MAINE: PASSAMAQOODDY DISTRICT. 15 



(Nelanogrammus ceglcfinus}. In 1880 the catch will probably be about 5,825 quintals, of which 

 50 per cent, will be hake, 25 per cent, cod, and the remainder, pollock and haddock, in about 

 equal quantities. About half of the fish are sent to Boston for exportation, and the rest are 

 sold to the country trade. 



EOBBINSTON. Robbiuston is a town of 900 inhabitants on the west side of the Saint Croix 

 River, just opposite the village of Saint Andrews. It has two post-offices, one called Robbinston 

 and the other South Robbiuston, but neither is a village of any size. At present little business 

 is done, though ship-building was formerly carried on in a small way. 



The people are mostly farmers, but a few living along the river bank are engaged in weir- 

 fishing and lobstering, while men go occasionally in small open boats to the lower fishing-grounds 

 for pollock, cod, and herring. The catch is largely for home consumption, and is so small as to be 

 of little importance. No fishing- vessels are owned in the town. 



There are ten weirs for the capture of herring, which are sold to the sardine cannery of Hart & 

 Balcome, built in the spring of 1880, and now employing about forty hands. The catch of these 

 weirs is considerably less than that of those a few miles further down the river, and beyond this 

 point the capture of herring as a business ceases to be profitable. Salmon are occasionally taken 

 with the herring. 



PERRY. The town of Perry, lying to the west of Saint Andrews Bay, and to the north of 

 Cobscook Bay, has about 1,450 inhabitants, mostly engaged in farming. Formerly a number of 

 the people were interested in the weir-fisheries, and many had large smoke-houses for curing their 

 catch of herring. Now, however, but two weirs are fished in the town, and less than 2,000 boxes 

 of herring are smoked annually. No fishing-vessels are owned, and but few of the people interest 

 themselves in the fisheries. Occasionally, during the height of the season, a few men go for 

 pollock, selling their catch to Eastport dealers. These^annot be called professional fishermen, as 

 they spend a greater part of their time in farming, and do not average over twenty-five quintals 

 of pollock to the man during the season. There are two post-offices, called Perry and North Perry 

 respectively, but neither are villages of any note. 



4. EASTPORT AND ITS FISHERIES. 



ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE FISHERIES. Eastport, the most easterly settlement in 

 the United States, is situated on a small, rocky island, lying between Cobscook Bay and the Passa- 

 maquoddy River. The island, formerly known as Moose Island, was first settled by traders about 

 1780, and was incorporated as a town under the present name in 1798. It soon became prominent 

 as a trading-post, and both foreign and American vessels resorted to the region in considerable 

 numbers. The place continued to grow in importance for many years, and in 1850 had a popula- 

 tion of 4,125. From that date, owing to various causes, its commercial interests gradually declined, 

 and, in 1875, the town had less than 3,500 inhabitants. About that time, the first successful exper- 

 iments were made in the preparation of herring as sardines, and as soon as it became certain 

 that the small fish could be utilized in this way, and that a market could be found for the prod- 

 ucts, large canneries were erected, and parties engaged extensively in the work. The industry 

 has since grown to enormous proportions, and to-day it constitutes the principal business of the 

 place, making it one of the liveliest settlements on the coast of Maine. 



From its earliest settlement the people of Eastport have been largely dependent upon the fish- 

 eries. The location of the village at the western entrance to the Bay of Fuudy, in the center of 

 a large fishing district, gave it a decided advantage as a market; and the abundance of rocks, 



