The Salmon -canning Industry 



diplomatic, for he most good-naturedly lent me 

 a big first-class boat a few days later. This, too, 

 without my having to bother him by begging 

 for it. I take this opportunity of thanking him 

 most sincerely for his help and consideration, 

 without which I should indeed have been beaten. 

 The salmon-canning industry fairly amazed me. 

 Of course I had heard and read of the Fraser 

 River canneries, but I could not believe salmon 

 existed in such profusion. There are so many 

 fish to be caught for the trouble of setting a net 

 for them that not only do the Indians make 

 them their staple food when fresh, and also 

 when smoked and dried, but the dogs are fed on 

 them. The actual work of a salmon cannery is 

 performed by Chinamen. The custom is to 

 employ a boss Chinaman, who engages a suffi- 

 cient number of men to perform the necessary 

 work, and who is responsible for the smooth 

 working and satisfactory behaviour of those 

 under him. In the Kusiloff Cannery which I 

 will describe the modus operands was somewhat 

 as follows : A steamer leaves San Francisco in 

 March for the site of the factory. She has on 

 board the Chinamen and white men necessary 

 for the works. She also carries a sufficient 

 amount of tin plates that are to be used in 

 making the cans for the purpose, together with 

 stores, labels, etc. On arrival at the river, 



all hands are turned on to make the cans in 



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