Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-06

son was almost twenty-three millions
or nearly half the total number of sal
mon caught in Alaska that year. The
seal fisheries are in the Pribilof Is
lands in the heart of this district
AS to arctic Alaska, it's fish product
is so small that it is hardly worth
noting, The commercial business is
devoted mostly to whales. and the
whaling is small in comparison with
that of southeastern Alaska, from
where we get whalebones and the other
products of that fish
During my travels in southeastern
Alaska | have met a Mr.. Patterson, who
owns fish cannery on Kotzebue sound.
north of the Seward peninsula and on
the Arctic ocean. He tells me that a
great many silver salmon run up the
kobuk river every season. They begin
running about July 20, and shortly
after that you can see miles of salmon
racks filled with the drying fish. which
the Eskimos are laying up for the win
TER rms mans cannery has capac-
lty of only 1000 cases a season. but
1t has been at work canning salmon and
salmon trout for several years. The
salmon of that region is light in color.
but to offset it they have the Dolly
Warden trout. which often reaches a
length of three feet and a weight of
ten pounds.
asked Mr.. Patterson as to the whales
of the Arctic ocean. He replied:
we have the white whale and that
feet or more long and the largest of
them Will weigh three or four tons.
Ihey are especially valuable for their
skins, which sell for as high as Is cents
a pound when green. The whale meat
is eaten by the natives. 1t is of
grayish color and full of oil
AS to the whaling industry of the rest
of the territory, it is carried on in
southeastern Alaska and in western
Alaska. Some whaling is done by shore
stations. and some by ships that go out
from San Francisco and Seattle every
season. The steamer Karluk which
went north with the Stefansson arctic
expedition. belonged to the San Fran
cisco whaling fleet. Another vessel of
that fleet was the Gay Head, which was
wrecked in Alaskan waters in the
spring of 1914. 1t had already caught
some whales and great deal of sperm
oil was lost. The steamer Herman. an
other San Francisco ship, caught six
bowhead whales in 1914 and took alto
sether about 10000 pounds of whale
bone. and the brigantine Jennette,
which went as far north Point Bar
row. on the Arctic ocean. caught three
whales. which yielded something like
$500 pounds of bone. The Polar Bear
of Seattle caught ten bowheads last
season, and the steamer Belvedere, from
the same port, took five.
The shore whaling stations are
operated by two companies There is
one here at Port Armstrong, on Bara-
non ISldIu, III southeastern AlaSka,
owned by the United States Whaling
Company. and another at Akutan, near
Unimak pass in western Alaska, owned
by the Pacific Sea Products Company.
Both of these companies have steam
ers which they send out to shoot
whales Each vessel has a three-inch
Misunderstanding gun on its bow. The
projectile is attached to heavy line
that is fastened to a steam winch on
the deck of the vessel. When the gun
is shot. the projectile is supposed to
go into the whale. 1t explodes and
leaves barbed harpoon in its flesh.
The barb opens as the whale is struck,
and it is thus caught by the wire rope,
and can be played by means of a
steam engine. the line being loosened
and frightened as necessary. After the
animal is dead il is drawn near to the
vessel and then pumped up with air
to prevent its sinking, and in this way
is foated and towed to the shore sta
ton.