The morning call., 1893-10-02
FISH IN ALASKA.
Astronomer Edmunds
Talks About Them.
SLIDING OVER SALMON BACKS
What the: HaIibut: Had lInside-A
!. Phenomenal Fish Jam-Ging Up
the Rapids-A Haul !

/. Astronomer ii. W.: Edmunds relates
| some experiences which he hadup in
/ Alaska while at work on the lfterna-
tional boundary line survey that seem
very fabulous, hat be vouches for then.
| eve arrived at the head of Burro CHS
Bay, myself aud a cook, Emal1el
Machado. on May l, and prepared Ior ne
| usual dietary routine Of bacon and orea.
Atfrst by hook and line we conld cate,
few fish of various SORTS. Halfbut weft
plentiful, likewise sole, founders, trout
| and salmon, and so were shark, for one
| day we caug hit three f@them on the same
/ line. !; !. =
l.: "Ths halibut were very large and gener-
ally contained a medley Of It'd bits In the
way of crabs and the like, and found one
large crab. alive inside q halibut,: which
! would have played havoc with his nippers,
| / think. -.
"Bnt. the principal fish there was the
| salmon, and we were told that the run
was much larger. than usual. although at
i otner places cem plants were made OF
/ small runs. These fish were of several
/ varieties. First came. the beautiful King
I salmon, weighing 50.pounds or more each.
| Then followed the rain bow trout, and
/ finally the ugly but delicious humpbaek.
+: "The first grand appearance OF the
sa lm6n was decidedly perplexiDg to an
| astronomer. Their leaps were so regular
that we could almost: compare ehrOnOme-
ters by them--sharp, distinct sounds ac-
companying their leaps in rapid success
/: sion. Every tide brought fresh swarm
/ of them, il / may use lhe expression.
|. "One morning Emanuel, the cook, came
| to me and said there was no wafer to be
! had. Not understanding him / went over
| 10 the stream, hundred yards from camp.
/ and found ii literally packed with salmon
FROM the surface to the very bottom as
tightly LAID together as. sardlnes In a box.
TO4get water we had to push the fish ouI
of the way with one hand while with.the
other we scooped up q little OF the unstable
element, -: = - l..
:. "Then for the first tim could imagine
the possibility of man driving over with
/ a two-horee rig on the backs OF this hsh
jam. i crossed on a log and then leaned
ever and pressed down my weight upon
the salmon, but L did not wet my shoes
above the s0Ies. - =
""G0ing up the stream I found the fish
Iendeavoringto ascend some rapids. Only
the stronger ones could make sueeessfnE
Heap g. the first trial, and: they actually
flew through the air, to my; mind Their
|: tails Vibrated, SO violently that one could
|: not hear a clock tick when held close to
I the ear. Mind you, this vibration of tail
| eye. T.. ':. =.
| Struck by the force the fish displayed
] in going up the stream I threw "a large
piece of bark. about eight by four inches
| in size, into the rapids 10 see wha: the
/ effecE would be. 1t acted: like large ice
| foe in a jam. It was twisted around and
| turned about and raised endwise UP into
the air, just as the fish cltanced TO act upon
! it, and for forty-fve minutes it, remained
! IN circle not oyer twenty feet in diam
eter, ano this in violent rapid. sometimes
I above them, sometimes underneath. until
I finally it sank below altogether, and
slinped down the rive. bottom.
+ Even out on the bay the number of
salmon was surprising. Emanuel: and L
T. put out small n ct one day. and pulled it
/ in, imm edfately, the .operation lasting not
| more than fifteen minutes. and we caught
IN that haul. by actual weight. over a thou
| sand pounds. And we were told that about
| the same time, near a canpery f0rty-fve
miles distant, 1000 salmon were taken in
one net.
''Rowing on the streams was of course
out of the question. :One might drift up
! with the fish and the tide, and then have a
quasi toboggan slide in. our fat bottomed
| boat. over the slippery backs OF the fish on
1 our return. With acanoe, all man would
| have to do would be to dig his paddle
down among the fish, and slide his canoe
over them. And out in the bay the crabs
were so plentiful tn at it was not a u uncom-
mon thing to upset, a boat by one of the
oars getting foul of big crustaceaD. -
/ "This was, of course, during the heavier
| rains which lasted about two months"