Page:Oregon, End of the Trail.djvu/62



The coastal headlands and rocky promontories present many interesting glimpses of the life habits of seals and sea lions, and the rocks, wave-washed and scarred, harbor a marine fauna that is of interest to scientist and common observer alike.

Oregon snakes consist mostly of the harmless garter snakes, the King snakes, and the Pacific bull snakes. The deadly rattler is now confined largely to the dryer eastern counties.

The fishes of the state are of three types—those living entirely within the salt waters of the Pacific; the migratory fish which spend most of their life in the sea but enter the rivers to spawn; and the fresh-water fish living in lakes and rivers. Of the first, the coast fisheries of halibut, herring, pilchards, and other lesser fish add greatly to the wealth of the state. Aside from this, sportsmen find profitable recreation in surf fishing.

Of the migratory fishes, the salmon is of first importance. Myriads of the five great species—the chum, the humpback, the silversides, the sockeye, and the royal chinook—travel up streams for great distances, those of the Columbia deep into the fastenesses of its mountainous watershed. The salmon is the chief commercial fish of the state. In marked contrast to the gigantic salmon is the smelt or eulachon, called anchovy by Lewis and Clark, and also known as candlefish because their small dried bodies, rich in oil, were formerly utilized as torches. Each spring they still run the Sandy River in countless thousands and are taken by Portlanders with bird cages, nets, and buckets.

The prince of all the fresh-water fishes is the great steelhead trout, the fighting spirit of which is so renowned that fishermen have crossed oceans and continents to pit their skill against its strength. All of the cold water streams of the State are well stocked with smaller trout, the principal ones being the rainbow, the cutthroat, the brook, and the Dolly Varden.

Bass, sunfish, and crappies have been introduced into most lowland streams, and give the angler abundant sport. Fishing for catfish furnishes contemplative recreation for whole families, particularly on Sauvie Island, where on Sundays the wooden bridges across the sluggish streams are double-lined with Portlanders. Of the plentiful suckers, especially noteworthy are the multiple varieties inhabiting the Klamath Lakes and river and adjacent waters. To the Klamath and Modoc Indians these were formerly a source of wealth second only to the great salmon runs.

A red fish that abounded fifty years ago in Wallowa Lake and Wallowa River has mysteriously disappeared. In early days white men