SALMON FISHERIES OF PACIFIC COAST. 17 



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- 

 gish river, with no natural obstructions to hinder the free passage of 

 fish. Its fisheries have been seriously hampered by the lack of rail- 

 road communication, but this will be remedied, as the railroad to 

 Coos Bay will eventually connect with a short line now in existence 

 between the Coquille and Coos Bay. 



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 sal- 

 mon 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. In 1910 two canneries were operated, both at Prosper. 



The fishing grounds are from the mouth to Myrtle Point, about 45 

 miles inland. 



Sixes River. — This small river is located in the northern part of 

 Curry County, and is about 40 miles in length, entering the Pacific 

 a very short distance above Cape Blanco. The salmon caught here 

 are either salted or shipped fresh to the canneries on the Coquille 

 River. 



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 

 Cascade Mountains, on the western border of Klamath County, flow- 

 ing a distance of about 325 miles to the ocean, which it enters at 

 Wedderburn. 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, al- 

 though sadly hampered because of being compelled to depend wholly 

 on vessel communication with San Francisco, many miles away. 

 In the early years the salmon were pickled and shipped to San Fran- 



