at Knappton, by workmen who spent their wages in Astoria, and so on.
If you had inquired what back country it had to support it, he would have pointed to Clatsop, and the valley of the Nehalem, south of it; and have told you that it is but seventy miles into the great valley of Western Oregon, and that a railroad is to be built into it from Astoria, through the coast mountains. He would mention, besides, that there are numerous small valleys of streams running into the Columbia within twenty miles, which are of the best of rich bottom-lands, and only need opening up. This was the Astorian's view of his town, and nothing to the contrary could be seen. That there were in the neighborhood of Astoria many elements of wealth, both mineral and agricultural, which only required time and capital to develop, could not be doubted, even then. The same conditions remain, but the resources then modestly claimed have been considerably developed.
To fishing, more than to any other, or all other, business, Astoria owes its prosperity from 1870 to the present time. The first fishery established on the Lower Columbia since 1834, when Wyeth failed, was in 1862, by Captain John West, of Westport, some distance above Astoria; the first cannery in 1867, by Hapgood and Hume, on the north side of the river, also above Astoria. A fishery proper is understood to mean a barrelling establishment, while a cannery is one where fish are preserved in cans, either fresh or spiced, and pickled. Often they are combined.
The fishing season begins in May, and ends in August. The manner of taking salmon in the Columbia is usually by driftnets, from twenty to a hundred fathoms long. The boats used by the fishermen are similar to the Whitehall boat. According to laws of their own, the men engaged in taking the fish, where the drift is large, allow each boat a stated time to go back and forth along the drift to hook up the salmon. The meshes of the nets are just of a size to catch the fish by the gills, when attempting to pass through; and their misfortune is betrayed to the watchful eye of the fisherman by the bobbing of the corks on the surface of the river.
When brought to the fishery, they are piled up on long tables
