the creek. Even this is unfair
but our people are in sympathy
with conservation; we re cel only
only against carrying the whole
load.
Take the matter of marking
the mouths of the creeks. This
Is clone in your name. And in
your name, every little bight
and ba ythat comes to the at
tention of the Fish Wardens, is
closed, even where there is
no salmon stream, merely a com
paratively calm water to fish in.
The country around Lime Point
and Hetta Inlet, on the West
Coast of Prince of Wales Island,
has a number of such inj ustices.
Last October a man named Shel
c’.on from Wrangell was arrested
and in his ignorance, to save his
gear from seizure, he pleaded
guilty to fishing within the
markers that marked the mouth
of a salmon stream EVEN THO
THERE WAS IN FACT NO SAL
MON STREAM in that so-called
bay. I ca led up the fish warden
and he confessed to me that
there was nothing in his files or
his knowledge to warrant the
placing of markers at that place.
Eut Sheldon paid a fine of $250
and now unjustly has the repu
iation of being a law breaker,
besides suffering loss of time in
a season so short that every hour
counts.
I want to call your attention
to the tyranny of the Bureau of
Fisheries for which you are re
sponsible. I welcome a hearing.
I have never been wrong in any
charge I have made. My protest
is a constitutional right and you
as agent of our great country
should not condemn me without
a hearing.
On Monday morning, August
27, 1928, three crews of natives
were awaiting the hour of six to
begin fishing. Seing the stream
watchman near by, the nearest
crew hailed him and said,
“What time is it now?” This em
ployee of your department, Jas.
Ross, said, “The Hell with you.
Fish by jour own time.” The se
cond crew likewise asked your
employee the time and received
the same answer. These two
crews thereupon looking at their
clocks and finding the time to be
C:2D besan fishing in the pre
sence of the watchman. The
third crew followed suit think
ing it was ah right since they
saw two other crews talking with
the watchman. The stream
watchman thereupon arrested
all three boats and crews for
fishing before six o’clock. The
trouble was that the natives were
using cannery time which was
Seattle time or Pacific time—one
hour earlier than Standard
meridian time. Since this can
nery time regulated all their
business (they quit fishing Sat
urday by cannery time) they
thot they were within the law.
This mistake cost each crew $400
plus costs. In the case of one
man, Maxfield Dalton by name,
his entire summer’s earnings
amounted to $70 of which he
gave the government $72 as his
soaie of of dee fine and our kind
1 United States Government al
lowed him to keep $7 to feed his
In IN Id children for the winter.
James Ross is dead now, but
your district warden, N. O. Hardy
told me that Ross did right. Mr.
Hardy has been promoted now
until he is in charge of the Ber
ing Sea district. Mr. Hardy un
til last year could not tell, the
difference between a humpback
and a dog salmon, but I have no
doubt that his opinion is highly
regarded in the Bureau of Fish*
Giles. This Mr. Hardy is the
same man of whom Henry
O’Malley said to Hon. Dan Suth
erland and me, “I won’t have
a man of his type in the service.”
Over at Hetta Inlet, Robert
^ oung appeared with his seining
boat and it being about night,
anchored for the night in a safe
place. Your stream watchman
came over and said, “Don’t you
know that this place is closed?”
meaning that fishing was not al
lowed. Young said, “Yes.” The
watchman then said, “Then get
right out of here.” Young, a na
tive, said, “Can’t I anchor here?”
Your subordinate replied, “No
You can’t.”, And yet you know,
Mr. Lamont, that your subordin
ate has no such authority. But
our poor natives for whom I have
been protesting for many years
without being given a hearing
and for which cause I am con
demned by your files, being ig
rorant of the law, have often
gone out into storms seeking
shelter in the dark.
On the last day when fishing
was allowed THIS YEAR in Kla
v.ock Bay, an old Indian, Kuiu
Charley by name, a man who has
not made his salt for three years,
( aught ten thousand salmon. He
loaded his boat. It was small
and could only hold 3,000 fish.
The stream watchman went out
to him and told him that he had
to have his fish DELIVERED to
the cannery by FIVE o’clock. The
poor fellow did not have time to
run to the cannery and back so
he started to tow the balance of
the salmon to the cannery in his
pursed-up seine. About half
v,ay, he struck a snag and lost
not only his fish but part of his
net. Of course my poor Indian
does not own a cannery and have
money enough to go to Seattle
and meet Henry O’Malley or to
Washington and see you, so he
tells me his troubles and I pro
test to Dan Sutherland, to the
newspapers, to you, or to your
predecessor, Mr. Hoove.*:, or to
our legislature, and your files
condemn me. But in the case
of the fish traps, Henry O’Mal
ley gives them 36 hours to emp
ty their traps after closing time,
while your subordinate told my
Indian friend he had to have his
salmon in the cannery one hour
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