74 
ALASKA. 
The fish used for the manufacture of oil is the herring, which is 
very abundant, very rich in oil, and finely flavored. It is much 
used as a food-fish and also as bait in taking halibut and other 
large fish. It is caught by the natives for their own use with a 
stick, toward the end of which are inserted several sharpened 
spikes. They dip the stick in the water, catch one or more herring, 
and with one motion land the fish in the canoe, and thrust the 
stick in the water again. In this way, they take immense quanti¬ 
ties in a short time. These fish appear in the still waters of bays 
and inlets by the million, at different places, and at different seasons 
of the year, from August to February. 
OTHER FISH. 
Halibut abounds throughout central, southern, and western 
Alaska, and can be taken at any time during the year. They vary 
in size from iy to 250 pounds each; those weighing from yo to 
7y pounds being preferred. It is not uncommon, says Governor 
Knapp, of Alaska, for Sitka Indians to visit Silver Bay or the 
vicinity of Mount Edgecombe and return the following day with 
nearly a ton of these fish. Whitefish, losh, and graylings are found 
in large quantities in the Yukon, and afford more food for the natives 
than the salmon. Black bass are abundant in southeastern 
Alaska, and trout and pike inhabit almost all the rivers. 
I he following tables, showing the extent of the fisheries of the 
Territory, are taken from the report of the United States Com¬ 
missioner of Fish and Fisheries, for 1893: 
Value. 
Vessels and outfit. 
Boats. 
63.575 
Apparatus : 
Seines. 
Gill nets. 
27. 025 
Pound nets. 
28,750 
Lines. 
13,200 
Guns. 
4. 050 
Shore property. 
500 
720,650 
Cash capital. 
' Total. 
L 257, 500 
2, 609, 650 
