PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 33 
this slow and infrequent means of shipment has verv seriously handi- 
Bapped the fisheries. 
almon canning began here in 1887, when two canneries opened for 
business. The business has fluctuated considerably since, most of 
the time but one cannery being operated; none was operated in 1919. 
Fishing is carried on mainly in the bay. A fewset nets are operated 
in the river. 
Coquille River.—This river is formed by three branches, called the 
North, Middle, and South Forks, which rise in the Umpqua Moun- 
tains and unite near Myrtle Point, the head of tidewater, about 45 
miles by river from the mouth of the stream. It is a deep and slug- 
gah river, with no natural obstructions to hinder the free passage of 
sh. Its fisheries have been seriously hampered by the lack of rail- 
road communication, but this has recently been remedied, as the rail- 
road to Coos Bay connects with a short line now in existence between 
the Coquille River and Coos Bay, and thence on to the Siuslaw and 
from there to Eugene. 
The principal towns on the Coquille River are Bandon, Prosper, 
Coquille, and Myrtle Point. Bandon is the shipping port. 
Pickled salmon were cured and shipped from this river very early, 
the first recorded instance of any considerable quantity being in 1877, 
when 3,000 barrels of salmon were sent to San Francisco. The salt 
shipments were important until within recent years. The first salmon 
cannery was erected in 1883, at Parkersburg. In 1886 another was 
built at the same place, and the following year still another was 
erected close by. This was the largest number ever in operation in 
any one year. Since 1909 two canneries have been operated, both at 
Prosper. In 1916 the Macleay estate took over the Coquille River 
Fishermen’s Cooperative Co.’s cannery near Bandon. 
The fishing grounds are from the mouth to Myrtle Point, about 45 
miles inland. 
Sizes River—This small river is located in the norther part of 
Curry County, and is about 40 miles in length, enterinz t e Pacific 
a very short distance above Cape Blanco. The salmon caught here 
ae either salted or shipped fresh to the canneries on the Coquille 
iver. 
Elk River.—This is another small stream about 40 miles in length, 
which enters the Pacific just south of Cape Blanco. As on the Sixes 
River, the salmon are either salted or sold fresh to the canneries on 
the Coquille River. 
Rogue River —This river has as its source Crater Lake in the Cas- 
cade Mountains, on the western border of Klamath County, flow- 
ing a distance of about 325 miles to the ocean, which it enters at 
edderburn. Its principal tributaries are the Illinois, Applegate, 
and Stewart Rivers. Owing to canyons and falls in the main river 
between the mouth of the Illinois River and Hellgate, the latter 
near Hogan Creek which runs through the town of Merlin, naviga- 
tion and fishing are impossible in that section. Except at the mouth 
of the river the population is very sparse until about the neighbor- 
hood of Hogan Creek, where the river approaches the railroad, and 
from here on for some miles there are numerous growing towns. 
Owing to the fact of there being both a spring and a fall run of 
salmon in this river, the fisheries early became of importance, 
11312°—21——-3 
