53 



oncorhynchus, and not a trout as heretofore supposed. Its previous 

 identification with the so called " Black Trout " of Lake Tahoe is thus 

 found to have been an error. There fs but one species of trout yet 

 known from that lake, the presence or absence of teeth upon the hyoid 

 bone being the result of accident or individual peculiarity. The real 

 tsuppifrJt or keta reaches a length of fifteen to eighteen inches, and a 

 weight of four or five pounds. When in the ocean, it feeds on Crus- 

 tacea, herring, etc. This salmon is said to be very superior in Quin- 

 nault River, where it is abundant and is salted by the Indians, as it 

 is also at Neah Bay, at which point it was formerly canned. Profes- 

 sor Jordan saw it at Seattle, and speaks of it as abundant in Puget 

 Sound and at Cape Flattery, as well as for some distance north and 

 south from thence. As a food fish it ranks with the young of the 

 quinnat. It runs up Eel River, California, and has been taken in the 

 Sacramento. 



Oncorhynchus nerka, Blueback ; also called by fishermen, Rascal, Suk- 

 keye, Redfish, Dog Salmon — This is a much smaller salmon than the 

 quinnat, and apparently has its headquarters farther north. In the 

 Columbia it is common, but less so than the quinnat, while in Fraser 

 River and the streams of British Columbia generally it is the com- 

 monest salmon. It is often canned upon the < Solum bia, but without 

 acknowledgment, as four of them are reckoned and paid for as one 

 quinnat, although of course four nerka exceed in weight one of the 

 latter. 



In Puget Sound it is abundant, and ranges northward as far as the 

 Aleutian Islands. It readies eight to twelve pounds in weight. This 

 species runs up the river principally in the Spring. 



Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, Humpback — This species may readily be 

 distinguished from the quinnat by the smaller size of the scales, and 

 also, at least in the Sacramento, which it ascends in tolerable num- 

 bers in October, by the greatly developed hump formed by the dorsal 

 outline immediately behind the head. 0. nerka also becomes hump- 

 backed, but not to so great an extent as the present species. The 

 males, in the spawning season, present in perfection the character 

 upon which the genus Oncorhynchus was founded, viz.: the hooked 

 jaws, which give the fish a repulsive appearance. It does not appear 

 to be a common species, except in Puget Sound, and does not exceed 

 five to eight pounds in weight. 



Oncorynchus kisutch, Dog Salmon — This, the true Dog Salmon, 

 occurs in Puget Sound, Fraser River, etc. In most characters, except 

 the scales, it agrees with the last species; but the scales are larger, 

 and the aspect of the fish different. The males, when they enter the 

 rivers in the fall, have reddish transverse bands alternating with 

 greenish, and become blotched with these colors as they ascend. 

 The females are bright silvery on entering the rivers. 



Oncorhynchus kennerlyi, the Red Fish — This species appears to be, 

 for the most part, an inhabitant of lakes that have no outlet, and is 

 thus debarred from taking a trip to the ocean. Living in the lakes 

 as ordinary salmon do in the sea, it runs up the rivers that flow into 

 them, and deposits its ova in their clear water, just as other salmon 

 run up the rivers flowing into the sea. 



After spawning, other salmon become redder in their external 

 coloration, and are "redfish," but this is the " Redfish "par excellence 

 of the Indians, the valued fish of the lakes, to procure which they 

 take long journeys. 



