14 FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 



side of this bay was said to be very milky, while the other side was 

 clear. Accounts vary with respect to the nature of the turbidity, 

 whether caused by a sediment which would settle out when the water 

 was allowed to stand or whether the material was in solution, but the 

 former is more likely. The condition was so pronounced that in a 

 bucket filled with the water the bottom could not be seen. Fresh 

 rain water was said to show clear on top of the milky water. 



It is claimed that an earthquake shock was felt by the people at 

 Sulzer, Copper Moimt, and other places about a week before the unusual 

 condition of the water appeared. Old residents of the region seem 

 not to recall any previous manifestation similar to this one, and no 

 one has a satisfactory explanation of the occurrence. No samples of 

 the water were saved and the condition was not seen by the present 

 writers; during the visits of the agent to the west coast of Prince of 

 Wales in July and again in October the water was in its usual condi- 

 tion. It is likely that had there been investigation or full reports other 

 localities would have been found affected. The Naas River, for 

 instance, was said to have been involved, and about the 1st of 

 October a murkiness in the water was seen between Nichols Pass and 

 Ketchikan which was taken to be of the same nature, though less in 

 degree, as the condition near the west coast of Prince of Wales 

 Island. 



Whatever may have been the cause of the phenomenon, the fisher- 

 men are firmly of the opinion that the milky water had a pronounced 

 effect on the salmon run. Few fish were taken in it, and the scarcity 

 of redfish between Klawak and Hunter Bay is believed to be due in 

 part at least to this extraordinary condition. Such catches as were 

 obtained in this region were taken in clear water, and north of 

 Klawak on Prince of Wales Island, where the water did not become 

 clouded, there was a fairly good run of redfish. The few salmon seen 

 in the cloudy water were scattered and seemed to be stragglers which 

 had become lost. 



On August 14, 1907, the Japanese schooner Satsuma Maru (185 net 

 tons), of Tokyo, Y. Fuji, master, and S. Satsuma Company, Tokyo, 

 o\vners, anchored close to Killisnoo, and on the 19th her captain 

 entered the vessel at the custom-house in Sitka. She carried a crew 

 of 27 men, had a cargo of 140 tons of salt, and expected to buy dog 

 salmon for salting, as other Japanese vessels have done in previous 

 years. She had no clearance papers, however, and arrived so near 

 the end of the fishing season that she was in any case unable to 

 accomplish this purpose. Late in the year she was wrecked in the 

 vicinity of Yakutat and entirely lost, her crew escai)ing, however. 



The Indians of Alaska are an important factor in labor comli- 

 tions, the cannery men drawing upon them for a very consideral)l(^ 

 portion of their force and frequently employing a whole village dur- 

 ing the salmon season. The jealousies between the tribes, however. 



