72 REPORT OF ALASKA INVESTIGATIONS. 



The waters to-day in western Alaska, including the fishing districts of Prince William Sound, Cook 

 Inlet, Kodiak Island, Bristol Bay, and around the shores of the Alaska Peninsula, together with the Shu- 

 magin, Semidi, and Sannak Islands, are practically without any protection, and fishermen operate in any 

 way they care to, without, I may say, even the slightest semblance of investigation or restriction. This is 

 entirely due to the fact that there are no Government vessels to look after these vast and important fields. 

 We have one man stationed at Afognak Island, not only an isolated place, but with the waters surrounding 

 it and Kodiak Island treacherous and dangerous a greater part of the time, and all we have available for 

 his use is an 1 8-foot skiff. In this he is supposed to investigate fishery violations and follow fast-moving 

 tugs and fishing boats. As a result, this Government official has been forced to jeopardize his life by going 

 out in this skiff, or resort to the unfortunate and inexcusable practice of asking a cannery to furnish passage 

 on a boat so that he may investigate the company's own fishery operations. This is the only safe means 

 he has of getting there. The necessity of such a practice is ludicrous and absurd in the performance of 

 official inspection work. 



To cite one instance which reflects discredit on the Government: One of our chief officials in Alaska 

 requested that a cannery tug take him to a certain fishing ground so that he might see if the law was being 

 violated. The company's superintendent readily acquiesced, and when he was nearing the fishing grounds 

 blew five long blasts. The Government official naturally inquired why this was done, and the answer 

 came back: "I am very sorry, but my instructions from the boss are to warn all the fishermen by five 

 whistles when any of our boats are carrying a United States fisheries official." In other words, they were in 

 the habit of violating the law and this was a warning that they must desist for the time being. It is 

 needless to say that when the official went ashore the plant was all in order and everybody was attending 

 to his duty in the proper way. 



This explains the whole situation in a very few words, and it is earnestly hoped that it will not be 

 necessary for this practice to continue. Could there be a more unfortunate condition, and can we expect 

 any better results from the meager facilities we now have ? All through this section, and farther beyond, the 

 salmon fishing, the halibut fishing, and the partly developed codfish operations need investigating and 

 looking after the greater part of the year. The Aleutian Reservation, 1,000 miles long, has never had her 

 fisheries investigated, and yet there are certain conditions that should be changed and looked into without 

 delay. This can be done only if there is a boat stationed there the year round. Bristol Bay, one of the 

 greatest salmon sections in Alaska, where two months of the year the water is teeming with the valuable 

 red salmon, can be covered only by accepting the courtesy of boats belonging to the canneries our men are 

 sent to inspect. With the development and expansion of the industry, it is only a question of time when 

 Kotzebue Sound and the adjacent region will be invaded by canneries. To-day there is but one in that 

 section, but to-morrow there will be more, and we need to be there. 



PAY OF OFFICERS AND CREW. 



The question of the pay of the officers and crews on the vessels in our service is a very important 

 matter. Having at present only one vessel in our Alaska service, I can cite only one case, but it is enough 

 to illustrate the condition as it now exists. To-day the captain of the Osprey is paid $125 a month, the 

 chief engineer receives $91.66, the firemen $60 each, a seaman $50 a month, and the cook $50, each having 

 to pay his own board. I took this question into consideration for two reasons — first, because of the com- 

 plaints I have heard in Washington ever since I have been connected with this Bureau; and, second, 

 because there was continual trouble in securing a crew during the two months I was on the Osprey. The 

 captain and the engineer, men of knowledge and judgment, have felt that the Government will see this 

 situation in the proper light before long, and they therefore made no general complaint to me that they 

 were underpaid. I consulted owners of boats, both larger and smaller than the Osprey, and found that the 

 following scale of wages prevailed on about all vessels of from 30 to 100 tons in Alaska: Captain, $125 

 to $150 a month; mate, $100 to $125; chief engineer, $90 to $125; assistant engineer, $75 to $100; firemen, 

 $60 to $75; seamen, $60 to $70 each; and the cook, $65 to $100, all wages including board. The officers 

 of the Osprey to-day are men of integrity and ability, and they afforded me valuable help in carrying on 

 my investigations. The Government can ill afford to lose these men, and with more lucrative positions 

 offered them it is a wonder that the Government has been able to retain their services as long as it has. 



