: : 
salted, the entire catch is utilized at the cannery located on the river. 
Fishing is done by 44 Indian, Russian, and Austrian fishermen, using 
gill nets. The chinooks taken average about 20 pounds in weight, 
being somewhat lighter than those of the Columbia; the silver salmon 
average 10 pounds. The abundance of salmon varies a great deal 
from year to year; in 1891 the fish were very scarce, while in 1892 the 
run of silver salmon was phenomenally large; chinooks were less 
numerous in 1891 and 1892 than during the two preceding years. The 
catch of each kind of salmon during the four years named was as follows, 
the figures representing the number of fish taken: 
PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 239 
Chinook | Silver 
Years. salmon. | salmon. Total. 
Ses eee erent onic = cleies aia stato winins clos aoe wisinia ers oe nisi esi a se wiatae wine Saisie 13, 093 29,194 | 42,287 
PSOE Getic scecisiccseh sates celeacscce sce ki ece cle cic eboacwateea cukuohecucecmecet 14, 445 33,439 | 47, 884 
Se eta esa oe c= Satis eee icles Gini = a= Saino ais AES owns See ceee mens aie Soe iate 6, 174 17,168 | 23,342 
BU eee em oars cao des abacus ceacs bee ceaccun seme sass ccatdosmestecectak 7, 000 57,400 | 64,400 
The quantity and value of the salmon packed and salted in the same 
years are given in the following table: 
Salmon canned. 
~ Salmon salted. 
=a . - Total 
Years. Chinook. Silver. Total. value. 
Cases.| Value. | Cases.| Value. | Cases.| Value. |Bazrels.| Value. 
URLs Sse seers 3,740 | $16,830 | 3,742 | $14,968 | 7,482 | $31,798 100 $800 $32, 598 
USE gece Seen sets 4,127 17,539 | 4,327 15,144 | 8, 454 32, 683 105 840 33, 523 
ROOM toa Binnie st, 1, 764 7,056 | 2,024 7,084 | 3,788 14, 140 100 800 14, 940 
IGEN S Sas = 3 S556 2, 000 9,000 | 8, 200 32, 800 | 10, 200 41, 800 102 816 42, 616 
THE COLUMBIA RIVER. 
The fisheries of this river are more extensive than those of any other 
stream in the United States, and the canning industry dependent 
thereon is more important than any other similar business connected 
with the fisheries. The annual output of fish in the Columbia River is 
greater than from any other river in the country, and no other stream 
has in the aggregate yielded such large quantities of fish. 
The importance of the fishing industry of this river and the increased 
attention now being given to its condition warrant and make desirable 
the consideration of the stream as a unit, regardless of the separate 
interests of the two States whose boundary it forms and whose fisheries 
are given in detail, by counties, in the tables elsewhere presented. 
Reference is seldom made to the fisheries of Washington and Oregon 
in which the Columbia is not mentioned, although the fishing industry 
comprises but one of the many branches of commerce connected with 
this important stream. In the previous report of this Commission on 
the fisheries of the west coast, the history and methods of the fisheries 
of the Columbia were discussed at considerable length. It only remains 
at this time to record such changes as have taken place in the industry 
during the past three or four years. In the investigation on which this 
