SUCKLE Y MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 107 



1807, on the lOtli of April. Major G. I. Kaius, United States Arnij^, no- 

 ticed them at the latter place in 1854, on the 28th of April, and I m,yself 

 saw the first of the season in 1855, April 11. George Gibbs, esq., in 

 mss. notes informs me that iu 1853 the same species were "in season" 

 at the mouth of the Columbia on the 20th of April. 



The quinnat, iu an economical point of view, is by far the most valu- 

 able salmon of any species found in Oregon. The extreme richness and 

 delicacy of its flesh cause it to be much preferred for salting, and were 

 it not for the hitherto high prices of labor, barrels, and salt, it would 

 have, ere this, been found a staple article of export from the Columbia. 

 In numbers they seem to be inexhaustible, and are readily taken in nets 

 and otherwise. Daring the "season" they are so abundantly taken at 

 tiie rapids near Dalles that, notwithstanding the high rates at which 

 most articles of domestic consumption are sold, I have frequently pur- 

 chased noble specimens of this fish, weighing twenty pounds or more, 

 each, for the small price of a quarter of a dollar. The Indians on the 

 Columbia take immense numbers, eating what they need while fresh, and 

 drying thousands for winter consumption or for trade. The principal 

 method of capture employed at the Dalles is by " scooping" at random 

 in the rapid water as it passes a projecting rock along the banks of the 

 stream. The salmon, keeping close to the shore, in order to avoid the 

 force of the current, take advantage of " shore eddies" in their ascent. 

 The Indian selects a proper location, generally by a projecting rock, upon 

 which he builds a platform, and with a "scoop-net" about four feet in 

 diameter, attached to a long pole, rapidl}^ sweeps the water below. The 

 net passing down with the current, and immersed four or five feet below 

 the surface, is alternately dipped and drawn up, again to be plunged in the 

 boilingwaters above. Daring the height of tbeseasou it isuotuucommon 

 for a single man thus to take twenty or thirty fish in an hour. The 

 time chosen is usually during the long twilight of the evening or early 

 morning. Whether this is because the fish do not "run" during the 

 the bright hoiu-s of the day, or because they, seeing better, avoid the 

 net, I am in doubt. 



For subsequent consumption the salmon are split o]3en and the entrails 

 and back-bone taken out; they are then hung up in the lodges to dry in 

 the smoke. When perfectly dry they are packed iu bundles and kept 

 iu baskets or mats, and in some places, as along the river from Walla- 

 WaUa to Fort ColviUe, large stores are placed on platforms raised on 

 poles some twelve or fifteen feet from the ground. This is to protect 

 them from the ravages of the wolves. To guard agaiust rain and the 

 plundering i)ropensities of crows, magpies, and ravens, they are covered 

 with mats or strips of bark, and occasionally with rough-hewn boards. 

 No salt is used by the savages in preparing the fish; nevertheless, the 

 food thus preserved keeps in good order for several years. 



Four undoubted specimens of the S. quinnat * are in the Smithsonian 



* A much fuller collcctiou iu tlie proscut day. 



