434 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



coming out to interfere with his net. Previous to this a notice was found signed 

 11 Fishermen of Karluk," outside our cannery, nailed to the flag pole outside of my 

 house. This notice was to the effect that if we fished within the limits of Seven 

 Mile Point and Julia Ford Point, with a purse seine, it would meet with the same 

 fate that the traps did used by Barker in the Karluk River. (Destroyed.) 



On the second occasion, when we went to lay out our purse seine, we were about 

 three-quarters of a mile from the mouth of the river, and our net could not in any 

 way have covered the mouth of the river, and they run a net out so that we could 

 not close in without going over their net. On this occasion, Mr. Williams shortened 

 up his circuit and run his net into the barge, just around their seine skiff, thus com- 

 pleting the one circuit. To do this, however, he could not get the full net out, but 

 only a part of it. Then he made a haul, which, of course, was spoiled by not being 

 able to get out his full net. The men pulled their net out, and cursed, and said the 

 next time they would fix me. Our men then went to the men, and shortly after- 

 wards two steam launches and two seines came down to where the purse seine was 

 lying, and every time that Mr. Williams would make a move these men would follow 

 with the steam launches and seines. 



The next day Mr. Williams said he would have to overhaul his gear and shorten 

 up his net ; if he was going to be molested he could not work such a long net. About 

 1.30 p. m. we were ready to start out again and get down to the point (close to the 

 slide), and on passing the Alaska Improvement Company's steam launch noticed two 

 men coming out from the shore in a seine boat, evidently to get up steam, and after- 

 wards noticed they were getting up steam in one of the Alaska Packers' Association 

 Company's steam launches which was lying at her mooring. About 2 p. m. we started 

 to run out a purse seine, and in the meantime a seine skiff' started off Karluk belong- 

 ing to the Alaska Packers' Association and arrived just as we got our purse seine 

 haul out about 2 fathoms to each wing. Capt. Harry Newman, of the Alaska Pack- 

 ers' Association, was in charge of this boat, and he ran over our net with his seine 

 skiff and I warned him not to do it, and to keep away. He didn't notice this and 

 was starting in to cross the line and held up his anchor evidently with the intention 

 of dropping it inside our net and we called to him not to do it, but he took no notice 

 of it and dropped his anchor over into the middle of our net. He then circled around 

 the inside of our net and then crossed over the cork line and then passed the painter 

 of his seine skiff to one of the Alaska Packers' Association steam launches which 

 had come down in the meantime. The steam launch then towed his boat with his 

 anchor still down in our net. I warned him not to do this, but he simply pointed 

 to the seine skiff and to Newman. 



Then another steam launch came down and passed over our net, and then Mr. Bar- 

 ling, of the Alaska Improvement Company, came down with a steam launch and had 

 some dories, I think. He then passed the line of his seine skiff to the other Alaska 

 Packers' Association's steam launch which had passed over the top of our net and I 

 warned him to keep away, but he ran right through it and passed over the other 

 side and came to the back of our lighter. Then he came around to the front of the 

 net where the Alaska Packers' Association's steam launch was turning the seine skiff 

 with the anchor and he took the line from the other steam launch and began to tow; 

 that is, Barling's steam launch began to tow the skiff with the anchor in place of 

 the other steam launch ; then the other two steam launches hitched on to Barling's 

 launch and all three towed. I was in our steam launch, and finally, after two 

 attempts, succeeded in cutting the line. We then hauled in the balance of the purse; 

 seine to the lighter, and the anchor, which we found entangled in the web of the 

 purse seine, we threw overboard, and after getting the balance of the web we 

 started off' and went down to the waterfall, which is about 2 miles from the mouth 

 of the river, and two of the other steam launches followed us with a fishing gang 

 and gear. We went to see if one of our fishing gangs had got any fish and then we 

 started home. Within a few days after we laid our purse seine in front of our can- 

 nery, but they didn't trouble us any this time. We fished several times after this 

 with our purse seine, but we were not troubled in front of our own cannery. They 

 said we must not use our purse seine between Julia Ford Point and Seven Mile 

 Point. Julia Ford Point lies just next to our cannery, between it and Barling's. 

 Seven Mile Point is a point about 7 miles north of the Karluk River. They also 

 limited us to a mile and a half offshore. This notice, however, simply applied to 

 our purse seine. 



Once before this our men had gone over to the mouth of the river and were about 

 to start to lay a shore seine, but Barling informed them as often as they did this he 

 would lay another seine within theirs and scoop the catch. 



We have never used our purse seine within the limits laid down in the notice of 

 the Karluk fishermen since the disturbance. We fish now exclusively with the shore 

 seines directly in front of our establishment to the beach and sometimes down at the 

 waterfall. We never go to the river at all. 



The purse seine we found could not be worked with advantage off the shore in 



