36 THE FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1906. 



Red salmon generally run up the Nushagak River as far as Lewis 

 Point, and then circle back and go up Wood River. The fishermen 

 claim that this season the fish continued right on up the Nushagak. 

 King and dog salmon nearly all run up the Nushagak River alone. 

 The humpbacks are said to run everywhere when they appear, 

 although but few seem to frequent Wood River as a general thing. 

 In 1905 the fish clung very closely to the left-hand shore, but this 

 season the major part of the runs went up along the right-hand shore 

 or the sand bars in the middle of the bay. A southeast wind, accord- 

 ing to the fishermen, is necessary to bring the fish into Nushagak 

 Bay. 



Gill-net fishermen employed by the Alaska Salmon Company in 

 the early part of July caught four red salmon, none of which had a 

 dorsal fin. In 1904 fishermen employed by the same company 

 caught some red salmon which had the upper part of the tail cut off, 

 apparently with a sharp instrument. 



KvicJiah River and Bay. — Previous to this season the inspection of 

 the fisheries of this river ended at the cannery of the Union Packing 

 Company, several miles above its mouth, but this year it was extended 

 the whole length of the river and a few miles into Lake Iliamna, the 

 first of the two lakes of the Kvichak chain. The river is about 80 

 miles in length, varies from 100 yards to a mile in width, and dis- 

 charges a great quantity of water. The influence of the tide is felt 

 30 miles from the mouth. The current is very swift, running in 

 places as much as 7 miles an hour. The upper half of the river is 

 filled with low, grassy islands, the channel in many places being 

 quite narrow. If the left-hand channel is followed when more than 

 one passage is presented, navigation will be found safe and simple. 

 In a launch drawing 3 feet of water Lake Iliamna can be reached with 

 very little difficvilt}^, the only bad spots encountered being elsewhere 

 than in the left-hand channel. The lead heaved very frequently on 

 the journey up, in nearly every instance, showed over 2 fathoms of 

 water. Were it not for several shoals about 7 miles from the head of 

 the river, a boat drawing 6 feet of water could doubtless pass easily 

 into the lake at almost any stage of the river, and it is possible that a 

 passage could be found around these shoals if it were sought for. The 

 river has a number of small tributaries, none of wliich was visited, 

 however. 



There are several Indian villages near the mouth of the river, and 

 one, Kaskanak, about 5 miles from the lake. At the latter the 

 Indians use wicker salmon traps, which operate on the principle of a 

 fyke net; They are made of flexible twigs, secured by means of 

 birch-bark wythes. The first section is about 8 feet in length, and 

 has a square mouth, the extreme width of which is 31 inches. From 

 the outer rim twdgs run toward the center, but do not meet, a space 



