PACIFIC COD FISHERIES. 11 
in the new ice, set up two or three stakes, with a mat hung upon them to keep 
off the wind, and sit there all day, hauling them in as fast as the line is dropped 
into the water. The hook is made of white walrus ivory, furnished with a 
sharp pin set in obliquely, but without a barb. The whiteness of the ivory, 
which is kept constantly in motion, attracts the fish, but no bait whatever is 
used. In November, when the ice becomes very thick and the cold increases, 
the fish retire to deeper water, and the fishing is over until the following 
spring. * * * They are preserved by removing the intestines and drying in 
large bunches strung on seal line, or by throwing them as they are into long 
cylindrical baskets made of twisted grass and keeping them entire in a frozen 
state. * * * They are among the most palatable of the many fish found in 
these seas, and the number preserved is so great as to be almost incalculable. 
They serve the natives for food, either boiled or in the frozen state. They also 
form-an important article of dog feed in the northern portions of Alaska near 
the coast. 
Hon. James Wickersham, Delegate from Alaska, has furnished the 
author with the following description of the apparatus used by the 
natives and their method of operating same of recent years: 
When the Eskimo woman is fishing through the ice on Bering Sea for tomcod 
she uses a line with a barbless hook at the end. She also has two short sticks 
in her hands and generally a baby strapped on her back. As soon as she gets 
a bite she slips one stick a foot or two down the line and begins raising it up. 
As soon as the stick gets too high she slips the other a few feet below the first, 
but on the other side of the line, and thus continues hauling in the line with 
the sticks alternately until finally the catch comes above the ice. With a quick 
movement of the line and stick the fish is shook off, and frequently before it 
falls onto the ice is frozen solid. The woman is wearing heavy gloves, and the 
reason for not touching the wet line with the gloved hands is to prevent them 
from getting wet and covered with ice and thus becoming useless. The line is 
lowered in the same manner, and from long practice the natives are very ex- 
pert. The fish are put in baskets and will keep fresh as long as they remain 
frozen. A windbreak of ice and snow is frequently constructed. 
Alaska pollock—The Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) 
is an abundant and widely distributed species in Alaska. It is found 
in the Bering Sea and the neighboring waters south to Sitka and the 
Kurils. It usually swims near the surface and forms a considerable 
portion of the food of the fur seal and the cod. It reaches a length of 
3 feet, although the average is more nearly about half this. At present 
no use is made of it as food, although it will in time become an 
important item in the commercial fisheries. In 1907 the writer 
caught a specimen at Seward, Alaska, but it was apparently so rare 
in that locality that no one there seemed to recognize it. 
South of Sitka is found a closely related species, 7’. fucensis, which 
is said to be abundant in Puget Sound, and is found as far south 
as Monterey Bay. 
Eleginus navaga is common and abundant along the entire Alaska 
coast, and on the Asiatic side as far south as the Kamchatka Penin- 
sula, at least. It is rarely ever used as food, due to the great 
abundance of other better-known fishes. 
