The Daily Intelligencer

OUR FISHFRIES

As it is probable that a great deal of capital hitherto employed in the fisheries of the Columbia river, will be transferred to these waters early in the Spring, it might be well to review the various eligible points for locating fisheries on Puget Sound and its tributaries. First on entering the Straits of Fuca we come to -

Carmel River. This stream runs into the Straits at Pillar Point, and is said to abound in excellent salmon of large size. There is no fishery there at present.

Lyre River. This stream comes into the Straits just west of Crescent Bay has a good shelter at its mouth and has never been fished to any great extent.

Hoko River.
Said to have the largest salmon in its waters of any stream between the Columbia and Yukon. A fishery is being established there by Thomas Stratton and associates.

Elwha River. Empties into Freshwater Bay and is considered the finest trout stream on the Pacific coast. It abounds with fine salmon and is easily approached by sea-going vessels.

Annas Bay. This is near the Skokomish Indian Reservation and is the outlet of a large river. Its remote location would militate against it as a cannery point.

Skagit Head,
Lies on the extreme south side of Whidby Island and would be an excellent point for a cannery, as the schools of salmon seem to follow the island shore on entering the Sound and leave it at this point to enter the Snohomish and other rivers on the east side of the Sound. With a good wharf at this point the Pacific Mail steamers would land on their down trips to take on cases, thus enabling the cannery to carry on business with a much smaller stock.

Mukilteo. This place has the only cannery on the Sound, and is on the south side of a broad bay into which empties the Snohomish river. It was purely an experiment with Jackson, Meyer & Co., but they put up 13,000 cases of salmon in less than four months with sixty Chinese laborers, none of which made more than half time.

West Point. Lies ten miles below Seattle and is one of the best ports on the Sound, as it gives the boats belonging to a cannery a double chance to cruise above and below, taking the Mukilteo drift on one side and Seattle Bay on the other

Seattle. The chief recommendation of this place is its central location. By fixing a cannery here the operator would avoid a great deal of expense for freight on packing boxes etc.

Samish River. This stream comes into Bellingham Bay and carries a large run of fine fish during the season. H. C. Vining and others have located there and will open their cannery to can clams and berries as well as fish.

Puyallup River. Comes into the Sound a short distance east of New Tacoma. The salmon caught here are equal to those of Mukilteo and Seattle but no canneries have been established. Several thousand barrels were put up in pickle last year by E. G. Ingalls & Co.

Nisqually River.
This stream enters the Sound above Steilacoom.
Considerable fishing has been done about there but no canneries have been established. The July run of salmon will not pay to can, but the fish taken from the 5th of August to the 1st of November are equal to any in the world. The "silver sides" though not the largest salmon on the coast, are the handsomest and best flavored fish.
They are taken only with a hook and line by the "trolling" process, and it is not unusual to catch them by the hundred in the mild, September days. The Columbia fisheries must, in the opinion of the most competent judges, be given a resting spell of about three years, during which time all that capital cannot afford to lie idle. It must come to Puget Sound, as affording the largest catch of fish and the cheapest method of shipment.