PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 437 



wholly on vessel communication with San Francisco, many miles 

 away. In the early years the salmon were pickled and shipped to 

 San Francisco. Strono;, Baldwin & Co. started in the business as 

 early as 1859. In 1877 R. D. Hume, who had been canning salmon 

 on the Columbia River, removed to the Rogue River, and established 

 near the mouth a cannery which he operated every season (except 

 1894, when the cannery burned down) until his death in November, 

 1908, after which date it was operated by his heirs. Mr. Hume also 

 operated a large cold-storage plant at Wedderburn for several years. 



The development of the fisheries of the lower Rogue River was 

 very much hampered by the monopoly which Mr. Hume acquired 

 and maintained until his death. He bought both shores of the river 

 for 12 miles from its mouth, and also owned an unbroken frontage on 

 the ocean shore extending 7 miles north from the mouth of the river. 

 As a result of this, independent fishermen could find no convenient 

 places for landing, which was necessary in order to cure, handle, and 

 ship the fish caught. Since Mr. Hume's death the property has been 

 sold to the Macleay estate, but the people of Oregon, upon an initia- 

 tive and referendum petition, voted in 1910 to close Rogue River to 

 all commercial fishing, and it was so closed in 1911 and 1912 but re- 

 opened in 1913. A second cannery was built here in 1915 by the 

 Seaborg Canning Co. A third cannery was built in 1919, but during 

 the period from 1921 to 1926 but one was operated. Two operated in 

 1927 and 1928. 



In the upper river ranchers living along the banks have engaged in 

 fishing for a number of years, the catch for the most part being sold 

 fresh. In recent years, as the country has developed, this fishery has 

 become fairly important. 



Chetco and Windchuck Rivers. — These two unimportant streams 

 empty into the Pacific in the lower part of Curry County, not far 

 from the California line. The former is about 20 miles and the latter 

 about 25 miles in length. Both have runs of salmon, and small fish- 

 eries have been maintained for some years, the catch being either 

 pickled or sold to the California canneries. 



CALIFORNIA 



Smith River. — This river, which is the most northerly one in the 

 State, rises near the Siskiyou Mountains, and runs in a westerly 

 direction to the Pacific Ocean. 



The river has only a spring run of salmon, and the early recorded 

 history of the fisheries is fragmentary. The pickling of salmon was 

 the main business at first and has been important ever since, as the 

 cannery, which was fu-st established in 1878, operated irregularly, 

 and seems to have shut down entirely in 1895. Canning began again 

 in 1914 by H. E. Westbrook and has been prosecuted in various 

 years since. 



Klamath River. — This is the most important river in California 

 north of the Sacramento. It issues from the Lower Klamath Lake 

 in Klamath County, Oreg., and runs southwesterly across Siskiyou 

 County, passes through the southeastern section of Del Norte County, 

 keeping its southerly course into Humboldt County, where it forms 

 a junction with the Trinity River, and thence its course is directed 

 to the northwest until it reaches the Pacific Ocean. 



