92 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
were high, and the product was often injured or entirely spoiled in 
passing through the heat of the tropics. Dried cod was, consequently, 
difficult to obtain on the Pacific coast, and always expensive to the 
consumer, while dealers frequently suffered severe loss by being com- 
pelled to throw consignments of fish into the bay. 
In 1857 Capt. Matthew Turner, master of the brig Timandra , 120 
tons, sailed from San Francisco with an assorted cargo for Nicolaevsk, 
on the A moor River. He was detained, however, for three weeks at 
Castor Bay, at the head of the Gulf of Tartary, because the Amoor 
River was full of ice when he reached the Asiatic coast. While the 
vessel lay there waiting, anchored in 3 fathoms of water, the crew began 
fishing over the rail with hand lines, simply as a pastime. They were 
surprised to find plenty of cod, averaging about 2 feet in length. Cap- 
tain Turner had not previously seen codfish, but some of his crew were 
familiar with the species, and he, knowing their market value at San 
Francisco, appreciated the importance of the discovery and became 
interested in the fishing. Two years later Captain Turner made another 
trip to the Amoor River. Reaching Saghalin Island, off the Gulf of 
Tartary, he began fishing for cod and found them very abundant. 
Only enough were taken for ship’s use, however, for he was not provided 
with the means to cure more. 
In 1863 Captain Turner once more sailed in the Timandra to Amoor 
River. But this time he went prepared to catch and cure some cod on 
his return voyage. Besides fishing gear, he carried 25 tons, of salt. 
Returning he stopped to fish at the Gulf of Tartary. Cod were plentiful 
at first, and 10 tons were taken in a few days, and salted in kench. But 
suddenly the fish disappeared and none could be caught. Then the brig 
ran down the coast to southern Kamtchatka, where fish were found in 
abundance, and excellent success was met with on the first day. The vessel 
lay near the rocky coast, and on the second day, during the prevalence 
of a dense fog, both anchors were lost.' This mishap compelled Captain 
Turner to abandon fishing and to leave the coast; he reluctantly sailed 
for home. His fish sold at San Francisco for 15 cents per pound, and 
his voyage would have been notably profitable if the loss of anchors had 
not interfered with obtaining a full fare. This was the first occasion that 
salt cod were landed on the west coast from Pacific fishing grounds. 
In 1864 Captain Turner sailed in his brig on a cod-fishing voyage. 
Thus the Timandra was the first vessel to engage in this industry from 
Pacific ports. On the same grounds visited the previous year a fare of 
100 tons of codfish was obtained, and the voyage was remunerative. 
The same year the schooner Alert made a trip to Bristol Bay, Alaska, 
in pursuit of cod. Her voyage proved a failure, for she took only 9 
tons of fish. 
Captain Turner states that since he made his voyages to the Gulf of 
Tartary, as related above, no American vessels have gone there to fish 
for cod. His success, however, had a very decided effect upon the cod- 
