REPORT OF JOSEPH MURRAY, SPECIAL TREASURY AGENT, FOR 



THE YEAR 1895. 



DIVISION OF SPECIAL AGENTS, 



TREASURY DEPARTMENT, 

 Washington, D. (7., December 20, 1895. 



SIB : I have the honor to report that pursuant to Department instruc- 

 tions dated April 4, 1895, I proceeded to the Pacific Coast and sailed 

 from Seattle April 23, on board the regular mail steamer for Sitka, 

 where I arrived May 1 and learned that court was about to be held at 

 Juneau, to which city I immediately returned for the purpose of looking 

 after the interest of the Government, as it might appear in the ex- Mar- 

 shal Porter case, one of whose deputies, Mr. Adolph Myer, was about 

 to be tried on charges of forgery, embezzlement, stealing public records, 

 and several others of like nature. 

 My written instructions are as follows : 



TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, 



Washington, D. C., April 4, 1895. 



SIR : You are directed to perfect your arrangements with a view to your departure for 

 Sitka, Alaska, with as little delay as practicable. It will be your duty to ascertain 

 and report the location of every salmon cannery or saltery in Alaska ; the capacity 

 of the same in cases, barrels, half-barrels, and kits; the pack in full for each season ; 

 the number of boxes of tin consumed and the cost of the same per box at place of 

 purchase; the approximate or actual selling price of the product of each fishery in 

 the market to which the same may be consigned; the number of employees in each 

 cannery and the totals thereof, segregating whites, natives, Chinese, etc., male and 

 female, adults and minors, and whether citizens or aliens. You should include, also, 

 in said reports the codfish, herring, herring-oil, guano, and other such industries. 

 It is desired that you investigate the alleged taking and destruction of the eggs of 

 game wild fowl in Alaska, as well, also, as to the alleged wanton destruction of game 

 birds, deer, fox, and other animals, and also the advisability of adopting suitable 

 regulations as to close seasons, in order to prevent such destruction in future. 



You should visit, if possible, every cannery in Alaska, and, when practicable, the 

 necessary journey s should be made on vessels of the United States. This instruction is 

 not to be construed, however, as forbidding the use of other means of conveyance 

 when necessary. You are expected to report to the nearest collector of customs any 

 infraction of the revenue laws which may come to your notice. You should report, 

 also, to the Department any violation of the laws relating to the introduction of 

 firearms or of liquors into the Territory of Alaska. 



For your information I inclose herewith copy of the circular dated August 10, 1892, 

 pertaining to the erection of dams, barricades, or other obstructions in the rivers of 

 Alaska for the purpose or result of preventing or impeding the ascent of salmon or 

 other anadromous species to their spawning grounds. It will be your duty to enforce 

 the provisions of said circular and to warn all persons who have erected dams, barri- 

 cades, or other obstructions to remove the same forthwith, and in default thereof 

 you should report the facts, with the proper proofs, to the United States attorney for 

 prosecution. 



You should submit reports to the Department from time to time sliowing the result 

 of your work, and at the close of the fishing season you should forward a full report, 

 covering said season and stating the result of your observations under these instruc- 

 tions. Any recommendations you deem advisable may be embodied in your reports. 

 Any official communication which the Department may find necessary to address to 

 you hereafter will be mailed to Sitka, Alaska. In this connection you are informed 

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