66 tJ. S. BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 



Communication is carried on up and down tlie river by tliree small river 

 steamers, wliicli operate from Betliel. These steamers are tlie Tuna, owned and 

 operated by Captain Langley ; tlie QuickKiep, operated by Captain Green; and 

 the Tacotna. operated by Captain Buggy. They carry freight, mail, and pas- 

 sengei-s and serve tlie little trading posts and native villages, and through 

 their offices the necessities, many of the comforts, and a few of the luxuries 

 of life reach the modest huts of the natives and whites scattered up and 

 down the river. 



The trading center of the Kusliokwim region is the little town of Bethel. 

 It is situated on the northwest bank of the river, 80 miles from its mouth, 

 at the head of sea navigation. It is also the judicial center of the region. 

 United States Marshal J. L. Heron and also United States Commissioner Boh- 

 nam being located there, and has the Government school for the natives. The 

 Moravian Mission has a church, sawmill, and large launch there and makes 

 Bethel the general headquarters for their mission operations in the Kusko- 

 kwim region. There are two stores and several independent traders. A na- 

 tive village of 15 or 20 families forms part of the community. There are sev- 

 eral white families and five or six white men with native wives. 



Situated 40 miles upriver from Bethel is Akiak, a native village, where a 

 hospital, school, and the office of the superintendent of schools are located. 

 Going on up the river white men are found about every 50 miles operating 

 trading posts or roadhouses. Most of them have native wives. 



On the lower river — that is, below Bethel — there are a few scattering whites, 

 who trade with the natives, bartering provisions and various articles for fur. 

 In the summer they fish ; in the winter they do a little trapping. Their life 

 is an easy, indolent, and, it might be said, shiftless existence. Of course, 

 there is thrift showing here and there. 



The spirit with which the people along the river accepted the entrance of 

 the bureau into the fishing operations of the district was gratifying. Both 

 fishermen and packers seemed much pleased to have their corner of the world 

 officially recognized by a department of the Government, and during the 

 writer's entire stay he was cordially received and on no occasion was aware of 

 any resentment because of the efforts of the bureau to regulate fishing. While 

 some were visibly disappointed, as noted elsewhere in this report, with the 

 point of location of the prohibitive markers, the spirit seemed to be to accept 

 the regulation and abide by it. The inference given everywhere in conversa- 

 tions with these men was that they were interested in the conservation of 

 the fish runs and stood ready to cooperate, a feeling very different from the 

 attitude taken elsewhere on occasions by many fishermen and even packers. 

 The impression given on the writer's departure was that the entire fishing 

 interests of the Kuskokwim would welcome a return of bureau representatives 

 year by year. In the case of the Walsh-Joaquim and .Tes.sland stations fishing 

 was begun before the writer's arrival and consequently before any markers 

 were set, so that they had been fishing above the limits as prescribed by the 

 bureau. After placing the markers and giving notice of the same to the 

 operators concerned, there was no evidence of any attempt to evade the law. 



If the salmon runs of the Kuskokwim are carefully conserved, the time may 

 come when, due to depletion of runs in other streams of Alaska, the modest- 

 sized runs of this river will measure up to the size of the receding runs of 

 other salmon rivers of Ala.ska, and the Kuskokwim will then take an important 

 place in the fisheries of the North. Certainly the runs should be carefully pro- 

 tected to start with. 



CHIGNIK SALMON COUNTS. 



Arrangements were made in the spring of 1922 for the counting 

 of salmon ascending Chignik River to spawn, and a crew consisting 

 of John W. Gardner, Charles Petr}', warden, and three others left 

 iSeattle April 5 to install a rack through which the fish should pass 

 to enable counting. All necessary supplies and the small patrol 

 boat Merganser were transported on the St. Paul, of the North- 

 western Fisheries Co., from Seattle to Chignik, reaching there on 

 April 25. 



Construction of the rack was begun at once at a point several 

 miles up the Chignik River, where it is 464 feet wide and from 2 to 



