112 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
order that they might have the benefit of his knowledge of canning 
methods. Thelate R. D. Hume, who worked in the original cannery 
and later became one of the best-known canners on the coast, thus 
describes the plant and the methods employed :¢ 
Before the arrival of Mr. Hapgood (from Maine) the Hume brothers had purchased 
a large scow, on which they proposed to do the canning of salmon, and had added 
an extension to the cabin 18 by 24 feet in area, to be used asa can-making shop. This 
had a shed on the side next to the river for holding any cans that might be made in 
advance of the packing season. A few days after the arrival of Mr. Hapgood (Mar. 
23, 1864), the tools and machinery were packed and put in position. Mr. Hapgood 
made some stovepipe and two or three sheet-iron fire pots, and in a short time was ready 
for can making. ‘The following list of tools and machinery will show how primitive 
our facilities were as compared with present methods: 1] screw hand press, | set cast- 
iron top dies, 1 set cast-iron bottom dies, 1 pair squaring shears, | pair rotary shears, 
1 pair bench shears, 1 pair hand shears or snips, 1 pair 24-inch rolls, 1 anvil (weight 
50 pounds), 1 forging hammer, | tinner’s hammer, 1 set punches for making stovepipe, 
| rivet set, 1 grooving set, 2 iron slabs grooved on one side to mold strips of solder, 1 
iron.clamp to hold bodies of cans while soldering the seams, | triangular piece of cast 
iron about three-eighths of an inch in thickness and 6 inches in length, with a wooden 
handle attached to the apex, also used for holding can bodies in place while being 
seamed. 
The process of canning was as follows: The bodies of the cans were first cut to proper 
size by the squaring shears, a line was then scribed with a gauge about three-sixteenths 
of an inch from one edge, and they were next formed into cylindrical shape by the rolls. 
They were then taken to the soldering bench and one edge lapped by the other until 
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 underside, and held firmly, the clamp heme 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 in the can. They were 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, a set of 5-inch blocksand 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 wasdone. 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 
eee First Salmon Cannery. By R. D. Hume. Pacific Fisherman, Vol I, No. 1, January, 1904, pp. 
