STONE ON THE SACEAMENTO SALMON. 179 



abundance of the salmon in the Sacramento Eiver. Had white men 

 come here, and required tlie salmon for food, this main artery of the 

 supply system of the river would have been stopped; or had white men 

 come and engaged in mining, as they have done on the Yuba and on 

 the Feather and American Rivers, the spawnmg-beds would have been 

 covered with mud and ruined, as in those rivers, and in less than three 

 years the salmon sui)ply of the Sacramento would have shown a vast 

 decrease. The presence of the Indians, therefore, as far as it implies 

 the absence of the whites, is the great protection of the supply of the 

 Sacramento salmon. 



14. — THE CLIMATE OF THE M'CLOUD RIVER. 



The rains come on a little earlier here among the mountains than lower 

 down in the valleys, and continue a little later in the spring. It is wet, 

 therefore, from l^ovember to May, and dry from May to November. The 

 winters are mild, a very little snow falling occasionally with the rains. 

 The summer and fall days are extremely" hot, but the nights are cool, 

 and in the fall are very cold compared with the days. In consequence 

 of this the variations of temperature in the fall during the twenty-four 

 hours are extreme. For many days together in September the mercury 

 ranged from 55° Fahr. at sunrise to 105° in the shade at 11 a. m., mak- 

 ing a variation of 50° in five hours. On some days the variation was 

 G0°, and on one occasion nearly 70° in the same length of time. I have 

 seen ice formed in our fishing-boat at night within ninety-six hours of a 

 noon temperature of 110°. The hot days continue till oSTovember, and 

 even extend into November. There were many successive days in Octo- 

 ber when it was over 100° in the shade. The hot hours of the day were 

 usually from 11 a. m. till 4 p. m. From 8 a. m. to 11 a. m. the rise of 

 temperature was very rapid, and from 4 p. m. to 7 p. m. the fall was 

 equally rapid. 



I have been speaking of the climate of the McCloud at our salmon 

 station, near its mouth. As you ascend the McCloud the weather grows 

 cooler, the rains last longer, and at its headwaters, in winter, there are 

 deep snows. 



15.— THE SACRAMENTO SALMON IN GENERAL. 



The Sacramento salmon in its prime is a large, handsome, silvery fish, 

 averaging about 20 pounds in w^eight, as they are caught at Rio Vista, 

 the main fishing ground of the river. * These salmon have a darker 

 shade and deeper bodies, and are less delicate in form, and slightly 

 coarser in appearance than the Atlantic salmon. They are also heavier 

 looking, less silvery, and probably less vigorous than the eastern salmon. 



It is so difficult to determine whether they differ from the eastern 

 salmon in quality, as food, that it is quite safe to say that if they are not 



* Salmou -vveigliing from 40 to 50 pounds are not uncommon ; ami ouce in a great 

 while one is caught exceeding 50 pounds in weight. 



