THE FISHEEY EESOUECES OF ALASKA. 85 



poorest saluion salted, though it sells best ou accoiiut of its red color. For my own part I think 

 the fresh gorlusclia equal to any other salmon, but I prefer the chowichee bellies among the salt 

 fish. There is nothing on the west coast which exactly corresponds with the Maine salmon. Salmo 

 Gainhierii is most like it in general ai)pearauce, and sometimes approaches it in size, but its habits 

 are different, since it is found filled with ripe ova in June. We have this species from Sitka and 

 Kodiak. It is very diflicult to distinguish Gairdner's trout from the " rainbow trout" (8. irideus), 

 so well known in the McCloud River, the characters which are supposed to separate them being 

 unimportant. I found at Sitka one young trout which may be called irideus or Gairdnerii 

 indilTereutly, and it will puzzle any one to tell which it really is. Clark's trout {8almo purpuratuis) 

 is very abundant in Soathern Alaska, aud must be rare to the northward. Dall says that it is 

 not fouud north of Aliaska Peninsula. Captain Hooper had it from Northern Alaska, but the 

 e.^act locality is not stated. This beautiful species is not known to reach the great size in 

 Alaska that is claimed for occasional individuals in the Columbia River, but it is very abundant 

 aud an excellent food-lish. \Ve ibnnd it leediug on sticklebacks {Gastcrostcus microcephalus, 

 Girard) in Piseco Lake at Sitka. The species known in California as the "Dolly Varden" trout 

 is everywhere jiresent in Alaska, reaching as much as fifteen pounds in weight, and literally 

 swarming in the streams aud adjacent tidal waters. The young of this trout were found as far 

 north as Cape Lisburne, and the species is very abundant in Northeastern Siberia. While it 

 remains in the streams it is generally dark coloied, but after a sojourn in the sea ujjon re-entering 

 the brooks and rivers it quickly shows its beautiful red spots. We found that individuals taken 

 fi'om the salt water showed no trace of red spots, but immediately assumed them upon being 

 immersed in spring water. This difference of color, varying with the place of residence, has led 

 to the supposition that they rei)resent two species, the large silvery ones in the coves and bays 

 being called salmon ti'out while the smaller inland form is known as brook trout. There is good 

 evidence of the occurrence of one species of Oiicorhynchvs {0. (jorhvscha), the little humpback 

 salmon, in Colville River. Captain Hooper reports that " the salmon is the only variety of fish 

 in the Arctic that is of any value. Although smaller than the salmon caught farther south, they 

 are of fine flavor. They are quite plentiful, and the coast natives cure large quantities of them 

 by smoking aud drying for winter use.'" Capt. E. E. Smith, who was the Corwiu's ice pilot 

 ou her cruise of 1880, iu 1875 put up in salt two barrels of little gorhuseha which he bought at the 

 mouth of Colville River. 



The sole representative of the herring family of much importance as a source of food is the 

 Chipea mirabiUs of Girard, the common sea-herring of the Pacific coast. Widely distributed and 

 extremely abundant, invaluable as bait and delicious on account of its fatness, it deserves a high 

 rank among the staples of Alaskan waters. There are no finer herring anywhere than may be 

 seined at Iliuliuk aud sometimes near Saint Paul. They are as plentiful as menhaden once 

 were iu Pecouic Bay, so plentiful that a lazy Indian with a stick armed with jioinled nails can 

 soon impale a canoe load ; vessels have sailed for hours through shoals of them which seemed 

 unending; acres of grass are sometimes covered with their eggs when a high tide takes them far 

 ashore and the receding waters suddenly leave them aground. Natives are very prompt to profit 

 by such accidents. When we came into Chugachik Bay, in Cook's Inlet, we found a sand spit 

 strewn with recently stranded herring and their wasted eggs, while here and there were groups 

 of ])oles selected from driftwood on which the fish had been hung up to dry after being split aud 

 having the head of one passed through the gills and mouth of another. The spawn clinging to 

 blades of grass after a little sun-drying had a rather pleasant, slightly salt taste. 



'Ri'port of ornise of Corwin. November 1, 1880 ClSSl), l). GS. 



