THE QUINNAT SALMON. 479 



such a contrivance as the above must be, and how many young lish can be destroyed by a single 

 person in a day. They bait them first, and when they become plenty use their grappling hooks. 

 "The fishermen at the lake complain that the Indians destroy the fish, but from personal 

 observation I can't at all agree with them. It is true that numbers of Indians come from various 

 parts of the country to Wallowa Lake yearly to fish, and they catch a good many. While I was 

 camped at the lake I examined the catch of every Indian that passed my camp, and I looked at as 

 many as fifty Indians a day; each one had from six to twelve fish usually tied on his horse, and I 

 found that there was about one female to ten males, and most of these were spent fish which had 

 already spawned. They are not at all particular about this, and a fish which may be all bruised 

 up and skinned is apparently just as well relished by them as a perfectly sound one, and even 

 these Indians appreciated the fact that it would not do to catch too many females; at any rate they 

 told me that as a rule they let the females go, and this is a good deal more than most of our white 

 fishermen are willing to do. Mostly every one out here now concedes that the Eed-flsh is not a 

 resident of the lakes wherein it is found, and I am perfectly satisfied that they are anadromous and 

 not land-locked. The only thing as yet which I can't understand is, how do tbey jjet rid of the 

 hooked nose and the hump after going bade to salt water ? They surely can't all die after spawning, 

 and sometimes one that weighs as much as ten pounds is caught, and this fish is certainly older 

 than a five-pounder ; and it would not be presuming too much to assert that a Salmon of that size 

 must have made more than one trip to sea. While in the lake they do not appear to eat anything, 

 and the stomachs of several which I examined were entirely empty. I caunot understand how 

 they get rid of their long hooked nose and hump." 



163. THE aUINNAT OR CALIFORNIA SALl^ON— ONCORHYNCHUS CHOUICHA. 



By Livingston Stone. 



" In Alaska and Kamtchatka," writes Jordan, " this species is known as the ' King Salmon,' and 

 as 'Cboweecha' or 'Tchawytcha,' a name easier to pronounce than to spell, to the Eussians. In 

 Frazer Eiver it is called by the Musquam name of 'Sah-Kwey'; in Puget Sound it is called the 

 'Columbia Eiver Salmon,' or in the Ohinnook jargon 'Tyee.' On the Columbia Eiver the name 

 'Ohinnook Salmon' is in universal use. Farther south the name ' Salmon' is applied to this species, 

 while the others receive specially distinctive names. The Quinnat Salmon reaches a weight of sixty 

 to ninety pounds, being the largest of the salmon family. The average weight is, however, much 

 less. On the Columbia Eiver. the average is twenty-two pounds each ; on the Sacramento Eiver, 

 about sixteen. It is probable that the individuals of about twenty pounds' weight are four years 

 old, and the larger ones occasionally taken are older, having probably lived through one or more 

 spawning seasons. Those which enter the river late in the fall cannot ascend far before the 

 necessity for spawning comes, and such may be able to return to the sea, and thus escape the 

 death which overtakes all that spawn far inland. 



"In all streams having their rise in the snows this species begins running as early as March, 

 and the run continues with various interruptions until the spawning time in the fall. When a 

 freshet occurs in spring, the run for a time after is much increased. In regard to this species and 

 the 'Blue-back,' it would appear that they, when adult, enter the streams whenever cold fresh 

 water comes in contact with them in the sea. After entering fresh water they do not feed, and 

 they continue their ascent until the season for spawning actually overtakes them. Often they 

 ascend hundreds of miles, until they are almost worn out, and after the spawning act all that have 

 thus ascended die. Those streams which do not have their source in the melting snows have no 

 spring run of Salmon, and in them the Quinnat runs only after the fall rains have set in. 



