36 SALMON FISHERIES OF PACIFIC COAST. 



company and the contractor the company guarantees to pack a cer- 

 tain number of cases during the coming season and the latter agrees 

 to do all the work from the time the fish are delivered on the wharf 

 until they are ready to ship at the end of the season, for a certain 

 fixed sum per case. Should the cannery pack more than the guar- 

 anteed number, which it usually does if possible, the excess has to be 

 paid for at the rate per case already agreed upon, while if the pack, 

 for any reason should fall below the contract amount the company 

 must pay for the shortage the same as though they had been packed. 

 The company transports the Chinese to the field of work and carries 

 them to the home port at the end of the season. It provides them 

 with a bunk house, and furnishes fuel, water, and salt. The con- 

 tractor sends along with each crew a " boss," who has charge of the 

 crew, and furnishes their food, the company transporting this free. 



White men do the greater part of the fishing for salmon, many na- 

 tionalities being represented, but Scandinavians and Italians pre- 

 dominating almost everywhere. A number of Greeks are to be found 

 fishing in the Sacramento, while Slavonians do most of the purse- 

 seining on Puget Sound. The native-born American is not often 

 found actually engaged in fishing, but frequently is the owner of the 

 gear or has a responsible position in the packing plants. 



A number of Indians participate in the fisheries of Alaska, and a 

 few fish in Washington. The only Chinese engaged in fishing are in 

 Monterey Bay. A number of Japanese also fish in this bay, which is 

 the only place in American territory where they fish for salmon, 

 except in Alaska, where the small number of 13 were occupied in 

 1909. A number of Japanese engage in fishing in Canadian waters. 



In many places on the coast, particularly in Alaska, fishing is a 

 hazardous occupation. In Alaska most of it is done in the bays, 

 sounds, and straits, where storms are frequent, and the annual loss 

 of life is heavy. The records of the Alaska Fishermen's Union 

 show for its members the following losses of life by drowning: 1905, 

 10 men ; 1906, 5 men ; 1907, 10 men ; 1908, 17 men ; and 1909, 17 men. 



The fishermen early saw the advantages of organization, and 

 nearly every river now has a union, which is subordinate to the gen- 

 eral organization. One of the most typical of these is the Alaska 

 Fishermen's Union, which has active jurisdiction over all sections of 

 Alaska, except a portion of southeast Alaska. Early in the year this 

 organization enters into contracts with the salmon canneries and salt- 

 eries, by which the rates of wages, duties, etc., of the fishermen are 

 fixed in advance. As a result of this mutual agreement upon terms, 

 but little trouble is experienced with the fishermen, who generally 

 conform scrupulously to the terms of the contract, and strikes and 

 bickerings, which were very common a few years ago, are now almost 

 entirely absent. 



