PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 



517 



as a wooden plunger operated by a treadle knocked them out, but sometimes 

 they were in pretty bad sliape. When tlie bottoms or ends were ready they were 

 slipped on the bodies and the edge of the bottom rolled about in a pan of powdered 

 rosin until the seam was well dusted. Apiece of solder similar in size and prep- 

 aration as used for tlic side seam was ])laced in the can. They were then placed 

 on the smooth side of the cast-iron slabs, and the operator, witli a hot soldering 

 copper shaped to fit the circle of the can, melted the solder and l)y turning the 

 can rapidly soldered the full circumference. The output of this can factory was 

 very im])erfect, as at least one-half of the seams burst, owing to the lack of 

 experience of tlic manager or want of good judgment. 



When tlie can making was well underway Mr. Hapgood then turned his atten- 

 tion to getting the apparatus for canning on board the house-boat. This in the 

 cooking dei)artment consisted of a kettle made of boiler iron about 36 inches in 

 diameter and 5 feet in depth, set in a brick furnace aiul fired from underneath. 

 Alongside was a round-bottom, cast-iron pot holding al)out 60 gallons of water 

 and heated in the same manner. These kettles, with a dozen coolers or circular 

 sheet-iron pans with ropes attached and with holes cut in the bottoms for drain- 

 age, a set of 5-inch Ijlocks and tackle, with a sheet-iron fire pot and a scratch awl, 

 comjjleted the bathroom outfit. The can filling and soldering room was fur- 

 nished with a table through the center, where cutting the salmon in pieces to 

 suit and the filling of the cans was done. On each side of the room there was a 

 bench running the full length, on the end of one of which the cans were placed to 

 receive the pickle, which was used at that time instead of the small quantity of 

 salt that is placed in the cans during the operations of these later days. After 

 the salmon had been cleaned by removing the entrails and washing them out- 

 side the covered portion of the scow, they were brought inside and placed on the 

 table, and a man with a butcher knife in one hand and a stick in the other, which 

 had a mark showing the length of the pieces desired, cut gashes in the side of 

 the salmon as a guide and then cut the fish into sections corresponding to the 

 length of the mark on the stick. He then proceeded to cut the sections in pieces 

 to suit the cans. Then three or four operators placed the salmons in the cans 

 and shoved them along the table to where a boy wiped the top edge and passed 

 them along to two others who placed tops which fitted inside of the rim. The 

 cans were then taken in wooden trays to the bench opposite the starting point, 

 which was fitted with four sheet-iron pots, and at the one nearest the entrance 

 to the house on the scow a man put a soldering flux on the top edge, which was 

 made by adding zinc to muriatic acid, and then with a pointed soldering copper 

 and a stick of solder melted the solder until a small portion could be drawn 

 around the groove formed by the edge of the can and the bevel of the top. From 

 there the cans were taken to the other parts of the bench, where two men finished 

 soldering the head in, and then taken to the third man, who soldered, or, as it 

 was called, buttoned, the end of the seam lap. The cooking department or 

 bathroom, as it was called, was separated from the filling and soldering room by 

 a partition. The cans were shoved through a hole in the partition. 



At this time the process was a secret. Mr. Hapgood did the cooking and all the 

 work done inside, no one but a member of the firm being allowed to go in. This 

 privacy was continued until the firm moved to the Columbia River, and, the labor 

 becoming too arduous for Mr. Hapgood to perform alone, a boy by the name of 

 Charlie Taylor was taken in as an assistant. * * * 



But to return to the original proposition: When the filled cans had been sol- 

 dered and entered the bathroom they were put in the coolers and lowered into 

 the cast-iron pot, one cooler of cans being cooked at a time. The cooler was 

 lowered into the boiling fresh water until the cans were submerged to within 1 

 inch of the top ends and left to cook for one hour; then they were hoisted out 

 and the vent holes in the center of the top soldered up, after which they were 

 dumped into the boiler-iron kettle, which held a solution of salt and water of 

 density sufficient to produce, when boihng, a heat of 228° to 230° F. They were 

 cooked in this solution for one hour and then taken out of the kettle with an 

 iron scoop shaped like a dip net, with a wooden handle about 6 feet in length. 

 They were dumped into a tank of water on the other side of the partition which 

 separated the bathroom from the packing room turough an opening in the 

 partition, receiving many a bump and bruise in the operation. Then they were 

 washed with soap and rag to remove the dirt and grease, each can being handled 

 separately. When this was done they were piled on the floor of the packing room 

 and in a few days were painted with a mixture of red lead, turpentine, and lin- 

 seed oil, for at that time buyers would have no canned salmon, no matter how 

 good the quality, unless the cans were painted red. 



