NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 1874. 



For -Forest and Sim 

 THE SEA BOY'S FAREWELL. 



"TTTAIT. wait, ye winds till I repeat 

 VV A patting signal to the fleet 



Whose station is at home, 

 Then waft the sea boy's simple prayer, 

 And let it oft be whispered there, 



While in far climes I roam. 



Farewell to father, reverend hulk I 

 In spite of metal, spite of bnlk, 



His cable soon may slip. 

 But while the parting tear is moist, 

 The flag of gratitude I'll hoist, 



In duty to the ship. 



Farewell to mother, first-class she, 

 Who launched me on life's stormy sea, 



And rigged me fore and aft. 

 May providence her timbers spare, 

 And keep the hnll in good repair 



To tow the smaller crnfi . 



May some good ship a tender prove, 

 Well found in stores, in truth audlove. 

 And take her under lee. 



Farewell to Tom, the jolly boat, 

 And all the little craft afloat, 



Iu home's delighiful bay. 

 Till they arrive at sailing age, 

 May wisdom give the weather gauge, 



And guide them on their way. 



Farewell to all on life's wide main, 

 Perhaps we ne'er Bhall meet again, 



Thro' stress and Btormy weather, 

 Till summoned by the board above, 

 We'll harbor in the port of love, 



And all be moored together. 



For Foivfl and Stream* 



f|fes/ $$%§{■ 



THE MARINE SPECIES OF ALASKA. 



THE saltwater fishes, useful to man, found in Alaska 

 from the fifty-fourth to tlie sixty-seventh parallels, 

 will equal in number and edible qualities those fouud in 

 any portion of the world, and as a general rule, exceed 

 them in size; and for these reasons the Northwest Coast 

 muBt become in time the great fish commissariat of the 

 "Western Pacific nations and several of the Orient. As the 

 region has many attractions for the successful prosecution 

 of the fisheries I shall glance at them according as they 

 present themselves, and they will prove sufficiently logical 

 in results to form a corollary. Of the various species of 

 fish frequenting the Alaska waters ouly a few have re- 

 ceived their techoicul cognomeus, and several remain uu- 

 recognized, so that in classiiiing them one meets with some 

 difficulty in trying to be specifically distinct, in nomencla- 

 ture, or in reconciling them with others mentioned by early 

 scientists under a different name. To commence with Die 

 less useful, we find in profusion two species of the pleu- 

 ronecfids, the platemt MUlatnts, br spiny flounder, and the 

 p. ouadi-ituberrtibttu:!, or common flounder; and with these 

 I may mention a fish similar in many ways, thercija Oooperi, 

 or skate. The globe fish, (evjaicrotriymvn orlris,) suit fish, 

 (orthiiyoricui: iinrtUa,) several species of sculpin, and the 

 capelin, (niullotus mllosus,) are also abundant, but arc not 

 used except by the littoral Indians, and they capture them 

 ouly when pressed by hunger in the winter. Beemann in 

 his explorations of the Northwest Coust states that the 

 mullet throngs the more northern waters near Behrings 

 Straits and Kotzebue Sound, replacing the salmon beyond 

 the sixty-seventh parallel, It is not known around Siteha, 

 so wa must conclude that it prefers the more arctic regions. 

 The smelt — osmei-iu, or argentina pretiosa — is a denizen of 

 the coast from Gape Lopatkato the most southerly point; 

 but notwithstanding its numerical strength, it i9 not em- 



ployed in commerce. The anchovy, (engraulm mordax,) is 

 found along the lower coast in great profusion. 



The eulachon, (tfiaUiethys pacificus,) is nearly a constant 

 resident of the waters, and is caught in large numbers by 

 the Indians, they prizing it highly, as it furnishes them 

 with food, light and oil. Its specific characteristics having 

 been given in a previous article I deem it unnecessary to 

 refer to it at length in the present; sufficient to say that it 

 has a strong affinity to the smelt. During their spawning 

 season the ocean seems in a state of ebullition, so deuse are 

 they when preparing to enter the streams. They are then 

 caught in thousands by the aborigines, who smoke them 

 for winter use. This fishing possesses a keen interest for 

 the romantic paleface, as the first fish caught is the centre 

 of much ceremony from its captors. It is the originator 

 of a dance iu which all the dusky Masaniellos unite, and 

 after that exercise come speeches, songs, more dances, and 

 a glorious feast of the entire finny race found in the vic- 

 inity of the festal grounds. Ere being devoured, the adi- 

 pose thaleicthys is addressed as king, and ample excuses arc 

 made to his piscatorial highness for the necessity which 

 enforces upon them the destruction of himself and his 

 kindred; and this rather jolly, though grave, ceremony be- 

 ing finished, the fishing commences in earnest and is pro- 

 secuted with vigor for about a month, when it closes, owing 

 to the disappearance of all but a few stragglers. When 

 going on a canoe journey, the Hydas, Makahs, Bella 

 Coolas and other tribes, take large quantities of this species 

 with them, and when they want a light they place its tail 

 in the fire for a few moments, then withdraw it as the 

 whole body will afterwards burn with a slow but bright 

 flame. With these extemporized candles they light their 

 wigwams, or engage in night fishing. 



The ciupea family is well represented, there being some 

 four or five species, which are allied to their Atlantic con- 

 geners, though different in color and minor anatomical out- 

 lines. The interior saltwater basins contain myriads of 

 them in June and July; and they extend iu apparently 

 the same density from the Ochotsk and Belt ring Seas to 

 to the southern coast of Oregon. The natives fish for them 

 by placing their canoes amongst a school and hurling them 

 in with paddles containing rows of nails. While the 

 season lasts it is a busy one, for great are its results. This 

 fish could be used to excellent advantage as bait in fishing 

 for cod; or if cured, it would meet a ready sale in the 

 markets of California. Myriads can be trapped in weirs 

 or hauled with seines; more indeed than could receive the 

 attention deserved to render them equal to the best smoked 

 or salted varieties of Scotch herring. 



The tom-cod— the gadm grneilis of Tilesius— is very 

 abundant and far superior to its Atlantic prototype, (g. poly- 

 nwrplious,) in size and flavor. As it bites at a hook readily 

 the aborigines capture large numbers late in tlte autumn 

 with a hook made of walrus ivory; this being kept in 

 motion constantly attracts the fiadutt, which bites at it 

 though no bait is used; and the consequence is that the 

 lines are pulled in about as rapidly as a man caD attend to 

 them, for this species goes at the business with most com- 

 mendable vigor itnd promptitude. 



The halibut, {hippoglassus vulgaris,) ranges from Oregon 

 to the Aleutian Isles, and up to the ice line of Behring Sea, 

 and westward to the Ochotsk. The specimens caught 

 weigh from one. to tour hundred pounds, and some are said 

 to exceed even the latter weight. Tlte Russians paid a 

 slight attention to this fish formerly, but (hey do nothing 

 with it at present, if we exclude the few caught for the 

 table. The Alaska variety is deemed superior to its east- 

 ern kindred in firmness and delicacy of flesh, and as will 

 be seen excels it also in ponderosity. 



Of all the fish in these waters, the best for commerce, 

 exclusive of the salmon, is the true cod— gitdun ■mnrroceph- 

 almat Tilesius; morlm pnmma ol' Girard— which is round 

 in countless numbers from the coast of Washington Terri- 

 tory to the southern limits of the ice floes of the Behring 

 Sea, or about the sixtieth parallel, and from Norton Sound 

 to the Coast of Asia. The best species are found in the 



deepest water, say from twenty to fifty fathoms, hence 

 those caught along the banks of Alaska are. superior to 

 these of the Ochotsk Sea. The beat grounds known at 

 present are those off the peninsula of K.amsehatka in about 

 latitude 53° north. The fish arrive here about the last of 

 June, thence spread over all the deep, muddy banks of the 

 Kurile Straits, Gulf of Alaska, Shumagin Islands, and 

 other localities, preferring, as a general rule, those banks 

 where the water ranges between fifteen and fort}' fathoms 

 iu depth. Of all places the latter islands seem to be the 

 most favored, as the marine plateaus near them are covered 

 with a soft, oozy mud so well fitted for the home of the 

 cod. Several vessels have been fitted out in San Francisco 

 within the last few years for the purpose of engaging in 

 this fishing, and all have done remarkably Well. The 

 hands working on shares have cleared an average of $100 

 per month; whilst the vessels not only paid for their con- 

 struction but also yielded handsome returns on the capital 

 invested. 



These grounds are much superior to those of New- 

 foundland, for the reason that storms are very rare in sum- 

 mer, and that vessels can easily run into a shelter in case 

 of necessity. Theshorc is also well adapted to dressing the 

 fish; or if a better one is desired a run of a few days will 

 take them to Puget Sound, where they can find the best 

 dressing grounds on the contiuent. Vessels leaving San 

 Francisco in March can commence fishing late in June or 

 early in July and continue until September. They should 

 make only one trip, but if a second is rendered imperative, 

 owing to receiving a cargo earlier than expected, they can 

 enter Washington Territory and there refit, so that they 

 will only lose a few days at the utmost. The Aleuts, who ' 

 are excellent pilots and good fishermen, and have a "sea 

 eye 1 ' equal to the best old sailor, can be employed at a 

 trifling sum per week, so that any person possessed of a 

 small capital can enter this busiuess with assurances of suc- 

 cess. The natives capture large numbers with a hook 

 made of spruce, having barbs of bone, their line being com- 

 posed of the gigantic kelp, (wicrocystes,) which often 

 averages two hundred feet in length, and the catch thej r 

 often sell to white men. The salted fish sells in the Cali- 

 fornia markets at from six to twelve cents per pound, so 

 that the industry must yield handsome returns. In 1870 

 some thirty vessels left San Francisco for these grounds, 

 remained absent four months and returned with about ten 

 million pounds of salted fish, valued at over $150,000. 

 This sum alone is sufficient to show the profits acciuing, 

 and what a fortune could be realised by developing the in 

 dustry to its fullest capacity. Moktimeu Kebkt. 

 ■*•*• 



l:\ir Fun-'l Uilit .slinr;,!. 



THE COMANCHE INDIANS. 



iNIJMF.EIl TWO. 



IN my laBt 1 stated that a few more details in regard to 

 dress and arms roust be given before coming to cus- 

 toms, habits and traditions, which arc more interesting. 

 The shield used by warriors is twenty inches in din meter, 

 made of skin taken from the neck of a bull buffalo, or 

 account Of its thickness and toughness. This is made hard 

 by heating, and cannot be penetrated by arrows, or even 

 pistol balls at a distance. The shield is carried on the left 

 arm, and fastened with loops; it is decorated with colored 

 eagle feathers, and such scalps as the possessor may have 

 taken; it is also painted in different colors with odd de- 

 vices. 



Thelauceisof willow or cottonwood, light, and" about 

 eight feet in length, including the spear, which is usually 

 made of an old sword blade, knife, or piece of iron filed 

 down and sharpened. 



The bow, the main stay and reliance of a Comanche, 

 before possessing firearms, is made of "Bois d'arc" — the 

 osage orange — is light, very tough and springy (to coin a 

 word). The arrows are made of swamp dog wood, the 

 sprouts of which are cut green; they need not be straight. 

 A buck will take a crooked Btioli and SQftn straighten it by 

 biting il from end to end. The head is made of iron, nsu 



