The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries Part 15

"Not here," the agent replied. "The Federal Courts look after that."

"But I thought you were a judge," the boy protested. "Who administers justice on the islands?"

"The chief agent," was the reply. "He is a magistrate. All the natives are employees of the Fisheries Bureau. He has a lot of authority over them. Obviously! But any really grave case is tried at Valdez, because that's the nearest Federal court from here. Sealing questions, too, are so confused with international issues that we don't undertake to decide them."

"And what will happen to the schooner?"

"A prize crew will be put aboard. Take her to Unalaska. The revenue cutter will pick them up afterwards. Probably start for Valdez without delay. Captain Murchison said this morning that he wanted to go along."

"I wonder if I'll have to go?" said Colin. "I'm sure I don't want to, at least, not yet. There's ever so much more that I want to find out about seals, and I've hardly started. If I'm ever lucky enough to get into the Bureau of Fisheries, I hope I shall have a chance to get something to do on this fur seal service."

"Fur seal's very important. But only a small part of the Bureau of Fisheries," the agent said, and outlined to Colin the general workings of the Bureau, in which he showed the practical value of the work.

"I know. I want to join the Bureau," the boy persisted, "not only because I think there's more fun in it than in anything else, but because I like everything about it."

"What do your folks say about the plan?" the Fisheries agent queried.

"They know I want it," the lad replied, "but I never felt that I knew enough about the Bureau to say that I didn't care to do anything else.

Father's always wanted me to take up lumbering or forestry or sawmills or something to do with timber. He's quite a big lumberman, you know.

But, some way, that never appealed to me."

"Your father ought to know," the other said. "Obviously! And if he owns timber lands, I think it's up to you to be a help. Lots of interesting angles to the lumber business. And if the timber lands are going to descend to you, you'll have to look after them, anyway."

"But they won't," objected Colin; "that's just it. In about ten years that timber will be all cut off. I'm pretty sure Father will let me join the Bureau," the boy continued, "because he's wild about fis.h.i.+ng himself. Why, just now, he's down at Santa Catalina, angling for big game."

"Some difference between the Fisheries Bureau and angling for sport,"

the agent warned him. "I've been in the business all my life. But I've never even learned to cast a fly! It's a serious business, and down in Was.h.i.+ngton you'll find that the value of the work to the people of the United States is the chief aim of the Bureau."

"It may be serious, but I should think that there is always something new. And, anyway," Colin said enthusiastically, "fishes are ever so much more interesting than animals. There are such heaps of different kinds, too!"

"The interest in work depends on how you look at it," soberly responded the agent. "Obviously! But don't think the Bureau is experimenting with every kind of fish in the ocean. There are only a few food fishes or forms with commercial value that are exploited at all."

"But you were describing to me, only yesterday, the way they handle millions of baby fishes annually. I've just got to get into the Bureau."

"Go ahead, then. I don't doubt we'll be glad to have you. I've done my best to show you what you'll have to face," the official declared, "and if you're still eager for it, why, go in and win. There's always a place somewhere for the chap who is really anxious to work."

At supper that day, the decision was announced that the revenue cutter would start for Valdez next morning, and Colin had to scramble around in a hurry to take a last look at the seals, to get a small crate made for the blue fox pup, which he was going to send home for his younger brother to look after, and to put into a small trunk he had got from one of the villagers the few things he had saved from the wreck and had been able to buy in the village.

The trip down to the Aleutian Islands and through its straits was a delight to Colin, and he became quite excited when he learned that the second lieutenant had for years been attached to a revenue cutter which had a wharf at the Fisheries Bureau station at Woods Hole, Ma.s.s. This officer, who had a brother in the Bureau, was only too glad to talk to the boy about the service, and Colin monopolized his spare time on the journey. And when, one day, his friend depicted the immensity of the great salmon drives of the Alaskan rivers, the lad grew so excited that the lieutenant laughingly told him he expected some fine morning to find that he had jumped overboard and had started swimming for the Ugas.h.i.+k River or some other of the famous salmon streams of Alaska.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NATIVE SALMON TRAP ON AN ALASKAN RIVER.

_Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MODERN SALMON TRAP ON AN ALASKAN RIVER.

_Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries._]

Shortly before they arrived at Valdez, the lieutenant of the cutter called the boy aside.

"Colin," he said, "didn't you tell me the other day that you were going down to Santa Catalina?"

"Yes, sir," the boy answered. "Father's down there now, and I want to ask him if he won't let me go and join the Bureau of Fisheries."

"Well," the officer replied, "before you do that, I think you ought to get some idea about the sort of work there is to do. It happens that one of my brother's friends is on the Columbia River just now, making some kind of experiment on salmon. He has a cottage not far from one of the state hatcheries, and if you like, I'll give you a letter to him. If you are really determined to enter the Bureau, you might stop on your way to Santa Catalina and see the work from another point of view."

"I'd like to ever so much," said Colin, "but I couldn't very well go uninvited."

"He'll be only too pleased to see you," was the reply; "he's a Westerner like myself, and will enjoy putting you up for a day or two."

"It's right in my way, too," remarked Colin, yielding to his desire to go.

"Quite a few of the steamers for 'Frisco stop at Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River," the lieutenant suggested, "and the professor's cottage is not more than half an hour from there, near the state fish-hatching station at Chinook, Wash."

"Just across the river, then?"

"Exactly. The way I look at it, you're not at all likely to have anything to do with fur seal if you go into the Bureau, certainly not for a good many years. So you can't judge the Fisheries' scope from that, and you ought to see the work that will probably fall to your lot."

"Very well, sir," said the boy, "I'll go gladly, and thank you ever so much."

"I'll drop a note to Professor Todd, then," the lieutenant said, nodding as he turned away, "and as we may be delayed a few days in Valdez, the letter will reach him before you will."

On their arrival at the Alaskan town, Colin learned that some time would elapse before the trial of the j.a.panese prisoners, as the court would not be in session until later in the summer, and he was told that when his deposition had been taken, there would be no need to keep him as a witness. Accordingly, after the boy had related the story of the discovery and of his entire connection with the affair, he was told that he might leave.

As the revenue officer had expected, within a week a steamer left Valdez for San Francisco, calling at Astoria on the way, and Colin took pa.s.sage aboard. Aside from meeting on board an old sh.e.l.l collector, who taught him a great deal about the princ.i.p.al valuable sea sh.e.l.ls of the world, the voyage was without incident, and he arrived in Astoria in time to proceed the same afternoon to the cottage of the professor, where he was to stay that night, having found a letter of welcome awaiting him in Astoria.

Reaching the house he presented his letter of introduction, and was cordially greeted. Finding that the boy was really interested, his host took him to a tiny laboratory of his own, where he was experimenting on the various diseases of the salmon and the trout.

This gave Colin an entirely new outlook on the Fisheries' activities.

"I never thought of fishes being sick before!" he exclaimed. "Are there fish-doctors in the Bureau?"

"There's a large division of the service given to that very work," the professor replied, "only there are so many millions of fish that we do not try to cure the individual, but only endeavor to prevent the disease. You know what the work of a veterinary is?"

"Of course," the boy responded.

"And you know that the United States Government has an inspector at every place where cattle and sheep and pigs are slaughtered to see that no diseased animals are sold?"

"Yes," the boy answered, "I have heard of that, too."

"Since there is almost as much fish eaten in this country as there is meat," the professor continued, "Uncle Sam sees to it that no diseased fish are sold for food."

"I don't quite see how," the boy responded; "there can't be an inspector at every place where they catch fish."

"Certainly not, but as long as there is no disease among fish, there can be no diseased fish. We try to prevent the diseases. Now here, for example," he continued, "are a lot of fish that have a kind of malign growth. It comes very frequently among the trout and salmon that are artificially raised, and sometimes we find it among fish that have been reared in a state of nature, and I have been working for some time on this and I hope this year--or at all events by next season--to be able to show the cause of the disease. That is really my problem, Colin, but the details of it are too complicated to explain easily. But you have come at a particularly good time," he continued, "because I have been wanting to do an experiment which I thought might interest you, and I waited until you came. If you like, we'll go out to-morrow."

"I should, ever so much," Colin exclaimed. "What's the experiment?"