PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 303 



Two jiurso seines liave been used for several years at Yes Bay. Que is 300 fathoms 

 loug aud 17 fathoms deep iu the bunt, and the other is about 100 fathoms long. The 

 larger one is used more frequently and is set from a small steamer. The superin- 

 tendent of the saltery at that point says it works all right when he can get men 

 who know how to handle it. Purse seines have also been in use for two seasons at 

 Metlakahtla, and with very good success. 



Employes at the salteries have, heretofore, been paid by the month, but a few 

 salters during the past season gave their men a lay. Sixty dollars a month for 

 white tishermeu and $1 a day for native help have been the established wages. It 

 is fast becoming the custom to pay so much per barrel to white fishermen for all 

 salmon caught. At all places where this system has been tried it has given satis- 

 faction to both fishermen and owners. Ten cents a barrel is the lay received. In all 

 fishing communities where fishing is performed on a lay much better results follow 

 than where stipulated wages are given. The constant expectation of good catches 

 stimulates the men with energy which wages have not the power to bring out. The 

 fishermen know that what benefits the proprietors likewise helps them. 



All barrels used for putting up salmon in southeastern Alaska are manufactured 

 at the salteries. Suitable wood being abundant, they can be made at a reasonable 

 price. During the winter months enough barrels are made to meet the demand for 

 the coming season. A cooper is an indispensable person about a salmon saltery, for, 

 besides performing his regular duties as a cooper, he is often called ujion to assist 

 in various mechanical jobs, and is paid by the piece, or so much per barrel — 85 cents 

 for making a whole barrel and 65 cents for a half barrel. At this price he can earn 

 good wages, for he is under no expense for board. 



It being the object of every man owning a saltery to enlarge on the plant aud in- 

 crease his business as rapidly as jiossible, several weeks of each year, before and after 

 the fishing season, are spent in building wharves if needed, erecting buildings, and 

 making such improvements as are required to keep a jjlace of this kind in good order. 



Many salmon salters have gained a firmer foothold in Alaska than the mere busi- 

 ness of salting salmon would give them. They have branched out into general 

 trade, and have stores well stocked with goods of all kinds. In this way they have 

 drawn around them the neighboring tribes of Indians who are ever ready to buy 

 and trade for such commodities as they require. The result of barter and trade 

 with the Indians has been to annually fill the stores with large collections of furs. 

 Bear, fox, and deer skins are chiefly dealt iu, the most of which are shipped direct 

 to San Francisco. 



MANUFACTURE OF HERRINa OIL AND GUANO. 



According to the reijort of Mr. Paul S. Luttrell, special agent of the 

 Treasury Department for the protection of the salmon fisheries of 

 Alaska, a herring fishery of some magnitude was carried on in 1892 at 

 Killisnos, Alaska, by the Alaska Oil and Guano Company. While a 

 considerable quantity of herring was preserved by salting, the chief 

 feature of the business was the manufacture of oil and fertilizer. One 

 hundred and twenty -Iwo i)ersons were employed in various capacities, 

 of whom 93 were in the oil works and 29 on steamers engaged in fishing. 

 Of the factory employes 47 were whites, 4 were Chinese, and 42 were 

 natives. Four steamers, of 00, 42, 23, and 4 tons, respectively, were used. 

 The value of the property aud improvements was $100,000. 



During the year 93,000 barrels of herring were taken, from which the 

 following were prepared: 500 half barrels of salt herring, 1,000 barrels 

 of salt herring, 310,000 gallons of oil, 700 tons of guano. The oil, the price 

 of which at the trade centers was 25 to 35 cents a gallon, had an aggre- 

 gate value of $85,000. The value of fertilizer was $21,000, or $30 a ton. 



