ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS AETIFICIAL CULTURE. 299 



very few alewives iu tbe river aud no attempt liaviug been made to in- 

 troduce salmon, the fisli-way was neglected, aud went to decay. The third 

 dam is at Whitueyville, five miles above the first This is also too high 

 for salmon to pass. It was provided with a fish-way at the. same time 

 as the second dam, and as in that case the structure became useless by 

 neglect. 



9. — WESCONGUS, OB PLEASANT KlYER. 



About seventy-five salmon are, it is estimated, caught in this river 

 yearly. In 1872 the high state of the water enabled a greater j)ropor- 

 tion than usual to pass the lower fiills at Columbia, where they are 

 usually caught, and reach their breeding-grounds. The catch of that 

 year was consequently light. They are taken altogether with dip-nets, 

 the use of other nets being forbidden by law. One is now and then 

 caught six or seven miles below Columbia Falls, in some one of the 

 weirs built for herring in the estuary into which the river flows. The 

 fishing at Columbia Falls begins about the middle of June and lasts un- 

 til September ; by this time their quality here has deteriorated so that 

 the inhabitants do not consider them edible, and take more i)ains to 

 give them a passage up the river. They are not supposed to ascend 

 the river more than six miles, where all, or nearly all, of them are 

 stopi)ed by difficult falls. In the spawning season they are frequently 

 seen in a small branch that enters the main river about three miles 

 above Columbia Falls. In size the salmon of this river appear to be not 

 far from the average of other rivers — perhaps a little smaller — " averag- 

 ing," says my informant,* " from seven to twelve pounds." Occasion- 

 ally one of five pounds is taken, very rarely one of three pounds, and 

 one smaller than this is hardly ever seen or heard of. 



There are sis dams across the main river, in height varying from five 

 to seven feet; one of them is out of use. Two of them are in close prox- 

 imity to each other at Columbia Falls; one of these is provided with a 

 fish-way, and salmon find means to pass them both. 



10. — NAERAGUAGUS EIVER. 



This river once yielded great numbers of salmon and alewives. They 

 were plenty until forty or fifty years ago. One old gentleman testifies 

 to having once, with the assistance of two others, taken at Cherryfield 

 forty salmon one morning between daylight and sunrise. Other simi- 

 lar feats are told. Small vessels came here to load with fish. Salmon 

 were caught with drift-nets, spears, aud dip-nets. They were mostly 

 taken between May first and the middle of July, in the lower part of 

 the river, within a mile of the head of the tide, but they were frequently 

 caught at Beddington Lake, sixteen miles farther up. At the spawn- 

 ing season a great many used to be seen at the mouths of Salmon and 

 Schoodic Brooks, which appear to have been favorite spawning-grounds. 



Dams were built in the river at an early day, but until within about 

 fifty years there was none that seriously hindered the ascent of salmon. 

 X " Mr. Gowin Wilsou, of Columbia Falls. 



