where salmon spavming could tak« place, and only a fairly early 

 run of large, strong fish could be expected to survive the 

 arduous, downstrean fingerling and upstream adult journeys* 



In order to determine whether or not salmon actually did 

 ascend to the upper reaches of the Columbia beyond the Big Bend 

 in British Columbia to spawn prior to the building of Grand Coulee 

 Dam, an inouiry was made in 1936 through J. R. Tovmsend of Vancouver, 

 B.C., who was an employee of the New England Fish Company in that 

 city, and whose sister, Mrs. A. H. Soles, was a resident of Parsons, 

 B.C., a small settlement above Golden. Mrs. Soles gathered infor- 

 mation from "l.lost all of the residents in the area". She reported 

 that since the main Columbia and most of its tributartes from the 

 Arrow Lakes to Golden is muddy due to the quantities of glacial 

 silt brought in from the snow and ice fields during the summer 

 months, no one apparently sees or reports many salmon in that 

 section of the river. Chinook salmon however still did (in 1936) 

 ascend to spawn in the Columbia River above Golden, B.C« *They 

 are first seen in the vicinity of the Salmon River, which is the 

 first clear (spring fed) tributary above Golden." These fish 

 usually appeared during the last week in August or the first week 

 in September and immediately went onto the spawning beds. All of 

 the salmon taken averaged nearly 40 pounds in weight even after 

 this long journey of some 1,200 miles from the ocean, and 50 or 

 60 pound fish were frequently seen. \/ The fish were taken 

 illegally by speers and clubs for food by Indians and by some of 

 the residents in the area, and had pink flesh and the big teeth 

 of the mature spawning adult. Mrs, Soles states that there is a 

 bridge at approximately 2 miles above the mouth of this stream 

 (the Salmon River), and that "many have seen the river under the 

 bridge packed tight with the salmon that were fighting their way 

 up stream to spavm. After spawning, the shoals below the bridge 

 were covered with dead fish." Another large "spawning bod* was 

 reported by the residents in the main Colianbia just below the 

 settlement of Athalmer^ -"fhich is approximetely 20 miles above 

 the Salmon River and just below the outlet of Vlindermere Lake. 

 "Abnormally good years of heavy runs are reported, with some 

 local residents stating that the runs were heaviest in the years 

 when the water in the Columbia is highest." This may very well 

 be true, because high water often enables a greater escapement 

 to be made through the c&mmercial and Indian fishery on the lower 

 river, and may also have made passage easier at some of the many 

 rapids in the river. These reports leave no doubt that salmon once 

 ascended the entire Coliimbia River to spawn. 



\J The large size of these fish vrould indicate that they v/ere 

 ~" probably at least 5 years of age, and their dccendants, now 

 relocated in tributaries just below Coulee Dam, may comprise 

 a considerable portion of the larger fish that are taken by 

 the lower river commercial fishery in July, 



104 



