82 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
and were spawning. The superintendent at once purchased supplies 
for both points and sent down a force of men, but on their arrival it 
was found that a sudden rise in both streams had carried away the 
racks. It is now believed that from two to three million eggs can be 
collected from these streams in future. 
On the Little White Salmon the first eggs were received September 
12. For the first five days the collections were comparatively small, 
but they increased daily until September 21, when 1,069,000 were taken. 
The total collections for the season on the Little White Salmon and 
the Big White Salmon aggregated 12,840,700 eggs. 
The fall run of salmon was reported to be very fair, but the great 
majority of the fish were caught before they could enter the streams 
to spawn. According to the Oregon law fishing can be lawfully con- 
ducted up to and including August 15, and this condition of affairs 
operates unfavorably on the work of the station. Another matter 
for regret is that the Little White Salmon, which is acknowledged as 
probably the best spawning-ground of the salmon in the Columbia 
River region, is being ruined by deposits of sawdust. Every possible 
effort has been made by the superintendent to have this nuisance 
abated, but so far the results have not been satisfactory. 
A few of the fish this season were taken by gill nets and seines, but 
the great majority were captured by means of downstream traps. 
These traps were necessarily put in where there was considerable fall 
of water, and consisted of pickets 20 feet long, placed 2 inches apart, 
forming a bed in the river. From either end of the upstream end 
wing dams or racks were built leading upstream and within a few 
feet of the banks of the river. The ends of the traps pointing upstream 
were submerged and weighted into position, and the downstream ends 
were held on horses, about 18 inches above the water. The space 
between the end of the racks and the shore was left to allow fish to 
pass upward. Some distance above each rack were deep holes, in 
which the fish would lie for a few days after ascending. As they 
ripened they dropped out on the riffles to spawn, and when a sufficient 
number to warrant it were on the riffles, a seine was passed across the 
river above them. This was then rapidly hauled downstream for the 
purpose of frightening the salmon. It is in the nature of a salmon 
to turn and swim downstream rapidly when startled, and in doing so 
they encountered the rack, which led them to the trap, where their 
great momentum carried them out of the water onto the beds, where 
pickets took the salmon and assorted them, placing males and females 
in separate pens and returning the green fish to the water. 
The spawning operations were conducted as follows: A female was 
stunned by a blow on the head, after which it was put into a spawning- 
box and securely tied. The spawn-taker then placed the bottom of 
the box on the floor and lifted the head of the fish until it was at an 
angle of about 80°, with the back down. The spawning-pan was held 
immediately below and close to the vent by an assistant, while the 
