All are familiar with the American whale fishery in Alaskan 
waters, and the wealth derived by our people therefrom. Though 
less remunerative than formerly, it is carried on with vigor and 
success, which may be partly due to the fact that the whaler need 
no longer lose time, or perhaps season, in seeking an American 
or friendly port in which to make needed repairs, if such can be 
accomplished in the waters of the Territory, a privilege which 
was denied him while Russia was the owner. The benefit de¬ 
rived by the transfer of the Territory in this particular instance 
alone cannot be doubted. 
Of equal importance is the revenue derived from myriads of 
smaller fishes inhabiting the banks and inland waters. Conceiva¬ 
ble numbers fail to estimate them. They include the cod, salmon, 
halibut, herring, and ulikon as the principal. For an illustration 
of the character of this supply, we refer to the records of the 
California fishermen during 1867-68-69, where we find that in the 
year first mentioned two thousand, one hundred and sixty-four 
tons of cod, or nine hundred and forty-seven thousand, two hun¬ 
dred and sixty-four fish, were caught in these waters; the next 
year the market was overstocked, and over four hundred and 
seventy hundredweight were exported from San Francisco to 
New York ; and the following year, one million, eight hundred 
and eighty-two thousand is recorded as the number imported into 
San Francisco. Three thousand tons were caught in 1S79 for 
houses in San Francisco, and the catch for 1S80 is stated, in a re¬ 
cent report to the Honorable Secretary of the Treasury, as six 
hundred thousand for a single firm in San Francisco. 
During late years, the acknowledged variety and superior qual¬ 
ity of the salmon has led to the establishment of numerous facto¬ 
ries for canning or salting this fish in the waters of British Colum¬ 
bia and Alaska, and, it is needless to say, with immense profit 
for all concerned. It is probable that a good proportion of this arti¬ 
cle now offered for sale is the product of these factories, whose 
supply is often greater than the demand. The fishing season is 
in June, and it is at this season that the harvest in salmon is 
reaped. They offer themselves in such numbers that little diffi¬ 
culty and no excitement attend the catch. For their own use the 
Indians often wade into the streams and kill them with spears or 
