THE FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1906. 65 



pipe and smears some of the nicotine into the cleft of a long stick. 

 This stick he then pokes downward until near the animal's head, 

 then suddenly into its mouth, w^hen, it is said, the nicotine paralyzes 

 the octopus so that it allows itself to be lifted out of the water. 



Holothurians. — Beche-de-mer, trepang, or sea cucumber, as they 

 are known to the trade, are found in great quantities in southeast 

 Alaska, but absolutely no use is made of them at the present time. 

 They are said to be especially abundant in shallow w^ater in May 

 and June. 



The collection and preparation of this animal for market is a large 

 and profitable business in the South Sea Islands. Nearly all the 

 prepared product is sold in China, and the market price quoted at 

 Shanghai early in 1906 was about 34 cents American gold per pound. 

 The manner of curing is simple and well known. 



Sea urchin. — The natives of the Aleutian chain consume large quan- 

 tities of this animal, w^hich seems to be abundant in that section. 



Algse. — In April and May the Thlingits of Southeast Alaska gather 

 an alga, or seaweed, which they dry, press in boxes, and put away 

 to be eaten. There is no record that other tribes follow this custom, 

 however. Many species of algae are found on the coasts of Alaska, 

 and while the country is at present too little developed to hope for 

 much from this source, the time will probably come when the gather- 

 ing of seaweed and the extraction of by-products will be quite impor- 

 tant commercially. Hundreds of tons of the giant kelp {Nereocystis 

 lutkeana) are to be found everj^vhere along the Alaska coast. The 

 Indians formerly used the upper or hollow portions of the great 

 stems as receptacles for dogfish and other oils, w^hile the thin stem, 

 which anchors the floating mass and is of great strength and flexi- 

 bility, has long been prepared and used by them for fishmg lines. 

 A number of chemical products can be produced from kelp, as well 

 as from other algse. 



