Mid 1800s Kettle Falls salmon estimates

Father DeSmet (13 days July/Aug 1845): 

800 – 900 Indians;
1,750 – 2,000 salmon/day;
His share = 346 lb/day
 

Paul Kane (1848):
Ave. of 400, Max. of 1,700 salmon taken/day in Salmon
Chief’s basket;
Spearsmen took 200/day each;
Salmon Chief allowed fish to escape upstream.
 

Jack Lord (1858—1860):
300 salmon per day landed from one basket weighing 20–75 lbs each.

 

Lt. C. Wilkes (1845):  

900 fish/day caught in basket traps
 

Jacob Meyers (1869): 

Main basket trap yield 1,000-1,500 fish/day.
 

Angus McDonald (1852–1872):

Stated that: “Salmon as heavy as 100 lbs” were caught at Kettle Falls and that “one basket has caught a thousand salmon in one day.”

 

Above estimates indicate that baskets traps averaged of 1,071 salmon daily during 60 day peak of run 

June 20-August 20 = 64,620 total salmon

Conservative estimate (does not count fish harvested from late August-October, or fish harvested by Indians who speared or dipnetted fish).
 

Indian populations estimated at 1,000 individuals during peak of run. Suggests considerable numbers of fish were taken by spearing or dipnetting them.