18 



REPORT OF DEPUTY FISH COMMISSIONER W. C. JONES. 



We herewith submit the report of Deputy Fish Commissioner W. 

 C. Jones: 



Bird's Landing, January 1, 1884. 



To the honorable Board of Fish Commissioners of the State of California: 



Gentlemen: In compliance with your request, I hereby submit my 

 report from August 1, 1883, to January 1, 1884. 



On the first of August, 1883, 1 received a dej^uty commission author- 

 izing me to patrol the Sacramento River, the San Joaquin River, and 

 Suisun Bay. 



Up to the ninth of August I succeeded in locating several tanks 

 and salt-houses, where active preparations were being made for the 

 purpose of salting fish during the close season. Up to the ninth, no 

 arrests had been made. On that day, in attempting to arrest two 

 Greeks in Three-mile Slough, one of them, named A. Nicholaus, was 

 killed; the other, John Peterson, was arrested. Nothing more oc- 

 curred until the fourteenth, when two nets were captured near China- 

 town, the owners escaping. On the sixteenth, a raid was planned, 

 using the steam tug Belshaw, owned by Captain Nelson & Co., of the 

 Benicia cannery, and up to the twentieth, we captured thirteen hun- 

 dred salted salmon and three tanks. In this raid, no owners ap- 

 peared. On the twenty-first, five men were taken, and on the 

 twenty-second four more, for violating the fish laws; on the twenty- 

 seventh two more, and on the night of the thirtieth sixteen men, 

 making a total for the month of August of twenty-nine individuals. 

 During the month of September nothing of interest occurred. 



By directions of your Board a raid was planned to overhaul the 

 Chinese fishermen in San Pablo and San Francisco Bays, and during 

 the ten days following, we captured forty-three Chinamen who were 

 using set-nets. On the twenty-ninth two Greeks were captured near 

 Collinsville, violating the Sunday law. November second, took in 

 four Chinamen with nets set across Cache Slough, and on the eighth 

 four more, for the same offense; making a total number of prisoners 

 up to the eighth of November, inclusive, eighty-two. Of the white 

 fishermen there were thirty-one. Their nationalities are as follows: 



Greeks 14 



Italians 10 



Portuguese 4 



Austrians 2 



Germans 1 



The whole number were convicted, thirteen paying fines of $50 

 each; the remainder serving out their sentence in jail. Of the China- 

 men, fifty-one in number, eighteen were convicted; fifteen were tried 

 at Martinez by jury and released, and five more that were tried at 

 San Rafael were freed by jury, ten convicted, and the remainder 

 were not brought to trial. Nothing more occurred until January 15, 

 1884, when, by direction of your honorable Board, I descended the 

 Sacramento River to inspect nets. Found two at Courtland, one at 



