172 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
There is practically no communication in Alaska except by water. There are no 
lines of vessels running regularly from place to place, and whenever it is desirable to 
cover an extended field of investigation it is essential to provide a vessel to carry the 
party to the places to be investigated. 
On August 15 we left Karluk for a trip to Karluk Lake, to examine the spawning 
grounds of the red salmon. We could not go up the river because of the low stage of 
the water, the extreme difficulty of walking along the shores, and the impossibility of 
taking boats through the rapids, which are several miles in extent. We sailed there- 
fore around into Uyak Bay, and pushed up to the head of one of its arms, from which 
we made a portage of several miles to Karluk Eiver above the rapids. The journey 
to the lake was completed August 17, and we remained there until the 21st, On the 
return to Karluk there was some delay on account of a storm, so that we did not arrive 
until August 27. 
The party sailed September 7 for Alitak Bay, where we remained inquiring into 
the history of the fishing until the 11th, on which date we departed in the steamer 
Haytien Republic for San Francisco. We reached San Francisco September 21. From 
here Mr. Stone returned to his station at Clackamas, and Mr. Booth to his duties in 
the University of California. Mr. Lewis and I arrived in Washington October 13. 
We were greatly assisted in our investigations by the Alaska Commercial Com- 
pany, of San Francisco, and their agents on the island of Kodiak ; also by the Karluk 
Packing Company, whose office at Karluk was our headquarters while at that station. 
Capt. L. P. Larsen, of the Arctic Packing Company, gave us every possible facility 
in his vessels and at the canneries of the company. The Kodiak Packing Company 
assisted us materially in our exploration of Alitak Bay. Messrs. Ford and Stokes, of 
the Russian American Packing Company, and Mr. Blodgett, of the Royal Packing 
Company, rendered material aid to Messrs. Booth and Stone during their visit to 
Afognak. 
Mr. Booth has prepared a report upon his work, and also sketches and charts of 
the regions investigated. In this he was assisted by Mr. Lewis. Mr. Stone’s report 
on the possibilities of fish culture is separately transmitted. Keeping in mind your 
instructions to devote my time chiefly to the salmon, I did not make large collections 
of other fishes, and have reserved their discussion for a future occasion. More than 
fifty photographs were made, to illustrate the physical features of the region and the 
methods of the fishery. 
In conclusion, I wish to suggest the desirability of beginning investigations of this 
nature earlier in the year and continuing them later. The life history of our Pacific 
salmon is very imperfectly known, and it is difficult to make practical deductions from 
the insufficient data in our possession. 
Very respectfully, 
Tarleton H. Bean, 
Ichthyologist. 
