440 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Mr. Hapgood set out on the journey and arrived at San Francisco on March 23, 

 1864, and a few days later at the location where the operations were afterwards 

 conducted.'* 



* ***** * 



For a considerable time after the salmon-canning business was inaugurated 

 the packers suspended operations in the early port of July of each year as at that 

 time the market would take only goods which showed a rich oil and the best food 

 values." 



The business languished after the firm established its cannery on 

 the Columbia River, but in 1874 was renewed again by others and 

 continued with varying success until 1905, when it ceased tempo- 

 rarily, owing to the smaller quantity of fish available and the diffi- 

 culty of competing with the mild-cure packers and the fresh-fish deal- 

 ers. Several times since small packs have been made when, for some 

 reason, mild-curing was unprofitable. 



Monterey Bay. — The first harbor south of San Francisco is Mon- 

 terey Bay, a large indentation cutting into Santa Cruz and Monterey 

 Counties. Only a portion of it is well sheltered, however. For a 

 number of years it had been known that salmon frequented the 

 waters of this bay for the purpose of feeding on the young fishes 

 which swarmed there. Sportsmen frequently caught them with rod 

 and reel, but it was not until the early eighties that the industry 

 was established on a commercial basis. It has since grown very 

 rapidly. The catch has either been mild cured at Monterey or shipped 

 fresh. A few have been canned in recent years. 



ALASKA '8 



Alaska is the most favored salmon-fishing region. Many rivers, 

 some of great length and draining enormous areas, intersect the dis- 

 trict in every direction, while the number of small creeks is countless. 

 Almost ever}^ one of these have runs of salmon of varying abundance. 

 The principal streams entering Bering Sea are the Yukon, Kus- 

 kokwim, Togiak, Nushagak, Kvichak, Naknek, Egegik, and Ugashik; 

 in Central Alaska the Chignik, Karluk, Alitak, Susitna, and Copper 

 Rivers are the main streams, while in southeast Alaska are found, 

 among many others, the Ankow, Situk, Alsek, Chilkat, Chilkoot, 

 Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers. Most of the fishing in Alaska is 

 carried on in the bays into which these rivers debouch. In southeast 

 Alaska, which is composed largely of islands, the fishing is carried on 

 mainly in the bays, sounds, and straits among these. 



Even before the purchase of the district from Russia in 1867 our 

 fishermen occasionally resorted to southeast Alaska and prepared 

 salted salmon. The salmon fisheries did not become important, how- 

 ever, until canning was begun. 



i« The description of the machinery used and the methods of canning have been quoted in full under 

 "Canning" elsewlierc in this report. 



'■ The First Salmon Cannery. By R. D. Hume. Pacific Fisherman, Seattle, Wash., Vol. II, No. 1, 

 January, 1904, pp. 1!*-21. 



'» The material for the history of the salmon fisheries of Alaska for the period from the inception of salmon 

 canning to 1900 was obtained almost wholly from the following excellent and valuable reports by Capt. 

 Jcderson F. Mo.scr, to whom I am deeply indebted for this and other valuable data. 



The Salmon and Salmon Fisheries of .\laska. Report of the Operations of the United States Fish Com- 

 mi.ssiTjn Steamer Alhatrfis.i for the vear ended June 30, 1898. By Jellerson F. Moser. Bulletin, U. S. Fish 

 Commission, 1S9K, Vol. XVIII, pp. 1-178. Washington, 1899. 



.Mftska Salmon Investigations in 1900 and 1901, By Jefferson F. Moser. Bulletin, U. S. Fish Commis- 

 sion, 1901, Vol. XXI, pp. 173-398, Washington, 1902. 



