ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1920. 145 



are neatly fitted together and sewed with sinew. The dog and "• sil- 

 ver '' salmon are tied in bundles weighing about 60 pounds and stored 

 away in the caches in this shape. King salmon are also put in bun- 

 dles on the upper river. Mention has been made of the salmon 

 oil obtained as drippings from king salmon. In addition to this 

 product, the eggs are very generally saved, being closely packed in 

 any convenient receptacle, without special attempt at preservation. 



During the early part of the king salmon run, from June '25 to 

 July 1, a launch trip was made from Kwiguk to Holy Cross and 

 return for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the salmon 

 racks and obtaining a clue to the extent of the king salmon run 

 along the river. The run had been on in this district about one 

 week, and all the fish racks along the river contained considerable 

 numbers of king salmon. The opinion was general that the season 

 was opening favorably. It is in the delta and along this stretch of 

 river that fishing is conducted largely with short lengths of gill nets 

 set in eddies, and in this district the run of king salmon is a very 

 important factor in providing the winter's supply of food. 



In addition to the native camjis, there are numerous fishing sta- 

 tions occupied by white men. Many of these men are married to 

 native women, and some of them are found in native camps, divid- 

 ing the proceeds with the native families. In such cases we observed 

 commonly that the efficiency of the camp was increased. The white 

 men operating on the largest scale were usually holders of winter 

 mail contracts, which necessitated the use of large numbers of dogs. 

 One such mail carrier keeps some 60 dogs and requires annually for 

 their feed from 12 to 14 tons of dried salmon, .vs these are exclu- 

 sively dog or "silver" salmon, the number used is between 15,000 

 and 20.000. 



Other white men take dogs to board (hiring the summer and sell 

 all salmon they are able to put up beyond their own needs. Many 

 of the more intelligent natives now count on doing the same. There 

 is a wide and legitimate demand for dried salmon, for use during the 

 winter season when all travel in the interior of Alaska must be by dog 

 team. As it is impossible to carry enough salmon for a long journey, 

 all "dog mushers" depend on the country they pass through. The 

 road houses maintain a sujjply for this purpose, the dried salmon 

 taking the i)lace of hay and grain in regions where horses are em- 

 ployed, and being equally indispensable. 



During the month of August and the first 10 days of September the 

 Yukon was traversed from the delta to Dawson and the Tanana 

 as far upstream as Nenana, traveling in a launch and calling at 

 the fish camps on the way. The number of families was ascertained 

 as accurately as possible, the number of wheels engaged in fishing, 

 and the total amount of dried salmon prepared for the season. In 

 prartirally every native camp visited, one or more persons had a 

 sufTuicnt understanding of English to ena])l(' them to furnish the 

 required information. In the majority of instances the racks, smoke- 

 houses, and caches were inspected, and finally some facility was ac- 

 f|uired in verifying by observation the estimates furnished. 



By this method the writers are enabled to present an estimate of 

 the dried salmon prepared on the Ytikon in 1920, which is based on 



54777°— 21 10 



