ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1&22. 55 



rect, but as yet this season both of tliese pests were very scarce on the river. 

 In this connection Al Walsh, of the Walsh-Joaquim saltery, has for several 

 years been keeping a systematic tab on the salmon taken that have seal marks 

 on them. Last season he found that " seal marked " king salmon averaged 1 

 in every 30 fish taken. This season there was but 1 so marked in every 72 

 caught. Natives also caught very few seals the past spring. In consequence 

 of this there will be a shortage the coming winter of the seal muckluck which 

 is so dear to the comfort of the average native. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE KUSKOKWIM. 



In topography and physical conditions the Kuskokwim district is very similar to 

 the Kvichak River. The volume of water flowing out of the river is much lai'ger, 

 however. In addition to being one of the largest rivers of Alaska, the Kuskokwim 

 is also distinguished by the fact that it is the only Alaskan stream of any conse- 

 quence that has not had salmon canneries operating upon it. Flowing out of 

 the mountains of the interior the upper river is a swiftly running stream with 

 many large tributaries feeding it. One hundred and twenty-five miles from its 

 mouth the river leaves a rolling country covered with clumps of spruce, willow, 

 and birch, and from that point onward traverses a tundra plain to the sea. 

 Shallow waters, bars, sloughs, and a tendency of the stream to shift channels 

 are the features of this portion of the river. The freeze-up in the fall and 

 the bx-eak-up in the spring occur at approximately the same time as in the 

 Naknek and the Kvichak Rivers in Bristol Bay. When the spring break-up 

 takes place the river rises with the melting snow and ice, then as the season 

 advances gradually falls, and by midsummer is very low. This season the 

 water was from 5 to 7 feet above the normal summer level and higher than 

 the average rise during break-up. The river, as is usual with tundra streams, 

 has a wide bed and plenty of room for surplus water, but, owing to continued 

 rains in July, the water, which had started to fall, suddenly commenced rising 

 again. The old timers said over and over that it had been many and many 

 a year since there was such high water during the summer as during this 

 second rise. 



The damage done was large, considering the small number of people living in 

 the immediate valley of the stream. On the trip up the river at least four out 

 of every five fish wheels encountered were damaged in varying extent, only 

 those on sheltered sloughs escaping damage. Some of them were entirely 

 swept away, others being jammed, splintered, and portions of them carried 

 downstream. The greatest loss was caused by logs and stumps drifting against 

 the Avheels. 



The Kuskokwim River country naturally divides itself into upper and lower 

 river regions The line of division crosses the valley of the river at Bethel, 

 where, as stated, the country breaks from a region of rolling landscape into 

 a low-lying tundra country, which reaches away to Bering Sea. Much of this 

 lower river country lias water upon it when there are extreme high tides and 

 storms driving inland. Small lakes everywhere dot these thousands of square 

 miles of monotonous tundra, which is treeless. Just above Bethel scattering, 

 stunted spruce, birch, and willow begin showing, and about 30 or 40 miles 

 farther up the river timber is scattered profusely over a rolling country. 



The tidal flow on the Kuskokwim is noticeable 75 miles from the mouth, but 

 the current of the river shows the retarding effects of the tide as far up as 

 Akiak, over 100 miles from the sea. The height of the tides is not so great on 

 the Kuskokwim as on the Kvichak and the Nushagak. 



In an endeavor to give the bureau an accurate " close-up " of the general 

 conditions of life in the Ku.skokwim district it may be stated that in the whole 

 district, from the Tuliviksak tributai'y to the sea, approximately 400 miles. 

 there are 300 native families and about 75 white people. They all live along 

 the river, either on the banks of the river proper or on sloughs paralleling 

 the river and forming part of it. The natives of the lower river live in an 

 igloo form of structure, as do many of the natives in the Kvichak region, 

 more energetic families sometimes having log cabins. The home life, as is 

 usual in the isolation of the Northland, is somewhat barren. Hunting, fishing, 

 trapping, prospecting, and trading form the occupations of the whites. The 

 natives live by trapping, fishing, and hunting. Although the region is sparsely 

 settled, yet mile for mile there are more families on its banks than on the 

 Kvichak River. 



