THE FOOD FISHES OF ALASKA. 377 
fifty fathoms; and fifteen miles south of Ukamok at seventy-five fath- 
oms. Thirty-five miles east of the south end of the island of Niuniak, 
the most southern of the Shumagin group, Mr. Davidson obtained bot- 
tom at forty fathoms, and nine miles southeast of the Sanak reef at 
thirty-five fathoms. Near this last-named locality, Cook caught over 
one hundred halibut, ranging from twenty to one hundred pounds each. 
He therefore called it Hatibut Island. Mr. Davidson discovered a fine 
cod-bank about sixty-five miles southeast (true) from the middle of the 
Akutan Pass, and forty miles south-southeast from the Unimak Pass. 
Here the water has a depth of sixty fathoms, with pebbly bottom. 
Many fine cod were caught, of which one was thirty-six inches long, 
twenty-three inches in girth, and weighed twenty-seven pounds. ; 
Some of the vessels are said to commence fishing along the coast 
north of latitude 54° 40’ north, and to work northward along numerous 
banks which they have found. The fish are taken in from fifteen to 
forty fathoms, the very best fish in thedeepest water. The banks along 
the Gulf of Alaska, around the Kadiak group, and part of the Aleutian 
chain, have an area of not less than forty-five thousand square miles, 
with a depth of not over fifty fathoms. If the fishing depth extends 
to one hundred fathoms, there is little doubt that the cod-fishing area 
will reach one hundred thousand square miles. In addition to the fish 
eries of the great bank, the cod are reported to run in great numbers in 
and around the entrance of Hamilton Bay, near the western part of 
Frederick Sound. Lisiansky caught them with hook and line in Sitka 
seaemt Portlock, abundantly, at Port Etches; and Belcher near Cape 
iniak,. 
The importance of the possession of the Aleutian chain can hardly be 
overestimated; not only can our fishermen enter and fish in every bay 
when heavy weather compels them to leave the banks, but they are 
afforded ample opportunities for the successful curing of the fish, cer- 
tainly as great as, if not greater than, exist on the southern shore of New- 
foundiand. Mr. Davidson suggests that, instead of making the long 
trip to and from San Francisco, and keeping the fish so long in salt, es- 
pecially if imperfectly cleaned, it would be feasible to make a general 
depot and curing establishment, for instance at Kadiak, where vessels 
could carry the catch of all the smacks, which might easily refit in 
winter and be ready for the opening of the next season. Kadial is 
preferable, as affording the nearest timber available for repairs, and as 
already being the depot for the ice-trade of the Pacific. The Aleuts are 
patient, skillful, and fearless in their fishing, and under proper guidance 
might be very profitably employed in the taking and curing of fish. 
The waters between Aliaska Peninsula and the Shumagin Islands are 
well protected from the heavy swell of the Pacific, and afford the great 
advantage, that vessels while fishing may always lie under the lee of 
some one of the numerous high islands, thus making fishing a much 
more comfortable business than when riding out in the open sea. 
The fish abound in proportion to the quality of the bottom, and quantity 
and kind of the food it affords. A muddy bottom seems to supply the 
greatest development of the marine life upon which it subsists, and when 
the depth of water is greater than fifteen fathoms the flavor of the fishis 
not impaired thereby. Ata less depth, however, the fishermen report 
that the fish are of an inferior quality. The spawning ground of the 
North Pacific cod has not yet been discovered, and a rich harvest will 
await the fortunate fisherman who may chance to light uponit. Itis 
well known that at the spawning season the fish are in their finest con- 
dition, most abundant, and most easily caught. It is possible that the 
