SALMON FISHERIES OF ALASKA 41 



The canneries at Karluk, and ouKadiak generally, get their supply of fresh water 

 from the adjacent mountain streams. At Karluk they make little reservoirs at suita- 

 ble elevations and from these carry the water by surface pipes of iron into the can- 

 neries, thus utilizing the force of gravity. 



The plautof acauuingcompauy usually includes, besides a cannery building proper, 

 a fish house and wharf, a salting house, containing tanks for curing salmon, a cooper 

 shop, barrel house, a machine-shop, a lodging-house and mess-room, a store-room and 

 a warehouse. The method of handling the saimon after they are caught is as follows: 

 The fish are thrown from the boats into large bins in the splitting-house, where they 

 are prepared for the cannery by cutting off the heads and fins, and removing the vis- 

 cera. The different steps in this process are performed by different groups of men, 

 one set cutting off the heads, another removing the fins, while still another scrapes out 

 the viscera. After this the fish are washed and finally thrown into hand carts, to be 

 hauled into the cannery, where they pass through various processes, almost all of 

 which are carried on by machinery. The Eed Salmon is first cut into lengths suitable 

 for the size of the can. These pieces are carried along and fed into cans, inequalities 

 iu the filling being supplied by hand work. The cans are then topped in the topping 

 machine, from which they pass to the soldering machine, and then are subjected to 

 the processes of venting, cooking, steaming, testing, cooling, japanning and labelling. 



The number of canneries in Alaska was greatly increased in 1889. Prior to 1888 

 the islands of Kadiak and Afognak contained only one or two establishments. The 

 Karluk Packing Company at Karluk was the largest. In 1889 the number of can- 

 neries at Karluk was increased to five, and three additional firms came to that place 

 to seine fish for canneries located at other places. The yield in 1889 was larger than in 

 1888, so that no decrease in thenumber of salmon has been observed as yet ; of course 

 the catch has been divided among a large number of companies and the individual 

 take has fallen off in some cases. As an illustration of the injurious effects of over sein- 

 ing at Karluk it may be stated that previous to 1889, seining was carried on almost 

 exclusively in Karluk Kiver and there was no fishing done on the ocean beach except at 

 very low tides, when there was not enough water to seine in the river. In 1888 a 

 seine of 100 fathoms set in Karluk River took 17,000 fish at one haul. In 1889 the 

 rivalry to obtain fish was so great that seining was done principally in salt water, as 

 near the river mouth as possible, and the length of the seines was increased in most 

 cases to 250 fathoms. 



PRODUCTS OF THE SALMON FISHERY. 



The productive streams of the. Territory are generally small and have their sources 

 in large lakes. The great rivers of the Territory from the Bristol Bay region northward 

 do not furnish the yield which we might reasonably expect from their superior size, 

 but these rivers are in the nature of undeveloped territory, with the exception of the 

 Nushagak. 



Nearly one-half of the entire yield of salmon in Alaska is now taken near the 

 mouth of a small river, the Karluk, which, at low water is only a few yards wide and 

 has a length of less than 20 miles. 



According to the Commercial Herald and Market Review, of San Francisco, the 

 Alaska salmon pack of 1889 amounted to 629,260 cases in cans and 6,930J barrels in 

 salt. Two thousand cases of 48 pounds each is considered a great day's work for a 



