FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
241 
scale by a few straggling Indians, who occasionally bring fish into the 
villages 5 but the variety and abundance of fish, and the fast-growing 
towns not far distant afford a prospective opportunity to establish a 
profitable fish trade. 
Species, seasons , etc. — Three varieties of salmon frequent Gray’s Har- 
bor, the quinnat,. silver, and steelhead. The quinnat salmon is present 
from July until October ; the silver from about the middle of September 
until November, and the steelhead from December until May. In ad- 
dition to salmon, there are salmon trout, mountain trout, perch, tom- 
cod, sturgeon, sardines, and several species of the Catostomidce. On the 
banks outside the harbor are caught orange rock-cod (Sebastichthys pin- 
niger ), red rock-cod (S. ruber), halibut, etc. Two varieties of shellfish 
are also very abundant on the mud flats — the eastern soft-shell clam 
( Mya arenaria) and the razor clam (Siliqua patula). 
Fishing grounds. — The gill-net grounds are mostly in the various chan- 
nels of the bay and in the river. Pound nets are located at several 
points, the greatest number being along the river between Aberdeen 
and Montesano. The deep-sea banks are located outside the harbor 
heads about 10 miles offshore, in a northwesterly direction from the 
whistling buoy off the entrance. 
Capt. John Peed reported that often when waiting outside the harbor, 
to tow vessels in, on or near the fishing bank, he has caught a fine lot of 
fish. Frequently halibut are taken, and on one occasion 22 were caught 
in a few hours’ fishing with hand lines over the rail ; the largest weighed 
87 pounds. There is a depth of 30 fathoms of water on the bank, with 
a gravelly and rocky bottom. 
Soft clams are found in abundance on beds on both sides of the river’s 
mouth west of Hoquiam. Eazor clams occur in the mud flats in North 
and South Bays. 
Fishermen, etc . — In the fall a number of fishermen from the Columbia 
Eiver go to the Chehalis to fish for the canneries there. The gill-net 
fishermen of the river are mostly foreigners, but the men who tend the 
pound nets are chiefly Americans. 
Apparatus and boats. — The apparatus employed in the fisheries of 
Gray’s Harbor consists of pound nets and drift gill nets. Owing to the 
fact that the early run of salmon in the harbor and river is composed 
of individual fish of nearly double the size of those constituting the fall 
run, two kinds of nets are required. Pouud nets of a very expensive 
type are in use on the Chehalis Eiver. Their average value in 1888 
was $ 700 . The number employed that year was 37 , so that the capital 
invested in pound nets alone was nearly $ 26 , 000 . Two kinds of boats 
are employed in the fisheries. The majority are of the flat-bottomed, 
sharpy type; a few of the Columbia Eiver salmon-boat style are also 
used. 
Disposition of the products . — All the salmon captured in the bay and 
river in gill nets and pounds are utilized at the packing establishments 
H. Mis. 274—10 
