146 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
more extended data than any heretofore furnished. That it is an 
understatement of the amount of salmon actually captured and used 
on the river is obvious from the following considerations: 
1. The lower river was canvassed from the ist to the 15th of 
August, and there was a later run of “silvers” of limited extent, of 
which the figures give no account. A megsage from Holy Cross, 
dated September 15, indicated a medium run of “silvers” for some 
three weeks after that point was passed. The still later run of 
cohos is also not included in the estimates. 
2. No clue could be obtained as to the number of salmon eaten 
fresh during the season, but this must be a considerable item. 
3. None of the tributaries of the Yukon were visited, with the 
exception of the Tanana below Nenana, yet some of these, like the 
Innoko, the Koyukuk, the Porcupine, and the Stewart, are im- 
portant streams. The natives in these regions draw on the rivers for 
their supply of dried salmon, and the white prospectors and miners 
out on the creeks may obtain their dog feed from the very spawning 
beds. To what extent spawning beds are invaded for this purpose 
is not known, but from reports that have been received it would 
seem. probable the figures may reach dimensions of some local 
importance. ' 
On the Yukon River, from the mouth to Dawson, 97 native fish 
camps were observed, each of which contained from 1 to 15 families. 
Three hundred and seventy families were listed, who were engaged 
in fishing, but the matter was sometimes obscure and the number of 
families may have been somewhat greater than this. The natives 
operated 166 wheels, in addition to the short gill nets of the lower 
river, which were not enumerated. The dried salmon put up by 
them amounted approximately to 350 tons, or nearly 1 ton to each 
known family. Many families had less than this amount, but others 
compensated for the deficiency by harvests of 3, 4, or even 5 tons. 
The younger generation gives promise of being more provident than 
the old. Some of them put up large surplus stocks for sale and 
carry over fish from one season to the next. There is some ap- 
parently well-founded complaint that sufficient care is not always 
given to curing the salmon, so that in rainy seasons like 1920 large 
stocks may be offered for sale which are rendered almost worthless 
by mold and decay. One Japanese fisherman operated a wheel on 
the river and put up 1,200 pounds. 
There were 76 white fishing camps, usually with a single white man 
in a camp, but in a few instances two white men were working in 
partnership, or a white man in conjunction with natives. There 
were 91 white men in all, and they prepared approximately 190 tons 
of dried fish. 
On the Tanana River below Fairbanks there were 24 native fishing 
camps, operating 24 fish wheels and containing approximately 30 
tons of salmon. There were also 26 white fishing camps, with 34 
wheels and some 52 tons of salmon. 
Altogether, on the Yukon and the Tanana, 301 fish wheels were 
operated in 1920 and resulted in a take of 622 tons. Of this amount 
8 per cent were king salmon and 92 per cent were chums. If an 
allowance of 100 tons is made for the tributaries not. visited and for 
the later runs on the Yukon which were not seen—and this allowance 
