South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-07-20

: Indian treaties formerly made BY
/ United states government are now
respected! Lands ana streams coded
in early days. BY treaty. reserve for
| the Indians. unrestricted hunting and
| fishing rights which they continue 10
enjoy In or out or season. The Lewis
| and Clark canoe expedition came
down the Columbia river iH 1906.
/ Tepees OF canoe Indians dotted the
/ shore line. wnere now the iron horse
/ OF the Union Pacific LAYS down "a
/ smoke barrage. whistling back q
! challenge. which echoes and reverb
crates through the many adjacent
| canyons The Horse Indians then
roamed the plains in quest Of large
1 game. Turbulent history Of both
tribes linser IN the memory Of ore
eon pioneers.
The annual salmon run. from salt
20 fresh water. could be depended
upon as a never disappointing event.
/ The appearance Of migrating fish was
| announced by signal fires on noun
/ tain tops while a fect-footed runner.
bearing salmon stick of manzanita
wood was dispatched TO inland tribes
The Horse lCUplandersJ became the
guests of the Canoe Fish E.aters)
Indians who furnished canoes. nets
| and superintended the fish catch
then exchanged for dried buffalo
! meat or venison Jerk. A combIna-
ton carnival of tribal sports was
staged during the hsh curing pc
riod) when the gambling spirit rar
riot
The guest Of GOV. Ben w Olcott
/, Ct Oregon, / was present during the
! salmon run of 1918: visiting at the
same time national and state fish
| hatCheries on the Columbia river
We found at the mouth Of the White
salmon creek, an extensive Indian
| village. populated with Multnomas.
KHckitas and Yakimas, remnants
of once mighty tribes. now an aggre-
cation of dirty, lazy degenerates.
Seated on the bank, wrapped in their
faded blankets. they waited for the
United States hatchery crew, TO
catch and strip the FISH of their
spawn, then giving the rsh TO In
dians, who cleaned and cut the meat
into strips, which were suspended on
poles. TO be sun-cured and fly blown,
or hung over smudse fires and
smoked for winter use. Their camp
was overrun with cur dogs and I'M
sanitary papOOses Many natives
were so old their skin had taken on
the appearance of parchment In
quiry of a natives age. elected the
answer. NMebbe one hundred, meb-
be two hundred years old" They
certainly Looked the part.
Continuously barefooted, the bot
tom of their feet much resembled
those Of a dog An old squaw step
ped upon a live coal of fire. when
her attention was attracted by the
smell Of cooking meat, she slowly
moved her foot and stepped aside.
Royal Chinook salmon ascend the
river in countless numbers, imbued
/ with the instinct of production.
Swimming against swift currents,
jumping and leaping over cascades,
| TO reach a spot where their eggs can
he deposited in fresh water Having
| spawned and milted. both male and
female stricken and die. never re-
turning TO salt water Young salmon
remain IN fresh water until four or
five inches in length, at which time
they go out to sea, where they re-
| main approximately four years. then
| return 10 their native waters to
| spawn and die. Females dig their
nests in gravel beds. depositing
! eggs, which are fortified by the
male, who then covers the nest with
| gravel Salmon travelling up river
hug shore lines TO avoid excessive
currents. Mans ingenuity again be-
! comes apparent Scoop or fish
wheels "a Columbia river product)
are located near shore. 10 be turned
and operated by force of the current
| Fish swim into the submerged box
| buckets to be raised and automatic
ally emptied into receptacles. Carl
| Shoemaker. state game warden OF
I Oregon. branded scoop wheels, legal
/ when placed a distance of 900 feet
apart. Those Cascaret wheels, work
ing while one sleeps. are most pro-
ductive Of results. At one wheel, Il
ton of fish were caught. while an
adjacent purse net, accounted for so
ton in a single day. at the mouth
of White salmon creek, the hatchery
crew had a swinging gate. FISH could
ascend through the trap. but it was
impossible 10 return. Fish were then
netted. an iacisiOn made in the belly
exposing about two quarts approx
imately S.O0O) eggs. about the size
Of a pea OF rich amber color. strip
ped into shallow pans. the ova was
fortified with milt of the male. TAX
en- 10 the hatchery, where about 90
percent Of the eggs prove fertile,
Matching in about 60 days After
stripping the fish were given TO wait
ing Indians Fish do not feed dur
ing the spawning season, the male
/ becomes pugnacious. fighting a buzz
saw If challenged. Salmon develop
marvellous strength stemming the
swiftest currents with little effort
Get chummy with the chilly sis
tiers, Exercise and exposure attunes
ones system 20 natures varying
moods. incidentally challenging the
reign OF Jack Frost. Fishing