HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND SALMON RIVERS. 89 



1909, wrote: 'As a salmon stream the name of the river is Dennys. Sawmillafecit. 

 Until very recently the river was full of salmon. There are half a dozen fine pools within 

 the first two mUes, and the salmon took the fly freely. They tell of Mr. Prime and Mr. 

 Brackett taking eight or ten salmon a day. Shad came up the river in June in large 

 schools, and furnished an abundance of toothsome fare for the people. Alewives crowded 

 the ripples, and the poorer people laid up barrels of them against a snowy day. But 

 these things are all spoken of in the past tense, because the lumber company has a 

 sawmill at the head of tide water, and the artificial fishway will not allow breeding 

 fish to pass.' 



Pennamaquan River. — It appears that sahnon occasionally entered this river, which 

 afforded a Umited amount of excellent spawning ground. In 1894 (Anonymous 1894, 

 p. 17) 'a fine salmon weighing 20 pounds was caught at North Perrj' in October, in a her- 

 ring weu'.' 



St. Croix River. — The St. CroLx by its eastern and western branches respectively 

 discharges the waters of two extensive lake systems, and salmon, once abundant, 

 ascended nearly to the headwaters of both branches. More or less salmon continued to 

 ascend the rivers until recent times, apparently having freer access to the eastern than 

 the western branch. Obstruction and pollution, augmented by poaching, have practically 

 eUminated salmon from the river, excepting the few which yearly, at least up to recent 

 times, appeared in the pool at Calais or Milltown. 



In early times the St. Croix River was considered to be one of the most prolific of 

 salmon streams on the Atlantic coast, and during a number of years it jielded a large 

 annual catch, the fish being taken chiefly at and below Salmon Falls, in the Tjpper part of 

 Calais and St. Stephen, as they were making their way up the rapids. It was then the 

 custom for residents of the neighboring country to resort to this favored spot at the 

 proper season for obtainmg supplies for their own use, and some market fishing was 

 also engaged in. 



In 1850 it was estimated that the catch for the entire river did not exceed 200, and 

 during the next 15 years the quantity taken annually remained very small, amounting 

 in some seasons to only about 100. In 1866 and 1867 an increase was reported. Since 

 then the catch has fluctuated from year to year, but no complete statistics of the same 

 have been obtainable. The run is still so small, however, as to bear no comparison with 

 its condition in the early part of the century. In colonial times vessels were fitted out in 

 Plymouth and Boston to obtain salmon. So great were the quantities known to be in 

 the St. Croix River that they passed by aU the other large rivers on the intervening coast, 

 such as the Penobscot and Kennebec and came here to load with this fish. 



The total catch of this one weir in 16 years was 1,214, making a yearly average of 

 about 76. 



The following table represents the annual catch of one weir in tidal waters at Calais, 

 for 16 years from 1862 to 1877 both inclusive. There are no later statistical data of this 

 kind. 



