194 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
the stream, owing to the great quantities of salmon. A haul was made with a 15- 
fathom seine at C a. in. and the men were dressing fish from that one haul until 6 p. m. 
About 140 barrels were dressed. These were loaded in bulk into a small schooner, 
and then the men were occupied three hours in clearing the seine, in which the 
remaining salmon were about 4 feet deep. 
The Humpback Salmon arrives at St. Paul, Kadiak, about the 10th of July, and 
there is only one run a year. From the statement of Mr. Hirsch, above referred to, 
it will be seen that it makes its appearance on the western side of the island at about 
the same time. Mr. Turner records the date of arrival at St. Michael’s as about the 
25th of July, and the period of running about five weeks. Nelson’s earliest speci- 
mens were taken at St. Michael’s July 24. He states that the species is rather 
numerous until the end of July, with more or less common stragglers until late in the 
fall. We found Humpbacks in good condition in Plover Bay, Siberia, about the middle 
of August. 
The species continues to enter the rivers usually for a period of about five weeks, 
but it is not regular in its appearance. The enormous run in the Karluk, mentioned 
above, was exceptional, for the fish seldom enters that river. In the Yukon, during 
some years, according to Mr. Nelson, only a few are taken, and at other times they 
are present in such excessive numbers in the lower part of the river that the fish-traps 
must be emptied several times a day. 
This salmon is much addicted to jumping out of the water. In the vicinity of 
St. Paul, Kadiak, one of the commonest sights was this breaching of the Humpback 
Salmon. Fishermen at this village told me that the sea run Humpback often contains 
a small fish, which, from their description, must be the capelin. 
In the Karluk Eiver, as already mentioned, the species continued to enter for five 
weeks, and then dead fish began to float down the stream, and this continued about a 
month. It does not go far from salt water and frequently enters streams which are 
too shallow to cover its fins. Its business in the fresh waters is simply to deposit its 
eggs, after which, ajjparently, it dies on the spawning-grounds or is carried to sea in 
a dying condition. Spawning takes place within a few rods of the sea. It is a com- 
mon thing to see large areas of the bottom entirely covered with the eggs, either 
lying unprotected on the gravelly bottom or partly concealed in crevices between 
moderately large stones. In Afoguak River the eggs were cast among stones about 
half as large as a man’s fist. 
There are no signs of diminution of the supplj" of this fish. A small number are 
salted annually, and the natives dry large quantities for winter use. 
In the fresh run condition this is one of the most palatable salmon in Alaska, and 
the time is not far distant when it will be a very important species for canning. The 
flesh is somewhat paler than that of the Red Salmon, yet it has a beautiful color. 
Properly introduced into the markets this would become a very valuable fish, and its 
wonderful abundance would establish a great industry. 
The height of the spawning season in the Kadiak streams is evidently about the 
middle of August. In Alexander’s Creek, near the Larsen’s Cove cannery of the Arctic 
Packing Company, Messrs. Lewis and Stone found the Humpbacks spawning in vast 
numbers August 15. Mr. Lewis took some of the eggs aud fertilized them with the 
milt of the males. The eggs are larger than those of the Red Salmon, but smaller 
than King Salmon eggs and not so bright red. On the 22d of August we saw this 
