nning
of February, a small kind of fish, about six inches long, called by the
natives the uthlecan, and resembling the smelt, made its appearance at
the mouth of the river. It is said to be of delicious flavor, and so fat
as to burn like a candle, for which it is often used by the natives. It
enters the river in immense shoals, like solid columns, often extending
to the depth of five or more feet, and is scooped up by the natives with
small nets at the end of poles. In this way they will soon fill a canoe,
or form a great heap upon the river banks. These fish constitute a
principal article of their food; the women drying them and stringing
them on cords. As the uthlecan is only found in the lower part of the
river, the arrival of it soon brought back the natives to the coast;
who again resorted to the factory to trade, and from that time furnished
plentiful supplies of fish.

The sturgeon makes its appearance in the river shortly after the
uthlecan, and is taken in different ways by the natives: sometimes
they spear it; but oftener they use the hook and line, and the net.
Occasionally, they sink a cord in the river by a heavy weight, with a
buoy at the upper end, to keep floating. To this cord several hooks are
attached by short lines, a few feet distant from each other, and baited
with small fish. This apparatus is often set towards night, and by the
next morning several sturgeon will be found hooked by it; for though a
large and strong fish, it makes but little resistance when ensnared.

The salmon, which are the prime fish of the Columbia, and as important
to the piscatory tribes as are the buffaloes to the hunters of the
prairies, do not enter the river until towards the latter part of May,
from which time, until the middle of August, they abound and are taken
in vast quantities, either with the spear or seine, and mostly in
shallow water. An inferior species succeeds, and continues from August
to December. It is remarkable for having a double row of teeth, half an
inch long and extremely sharp, from whence it has received the name of
the dog-toothed salmon. It is generally killed with the spear in small
rivulets, and smoked for winter provision. We have noticed in a former
chapter the mode in which the salmon are taken and cured at the falls
of the Columbia; and put tip in parcels for exportation. From these
different fisheries of the river tribes, the establishment at Astoria
had to derive much of its precarious