254 KErORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The high land of the above ^roiii> was .si<;hte(l on tlic 3(1 of September 

 and we i)asscd the Seott I.shinds tlie followin.n' eveninj^, 



J'^nteiing the straits of Fuca at midnight of St'i)teml)cr 5, we 

 reached Port Townsend at 12:20 j). m. the following day, where we 

 found a large; mail awaiting our arrival. ^lany iminovoments were 

 observed in and about tlie city; blocks of buildings liad been erected 

 during the year; electric and steam-motor street railways were in 

 operation; and 20 miles of the Port Townsend and Soutliern Railroad 

 was ofticially opened on the 12th. Repairs on the macliinery were com- 

 pleted on the 15th and we left the following morning for Departure 

 Bay for coal. A dense fog and smoke made navigation very diliicult, 

 and, after feeling our way througli llosario Straits, we anchored at the 

 Sucie Islands for the night, tinally reaching our destination at 2:25 

 p. m. the following day. Taking on board 183 tons of coal, we returned 

 to Port Townsend, reaching that i)ort at 1 :30 p. m. on the 201 h. 



Getting under way again at 3 p. m,, we passed Race light at 8 p. m. 

 and made C'ape Flattery light at 1 a. m., the fog having lifted. Tw^o 

 hauls of the trawl were made during the 21st in 510 and 831 fathoms 

 off the Washington coast; and, steaming to the southward during the 

 night, three hauls were made next day off the coast of Oregon in 759, 

 786, and 315 fathoms. Standing to southward during the night, through 

 dense fog and smoke, we crossed Heceta Bank, made Cape Orford at 1 

 p. m. on the 23d, passing Fox Rock an hour later. Nothing more was 

 seen until we reached Cape Mendocino the next morning. The weather 

 had somewhat improved and objects could be seen from 1 to 2 miles. 



(Commencing at the cape we detined the 200-fathom line as far south 

 as Point Arena and made a series of dredgings from 455 fathoms to 

 the coast. The bank was very steep near Cape Mendocino, but gradu- 

 ally extended until, oft" Point Arena, tlu' 200-fathom line was 10 miles 

 from shore. There are no tishing-banks proper in tliat region, but the 

 usual coast fishes will be found in spots along the shore. The beam 

 trawl may be used in the region about Point Arena, but stony spots 

 occur at intervals which would be liable to damage the nets. The 

 bottom seems smootlier to the southward toward Point Reyes, and the 

 ground will doubtless be lished with nets of some description as the 

 demand for tlatlish increases in the San Francisco market. 



Uaving completed our work, we started for port at 1 i). m., Septem- 

 ber 25, arriving in San l^'rancisco at 8 o'clock on the morning of the 26tli. 



NATURAL IIIHTOllY OBSERVA'i'I0N«. 



The fauna of Bristol Bay, other parts of Bering Sea, and (lie l*acilic 

 Ocean, developed by the use of the trawl and dredge during the season, 

 will be reported ui)on ])y Prof. C. 11. (Jilbeit, but it nuiy not be out of 

 l)lace to add here a few general remarks upon this subject. A marked 

 feature of the dredging on Slime Bank was the great numbers of me- 

 dusie or jellyfishes brought up in every haul of the net, The species 



