272 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Gordon's Falls, 13 feet liigli. These fisli were put in at Bancroft, Eaton, 

 and Kingman, on the EurojDean and North American Railroad. The dam 

 at Kingham is 13 feet; at Slewgundy, 14 feet ; at Gordon's Falls, 13 feet, 

 and yet a salmon has been hooked on a trout fly at Bancroft, and sal- 

 mon are seen in the river at Kingman, and between the dams at Slew- 

 guu<ly and Gordon's Falls. * * * The dealers in our city have re- 

 tailed this season 50 tons Penobscot salmon, and aboutS tons Saint John 

 salmon ; it all sells as Penobscot salmon. Saint John salmon costs here, 

 duty and all included, about 14 cents per pound. Our first salmon sells 

 at $1 per pound, and so on down to 12^ cents the last of the season. 

 Salmon at Bucksport has sold to dealers here at 8 cents. Two tons 

 taken at Bucksport and Orland in 24 hours. Average price at retail 

 here for whole season, 25 cents. 



Truly, vours, 



E. M. STILWELL. 



State of Maine, Department of Fisheries, 



Bangor, October 4, 1879. 

 Dear Professor : My delay in replying to your kind letter has been 

 from no want of courtesy, but a desire to send you the required "data" 

 you asked. Neither myself nor Mr. Atkins have been able to procure 

 them. The weir fishermen keep no records at all, and it is difllicult to 

 obtain from them anything reliable ; while the fishermen above tide 

 water are a bad set of confirmed poachers, whose only occupation is 

 hunting and fishing both in and out of season. They are always jeal- 

 ous and loth to let us know how good a thing they make of it, for fear 

 of us and fear of competition from their own class. Four or five years 

 since I put in some 300,000 salmon fry into the Mattawamkeag at Ban- 

 croft, Eaton, Ivingsmore, and at Mattawamkeag village. There are 

 three dams between Mattawamkeag and Bancroft — none less than 12 

 feet high. About six weeks since Mr. Nathaniel Sweat, a railroad con- 

 ductor on the European and North American Railroad, while fishing 

 for trout from a pier above the railroad bridge at Bancroft, hooked a 

 large salmon and lost his line and flies. Salmon in great numbers have 

 been continually jumping below the first dam, which is called "Gordon's 

 Falls." My colleague, Everett Smith, of Portland, a civil engineer, 

 while making a survey for a fishway, counted 15 salmon jumping in 30 

 minutes. A Mr. Bailey, who is foreman of the repair shop at Matta- 

 wamkeag, walked up to the falls some three weeks since entirely out 

 of curiosity excited by the rumors of the sight, and counted 60 salmon 

 jumping in about an hour, within half or three-quarters of a mile of the 

 falls. This is on the IVIattawamkeag, which is a great tributary of the 

 Penobscot. On the east branch of the Penobscot there has been a 

 great run of salmon. An explorer on the AVassattaquoik reported the 

 pools literally black with salmon. A party of poachers, hearing tlie 

 rumor, went in from the town of Hodgon and killed 25. I inclose you 



