INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA EIVER BASIN. 
185 
Little Spokane River. — This was visited hy Mr. Barton A. Beau in 1892, and by ns August 18, 
1893. The Little Spokane rises among tire low hills in a system of small streams and lakes in Stevens 
Comity, Wash., only 1 or 5 miles from the Bend d’Oreillo River. Feii, as it is, liy nnmerons springs, 
its water is very clear and cold. It flows through a narrow, fertile valley, the low meadows 
bordering it liaving a black loamy soil. The immediate bardcs are for the most part covered with a 
network of brushes. High hills rise on either side of the valley and they are sparsely covered with 
pines. Such trees as cottonwood, maples, and alders are common along tlie banks. 
At Dart's mill, where the Idttle Spokane was examined by us, it averages about 40 feet wide, 20 
inches deep (on the ripples), and had a current of 2^ feet per second. The temperature at 2 p.m., 
August 18, was 63'’ . The bottom there was of coarse gravel in most places. Just above the dam the 
water was, of course, deeper and the bottom is of sand and soft mud. Here we found such water 
vegetation as Rannnctilus aqnatilis tricliophnUus and Mijriophijllum in abundance. A single species of 
Unionidre, Margaritana margaritifera was not uncommon at this place. Fishes were also rather abun- 
dant, some 8 or 10 species being olitained. The luttle Spokane is an excellent salmon and trout stream, 
as is fully evidenced by the great abundance of salmonoid fishes which we found. The cut-throat 
trout was abundant, as were also young whitetish. Large whitefish (Coregonus wiUiamsoni) were seen 
at the dam at the mill, where Indians were spearing them with fair success. Salmon are said to enter 
the Little Spokane in consideralile numbers oven yet, but much less abuuilantly than formerly. The 
dam at Dart’s mill interferes wdth their farther ascent and a fishway should be ]iut in. Salmon were 
quite abundant in this stream in 1882, as reported by Mr. Lane C. Gilliam, of Spokane, to Mr. Liviugstofi 
Stone.* Mr. Gilliam says : 
“I have just completed my second trip to the Little Spokane, and as yet no salmon to speak of 
are running. The Indians, who .are encamped here in great numbers, anticipating a large run, are 
uneasy and fear the fish are not coming. Yesterday morning they caught eight, which was the largest 
number taken at any one time as yet. A white man living in the neighborhood told me that last ye.ar 
he made a rough estimate of the salmon taken by the Indians. He thinks they had between 40,000 
and .50,000 drying at one time, about October 1. I will make another investigation about October 1.’’ 
In the same letter reporting this information to Prof. Baird, Mr. Stone says: 
“The result of my researches on the Snake River are that no salmon ascend as high as the crossing 
of the Utah and Northern Railroad, and that there are no salmon as high as the foot of the American 
Falls on the Oregon Short Line. The salmon probaldy can not get over. Shoshone Falls. Inthespawn- 
ing season there are a great many salmon at the foot of these falls, 27 miles from the Oregon Short 
Line Railroad.” 
It should be added that the character of this stream is being materially changed by the advent of 
civilization, a fact which is, or has been, true of most streams of this country. The cutting away of 
the timber and brush on the immediate banks .and the cultivation of the land within the drainage .area 
of the stream have greatly increased the surface erosion and, in consequence, the impurities of the 
stream. 
LOAV'EK. COLUMBIA KIVEIt. 
Very little work was done by us on the Lower Columbia. Some fishing was done August 22 at 
Pasco, near the railroad bridge 1 mile east of town, where we made twelve hauls on s.and .and gravel 
bars on both sides of the river in water from 1 to 5 feet deep. Took very few fish. Water very clear 
and cold. Rocks nearly free from algie. Mr. John E. Gantenheim, an educated and intelligent fish- 
erman of Pasco, says that he fishes every year at the mouth of the Snake and Yakima rivers. The 
’ salmon bite readily at a spoon and are in good condition for eating. They are caught by trolling only, 
and bite greedily, ev'en when full of eggs. Their stomachs are always empty. They spawn on the rip- 
ples near the mouths of the Snake and the Yakima rivers. Mr. Gantenheim caught his first salmon 
for this se.ason on August 20. It was the first he knew of as being caught this year. It was a silver- 
side (O. kisiitch'?), and he took it from the Columbia River near the month of the Yakima. We 
saw three salmon while at the river. Mr. Ganteidieim says that the salmon begin their run about the 
20th of August, are at their best during September, and last until the high water in October. The 
last ones are spent and not good eating. Ho calls the ones ho catches silversides and chiuooks. Does 
not know of other forms. Though many fish are caught, none are shipped to the canneries because of 
railroad charges. It is j^robable that some of the salmon which are caught by trolling are steelheads. 
♦Bull. U. S. Fish Com. for 1883. 
