ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1920. 145 
are neatly fitted together and sewed with sinew. The dog and “ sil- 
ver” salmon are tied in bundles weighing about 60 pounds and stored 
away in the caches in this shape. Ming salmon are also put in bun- 
dles on the upper river. Mention has been made of the salmon 
oil obtained as drippings from king salmon. In addition to this 
product, the eggs are very generally saved, being closely packed in 
any convenient receptacle, without special attempt at preservation. 
During the early part of the king salmon run, from June 25 to 
July 1, a launch trip was made from Kwiguk to Holy Cross and 
return for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the salmon 
racks and obtaining a clue to the extent of the king salmon run 
along the river. The run had been on in this district about one 
week, and all the fish racks along the river contained considerable 
numbers of king salmon. The opinion was general that the season 
was opening favorably. It is in the delta and along this stretch of 
river that fishing is conducted largely with short lengths of gill nets 
set in eddies, and in this district the run of king salmon is a very 
important factor in providing the winter’s supply of food. 
In addition to the native camps, there are numerous fishing sta- 
tions occupied by white men. Many of these men are married to 
native women, and some of them are found in native camps, divid- 
ing the proceeds with the native families. In such cases we observed 
commonly that the efficiency of the camp was increased. The white 
men operating on the largest scale were usually holders of winter 
mail contracts, which necessitated the use of large numbers of dogs. 
One such mail carrier keeps some 60 dogs and requires annually for 
their feed from 12 to 14 tons of dried salmon. As these are exclu- 
sively dog or “silver” salmon, the number used is between 16,000 
and 20,000. 
Other white men take dogs to board during the summer and sell 
all salmon they are able to put up beyond their own needs. Many 
of the more intelligent natives now count on doing the same. There 
is a wide and legitimate demand for dried salmon, for use during the 
winter season when all travel in the interior of Alaska must be by dog 
team. As it is impossible to carry enough salmon for a long journey, 
all “dog mushers” depend on the country they pass through. The 
road houses maintain a supply for this purpose, the dried salmon 
taking the place of hay and grain in regions where horses are em- 
ployed, and being equally indispensable. 
During the month of August and the first 10 days of September the 
Yukon was traversed from the delta to Dawson and the Tanana 
as far upstream as Nenana, traveling in a launch and calling at 
the fish camps on the way. The number of families was ascertained 
as accurately as possible, the number of wheels engaged in fishing, 
and the total amount of dried salmon prepared for the season. In 
practically every native camp visited, one or more persons had a 
sufficient understanding of English to enable them to furnish the 
required information. In the majority of instances the racks, smoke- 
houses, and caches were inspected, and finally some facility was ac- 
quired in verifying by observation the estimates furnished. 
By this method the writers are enabled to present an estimate of 
the dried salmon prepared on the Yukon in 1920, which is based on 
54777°—21 10 
