210 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
between the banks. At this point the canneries are located, that of the Arctic Pack- 
ing Company on the left bank, and nearly opposite, on the right bank, that of the 
Naknek Packing Company . Abreast of the cannery and for a long distance below 
the river bed at low water is four-fifths uncovered, and it is said that at very low 
water it may be forded above the cannery; nevertheless, it runs a large body of 
water. V eiw little is known of the interior. During early Russian times this lake 
and river formed a connecting link of the trail from Kadiak to the Nushagak, by 
way of Katmai. 
The Naknek is essentially a redfish river, though members of all other species are 
present, but only in a scattering way. During the season a few king salmon and cohoes 
are taken. Exceptionally, there is a small run of humpbacks, but practically no dog 
salmon. There are a few trout, but no steelheads, shad, sturgeon, halibut, or cod. 
The redfish commence running about June IT, when about 100 cases may be 
packed. Eight or ten days later they are running strong. July 16-20 they begin 
to slack, and by July 25-28 the run, for cannery purposes, is finished. In the spring 
very large schools of young salmon, about 4 inches in length, are seen passing out 
to sea. There does not appear to be any site for a hatchery in the vicinity. 
Fishing is carried on entirely by gill nets and traps, which were used by both 
companies until this year, when the Naknek Packing Company abandoned trap fish- 
ing as too expensive to maintain. 
Arctic Packing Company .- — In 1890 this company built and operated asaltery on 
the Naknek, at a point indicated in the preceding paragraph. This saltery was sold 
to the Alaska Packers Association in 1893. In 1894 the association built a cannery 
at the same point, utilizing in its construction the available machinery of the cannery 
of the Thin Point Packing Company, at Thin Point, and made the first pack in 1895. 
A pack has been made every year since to date. The saltery has been operated every 
year except 1897. The original plant was a two-filler cannery, but in the spring of 
1900 an additional machine was installed, and it now has a daily capacity of 2,400 
cases. A pack of 55,000 cases is expected during a good average season. 
The canning machinery consists of 3 fillers, 3 toppers, 2 solderers, 1 fish-cutter, 
and 9 retorts. Fish are transferred from boat to fish-house by cable cars running on 
an inclined plane and operated by steam. Can-makers have been installed, and when 
in thorough running order will probably make most of the cans used, though this 
year only 30 per cent were made on the ground, the remainder being brought from 
San Francisco. One-hundred-pound tin plate was used for bodies, and 90-pound 
plate for tops, all imported, as the pack of this cannery was for export trade. 
Transportation is by the company’s vessels, which in the spring approach the 
mouth of the river as closely as safety permits, and after discharging are moved to 
Nushagak Bay, where they are loaded with the pack at the end of the season. 
Fishermen’s and Chinese’ contracts and native wages are the same as previously 
noted. In 1900 the cannery employed 58 white fishermen, 54 white cannery-hands, 
trap and beach men, and salters, 20 natives, and 140 Chinese. 
The following boats were used: Eight lighters, worth $800 each; 10 skiffs, $40 
each; 34 flat-bottom gill-net boats, $100 each; and 1 pile-driver, $1,200. The gill-net 
boats are of the same type as those used on the Kvichak, and described on page 180. 
There were in use for redfish 29 gill nets, besides 47 spare ones, and sufficient 
