Independent fishermen hated traps, rightly considering them to catch too many fish and reduce future runs. In 1904 at the request of multiple cannery owners, President Roosevelt dispatched the revenue cutter Perryto Funter Bay, where two Japanese fishing vessels were seized and the crews deported. Barron’s children and his wife Elizabeth frequently joined him at Funter Bay for the summers, as did Judge Munley’s family.Ĭompetition for salmon was fierce, with fishermen and packers using tactics both legal and otherwise to defend what they felt were their rights. Smaller boats used as cannery tugs or tenders included the Robert Barron, the Barron F, and the Anna Barron (named after James’ daughter). This must have proved uneconomical, as the Fairchildwas sold in 1917 and the company returned to using commercial transport. The cannery experimented with handling their own shipments, using the 203’ clipper ship General Fairchild as a barge in 1915. Several times each year, commercial steamers from various companies would divert from their normal routes to pick up packed salmon or deliver supplies and workers. As with other Southeast industries, cargo in and out was handled by flag-stop service with any of the steamship companies serving the area. The plant had a salmon pack every year from 1902 to 1931, and often came first in volume of cases sent South. The cannery grew quickly during the first decade of the 20 thcentury, and was sometimes described as the “Largest in Alaska”. The Tlingits were pushed out of their former fish camp adjacent to the cannery, and the site was used for an expanded saltery operation. Ironically, by 1906 the seasonal labor seemed to be more Chinese than Tlingit, a local paper noted that the steamship Cottage City had brought 73 Chinese laborers to Funter Bay that spring. In addition to canned product for the American market, wooden barrels or “tierces” were packed with salted salmon for export (Dog salmon to Japan and Kings to Germany). The men got 20 cents per hour, and children, including “one little boy eight years old who worked 9 hours every day”, received 10 cents per hour. A 1905 description notes that the cannery employed 73 men, “All Indians except the superintendent and perhaps a half dozen Chinamen”. In the first year (which may have included construction crews), it was reported that there were 65 white workers, 30 native Alaskans, and 38 Chinese workers. Employment in the early years included many local Tlingit people, perhaps the background for the company’s name.
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