PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 119 
the edge met the line that had been scribed and fastened there by being soldered a 
small part of the length to hold them in place for the further purpose of seaming. 
They were then placed either in the iron clamp, which had a piece of wood attached to 
its under side, and held firmly, the clamp being closed by the operation of a treadle, 
or were slipped on a piece of wood, which was bolted to the bench, while being held 
in place by the triangular hand seamer, which was pressed down on the lap of the seam 
by the left hand of the operator. When this had been done a piece of solder, which 
had been prepared by shaking in a can together with rosin, was placed on the seam 
and melted and rubbed lengthwise of the seam. After cooling the bodies were ready 
for the end or bottom, which operation was brought about by first cutting out circular 
blanks with the rotary shears, and then placing them in the cast-iron die and bringing 
the handle of the screw press around with a swing with force enough to form up the 
end or bottom. In this operation there were many difficulties, as the ends or bottoms 
would many times stick to the upper part of the die and refuse to come off, and finger 
nails were pretty short in those days. To get the ends out of the lower part of the die 
was not so bad, as a wooden plunger operated by a treadle knocked them out, but some- 
times they were in pretty bad shape. When the 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. A piece of solder similar in size and preparation 
as used for the side seam was placed inthe can. It was then placed on the smooth 
side of the cast-iron slabs, and the operator, with a hot soldering copper shaped to fit 
the circle of the can, melted the solder and by turning the can rapidly soldered the 
full circumference. The output of this can factory was very imperfect, as at least 
one-half of the seams burst, owing to the lack of experience of the manager or want of 
good judgment. 
When the can making was well underway Mr. Hapgood then turned his attention 
to getting the apparatus for canning on board the house-boat. This in the cooking 
department consisted of a kettle made of boiler iron about 36 inches in diameter and 
5 feet in depth, set in a brick furnace and fired from underneath. Alongside was a 
round-bottom, cast-iron pot holding about 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 drainage, aset of 5-inch blocks and tackle, 
with a sheet-iron fire pot and a scratch awl, completed the bathroom outfit. The 
can filling and soldering room was furnished 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 astick 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 smal! 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 
