the schools of salmon and 1,000
cannery workers found sharp
ening their knives and stacking
tin cans preparatory to packing
the spoil of the fishing vessels.
If the season is productive, mil
lions of dollars will flow into
the pockets of the 7,000 fisher
men and cannery workers to
feed 20,000 Astoria mouths dur
ing the next year.
. .Romance? Romance is there
wh?n the fishing season comes
round. Last night, tonight and
every night except Sunday
night, from May 1 to January,
thousands of gillnet fishermen
will drift back and forth across
the Columbia playing out their
nets and hauling them in, in
quest of the Royal Chinook.
True sportsmen, these gillnet
ters! They stake their lifes and
their wealth in th?ir gamble.
Lying out on that black expanse
of the Columbia with a tiny
A AAAA*5h***V%A*S*%
light for their only safeguard
against being run down by ocean
bound steamers and the “putt
putt” of their gasoline motors
as their only companions in the
darkness, they risk their lives
in their work. And, not infre
quently does a gill-netter fail
to report at the cannery the
next morning to claim reward
for his catch. Remains of IV s
boat may be found in the surf.
The welllbeing of their fam
ilies depends upon the luck and
skill of the gill-net fishermen.
If this happens to be a “gill-net
year,” the fishermen will be well
paid. Debts will be settled, new
homes will be built, old cars will
be swapped for new. and the
city of Astoria will prosper. If
the year happens not to be a
“gill-net year” the sportsmen’s
stake is lost and another season
will be awaited while the gill
netters and their families tide
over on money borrowed from
the big packers.
The above is taken from the
Portland Oregonian as a descrip
tion of what the fisheries mean
to Oregon and what it could
mean to Alaska.
NOT HERS
-o
A steward, standing at the
gangway of a ship kept shout
ing for tA3 benefit of arriving
passengers:
“ ‘First-class to the right! Se
cond-class to the left.’
A young woman stept daintily
aboard with a baby in her arms.
As she hesitated before the
steward, he bent over her and in
his chivalrous manner said:
“First or second?’
“Oh!,” said the girl, ser face
as red as a rose. “Oh, dear, it’s
not mine.”
-x
“Vas you in de army Ikey?”
“I vas in de army.”
“Did you get a commission?”
“No, only vages.”
A A A A A A A AAA A A AA AAA AAA AAA A A
Buying Salmon
AT
JUNEAU
PETERSBURG
CHATHAM
HOONAII
TEE HARBOR
PORT ALEXANDER
NOYES ISLAND
PORT SAN ANTONIO
SAN LORENZO ISLANDS
And
KETCHIKAN
*H*fr*5~M*<
I
i
NEW ENGLAND FISH COMPANY
. Fair Treatment
Market Prices
Continuous Service
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