April 8, 1890. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



211 



been obtained from the Bristol Bay region to Point Bar- 

 row. It is an excellent food species, a little larger than 

 the last, but does not much exceed 31bs. in weight, and 

 bears a resemblance to our so-called lake herring. The 

 other two whitefishes are less valuable than those already 

 mentioned, but they constitute a large part of the food of 

 the natives and of their dogs. 



A large and handsome fish, intermediate between the 

 whiteish and the salmon, is the inconnu or Mackenzie 

 Eiver salmon— the nelma of the Russians. On account 

 of the strongly projecting lower jaw the species has re- 

 ceived the additional name of shovel-jawed whitefish. 

 This is one of the finest fishes of the region and grows 

 very large, attaining to a length of oft. and the weight of 

 501bs. 



The grayling is very abundant in Alaska, especially 

 northward, and is one of the most beautiful fishes outside 

 of tropical waters. Until recently it was reputed to be 

 the only fish in the fresh waters of the Territory that 

 could be caught with hook and line. 



The brook trout of California, perhaps better known as 

 the Dolly Varden, is one of the commonest fishes of 

 Alaska, and in the silvery sea-run condition forms a 

 staple article of commerce under the name of salmon 

 trout. The species grows very large, increasing in size 

 northward, so that individuals measuring 30in. are not 

 infrequent. From the skins of this trout natives make 

 waterproof clothing. 



and prepared for him entirely by his frivolous wife, he 

 needs merely to touch a match to the tail of a dried 

 ulikon and light himself to bed. In addition to their 

 value directly as food for man these allies of the salmon 

 play a very important part in attracting the larger com- 

 mercial fishes of the salmon family to certain localities. 



The largest and finest of the Alaska salmon is the king, 

 or chowiche„e, known also as the Takou, Columbia Eiver, 

 Chinnook and quinnat. This val uable fish occurs in the 

 large rivers as a rule, but runs into some of the small 

 streams also, notably the Karlulc and some of the rivers 

 of Cook's Inlet. The Yukon and the Nushagak are the 

 greatest king salmon rivers in Alaska. The average 

 weight of this salmon is above 201bs., and individuals 

 weighing upward of lOOlbs. are on record. At St. Paul, 

 Kadiak, Mr. B. G. Mclntyre weighed one which regis- 

 tered 87^1bs. without its viscera, and the entire fish must 

 have exceeded lOOlbs. Capt. Wm. Kohl has recently 

 told me that he once obtained reliable information in 

 Cook's Inlet of a salmon weighing about 1401bs., and indi- 

 viduals of equal size are reported in the Yukon. These 

 large fish are interesting in connection with the solution 

 of the problem whether all king salmon die after spawn- 

 ing, as some competent observers positively assert they 

 do. The flesh of this species is superior in flavor to that 

 of all the rest. In Alaska the bellies are salted but the 

 fish is chiefly used in the fresh state and for canning. 

 Three of these salmon will make a case of 481bs. This is 



breeding season, is the most abundant salmon of Alaska, 

 and doubtlsss of the world. It has given rise to more 

 tales suspected of being fish stories than any other fish 

 of the Territory. L. M. Turner, in the Norton Sound dis- 

 trict, speaking of its advent from the sea, remarked that 

 "they appear at the surface of the water like the pin 

 drops of an April shower." A gentleman who lived at 

 Karluk eight years informed me that about July 6, 1880, 

 and continuing for five weeks there was in Karluk 

 River a glut of humpbacks, which kept all other salmon 

 out of the stream. It was impossible to pull a boat across 

 the river. A haul was made with a 90ft. seine at 6 A. M. 

 and the men were dressing fish from that haul until 

 6 P.M., caring for 140 barrels or 11,200 fish during twelve 

 hours. After this they were occupied three hours in 

 clearing the seine, in which the remaining salmon were 

 about 4ft. deep. I do not think of any way of intensify- 

 ing the statement of fact here recorded— for it is a fact 

 repeatedly observed and abundantly verified. When the 

 humpbacks enter a stream in force they simply fill the 

 water from shore to shore and from bottom to top, and 

 the late comer must indeed hump himself to keep the 

 pace set for him by his predecessors. This is the small- 

 est of the Pacific salmon, averaging about 51bs. in weight 

 and seldom reaching lOlbs., but it makes up in numbers 

 what it lacks in size, and it occurs throughout the Terri- 

 tory and eastward to the Mackenzie River. As a food 

 fish in the cea-run condition it is excellent. It is salted 



Lake Trout. 



Northern Gravllng. 



Rainbow j ^Trout— Young. 



Gairdner'k Trout-Young. Red-Throated Trout. 



The Mackinaw or Namaycush trout of the Great Lakes 

 and the region to the eastward and northeastward has re- 

 cently been brought down from the Putnam or Kuwuk 

 River, where it is a finely developed and handsome fish. 

 This is undoubtedly the largest trout of North America 

 and is probably the most widely distributed. 



The rainbow trout of California seems to extend north- 

 ward at least to Sitka, but is not abundant and, conse- 

 quently, has little importance in Alaska. 



The steel-head salmon, or Gairdner's trout, known to 

 Russian speaking people as the soomgah, is one of the 

 large species of the Territory and extends northward to 

 the Bristol Bay region. Although as big as the average 

 Atlantic salmon of the east coast, it has not yet acquired 

 much importance commercially. At the great canning 

 stations it is still practically wasted. If it were not fur- 

 ther distant than the Columbia River, a limited quantity 

 would find its way to our Eastern market and sell readily 

 under the trade name of Kennebec salmon. 



Clark's trout, also styled the red- throat, is abundant in 

 southeast Alaska. Its northern limit is said to be the 

 peninsula of Alaska. This is an excellent food fish and 

 reaches a weight of 201bs. or more. Its southern repre- 

 sentatives are widely distributed and very abundant in 

 the Rocky Mountain region, and are familiar to explorers 

 and tourists, its black spots and crimson dash around the 

 throat making it conspicuous. 



Before passing to a review of the Pacific salmons, we 

 must recall the fact that Alaska has a bountiful supply of 

 small fishes which are closely related to the Salinonidce. 

 A true smelt and two kinds of surf smelt are among the 

 common fishes, the first being a food fish of considerable 

 value. The capelin abounds on all parts of the coast, and 

 is one of the most important food species of the cod and 

 salmon. The eulachon, *br candle fish, is extremely 

 abundant in southern Alaska, and is considered one of 

 the finest pan fishes known. A kind of fat is expressed 

 from it, which the Indians use as a substitute for butter, 

 and some pharmacists in the place of cod liver oil. The 

 species is so full of oil that when dried it will burn with 

 a bright flame, so that when the overworked Indian has 

 finigfeed a bountiful supper of fish, doubfcjess procured 



one of the greatest travelers in the Territory, ascending 

 the Yukon more than 1,500 miles from its mouth. The 

 natives of Karluk watch from the headlands for its ar- 

 rival in May, and set up a great shout when tbey have 

 discovered this pioneer of the salmon hosts. Like the 

 other species it can be seen about 1$ miles off shore in 

 great schools, which break up before approaching closer 

 to the land. 



The dog salmon (hyko of the Russians) is not used by 

 the Americans, but is one of the most important species 

 to the natives. It is found chiefly in the small rivers and 

 creeks, and is usually abundant in all parts of the Terri- 

 tory as far north as Hotham Inlet, and probably Point 

 Barrow. When it arrives from the sea its flesh has a 

 beautiful red color, but it deteriorates rapidly in fresh 

 water. The jaws become enlarged and distorted during 

 the breeding season, and the flesh unpalatable. To the 

 exaggerated size of the teeth at this time is due the name 

 dog salmon. The average size of the species is about 

 121bs., but individuals of 201bs. are not uncommon. Early 

 in July the fish-drying frames on the shores of Cook's Inlet 

 are brilliant with the flesh of the dog salmon. The na- 

 tives cut off the head, split the fish in halves, which re- 

 main attached at the tail, remove the back bone, and 

 gash the sides at short intervals to facilitate the drying 

 process. The fur traders lay in a large stock of this dried 

 salmon, which is known as ulcalL Many small streams 

 of Alaska never contain any other salmon than dog 

 salmon and humpbacks, and for the very good reason 

 that when these fish begin to run in they occupy the 

 whole of the water, and sometimes a narrow strip of the 

 adjacent land besides. 



The silver salmon is not so highly esteemed in northern 

 Alaska as it is in the Puget Sound region; it is used to 

 some extent for canning, but is far less important for 

 this purpose than the red salmon. Its average weight is 

 less than lolbs., and the maximum about 30. Running 

 late in the fall when the fishing season is nearly closed 

 it is not much sought aftf r by the whites. The natives, 

 however, dry it in large quantities. 



The humpback, so-called because of the enormous 

 hump developed on the back of the maje during the 



in moderate quantities for disposal in San Francisco and 

 other markets. Natives dry it either with or without 

 salting and store up vast numbers for use in winter. 



The red salmon or redfish, also known as the blueback, 

 sawqui — the Krasnya Ryba of the Russians — next to the 

 humpback is the most abundant salmon of the Territory. 

 Commercially it is the most important fish, and indeed 

 the most valuable product, of Alaska. The Government 

 has a prospective revenue of $1,000,000 annually from its 

 seal islands. The people engaged in the salmon fishing 

 last year took about $3,000,000 worth of fish from Alas- 

 kan waters, and they were chiefly the red salmon. This 

 is not a large fish, for it averages only 7 or 81bs. in weight; 

 individuals weighing 151bs. are occasionally seen. Lake 

 the king salmon it travels the whole length of rivers, 

 pushing on to their sources, but unlike its big relative, it 

 spawns chiefly in lakes. We have traced it with cer- 

 tainty as far north as the Yukon. It is said that the 

 species will not enter a river which does not arise from 

 a lake and abounds only in snow-fed streams. 



T. H. Bean. 



[TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.] 



American Fisheries Society. — The annual meeting 

 of the American Fisheries Society will be held at Put- In- 

 Bay on May 14 and 15. The executive committee met in 

 Mr. E. G. Blackford's office March 24, and made prelim- 

 inary arrangements for the meeting. The State of Ohio 

 has given its Fish Commission an appropriation for a 

 steamer which will carry all who attend the meeting 

 from Sandusky to the island, and will be at the service 

 of the Fisheries Society during their stay. Hon. Emory 

 D. Potter, of the Ohio Commission, will present a paper 

 on the Fresh Water Fisheries and Dr. J. A. Henshall has 

 promised an article on the same subject. Other papers 

 will be announced in the printed circulars to be issued 

 in April. 



The Best Fishing Tackle in the World is to be found at the 

 salesroom of Thos. J. Conroy, 65 Fulton street, N. Y. See adver* 

 tisement opposite first nage of reading matter.— Adv. 



