SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 77 
20. Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum). Dog Salmon. 
According to Mr. Alexander, this salmon usually commences to run in the southern part of Puget 
Sound about the middle of October and continues until the first of December. In 1895 and 1896 they 
were quite numerous. During fall and winter all the small creeks, lagoons, and sloughs near Duwam- 
ish and Cedar rivers are filled with dog salmon, and boys find great amusement killing them with 
clubs and stones. In the rivulets by the roadside, where the water is not over 2 or 3 inches deep, dog 
salmon may be seen trying to get farther upstream. At such times they are in poor condition and no 
use is made of them. 
The condition of the dog salmon in January, 1897, was unusually good. These fish were plump in 
appearance and marked with that brightness which they possess when first coming from the ocean. 
In the opinion of some of the dealers many of the January (1897) run were fresh from the ocean. Their 
eggs, like those of the steelhead, showed various degrees of development; most of the fish were well 
advanced, however. It has been only a few years since it was known that any species other than the 
steelhead was to be found in Puget Sound during winter, but it is now thought that salmon have 
always been more or less plentiful in Puget Sound during the winter months — not a heavy run, but 
enough to supply the local demand. In former years, there being no sale for salmon after the canneries 
were closed, fishing was almost wholly suspended until the next season. As soon, however, as the 
experiment of shipping fresh salmon to eastern markets proved a success, a new industry was opened, 
and fishermen who had hitherto given no thought to winter fishing now began to investigate the 
waters of Puget Sound out of season, and the result is that a winter fishery of considerable importance 
has been introduced in Seattle and other places on the sound and is increasing yearly. The steelhead 
is the most valuable fish for shipment to eastern markets, as it reaches its destination in better condi- 
tion than other species. 
21. Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Chinook salmon. 
Very few Chinook salmon came to the headwaters of . Salmon River in 1896, perhaps not over a 
dozen, where there were about 1,000 in 1895. The number which came to the Wallowa spawning-beds 
was also very small. Important spawning-beds were found in Little White Salmon River, and con- 
siderable numbers were found spawning in Big White Salmon River, Eagle Creek, and Tanner Creek. 
Young chinooks were found in Siuslaw River in considerable numbers and a few were obtained in 
Lake Washington. Two specimens, 2| and 2§ inches in length, respectively, from the mouth of Big 
White Salmon agree perfectly with those gotten in 1895 at Alturas Lake. These two specimens were 
evidently hatched the preceding winter. 
Nine specimens from the Siuslaw River, caught with hook and line at Florence, October 14, 1896; 
length, 5, 5J, 6, 64, 6^, 7, 7, 7, and 7i inches respectively. Salmon of this size are very abundant about 
the cannery wharf during the canning season. They are easily caught with hooks baited with 
salmon eggs. 
Two specimens 11J and 11| inches in length from Seattle, Washington, caught December 8, 1896. 
These specimens were no doubt hatched during the winter of 1894-95. One specimen, 6 inches long, was 
taken with a seine near the mouth of the Siuslaw River December 9, 1896. It is the same age as the 
specimens mentioned above from Florence. One small, nearly ripe male, length 18|- inches, from the 
Siuslaw River at Mapleton, Oregon, was caught on a hook baited with salmon eggs. A few other 
specimens of the same size were caught in the same way while fishing for trout about October 21. We 
are informed that it is not uncommon to catch these fish with baited hooks. 
A few of these small male salmon were seen on the spawning-beds in the North Fork, near 
Minerva, October 23 and 24. They were mutilated the same as the larger ones, and one was in a dying 
condition. 
On September 9 Mr. A. B. Alexander examined 129 Chinook salmon in the Florence cannery; of 
these 76 were females and 53 were males; 25 of the females and 13 of the males were fully developed. 
On September 11 he examined 546 chinooks; of these 317 were females and 229 males; 229 females and 
110 males were nearly ripe. There were among this number 25 small fish from 18 to 25 inches in 
length; these were as fully developed as the large ones. 
During the latter part of September and early part of October, Mr. Alexander examined many 
chinook salmon at Celilo and obtained much valuable information as to their spawning condition. 
In one lot of 119 fish examined 57 were males and 62 females ; 34 males and 47 females were nearly or 
quite ripe, and would have spawned by the 8th or 10th of October. 
In the following tables is given a record of the fish examined by Mr. Alexander. 
