18 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
These observations would tend to confirm the belief which has been 
steadily growing in favor for some years that the salmon either spend 
the greater part of their life in the bays, straits, and sounds, or else in 
regions adjacent to the coast line. 
The reason they had not been found in this region earlier is doubt- 
less due to the fact that during the fall, winter, and spring months the 
weather on the north Pacific coast is such that fishing operations can 
not be carried on along the open coast, while in summer the fishermen 
are all busy on the spawning runs and have no time to devote to fish 
not yet arrived at maturity, which are probably feeding along the 
coast as usual. 
FISHING GROUNDS AND HISTORY OF THE FISHERIES.¢ 
WASHINGTON. 
Puget Sound.—Strictly speaking, the name Puget Sound should be 
restricted to that long, narrow arm extending south from the Strait 
of Juan de Fuca, but a practice has developed, and is now common 
among fishermen and others, of designating all the great water area 
in the State of Washington comprising Puget Sound proper, Strait 
of Juan de Fuca, Canal de Haro, Rosario Strait, the Gulf of Georgia, 
and the smaller straits, bays, and sounds, as Puget Sound, and this 
practice, for the sake of convenience, has been followed in this report. 
This great indentation in the coast, with its numerous islands and 
many fine harbors, has greatly aided the development of this portion 
of Washington and has been specially favorable to the prosecution 
of the salmon and other fisheries. Numerous rivers and creeks enter 
the Sound, the more important of these being on the eastern shore 
and comprising the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, 
Duwamish, Puyallup, and Nisqually. On the southern and western 
shores the tributary streams are nearly all small, the more important 
being the Skokomish, Quilcene, Dungeness, and Elwha. 
As on other bodies of water on the Pacific coast frequented by 
salmon, the Indians were fishing for them when the first whites 
visited the country. The natives at this time, and for many years 
after, used reef nets and hooks and lines in the salt water, and spears, 
dip nets, and weirs in the rivers. Traders first reached the head- 
waters of the Fraser River and gradually worked down the same 
until they reached the sea. 
For many years this region was comparatively isolated from the 
rest of the world, and the completion of transcontinental railroads 
has not completely changed this, owing to its distance from large 
consuming centers. As a result of this isolation, it was necessary 
for many years to resort to methods of preparation which would 
insure the preservation of the product for indefinite periods. Salting 
naturally came first, followed by canning, while the shipping of 
fresh salmon has been steadily growing in Importance as transporta- 
tion facilities increased. 
The Northwest Co., a large fur-trading organization, about the 
beginning of last century first introduced the salting process and 
a For some of the regions the historical data are fragmentary and can not be considered as other than 
historical notes. It is hoped that some one will write a history of the industry before all of the pioneers 
have passed away. ¢ 
