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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1889)
II WF.ST SIIOKK. while we scramble a k-- n I l m k in more assuring, ami though tin shaggy head rest iim if asleep in the warm sunshine, iMiiething in tin expression ami attitude in duced tin to utti-r a trial shout which elicited no reme from llrcr U'ar. Instantly relieved, ami laughing at our fear, we slid down I lie loie ami landed beside a Imp' iefiutcn of tln most formidable of all the wilil animal of tin' Itockies a silver-tip grizzly whose long claw tt ml sharp teeth gave evidence of having done good ncrviiv. Ah fit t iih butter, ami meing a tlm k coat of fur tlmt would have Holil for a small for tuiii' in a New York furrier', he seem ready for hi long winter' nap. Rolling him over, we could liml no bullet hole, no mark of violence; the only nignn of in jury Is-ing a few ilro.H of hloo Itcncath his glistening black now, Tlmt he had been dead hut a hurt time wan certain, for there wr Hies, and the carcass wan fresh and milurul liMikiiig. How had h- met It in death ? wan the iit-ht inn we asked each other, and at first it xecmcd ai, enigma. Itiit, stranger still, Inside him lay the decaying rcniaiiiH of yet another War, also grizxly, and alsive thin a few yard up the gulch, the fur and honcx of other Learn, live skeletons being counted, beside the rib and shoulder hladenof an elk While looking at the strange ight, reminding one of the death-chamber of the Chi new or the hurial place of the I'arwe. we liml oiirselvc faint and diiy. and suddenly realize our own danger. Climbing iiti kly up the o.e until the fresh bnvzo r store .iiir strength, (he mystery i ved. It in carlxmic acid ga that had filled our lung, and, had it overcome u. might have adde our skeleton to those of its vie tin. now lying in the gulch. IVsccmling mn, we risk .wihle asphyxiation to tent the gait with a strip of liKht.l hht, which it quickly extinguishes-con-(Inning our U lief an to it prewi.ee. AHlVl, ,. t.j k U.e. we fmind wveral d. ad birds, a rock hare au. i.umen.u lifeless hutterllien, M.idc H r., Hl,uirrel-a pretty little fellow. ,uti;. tcd. ,ke the ..(hern, while crowing lite gulch The explanation i, ,, jm., Vfm prmg which oihv U fn.t., thew ,o,., are tiling, of the I'Ut leave their reofd j their debits and the white slo,,-, of d.vo,,(i r,,.k . , i(,v .u.vmW l.y invisible ei,1(,,m,io1,((f(!a, Ml!linlv doubu.rWnic acid Thi.,a.i,W(.ktlrtI1 ihi;;..,r than .r and .f emitted ahun-htntly. w, c,vt in hu '""I-. iM nv animal unwary cough lo venture ., ,. rvit, ..riMUlU.lMnll,,,!,',,,), hwaatl,,,,!,,! the remain, of Mich m,flml). lM x hr., iH.r. wlp. Mam. . rv,M itl lllfI , The guhh i, thth-fiirr, a vcrii.il, ;,. d.th trap..,h.r,H hot,w, VMm j I lastening from this scone of desolation to the beach I hImivo, we are in thick pine tiniW, whose balnani odor in refreshing to our lungs, while the shrill chirrup of! squirrel, scolding at our intrusion of his estate, and the noisy call of a Canada jay, assure us that we are be yond the reach of the invisible hand of Death, and again in the land of the living. THE SALMON PACK. Til V. salmon season on the Columbia came to an end hy law at midnight on the .'list of July, and the season's pack approximated IW(),(X)0 cases, the smallest pack for many years. In several re spirts this has been the poorest season known on the river. The cost of a case of salmon tt) the packer lian been in excess of any previous year, reaching a total of M.ihi, being at least $1.(10 more than last year. This has lieen caused chielly by the forced raise in the price paid for lish, 11.40 each, the highest previous price being $1.00. Notwithstanding this increase in price, lishcrmcn have not done well, the average catch for the season U-ing but MO lish to the boat. Neither have the traps ami Hiund nets done as well as was ex pn'tcd. Taken altogether, the outlook is not bright for this industry so long as natural propagation is re li' d iiK,n. Happily, this fact has been recognized hy the state legislature and the ollicers of the U. S. lish commission, and an appropriation made by the former placed the Clackamas hatchery in operating condition,' d this year millions of fry were turned into the river hy the employes of the latter, who had charge of the liatdiery. Preparations are being made to largely in rcase the number f r,h hatched, and the indication re that in a few years the Columbia and itH tributa ry will nguin swarm with the ttrnthsome salmon. Meanwhile, as the lish do not return to the river for four r live years after Wing hatched, two or three more w'asonsof,, linht run may reasonably Im anticipated. l''"'rtH from Alaska are to the effect that more can " nes are at work there than last season, and the total l"''k iH probably reach oOO.OOO cases. (Juite a con trast with the Columbia is Fraser river, where the run "f lu,o s.rms to . the largest known for many y-ars. and the canneries are literally swamped with II"' pack will I. eary mm faH((, an, ,M,rr,'l' 'f Halt salmon. It js t,H, early in the season to ""Yth.ng ,i,tilliu RlHlllt th(l p;(,k on llu, (ithl.r ' H"""""l1 ,m.v" "f Oregon and Washington, where lts until lte in the fall. Figures of tho -k are (lt y,t nt lluI)(,t llllt i( ,VUM iHthat ll... t..tHl,,!U.k of the coast this year will 8P ; """t;- eases, having a total value a,, I'roMuiatmgr.iMl.iM).