XL-OPERATIONS ON THE McCLOUD RIVER ON SALMON- 

 BREEDING IN 1876. 



By Livingston Stone. 



A— CONDITION OF THE STATION. 



As soon as the conditiou of the roads permitted last spring, I pro- 

 ceeded to the McCloud Eiver, arriving there ou the IGth of March. I 

 was particularly desirous to be at the river as early as possible, because 

 the snows of the preceding winter had been unusually deep on the 

 mountains, and a freshet of extraordinary volume was expected in the 

 streams of Northern California as soon as the influence of the si)ring 

 sun and rains began to be felt by the snow. The buildings at the United 

 States Salmon-Breeding Station had been located with special reference 

 to the fluctuations of the river, and were all placed above the highest 

 traces of high water, but the winter was one of such unusual severity 

 that I felt considerable alarm, notwithstanding the precautions that had 

 been taken. 



Our fears, however, proved to be wholly groundless, at least for this 

 season, for although the Sacramento Eiver, at Sacramento City, was 

 higher than ever before within the experience of white men, and in con- 

 sequence did a vast deal of damage, the McCloud Eiver did not rise as 

 high as usual. This was owing, without doubt, to the absence of any 

 long-continued rains and the consequent gradual disappearance of the 

 snow from the effect of the sun's heat, only. It was an interesting fact 

 that I might mention here, that during the spring an extremely hot day 

 was always followed during the next day by very roily and usu- 

 alh' a lower temperature in the river. This effect was caused, as might 

 be exi^ected, by the melting snows on very hot days, swelling the tribu- 

 tary streams to such an extent as to make them turbid and at the same 

 time colder, and the next morning these results were apparent in the 

 main stream at the fishery, which was 70 miles below the sources of the 

 river. I had left Mr. Myron Green in charge of the fishery during the 

 winter, and I found everything on my arrival in good order. Still there 

 was a good deal to be done in making desirable improvements and io 

 getting ready for the season's work, as, lor instance, painting and white- 

 washing the buildings, constructing fences, getting in the season's sup- 

 ply of fuel and the like, which, thanks to the appropriation made by 

 Congress in the summer of 1876, we were enabled to accomplish. 



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