CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 107 



home consumption. A few barrels of bellies (the choicest part of the fish) are sent to particular 

 friends in other parts of the territory, and a few reach San Francisco. At Nushagak the Alaska 

 Commercial Company has a supply prepared to be taken to the Pribylof Islands for the natives at 

 that place. 



At Nushagak, in 1878, a large trap was made of spruce splints fastened to stakes driven into 

 the soft bed ot the river. The doorway was so placed that the fish entered, when ascending from 

 the sea, and continued to a chamber by a tortuous passage-way; and, as the consecutive chambers led 

 against the stream the fish constantly struggled to the innermost parts of the trap. The ingress 

 was so small that it would be difficult for the fish to return by it. I have seen several hundred 

 fish, at one tide, taken in the trap, and not one of the fish weighed less than 20 pounds, ranging 

 from that up to 60 pounds. They frequently burst the trap sides, from the pressure of their bodies, 

 when the tide recedes. At this time the fish are taken out and* salted. 



The further north the fish are found the better the quality of the flesh. The white people, who 

 have had an opportunity of eating the fish from the various localities named above, invariably 

 pronounce the Yukon fish to be the better, and a difference may be detected in the flavor of the 

 fish from each locality. 



The flesh is so oily that fat of any kind is unnecessary when frying. The pau is made hot and 

 a thin steak not over half an inch in thickness is placed in it; a sufficient oil is soon tried out to 

 cook the fish to a rich, crisp brown. The fish should be eaten while hot, as it loses its fine flavor 

 when cold. 



The color of the fresh flesh is variable in this species ; some of the individuals being an orange 

 red, others having a yellowish-red color, others a deep-red orange. The blood is quite dark. The 

 color of the spawn is reddish orange to a light-reddish brown. The eggs are large,. and lie in two 

 great masses, one on each side. When the eggs are mature they are nearly one-fifth of an inch in 

 diameter. The milt of the male is also in two sacks and is of a light ashy color. The milt is 

 generally about one-third the size of the roe of a female of the same weight, though the roe of the 

 female will weigh several pounds if she be a large fish. 



The fish present the following color, though there is considerable individual variation: Head, 

 nape, dorsum, and tail dark plumbeus, nearly black in some individuals and of a greenish cast in 

 others. The sides are light plumbeus, the belly grayish or ashy. The tins are generally much 

 darker than the other portions of the body. The Russian-speaking people call this species 

 Chavicha, a word derived from the Kamchadale language aud applied to this or kindred species. 

 The Eskimo of Saint Michael's vicinity call this species Talc zltdk fulc meaning the big salt-water, 

 from the word talc zhuk, meaning sea, and used also for salt. The Aleutian name of this salmon is 

 A me ung. 



100. Onchorhynchus keta (Walb.) Gill and Jordau. 



This species rarely attains a great weight. The largest individuals weigh as much as 12 

 pounds in the fresh state. 



This species arrives at Saint Michael's about the loth of July and continue to run for about 

 three weeks. These fish prefer the smaller streams, and when asceudiug the largest rivers usu- 

 ally run into some of the tributaries whieh have a pebbly or rocky bottom. 



Great numbers of these fish are caught by means of seines dragged along the sides of the 

 streams. In the Unalakhlit River they are excessively abundant. To this stream the natives 

 from the neighboring coast repair to prepare these fish for winter use. The fish are slit into two 

 pieces, joined only by the tail, aud then dried. The backbone is taken out, as the fish dries more 

 rapidly and does not so soon become rancid. The backbones are also dried for dog-food. When 

 dried thoroughly, the average weight is not more than a pound and a half, as the backbone and 

 head are taken off. 



This species was not observed among any of the Aleutian Islands. I was informed that it is 

 taken in scanty numbers at irregular seasons at Unalashka and Attu. This fish remains sometimes 

 in the rivers until the end of the year. They spawn about the 1st of August and have completed 

 by the 10th. They return weak, aud in most instances injured on the rocks, so that they are cast 

 on the shore in great quantities. 



