PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 441 



SOUTH KA.ST ALASKA 



One of the most favorable sections I'oi- ciiiryiii^ on fishing operations 

 is southeast Ahiska. Here a narrow strip of niaiiihind, about 30 miles 

 wide, separates British Columbia from salt water and forms the "j)aii- 

 handle" of Alaska. Outside this is a fringe of numerous islands, large 

 and small, close to the coast line, conforming to its irregularities and 

 separated from it and from each other by deep straits and channels. 

 These islands, about 1,100 in number, extend from the coast an average 

 distance of about 75 miles and along the general contour for about 250 

 miles. Some of these islands are very large, indented with deep 

 bays and sounds, and they in turn fringed with smaller islands. 



The largest streams in this region are the Unuk, Stikine, Taku, and 

 Chilkat, all of which take their source in the interior and drain con- 

 siderable areas. The other rivers are usually streams, and the greater 

 number are simply outlets to a lake or system of lakes. 



All species of salmon are to be found in this region, but the hump- 

 back is by far the most abundant. 



This region has been the favorite fishing ground for the smaller 

 operators, although a few of the largest canneries in Alaska are 

 located here. Of recent years transportation facilities have been 

 exceedingly good and fairly cheap, while the nearness to the States 

 and the considerable resident population which could be drawn upon 

 for labor have been big factors in its development. 



The Russians did considerable salting of salmon. Petroff, in his 

 report in the Tenth Census on the "Population, industries, and re- 

 sources of Alaska," writes as follows of the Redoubt near Sitka: 

 "The once famous Redoubt or deep-lake salmon fishery on Baranof 

 Island, which at one time during the Russian rule supplied this whole 

 region, and whence 2,000 barrels of salmon were shipped in 1868, 

 now lies idle." 



Bancroft ^^ in speaking of the king salmon of Alaska says: "So 

 choice is its flavor, that during the regime of the Russian American 

 Co. several barrels of the salted fish were shipped each season to St. 

 Petersburg for the use of the friends of the company's officials." 



One of the earliest operators in southeast Alaska was a Greek, or 

 Slav, named Baronovich, who married the daughter of Skowd, one 

 of the old-time chiefs of the Kasaans, and received from him the 

 fishery on Karta Bay, a part of Kasaan Bay, and one of the best red 

 salmon streams south of Wrangell Narrows. Baronovich built a 

 saltery here, kept a store, and traded with the Indians. He died some 

 years ago, and for some time after his death his sons operated it. 

 It finally collapsed several years ago. 



For a number of years a saltery was operated at Klaw^ak, on the 

 west coast of Prince of Wales Island. In 1878 the North Pacific 

 Trading & Packing Co. purchased the saltery and erected the first 

 cannery in Alaska here. A pack was made the same year, and the 

 plant has operated every year since. In 1899 the cannery burned 

 down, but it was immediately rebuilt on the opposite side of the bay. 

 For some years this plant was operated almost exclusively wdth native 

 labor, and at present the majority employed are natives. 



The same year that the above cannery was established the Cut- 

 ting Packing Co. built a cannery at old Sitka, and operated it in 1878 



" History of Alaska, Vol. XXXIII, p. 601. By Hubert Howe Bancroft. San Francisco, 1886. 



