ALASKA SALMON' INVESTIGATIONS IN 1900. 
297 
There were used 8 purse seines, average 180 fathoms by 15 fathoms, 3-inch 
mesh, valued at $3 per fathom; 1 drag seine, 115 fathoms by 8 fathoms, 3-inch mesh, 
valued at $2 per fathom; 1 house scow, $75; 8 seine boats, $100 each; 9 skill's, $30 
each. Steam-tender service was furnished by the Icy Strait Packing Company. 
The following was the pack in 1900: 
Species. 
Cases. 
No. to 
the case. 
Dates. 
Redfish 
6,000 
10.7 
July 14-Aug. 25 
Cohoes 
600 
7.6 
Aug. 25-Sept. 20 
Humpbacks 
6,000 
20 
July 17-Aug. 31 
Dog salmon 
1,000 
7 
Do. 
METLAKAIITLA. 
Metlakah tla Industrial Company . — There has been but little change in this cannery 
since the date of my last report, in which the conditions were described on pages 
66 and 67. The money advanced by the friends of Mr. Duncan for the construction 
of the cannery has been paid in full with interest, and it is now free of debt, the 
profits being expended for the welfare of the community and for the improvement 
of the village. 
The cannery has a good location on a large wharf, which permits the largest 
steamers alongside at all stages of the tide. It is well lighted, commodious, and 
thoroughly clean. The buildings are large enough for a pack of 40,000 cases, and 
the plant has a daily capacity of 700 cases. All the work, from first to last, is done 
by Indians — men, women, and children. No whites are employed in the cannery, 
fisheries, or steamers, and, as Mr. Duncan wishes to give employment to as many 
natives as possible, the pack is made entirely by hand. 
The only machinery used is 1 cutter, 1 crimper, and 1 solderer. On the wharf is 
an elevator for transferring fish from the boats to the fish house. The first cooking is 
done in boiling water, for which 5 boxes are used, and for the second cooking there 
are 3 retorts. All the tins are made at the cannery, of 100-pound domestic plate. 
All the packing cases are made in the community sawmill. The lacquering is done 
by Indian girls, who roll the cans by hand on pads covered with lacquer. 
The children receive 50 cents to $1 per day, and adults from $1 to $3 per day. 
In purchasing fish the following prices are paid: Redfish, 7 cents; cohoes, 8 
cents; dog salmon, 24 cents; humpbacks, 1 cent. 
The following are the statistics for 1900: 
Hands employed: 24 native fishermen, besides 38 from whom fish were purchased; 
174 native cannery-hands. 
Fishing gear: Eight purse seines, average 158 fathoms by 84 fathoms, 3-inch 
mesh; 4 drag seines, average 163 fathoms by 6 fathoms, 3-inch mesh; 5 gill nets, 
average 172 fathoms by 4 fathoms, 54-inch mesh. 
Boats, lighters, etc. : Two lighters, $100 each; 7 seine boats, $50 each; 6 sailboats, 
$100 each; 10 dories, $25 each. 
Transportation by regular line of steamers. 
The cannery steamers employed were: Herald , 17 tons, crew 5, value $9,000, 
owned; Marie G. Ilaaven , 12 tons, crew 5, value $5,000, owned. 
