SALMON FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 31 



this species coming down alive in the fall to within easy reach of salt water. Whether 

 the species actually leaves the fresh water after spawning is uncertain. There is a 

 conflict of observation on this subject. 



Mr. John W. Clark, agent of the Alaska Commercial Company at Nushagak, a 

 man who is noted for his veracity and intelligence, states that be has seen Silver Sal- 

 mon come down the river alive in the spring. In some other Alaskan rivers Captain 

 Lausburg, superintendent of the Thin Point Cannery, has seen only black and lank 

 looking salmon of this species during the winter. 



At Afognak the species arrived August 5, 1889, but there was no extensive run 

 until about the end of that month. A small Silver Salmon was seen at Karluk August 

 4. The species was not abundant there, however, until early in September, when about 

 seven thousand were caught at one haul of a seine. It was about this time that one 

 of Capt. L. P. Larsen's men at Karluk hooked a very large Silver Salmon, probably 

 weighing over 30 pounds. This species is only an occasional visitor at Karluk. When 

 it runs there it generally begins about the last of August according to Mr. Charles 

 Birsch. Mr. Washburn informed me that it arrives at St. Paul late in August or in 

 September, and that there is only one annual run. A few fish of this species are found 

 in the small river in Olga Bay, near the cannery of the Arctic Packing Company. In 

 the river at Thin Point, a small and very shallow, but constant, stream, both Silver 

 and Red Salmon are found, the latter predominating. The season closes here early in 

 September. 



The Silver Salmon make their nests among the gravel and stones, from which 

 they clean all dirt and slime. They use their snouts in collecting material for the 

 nests, and Turner states that he has seen them with the snout worn off past the muzzle. 

 After the spawning season, and during their stay in fresh water, they continue to be 

 very much emaciated and in poor condition generally. 



No decrease has been observed in the supply of this salmon as far as we are 

 informed. Its late arrival in most localities limits the season during which it can 

 be caught, and this serves as a sort of protection for the species. 



The Humpback Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). 



(Plate ii, figs. 4 and 5.) 



This is the smallest, the most abundant, and the most widely distributed of the 

 Alaskan salmon. Its average weight is about 5 pounds, and individuals weighing 10 

 pounds are very uncommon. 



The Humpback may be recognized readily by its excessively small scales, and, in 

 the breeding season, by its greatly distorted jaws and enormous hump. This species 

 is found in all parts of the Territory. Its range is known to extend several hundred 

 miles to the eastward of Point Barrow, and probably includes the Mackenzie. Speak- 

 ing of their extraordinary abundance, Turner has aptly remarked that " they appear 

 at the surface of the water like the pin-drops of an April shower." 



Mr. Charles Hirsch informed me recently that from about the 6th of July, 1880, 

 there was in the Karluk River, continuing for five weeks, a glut of Humpback Salmon 

 which kept all other salmon out of the river. It was impossible to pull a boat across 

 the stream owing to the great quantities of salmon. A haul was made with a 15- 

 fathom seine at 6 a. m. and the men were dressing Ash from that one haul until 6 p. m. 



