40 PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 
ALASKA.¢ 
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 every one of these have runs of salmon of varymg abundance. 
The principal streams entering Bering Sea are the Yukon, Kus- 
kokwim, Togiak, Nushagak, Kvichak, Naknek, Ugaguk, 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 Anklow, Situk, Alsek, Chilkat, Chil- 
koot, Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers. Most of the fishing in Alaska 
is carried on in the bays into which these rivers debouch. In south- 
east 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. 
SOUTHEAST ALASKA. 
One of the most favorable sections for carrying on fishing opera- 
tions is southeast Alaska. Here a narrow strip of mainland, about 
30 miles wide, separates British Columbia from salt water and forms 
the ‘‘panhandle” 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 nm 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 
a 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. 
Jefferson F. Moser, U. S. N., to whom J am deeply indebted for this and other valuable data: 
The salmon and salmon fisheries of Alaska. Report of the operations of the United States Fish Com 
mission steamer <A /batross for the year ended June 30, 1898. By Jefferson F. Moser. Bulletin U.S. Fish 
Commission, vol. xvu1, p. 1-178. 
Alaskan salmon investigations in 1900 and 1901. By Jefferson F. Moser. Bulletin U.S. Fish Commission, 
vol. XXI, p. 173-398. 
