14 FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 
side of this bay was said to be very milky, while the other side was 
clear. Accounts vary with respect to the nature of the turbidity, 
whether caused by a sediment which would settle out when the water 
was allowed to stand or whether the material was in solution, but the 
former is more likely. The condition was so pronounced that in a 
bucket filled with the water the bottom could not be seen. Fresh 
rain water was said to show clear on top of the milky water. 
It is claimed that an earthquake shock was felt by the people at 
Sulzer, Copper Mount, and other places about a week before the unusual 
condition of the water appeared. Old residents of the region seem 
not to recall any previous manifestation similar to this one, and no 
one has a satisfactory explanation of the occurrence. No samples of 
the water were saved and the condition was not seen by the present 
writers; during the visits of the agent to the west coast of Prince of 
Wales in July and again in October the water was in its usual condi- 
tion. Itis likely that had there been investigation or full reports other 
localities would have been found affected. The Naas River, for 
instance, was said to have been involved, and about the Ist of 
October a murkiness in the water was seen between Nichols Pass and 
Ketchikan which was taken to be of the same nature, though less in 
degree, as the condition near the west coast of Prince of Wales 
Island. 
Whatever may have been the cause of the phenomenon, the fisher- 
men are firmly of the opinion that the milky water had a pronounced 
effect on the salmon run. Few fish were taken in it, and the scarcity 
of redfish between Klawak and Hunter Bay is believed to be due in 
part at least to this extraordinary condition. Such catches as were 
obtained in this region were taken in elear water, and north of 
Klawak on Prince of Wales Island, where the water did not become 
clouded, there was a fairly good run of redfish. The few salmon seen 
in the cloudy water were scattered and seemed to be stragglers which 
had become lost. 
On August 14, 1907, the Japanese schooner Satsuma Maru (185 net 
tons), of Tokyo, Y. Fuji, master, and S. Satsuma Company, Tokyo, 
owners, anchored close to Killisnoo, and on the 19th her captain 
entered the vessel at the custom-house in Sitka. She carried a crew 
of 27 men, had a cargo of 140 tons of salt, and expected to buy dog 
salmon for salting, as other Japanese vessels have done in previous 
years. She had no clearance papers, however, and arrived so near 
the end of the fishing season that she was in any case unable to 
accomplish this purpose. Late in the year she was wrecked in the 
vicinity of Yakutat and entirely lost, her crew escaping, however. 
The Indians of Alaska are an important factor in labor condi- 
tions, the cannery men drawing upon them for a very considerable 
portion of their force and frequently employing a whole village dur- 
ing the salmon season. The jealousies between the tribes, however, 
