302 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
large. One or two boats fitted with drag seines, a cabin on shore for living quarters, 
a rough shed or fish house in which to dress and salt the fish and for performing such 
general work as may be required in a limited business of this kind, will suffice for 
all purposes. Many of the well-established salteries were first started in this man- 
ner and have since grown to be of considerable importance. Two or three men with 
only a small amount of capital, if they are fortunate in selecting a good locality | 
where the run of salmon can be relied upon—for the success of the entire business | 
depends upon the location—can, if they display the required amount of energy, build | 
up a paying business. They of course must appreciate the fact that at least for | 
seven months out of the year they must content themselves with being cut off and 
isolated from civilization, but the class of men who seek a livelihood in this remote 
part of the world care little for social life, or, if so, the prospect which looms up | 
before them for making money is fully equivalent to any hardships of this nature | 
they may undergo. 
Several small vessels manned by men of small means have, during the past few | 
years, made annual voyages to Alaska, spent the fishing season there, and in the fall | 
brought back the summer’s catch. At first they temporarily located themselves by 
way of an experiment where it was thought to be a good position for carrying on 
the business. If the experiment proved a success, thenext year greater preparations 
were made, and in this way from a small beginning quite a number of valuable 
plants have been established. 
The greater part of the salmon put up at the salteries are caught in drag seines, © 
although a few are taken in gill nets and traps, but at most places where salteries 
are situated the drag seine has been found to be the most protitable apparatus of cap- | 
ture, owing to the great number of smooth beaches where the fish can be easily taken. 
There are, however, numerous bays, channels, and straits in Alaska where the purse 
seine could be used to advantage. The reason why this style of net has not been 
adopted in places where it can be used is because the fishermen of the coast are not 
experienced in handling it. In 1893 a mackerel purse seine was for the first time 
used at Tongas Narrows, in southeastern Alaska. Previous to the introduction of 
this seine the drag seine had always been used. Mr. Clarke, one of the owners of the 
saltery established here, says that after a season’s trial he has come to the conclusion 
that the purse seine is superior to the drag seine, and during the next season he intends — 
to employ several of them. The secret of Mr. Clarke’s success in fishing for salmon 
with a purse seine is in his knowledge of using it, which was gained by nearly twenty 
years’ experience in the mackerel and other fisheries in New England. Seeing no 
reason why salmon could not be caught in the same manner as mackerel in places 
where the bottom and general surroundings were favorable. he sent East for enough 
twine to make a seine 150 fathoms long, 17 fathoms deep in the bunt, and 14 fathoms 
on the wings, the size of the twine being 9 and 12 thread. It will be observed that 
this seine is considerably deeper in proportion to its length than the ordinary 
mackerel seine. The reason for this extra depth is that salmon, when they find 
themselves surrounded by twine, will, like mackerel, dive, but, as a rule, they will 
only go down from 12 to 14 fathoms. By having the seine several fathoms deeper 
than they generally dive, a school, when once surrounded, is pretty sure of being 
caught. Mr. Clarke says he did not lose a single school during the summer. ’ 
The attempt to catch the salmon in this manner being only an experiment, every- 
thing connected with the new method, except the seine, was crude. A seine boat had 
to be built and the crew to man it drilled. The boat was manufactured on the spot 
by men connected with the fishing station. 
Mr. Clarke finds this method a much more economical way of fishing than with 
drag seines. The bottom about Tongas Narrows is very rocky and drag seines are 
frequently torn to pieces. This involves a great deal of labor in keeping them in 
repair, and besides the expense amounts to considerable during the season. There 
being plenty of water here where the fishing is carried on, the purse seine never 
comes in contact with the bottom, and the hardest usage it gets is the natural wear 
and tear from handling. 
