PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 287 



having" an average weight of 12 pounds. There was also a small run 

 of clog' salmon in the river after November 1. Steelheads are found 

 from November to the following March, but the closing of the canneries 

 before the run begins had, prior to building the railroad, prevented 

 their utilization. The prices received by the salmon fishermen in 1892 

 were 30 cents each for chinooks, 15 cents each for silver salmon, and 

 5 cents each for dog salmon. In 1892 there were 102 fishermen em- 

 ployed in the salmon fishery of the Chehalis Eiver, 34 of whom came 

 from the Columbia Eiver after the close of the season on that stream. 

 Of the capital employed, amounting to $52,285, $7,300 represented nets, 

 boats, etc., brought from tbe Columbia. Fifty-eight Chinamen were 

 employed as cannery hands. The aggregate catch of salmon on the 

 Chehalis in 1892 was 1,472,215 pounds, with a value to the fishermen 

 of $22,050. This quantity included salmon canned, used locally, and 

 shijjped fresh by express. During the years 1889 and 1892, when 

 salmon canning was done on this river, the following quantities of the 

 different kinds of salmon were packed : 



Sturgeon have always been more or less abundant in the Chelialis 

 Eiver, but up to a recent date no value was attached to them, and 

 those found in the pound nets were knocked in the head and thrown 

 away. Direct rail communication soon brought buyers from Puget 

 Sound, and no more sturgeon were discarded. In 1892 38,000 pounds of 

 sturgeon incidentally taken in the pound nets were disposed of; the price 

 received by the fi.shermen being one-half cent a pound gross weight. 



A few fine shad are taken in the pound nets of Chehalis Eiver, but 

 no special fishing for .shad is done at any time. No nets of any kind 

 are used until the fall run of salmon begins, by which time the run of 

 shad is probably nearly over. The few shad taken are eaten by the 

 fishermen. Salmon trout are found plentifully in the Chehalis Eiver, 

 but are fished for only by sportsmen. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 



The fishing business of this county centers at Port Townsend. The 

 many advantages which this point possesses for the carrying on of an 

 extensive fishing industry have often been mentioned. The city has 

 one of the best harbors on the Pacific coast. Many varieties of desir- 

 able food-fish are to be found almost at the city's docks. The halibut, 

 cod, and other fish, which are found in abundance just within and out- 

 side the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, are much nearer to Port Townsend 

 than to any other city or important shipping point. The fisheries have 

 not reached that stage of development which was anticipated a few 



