may
rival those Of the east in importance. ]
Herring Oil and Fertilizer.
Another important feature of the Pa
cific coast fisheries is the herring in /
dustry. The herring catch of Alaska
last year amounted to more than II, 600
tons and that of the Pacific coast to
about a sixth Of that. A plant at Kills
noe, Alaska, has for a number Of years
been making a fertilizer and oil from
herring. turning out an average of
100. 900 barrels yearly.
1t is said now that about $4,000 tons
OF cheap sailed herring could be mar
keted each year in the Asiatic countries
at from $50 ton upwards To many it /
would seem that this would be a more
profitable utilization of the fish than in
the manufacture of fertilizer and oil.
Applications have been made by a num-
Der of trade organizations for locations
IN Alaska TO prepare herring for the
Atlantic trade and to employ japanese
labor in doing it. but there is strong
upon the ground that this
would tend to rob the government of /
one Of its greatest resources in Alaska I
and prevent the settlement of that ter /
ritOry by a desirable class of citizens
by the admission and encOurag cement Of (
these ASiatic operators