370 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
dried in the sun, then packed away for winter use. _ Were 
the Indians deprived of this means of livelihood I think all 
would die of a broken spirit, if not of starvation, for dried 
fish has so long been an aliment with them that they are 
impregnated with its odor from hair to moccasins. It is to 
them what the buffalo is to the Sioux and Pawnees, or 
crickets and grasshoppers to the Diggers of California. 
The tribes of the Sound capture large quantities of salmon 
by trolling, a style of fishing quite interesting to those fond 
of their ease. They first fasten a bait, usually a small her¬ 
ring, to the hook; six or seven feet from the latter is tied 
a stone which is used as a sinker, and this keeps the 
line from six to fourteen feet’ beneath the surface. The 
fisher then paddles his canoe quite slowly and noiselessly, 
trolling with a jerking motion at the same time with his 
left hand. In this way he manages to catch a boat load in 
a short time, for each salmon weighs from five to thirty 
pounds. If one would thoroughly enjoy this sport he should 
be out a couple of hours before day-break and have a 
siwasJi to do the paddling while lie haulsd in the fish. 
The next visitor of this family calls in May and June. 
It is known as the “blue-back” along the Columbia, and 
the “weak-toothed” salmon on the Sound; but to science it 
is familiar as the salmo paucidens. The Indians along the 
coast denominate it the quanich , or second funning salmon; 
and use it extensively as an article of food. It, bears no 
comparison with the 8. quinnat , so the fisheries devote but 
little attention to its capture. Its general characteristics 
are a straight dorsal profile, a forked caudal, teeth scattered 
and feeble—hence name—fins and tail unspotted. The 
back of the head and body is a bluisli-gray, and the belly 
is white. Its average weight is between three and five 
pounds. It is closely allied to another species, the 8. argy- 
reus , yetis readily distinguished from it, even in the water, 
by its reddish spots or marks. Though frequenting all the 
tributaries of the Columbia, we have not heard that it ever 
took a lly, hence, conclude that it offers but little sport to 
the angler. 
The preceding is followed by a very handsome and highly 
edible species, the salmo tsuppitch, or white salmon, which 
arrives in September. Its specific name is of Indian origin, 
it being known to the Chinooks as tsuppitch. Lewis and 
Clarke in their travels called it the silvery-white salmon, a 
name not inappropriate. Its distinguishing characteristics 
are a small conical head terminating in a pointed snout. 
The commissure of the mouth is slightly opaque; the dorsal 
profile rises gradually to the origin of the first dorsal fin, 
declining thence to tail, and the caudal is forked. The 
back of the head and body is studded with oval and circular 
spots, but the sides and fins, including caudal, are free of 
them. The teeth are small and sharp; few on the anterior 
end of the vomer, but the tongue has a double row. It is 
deemed an excellent fish for the table, so large quantities 
are sold fresh by the Columbia River Indians. 
Another species highly prized is the salmo truncatus , or 
square-tailed salmon, so called from its truncated caudal. 
The Indians capture it extensively in the salt water with a 
baited hook, sxnd spear it in the rivers. It bites quite freely 
along Puget Sound, so makes capital sport, as it weighs 
from ten to twelve pounds, though the average is less. 
This variety approaches closely the 8. trutta of Agassiz, 
mentioned in liis “ Histoire Naturede cles Poissons d'eau 
douce.” It has quite a small, square tail; a small head and 
small teeth, and the dorsal profile is arched. The color of 
the back and dorsal fins is a bright blue, spotted with black 
on the head and fins; the lower region is a silvery-white, 
but below the lateral line it becomes dusky, and the lower 
fins are pale and unspotted. To show its fine form I give 
a measurement made of one captured at Muckilteo, a fishing 
hamlet on Puget Sound:— 
Upper measurement. —Length, 31 inches; head from tip 
of snout, 4 inches; nose to first dorsal fin, 13£ inches; nose 
to adipose dorsal fin, 23 inches; length, along lateral line 
frbm nose to base of tail, 30 inclies. 
Lower measurement.— Nose to tip of tail, 32£ inches; nose 
to pectoral fin, 4 inches; nose to abdominal fin, 15 inches; 
nose to ventral, 2li inches; nose to lower caudal rays, 28 
inches; girth anterior to abdominals, 16f inches. 
It will be seen that very few excel this in outline and 
girth. It reaches the Columbia by August and the Sound 
a little later, and runs up the tributaries of both from that 
time to the middle of December. The Indians troll for it 
with a clam, or herring bait, and capture large numbers. 
It ought to make excellent angling, but then one must be 
in a boat or near the mouth of a river, and then 1 doubt its 
taste for flies, though its palate might be tickled enough to 
induce it to try them. It would certainly be capital sport 
if it could be done. 
Another species, called queachts by the Indians, enters 
the Columbia in June in small schools. It is doubtless the 
8. gairdneri, though also called a spring salmon. It differs 
from its namesake, the 8. quinnat , in its rounded instead of 
pointed muzzle, in its want of a toothless extension of the 
lower jaw anterior to the teeth, in its shorter and thicker 
head, and having a straighter dorsal outline. The back of 
the head and body is a bluish-gray, the sides ashy-gray, th£ 
belly is white and the tail spotted dark. Its weight ranges 
from five to twelve pounds; and the flesh, which is whitish, 
is quite good. It ought to be an excellent variety for com¬ 
merce. 
'The salmo gibbsii, of Suckley, visits us in early spring 
and late in December. It is plentiful iu all the streams, 
and is known to the inhabitants as salmon and mountain 
trout. It ranges from sixteen to twenty-two inches in 
length and weighs from three to seven pounds. It is closely 
allied to the white salmon, notwithstanding that it is known 
as trout. It bites readily at a hook, and makes capital 
sport, for it will take anything from a gaudy clad grass¬ 
hopper to the sombre coat of a brown daddy-long-legs. 
The small rivers are the best localities to angle for this 
species, as it seems to nave a preference for the cool, clear 
streams east of the Cascaue Range. It is a very game 
fish. The profile of the body is subfusiform, the head is 
small, snout rounded, and the teeth are few, especially on 
the labials. The color of the back and head is an olive 
green dotted with black spots. 
The salmo confiuentus , which arrives in Puget Sound 
about the first of June, is the largest of the species 
frequenting the locality, as it weighs from eight to thirty 
pounds, though the average may be placed at from fourteen 
to seventeen pounds. It is speckled, with small black spots, 
and the scales are rather dark. 
The hook-nosed salmon, ( 8. scouleri ,) frequents the fresh 
waters emptying into the ocean from September to Jan¬ 
uary, but it is not caught except by the Coast Indians. 
After tarrying some time in rivers it becomes emaciated 
and myriads die from exhaustion or some other cause. It 
derives its name from the outlines of the snout. It has an 
arched profile, and the teeth are strong, though irregular. 
The back, which has a leaden hue, is unspotted, and the 
belly is white, the branchial rays vary from 10 to 14. 
The most peculiar looking of the salmonidas is the hump¬ 
backed species, ( 8 . proteus ,) and it is no less singular in 
looks than in habits. It arrives in the fresh waters of this 
region every alternate year, and runs in such vast schools 
as to compare with the quinnad. It arrives, as a general 
rule, about the first of September, and for a couple of 
months rushes into every little stream it can find. As it is 
poor eating, however, it is unmolested by fishermen, so the 
few that survive the anger and labor of spawning return 
safe to the sea. The hump, which is the sole property of 
the male, rises from his spinal column into a small tower of 
seven inches or more in height. He has other character¬ 
istic outlines also which render him a kin in beauty to the 
low life which we see in cheap prints. These are an upper 
jaw which closes over the under, large hooked teeth, ciose 
and sharp, and the lower jaw ending in a dilated knob. To 
carry the similitude further it is also useless except for 
Indian pabulum, and always wears a dirty look. It weighs 
on an average about ten pounds. 
The spotted dog, or fall salmon, {8. cams ,) arrives on the 
coast in immense shoals about the first of September; but 
after remaining any length of time in fresh water it be¬ 
comes covered with red blotches, unsavory and unpalatable. 
Immense numbers die annually; in fact it is supposed that 
few return to the sea. This is a question that should at¬ 
tract the attention of observers, for it would be interesting 
to learn the cause of the destruction of so many salmon 
when they only perform an act which all other living crea¬ 
tures above a few of the lower insects accomplish without 
injury to themselves. The motive for naming this species 
is evident when one beholds the large strong teeth imbed¬ 
ded in the strong jaws. Its colors are a dingy olive on the 
back, merging into a brassy hue on the sides; belly a dirty 
whitish. The average weight is about ten pounds'; its flesh 
is white and insipid. 
The red spotted salmon trout, {salmo spectabilis ,) is the hand¬ 
somest species of its genus, and a’so excels all competitors 
in gastronomic qualities. It is splendid material for the 
angler as it is as quick, strong and plucky as flsli can be. 
It goes for a fly with a vigor most pleasing to the angler, 
andf then dashes madly about when it has found that it was 
deceived by the looks of the innocent orthoptera, and swal¬ 
lowed more than it intended. The reel has to be used 
carefully yet freely in such cases. It is no unusual occur¬ 
rence for a couple of anglers to capture from twenty to 
twenty dozen in an afternoon with a line in almost any 
stream where they can enter. We have seen Indians cap¬ 
ture it in creeks as far up as the Great Falls of the Snake 
River and the headquarters of the Clearwater and Salmon 
Rivers in Northern Idaho, both with hook, line and traps 
made of willow wands. It seems to be partial to certain 
streams, though vye have seen it in cool, shady, quiet lag¬ 
oons, and in muddy and clear, tranquil and turbulent 
waters. It was supposed that this species was not a adrom- 
ous, but this has been proved an error, for it enters the 
Columbia and Puget Sound about the middle of May. Im¬ 
mense quantities are caught in the latter place by both 
whites and Indians with hook and line, nets and traps. 
The tenasmen , as the Indian boys are called, do the prin¬ 
cipal fishing with the hook, using salmon-roe for bait, for 
t he simple reason that they do not understand fly fishing. 
In the streams the trout will jump readily for angleworms, 
so that they offer good sport in almost every style of fishing 
from May to December. The body of this species has a 
subfusiform profile, but it is rather compressed, and the 
head is one-fourth the length of the body. The maxillary 
bone is curved and extends to the vertical line. The dor¬ 
sal region, upper portion of flanks and tail are spread over 
with darkish gray spots; sides spotted with a light red, but 
silvery beneath; teeth sharp and more numerous on lower 
than upper maxilla; weight ranges from live to ten pounds; 
length twelve to fifteen inches. Several species of trout 
allied to this in looks and anatomical structure are found 
in numerous rivers and lakes of the north-west; yet they 
are specifically distinct though known as salmon trout. 
With the preceding, in excellence for angling, may be 
classed the salmo aurora , placed by Girard in the genus 
fario, as he says that it possesses all the characteristics of 
salmon, differing from them only by having one row of 
teeth upon the shaft of the vomer, the remainder of the 
bones forming the upper roof of the mouth being toothless. 
We have seen this species caught near Clatsop Reach, late 
in June, having apparently just come in from the sea, as 
they were in excellent condition, though biting at a hook 
readily. It is caught in the streams and rivers from June 
to January. 
The salmo masoni, of Suckley, which has a brownish-gray 
back, sides silvery-gray, fins ash-gray, the dorsal and caudal 
spotted, and the upper regions of the head and body 
sprinkled with irregular blackish spots, is quite common iu 
the principal streams of Washington Territory and Oregon 
during the months intervening between June and Novem¬ 
ber. "it furnishes excellent fly fishing; hut anglers at Van¬ 
couver and the Daileo seem to prefer the half-dried, gelat¬ 
inous roe of the salmon, as it adheres readily to the hook. 
This fish seeks the quiet, cool and deep holes‘during the 
heat of the day to rest itself; yet, it seems ready to bite at 
almost any time. 
The Oregon brook trout, (fario stellatus ,) furnishes good 
angling at all seasons, as it bites readily at fly, salmon-roe, 
clam, angle worm or even a piece of meat. It frequents 
nearly all the streams, and not being anadromous, is con¬ 
venient at all times. Its habitat is the reverse of that of 
its New York congener, the 8. fontinalis , for this loves the 
shady, clear unrippled pools, and not the seething cascades. 
Its spawning season seems to be about the middle of De¬ 
cember. It is on its best condition in summer, when it 
weighs from one-fourth of a pound to two pounds. In 
January it has the anaemic look consequent upon spawn¬ 
ing, but a few weeks later some may be found filled with 
ovi, which they discharge freely as soon as touched. They 
are the companions of a black speckled trout east of the 
Cascade Range, where they are numerous. Asa table fish, 
this trout ranks high. At the invitation of a friend I par¬ 
took of a dinner last summer, in which the stellatus w-as the 
principal dish, as he had it prepared in a style to suit his 
own palate, and to preserve its flavor he ordered a certain 
class of wine. After the small, but exceedingly energetic 
party had devoured the trout and their accompaniments, 
washing them down with the best of Johannesberg, brought 
out specially to honor that mess of fish, we concluded, 
while enjoying the post-prandial Havana—also out for the 
occasion—that Oregon trout could not he excelled in edible 
qualities, especially, if accompanied by Johannesberg- 
worth $10 per bottle, and given out ad libitum. 
That your readers may know what this very pretty fish 
resembles, let me say that the body is suhfusifnrm and 
elongated; head full and one fifth length of body; jaws 
equal; anterior margin of dorsal fin a little nearer mouth 
than insertion of caudal fin. The colors are a bright olive 
on the back; belly a light silvery white; head, body and 
fins profusely spotted with black; spots on body black, 
paler in centre and numerous; pectoral, anal and ventral 
fins a reddish orange. These enumerated are the principal 
variety of the salinondise in the north-west; and they are 
abundant enough to furnish icthyc pabulum to the inhabi¬ 
tants of the United States. A species allied to them, and 
of the same family, is the eulachon, (fhaleicthys pacificus,) 
which is very abundant and so fat that when dried it burns 
like a candle. There may be another variety or two of 
these salmon around Alaska where the waters are thronged 
with them; but tlio^se mentioned, except one or two minor 
species, are all known in north-western America. 
Mortimer Kerry. 
-- - - —»■■■ — - - — 
For Forest and JStream , 
^ THE BEAVER RIVER COUNTRY. . 
I N the latter part of May and early in June of the pres¬ 
ent year a party of four of us look a brief trip to the 
Beaver River waters of the “North Woods,” in Lewis, 
Herkimer, and Hamilton counties. We went by way of 
Utica, New York, and upon arriving at the Martinsburg 
station on the Utica and Black River Railroad were 
transported by Mr. Lewis to his hotel at Beach’s 
Ridge, two miles distant, the same evening. There we 
were comfortably quartered for the night, and the next 
morning Lewis drove in with us, sixteen miles nearly east 
by a fair road, excepting the last five miles, to “Fenton’s,” 
or “No. 4.” Our original plan was to remain here, but 
upon our arrival the “wildness” which we had come to see 
and enjoy was not equal to our anticipations, and we re¬ 
solved to reorganize and push on to Smith’s Lake, nearly 
fifty miles distant by the route to be traveled up the river. 
We spent the afternoon and evening at Fenton’s in secur¬ 
ing four guides and supplies, and in making explorations 
of the surroundings. Fenton’s has recently been amply 
described in your columns by the genial ex-editor and ex¬ 
perienced woodsman “P.H.A.,” and I will not repeat what 
he has already told so well. 
The next morning we walked eleven miles to Stillwater, 
followed over the wretched road by our guides and a 
‘ strong wagon bearing our scanty luggage, and stopped for 
breakfast at the end of our walk at Wardwell’s solitary 
sportsman’s hotel. There we took boats and began our as¬ 
cent of the Beaver River, which for making the most turns 
in the shortest direct advance surpasses everything I ever 
saw. The water was high and the current strong, and our 
progress laborious. When evening came we extemporized 
a camp at South Branch, where small trout took the fly 
with great alacrity. As the darkness came on, and we 
gathered from our fishing before the high blazing fire, and 
threw our weary limbs on our couch of fresh boughs, we 
discovered to our consternation that one of our party and 
liis guide were missing. What added to the unplesantness 
was that nearly all the supplies were in the missing boat. 
However, we had fortunately dined and supped together at 
Black Fly Point (named for the occasion with painful ap¬ 
propriateness), and, as to eating, only wondered where our 
breakfast would come from. At length, more calmly con¬ 
sidering the situation, we smoked, and then six of us slept 
on a bed of boughs and under a fragrant roof of the same 
material. 
Morning brought a solution of the mystery and the 
doubt upon which we had in a primitive way gone to bed, 
in the person of the lost guide himself. Missing the Branch 
he had rowed five miles further up the river to Little Rap¬ 
ids (where wrn alt ought to have gone), and then first dis¬ 
covered his error. Without axe, blanket, or camp kit, 
there was the promise of a sony night to both man and 
guide. Quickly crossing the short carry up the rapids, 
they were so fortunate as to find two gentlemen from Cats- 
kill encamped for the night, and to their bed and board the 
wanderers were invited. All this the guide related to us as 
we rubbed our eyes after our first sleep in camp for the 
trip, and then, since breakfast was only possible to us at 
Little Rapids, we broke camp and proceeded thither as rap¬ 
idly as possible and breakfasted. The eating—enormous 
tts it was on our part—w T as moderate and temperate com¬ 
pared with the devouring which we suffered in the hot sun 
from myriads of black lies. When we left home we sup¬ 
posed we were nicely and in a soldierly manner stealing a 
march on this enemy; but if the season was late he was 
not, and our first day on the river had revealed to us our 
deplorable error. Here, however, we nearly perished, and 
were only too glad to push on up the river out of the reach 
of the swarms of flies that seemed to stand guard on this 
vantage ground against all invaders of the sacred solitude 
beyond. 
Passing up the river to the foot of Albany Rapids, we 
came to our first serious work, a carry of three quarters of 
a mile. Every man carried his load, but the guides were 
compelled to make two or three trips before we were ready 
to launch again. A row of two or three miles up the river 
over what must be excellent fishing ground brought us to 
Albany Lake, a favorite resort for deer, with low, marshy 
Shores in the main, but with some good camping ground 
on the east and southeast. Out of the lake and into the 
river again we finally reached another, and our last, three 
quarters of a mile carry, before undertaking which we 
dined. Crossing the carry we took the river again at Deni¬ 
son’s Dam, below which, in the rapids, small trout eagerly 
took the fly. Two miles more of rowing brought us to 
Smith’s Lake, and we soon landed and took possession of 
Syracuse Camp, picturesquely situated on the west shore, 
commanding a tine view of the lake, with its seven islands, 
its bluff anfi winding shores, and all its manifold beauties. 
Tired out, we ^oon went to bed, making shift as well as 
we could on some old marsh hay in camp, the rain having 
put dry boughs out of the question. An all night’s drizzle 
penetrated our old bark roof, and we arose in the morning 
generally demoralized. 
The day proved delightful. New bark and boughs were 
obtained, and repairs made. The camp is one well known 
amoi% sportsmen on “this side” (a phrase the guides con¬ 
stantly use as opposed to the eastern and northern woods). 
It had been occupied during a portion of the winter by my 
guide’s “pardner,” of whom we heard enough. How a 
