jj Fish and Fishing
DURING the recent conflict between the Allies and the Central
Powers the question of food was uppermost in the minds of
the statesmen of all Ihe Allied countries. The drafting of the
:• harvest hands into the various armies, the destruction of food
j: by submarines, and certain economic conditions resulted in a tremen
:• dous shortage of foodstuffs of all kinds. In this emergency an appeal
:• was made to the canneries of Alaska by the Federal Government to
:> strain every effort to enlarge their pack, and thereby send Alaska sal
>: mon all over the world to feed the hungry and sustain the valiant arm
that wpvp hnldine- tbe Hun at bay
on the fields of Northern France.
The fishing industry of Cordova re
x sponded in a magnificent manner to
this appeal, as well as the canneries
all over Alaska, and the results speak
:> more eloquently than words of the
:j: patriotism and energy of all con
ij: nected with the catching and market
§ ing of Alaska fish. During this period
:j: the local fishing industry unuderwent
£ considerable expansion, or what
j:j: might be more accurately designated
;i;i a rational and intelligent growth.
But a few short years ago the
xj wealth of fish in the waters adjacent
to Cordova had just commenced to
$: attract the attention of outside cap
;i;i ital, and the business was in its in
:|:j fancy. True, salmon had been canned
in this neighborhood for over twenty
•i:j years, but there was but one salmon
cannery here, and no herring salteries
*:•: in the vicinity.
|:j: Yet today Cordova is by long odds
ix the most important fish center in
Southwestern Alaska, and has behind
it a record of unprecedented develop
ment along this line. And it. is true
that the wealth of fish in our waters
ij:| has been but tapped. Attention has
j>: been mainly directed to but three
things—salmon, herring and clams,
xt nevio wafp.rs in this vicinity are teem
ing with food fish of all kinds, be
:$ sides the salmon and clams, and her
:jj: ring, cod. halibut and smelt abound. It has been stated that
the American people consume but 5 per cent as much fish per
capita as the Scandinavian people. One can easily see that, there is
room for a tremendous enlargement of fish consumption in this coun
vl try of ours, with a consequent growth in size and importance of the
fish industry. As this growth occurs, Alaska must furnish the larger
:$ part of the supply, and Cordova is ideally situated both from the stand
$: point of natural resources and availability as a shipping point to reap
:§ much material benefit from this coming expansion.
£: There are at present in Cordova nine canneries engaged in the
:•> packing of salmon as follows: The Northwestern Fisheries Company,
;>! Northwestern Fisheries Company
V*
:|:i the Canoe Pass Packing Company, the Carlisle Packing Company, the
:$ Abercrombie Packing Company, the Alaska Sea Food Company, the
xj Eyak Packing Company, the Pioneer Packing Company, the Moore
$: Packing Company and the Hillery-Scott Company. The combined out
X; put of these canneries should total annually about 350,000 cases, with
•x a value of well over $2,000,000. The salmon canneries in this section
:$ benefit by the fact that there is a diversity in the kinds of salmon
caught. The Copper River, one of the great salmon streams of the
world, furnishes the first run, commencing in May, of king salmon
and red, or sockeye salmon. The Copper River king salmon has been
*:•: said by epicures to rank with the Lake Superior whitefish and the
:j:| Pacific coast smelt as the most edible of fishes. It is a beautiful fish,
•x at times weighing over fifty pounds, and as it, with the silver salmon,
:j:j will take a fly, the angler who hooks a king salmon will have some
thing to remember and brag about as long as he lives. The red salmon
run in the Copper River is generally over by the middle of July, and
then the canneries turn their attention to the humpback, or pink
salmon. These run in great quantities n the adjacent waters of
Prince William Sound, and later in the fall comes the silver or medium
£: red salmon. The increase in the number of canneries operating here
has brought to Cordova a large number of resident fishermen, who
•:*: add materially to the prosperity of the town, while the canned clam
jij: industry, now in its third year, has brought even larger numbers of
permanent residents.
:•:* I
$; Moore Packing Co.
*•*»
A source of wealth lay hidden for years in the large clam beds
$: adjacent to Cordova. These beds are alive with large razorback
:$ clams. Individual clams have been dug weighing over three pounds
in the shell, and single clams have been secured weighing over one
pound stripped. The razorback clam is the king of the clam family,
•:*: and like royalty, is more or less of a scarce article. It is only found
in commercial quantities in a few places along the Pacific coast, in
Washington and Oregon, besides Alaska. Experts who have exam
$1 ined these clams claim superiority for the Cordova clam, and contend
that it far exceeds its Washington and Oregon brothers, in texture,
>> taste and general quality.
These clams are prepared by the canneries when fresh, thereby
/ preserving the delicacy of their flavor. One can almost hear the
breakers roar when these sea clams are eaten, for they have the full
zest and tang of the true sea flavor, which the palate never forgets.
Residents of the interior states who are addicted to the use of fish
and clams miss the sea flavor, which is gradually lost, and not found
in sea food eaten several days after being taken from the water. Those
who long for the taste of fresh sea food should try a can of the minced
clams packed by the companies at Cordova. The Alaska clam is a
superior article, as it lives in cold water, the beds being flooded by
the discharge from the glacier streams which unite to form the Copper
River. j
The two companies now engaged in the packing of clams are the
Abercrombie Packing Co.
Pioneer Packing Company and the Pinnacle Rock Packing Company.
The packing of herring is a new industry which is attracting the
attention of capital, and several salteries have been erected recently
at points on Prince William Sound, convenient to the favorite schooling
grounds of the herring. The government has had experts in Alaska
showing the herring men the proper way to salt the fish by the so
called Scotch cure method. It is claimed that herring cured in this
manner bring better prices in the market than those packed by the
Norwegian cure. The growth of the herring industry has brought to
Cordova sawmills equipped for the making of barrels. It is in this
way that the fish industry does much to build up a community and
make its people prosperous. Not only by the direct prosperity trace
able to the catching, preparing and marketing of the fish itself, but
also by the addition of allied industries. In this way Cordova will
soon have a mill turning out box shooks for the salmon canneries, and
there is an excellent opportunity here at this time for the establish
ment of a cold storage company, fish paste, fish oil, and fertilizer com
panies.
A great deal of the wealth of Alaska fisheries comes from halibut.
In this vicinity the halibut banks are off Cape St. Elias and Middleton
Island. The fortunate situation of Cordova, it being the last port of
call on Prince William Sound for south-bound steamers-, makes it the
logical point for the location of the halibut-fishing industry. Halibut is
shipped to market in ice, and as fish sent from Cordova would be
twenty-four hours less in transit than if sent from other Southwestern
Alaska towns, it naturally follows that Cordova must be the point of
delivery to the steamers. The less time the fish are in transit, the
better condition they reach the market in, and therefore fishermen
shipping from Cordova will obtain better prices for their catch. Very
little halibut fishing is indulged in at present except by use of steam
and oil fishing boats, which carry their catch direct to Seattle. How
ever, it is but a question of time when the halibut vessels will come
north from Southeastern Alaska, as the fishing beds in that vicinity
are gradually giving out. The larger vessels which visit the banks at
Cape St. Elias and Middleton Island call at Cordova for supplies, and
Pioneer Packing Company
the oil vessels of the fleet come here to replenish their oil supply, as
the railroad company maintains an oil tank where the fuel is pur
chasable. Arrangements will be perfected within the next few months
whereby such boats of the halibut fleet as use gasoline or distillate
will be able to secure their necessary supplies of motor fuel at Cor
dova.
It has been said that the people of Cordova could live within
themselves if they were content with wild game, wild fow 1 and fish
for the heavier articles of diet, and the waters of Cordova Bay and
vicinity would play no small part in furnishing delicacies for the table
in such a case. For the epicure there is the Cordova crab, the most
edible and delicious of its species, a deep-w-ater crustacean which can
not be equaled 'anywhere, and whose fame has spread far abroad.
The disciple of Izaak Walton can enjoy his favorite pastime the year
round, running the gamut from mountain trout in the spring to silver
salmon in the summer, and whitefish through the ice on Lake Eya ^
in the winter.
The Silver Horde
Transportation |
ALL transportation between Alaska and the States is by water, :£
and Cordova is, in the matter of a harbor, probably better situ- |:j:
ated than any other city in Alaska. There is an ample area of
deep water, a practically unlimited anchorage area, and the
harbor facilities can be cheaply extended to accommodate the com
merce of a community of any size. Ice is unknown, and the surround
ing hills give perfect protection from all storms. For fifty miles the
approach to the harbor is made through the deep but sheltered waters :£
of Prince William Sound. Both the Alaska Steamship Company -y.
and the Pacific Steamship Company <y
operate steamer lines to AiasKa, ana
at present six large and comfortable •£
passenger vessels leave Seattle each
month for Cordova and way ports.
These companies also operate many
steel freighters, and a total of twenty £:
steel steamships are now engaged in
the Alaska trade. j:j:
From Cordova numerous smaller $:
boats run to the canneries in the :|:j
vicinity of Cordova and Katalla, and
to the mines about Prince William
Sound. Good services is also pro
vided to the oil wells and prospects
near Katalla, and during the sum
mer to the coal properties in the £:
Bering River coal field. •:*:
Access to the Interior is provided
by the Copper River & Northwestern £:
Railway, which penetrates the Cop- :$
per River Valley to a distance of £:
two hundred miles from Cordova. :$
The Copper River & Northwestern
Railway starts from Cordova. It
maintains an excellent train service, :£
modern and first-class in every re- $:
spect, with rolling stock and power :j:j
of the best. The roadbed is as good £•
as that of any trunk line in the
States — rock-ballasted and carrying :j:j
70-pound steel rails. The coaches are £:
up-to-date, and the trains carry a
dining car. The engines and rotaries £:
were specially built tor this road
by the American Locomotive Works. :j:j
Four huge steel bridges, spanning rivers and gorges, were j:j:
built at a cost of over $2,500,000. At Chitina, 130 miles from :j:j
Cordova, connection is made with the mail and other automobile stage j:j:
lines for Fairbanks and points in the Tanana and Yukon Valleys. :j:j
Since the Alaska Road Commission has improved the Chitina-Fair- j:j:
banks road, this route via Cordova and Chitina provides at all seasons
the quickest route to Fairbanks and the great Interior mining districts, j:j:
and the mail is now sent by this route the year round. jij:
From Mount St. Elias and Mount Logan (IS.000 and 19,500 feet j:j:
in height) there stretches westward for a distance of over 500 miles :j:j
the grandest and most rugged of the coast ranges, broken only by the j:j:
Carlisle Packing Company
gorge of the Copper River. On the slopes of this range are formed :g
the largest glaciers in the world, excepting only the polar ice sheets. g;
To the north and skirted by the Copper River rise the Wrangell Moun- :g
tains, with numerous peaks and volcanoes from 14,000 to over 16,000
feet in height. Both the tourist over the railway and those coming g:
from the Interior of Alaska over the Chitina-Fairbanks road enjoy g:
scenes of beauty and grandeur which can not be equaled anywhere. g:
Hundreds of tourists each year make this trip via Skagway by the :g
White Pass & Yukon Railway and down the Yukon by way of Dawson g:
to Fairbanks, thence over the government automobile road to Chitina. :g
thence via the Copper River & Northwestern Railway to Cordova. :g
From different points on the railway automobile roads lead to the ::::
various mining districts in the Copper River country, although most
points more than fifteen miles distant from the railway must be
reached by pack train in summer, freight being hauled over the snow :g
in the winter. The inland terminus of the railway is at the famous g:
Kennecott mines of the Kennecott Copper Corporation, with which :g
the Mother Lode mines have recently been consolidated. :g
Mt. McKinley National Park, in the interior of Alaska was created g:
by an act of Congress in 1917, enclosing an area of 2,200 miles. Mounts :g
McKinley is the loftiest mountain on the American continent, rising g:
20,300 feet above sea level, and is nearly covered with glaciers. :g
Herring Packing Plant •£
The stores of Cordova would be a credit to any city of 20.000 in
habitants in the States, carrying, as they do, large and up-to-date £
stocks of goods.
9 X
Fraternal organizations are represented here by lodges as follows: *
Masons, Eastern Star, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of Pythias £
and Pioneers of Alaska. :*•:
___
The Cordova public schools compare favorably with those of the
larger towns in the States. The building is steam heated, electric
lighted, with water and sewer systems. There is a staff of five com
petent teachers and the enrollment numbers about 125 pupils.
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