FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
183 
30. FISHERIES OF THE SIKHS RIVER. 
This is another of the small rivers, which are so numerous along the 
coast of Oregon. It is located in the northern part of Curry County, 
flowing a distance of about 40 miles and entering the Pacific \\ miles, 
north of Cape Blanco. 
Practically the same species of fish occur in the Sikhs as in the Elk 
River. The salmon run begins about October 1 and continues until 
December; the best catches are made between October 15 and Novem- 
ber 15. The chinook salmon in this stream are large, averaging about 
30 pounds. The silver salmon are also large for that species, averaging 
about 15 pounds. 
The fishing grounds are, for the most part, at the mouth of the river 
and do not extend a great distance upstream. The products in 1887 
were 225 barrels of salted salmon. In 1888, 20,000 pounds of fresh 
salmon were sold to the cannery on the Coquille River, and the remainder 
of the catch, amounting to 60 barrels, was salted. 
The statistics of the fisheries of this river in 1888 are as follows : 
Persons employed : 
By nativity — 
United States 6 
British provinces 1 
By nationality — 
United States 7 
Apparatus and capital : 
2 boats $175 
2 gill nets 100 
1 seine 150 
Products and values: 
1887 — Salted salmon, 45,000 pounds 1, 800 
1888 — Fresh salmon, 20,000 pounds 300 
Salted salmon, 12,000 pounds , 480 
31. FISHERIES OF THE COQUILLE RIVER. 
Coquille River (called Nessa-til-cut by the Indians) is formed by three 
branches, called the North, Middle, and South Forks, which rise in the 
Umpquah Mountains. The “ Forks ” unite near Myrtle Point, the head 
of tide water, about 45 miles by river from the mouth of the stream, the 
distance by land being about 15 miles. It is a deep and sluggish stream, 
well timbered on its banks. There are no natural obstructions, such as 
rapids, falls, or dams, on the river to hinder the free passage of fish. 
Origin and development of the fisheries . — The first salmon cannery 
constructed on the Coquille was erected in 1883, at Parkersburgh. In 
1886 another was built at the same place, and the following year the 
town of Randolph was selected as a site for a third. Prior to the erec- 
tion of the salmon canneries the catch at different places along the 
river was salted and packed in barrels. The earliest recorded instance 
of any considerable quantity being packed was in 1877, when 3,000 
barrels of salmon were pickled and shipped to San Francisco. Since 
then, and until the construction of the first cannery, there was an an- 
