The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-13
COD FISHING IN ALASKA.
rSDrSTRY THAT rs VIEW TO THE
." PACIFIC COAST.
ca,i,,us the Wealth Of 0ehO' s Sea- six SIX,
,scn Hundred Miles Aher 1oa- ne"
.,,a.cc.,.r Developing Near Frisco

"'V rr,, ne sun Francisco Post.
80 81 snilors who 20 down to the
- In ,rsat ships and merchants who DO ousi-
IN mighty waters, few Of the readers oil the
a., arc likely TO have read the announcements
a. ,he shipring intelligence published on the
OH inst; Arrived, schooner Alaska carver
.,,hteeo DAYS from Cnoumasin ISLANDS; cou-
AN 10 Iynde & Iough." Yet IL Is an out"alu
No' an Industry hardly known. which will
~, form new source II wealth to the enter
lang people Of California. The cod fisheries
w. -, almost entirely monopolizcd by the
90, aldermen Of Massachusetts,, Nova Scotia
IA tho Miquelon Islands have taken root
IN, ma. and the vast riches Of the coast OF
,1..ta and the Ochotsk sea are gradually be-
lbs utilized. Nine vessels belonging to San
y,,oci.co are now employed in those cod nsh-
.,e. consisting Of schooners fishing on the
,oasf OF Alaska and brigs which fish In the
Ochotsk sea. From 1856 to 2OO men are employed
n, the feet during the fishing season, which
commences in March and ends In September.
Tbs Alaska, on which the writer was one Of
seven during her recent cruise to the fishing
grounds. Is a smah four-and-aft schooner OF
thirty-one tons register. To look az her ana
think Of voyage Of LOCO miles to the Chou-
magin Islands was enough to make landsmahs
heart-snd that OF many a good sailor, for the
looked the craft for summer sea. but for long
voyages she suggested too strongly the celebrat-
ed trip Of The one and. a-half-tun City Of Rlgusa
scross the Atlantic to be reassuring. However,
having once put my hand to the ploughing
did not look back, and sink or swim. detsrm n
cd to 20 IN her. The result proved that there
was no cause for fear. better sea boat never
jailed out Of san Francisco. During the four
months trip We never exempted gale. and we
had some heavy ones. She proved herself as
strong as timber aud copper bolts could make
her aud never lost pound Of bulwark. These
fishing boats are all the same. They Will come
round IN any weather on the surface Of trade
dollar. While Iis sup lies rolling about IL
little fore and alters are lodging about lie
tucks, As upright Is house. ana Just as steady.
LIFE on BOARD.
On the ptn Of March we weished anchor and
started Oh the cruise. our snip's company COM
sisted " the Captain, tue COOK aad i've fisher
men. IL j. hardly necessary to saw { lat we htd
no TWO ends no trter deck aud forecostle; 1t
was all quarter deck, and Jack was literal, IS
good as his master. We all lived tOget aer, mess
ell together and slept together. lne htie
cabin, IN which the berths. stretched fore and
AT served Tor cooking, a. well as eNcrytnus
else. Us 1t is desirable IT, the small crafts to Keep
the deck husn. On the floor. tor wlnt II tnnlr.
the cnart Is Lard out. one corner weighed down
BY Bible presented by some fond mother t.
her little hed9ltug when lie FIRST lett the Parent
nest 10 tempt tue waste OF waters. Al LOOKS
brown and sea washed now, but vino can tell II
rust use has consumed %. More hNely tac
former than tue latter for We h-aerltl- are
like the midship.uen described bY Capt.
hafryatt us obeyinS the command e. Search
the scriptures but once, aud then Inspired
only by tue hope Of nniing i've pound no,es be-
tween the leaves-ihe brides Of prayerful mann
mas to aqueous young inddels. "Iales Of Pirates
hnd Snipwreck" delightful 10 remember, when
the force OF the wind pressing you down on
your beam ends, and tie rigging Is writhiug like
cut snake In ITS agony, hoiDs down the oppo-
site corner, while tho nautical almanac and
dog-eared navigation secure the ones that re-
main, 4nd ell ible the skioper 10 PRICK on MS pl-
siton. Not room 10 SWING cat III the small
space allotted - tn- crSN u tne Alaska. but -
MT. Dlek SAYS h II VIA to.pethe,d,' WHO
wants 10 swing cat;' and IN cosmopolite
knock rOund-ths world k,nd OF existence, |
have found flr less comfort tule plac ts IA ~ the
cabin of the Alaska, est eciay ~ north. wher.
The wind goes through you iNo kuile, an
your seetn rattle like the bones Of the emu man
Al minstrel snow, ~ spite q. C.pe Aun oils XII.
There Is u strange pecuiiarIty about tnis oii-slu.
IL IL Just a. c"oi IN summer - Il Is warm IN WAN
ter In summer II Keeps tie neat r.. uelsir,
tux, aud ia winter it keeps it from esca.ia-.
With the exception OF tue small sfter cabin
every available part ~ the schooner /. drvSteI
70 storing the L-h CAPTURED. 90 81 Art.ue. our
cargo cOusis ed Of sat " preserve .ue aan. with
travis 10 capture them coriige, spare SAIL.
cham and iIcuts Of prOvisi o., not msh uN
pUrN, American door mat. r. ucaNN biscuit "a SIX
H. inah as!cA On DRY lanJ-odt zoe beet tue
nukrt could nprd. Ca Tue Wy up, We kr.t
thr,e Watches giving every one time enough -
sleep Fishing boats are never very particular
ABOUT ugnt-. ana we ala not bother IN lca With
them. There Is very lltIe anger la the NOrtn
launc 81 collision, AMI even Large SHIPS have
hahis " showing no lights whater uuu they are
makiug the and.
THE FISHING GROUNDS.
The Islands which extend tetween Kant
lchatAa and the ponins ia Of Alaska are the
iaflrte r1lhsuluI grounds. Those islands,
winch include among other grNuis tue true
Aleguau. the Audfsanoy ana foA I.lAuds, are
situated IA from latitude 81 10 hio north. and
longitude i72' to l7is east. Iney are rocky and
volcanic. several OF the volcanoes being con-
ttAuty active. owing TO the nature OF the soil,
vegetation is very scanty and agriculture en-
ureiv unknown. The lbhatitints about $50 IN
number subslst mostly oy hunting aud fishing,
otter, fox. and other SKINS fJrning their prn 4
pal exports. We reacbed the grounds about the
ehu i NAIeA, an cOilLenced u nsh chieuN
around Ounga Island AMI Nagay. All the
tcun.u ers cOnlns themselves 10 those fishing
grounds, whilS tho sulaie-risged vessels pass
through kurli STRAIT, between Snumsht Island
and haiAtscuatkA straits water at GAllgin river,
anu enter tue Ochutsk sea. fuev hsu prlnci-
paly al the mouth Of the Great Balsnaya river.
The average passage TO the Islands Is twenty
days, anu To the Ochoisk SCI twenty-five. Ihe
tch.ouers Range up 10 III tons register, and the
trss ond barAs from 2JJ 10 VJJ tons. tie fleet
Ms season COMPRISED the scnooners Selma,
Alaska, Alfred Adams. Eusfsy, Wild GdIelle,
9hH iiree smaller cfsi- together win the briss
Jo'ephne and Hesperian. some Of the vessels
,hat 20 up arc not regularly engaged In tne
trade, but when fTeghts are slack they - up On
speculation. Indeed, this fishing business Is ali
SPECULATION. The owners speculate On the sla,e
OF the market, and whether their cargo VIII DO
cary uI not the captain sprculltos on the total
Catch aud the men on their Individual takes.
now TIE MES ARE PAID.
On board the large vessels We have what ~
talled Qress-gang consisting Of headers, split
ter-, turoaiers and salters, Ia addition to the
ushetueu ltouer Tue header removes the ell
Lhl7 aud the head the throater cuts the
throat ahd rip. the nan the splitter splits the
h,h OPEN teinpN lng portion Of the backbone: :
WINE l.c sAlttI ga - tncm ana piles them IN the
holo. a header IS PAD from $jJ 10 $ a month.
together with e. per nJl for any nan ma may
catch IN his leisure .Dmcut.; "A tur ,at,,r gsts
from rs to so, with chan. es snIt.r s4i M.
SELDOM has chance 10 nsa; qua a .ulitter vgrn
neyer las a chance, eos. ILe wv nllst Inn. cor.
tant men IN the drsss-gang arc IN. spiltter md
bal.er To split well aud quickly th4ur md {. Z
nsh' removing tbs backbone from each. k.et,.
ing up AL the time with the taAe, rel ...e, 3,
regular apprenticeship, ana ~ an ar. Ia rs.
which no greeuhufn eau acquire witnput wear.
OF practice. The saiter Is also an Important
man. lie must be equally expert with tn SD re-
Ter, while at the SANE time he Ihust lie economy
pefsonlhed, using only as nucn salt as Is u,r,,,-
kary 10 save the nhh, Tor chloride Of su4ilnl
forms a large Item ia Tue expenses Of fsn.nc
cruise. The cod brought into san Francisco Tor
The last Few seasons was notably hard, ami d III
ut command II far price In ths market. Tina
hardness was given by tho salt used la uiesery-
iuZ them not having been properly rcGL-d. II
contained "a quantity Of sulphdte OF Lime. aud
other impurities which dried and burned up
the ilsh.
Ihis season the feet took out 100 tons Of salt
OF lnu h superior character. mat which We
bah n the Alaska WAS lne enough Tor table use,
We crystals being large, translucent, and beau
iiIlly white. Although smaller, codhsh caught
On ING coast Of Alaska and In Ochotsk sea COM