BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 225 



their waists and often up to their necks, could not endure it long with- 

 out severe suffering - . Fortunately, I had with me a force of resolute 

 men who were daunted at nothing-, and through their courage and reso- 

 lution these and all other obstacles were overcome. The space to be 

 bridged over was one hundred and five feet, or, with the corral exten- 

 sion, one hundred and fifty feet. The line was made across the river 

 at nearly right angles with the current. The water was from four to 

 eight feet deep, and running with tremendous force. The river-bed was 

 of loose, detached rocks, varying from a pound to half a ton in weight. 

 We began the work by felling logs in the woods, cutting them into 

 twelve-foot lengths and hewing off' the ends square. Three of these 

 lengths were then laid together horizontally and in the form of a tri- 

 angle, and the ends firmly pinned together with wooden pins. Another 

 similar triangle was then made and placed over the first, then another 

 and another, and so on till the structure reached the required height 

 to support the bridge at a suitable distance above the surface of the 

 water. When this was finished the men waded out with it, with great 

 labor, to its place in the river and fastened it there with cables till it 

 was banked up with rocks, and the hollow space inside was also filled 

 with rocks. When this was done, we had a solid stone pier, resting on 

 the bottom of the river, which the current was unable to move. Another 

 similar pier was then built and placed, and then another and another 

 at suitable intervals, till the other side of the river was reached. The 

 tops of the piers were then connected with logs hewn square and pinned 

 to the piers with strong wooden pins. This completed the bridge. 

 When it is remembered that we had neither horses nor derricks, but 

 relied entirely on our physical strength to do all the work, it will be 

 seen that it was no trifling undertaking. Nothing was yet accomplished, 

 however, in arresting the passage of the salmon, as the space below the 

 bridge was, of course, except at the piers, entirely open to them. It, 

 therefore, now remained to dam the rapid and powerful current so that 

 the salmon could not pass. After some deliberation it was decided to 

 make this dam of poles about two inches in diameter, placed nearly ver- 

 tically in the river, with the upper ends resting on the side of the bridge, 

 and the lower ends against the bottom of the river. To facilitate the 

 work of placing the poles, we concluded to make a regular fence of them, 

 laying poles side by side about one inch and a half apart, and inserting 

 both ends of each pole into a strong cross-piece of hewn timber run- 

 ning at right-angles with the poles. This having been decided on, the 

 next thing was to get the poles. We required a thousand. The near- 

 est that could be found in any quantity were in a forest four miles off, 

 over a rough mountain trail. I immediately fitted out an expedition 

 with axes, blankets, and provisions for four days. The thermometer 

 was ranging at that time between 100° and 110° in the shade. In the 

 sun it was hot enough to cook eggs. This made the work of lumbering 

 rather severe ; but at the end of the four days the expedition returned, 

 Bull U. S. F. C, 82 15 March 14, 1883. 



