512 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



from the arrival of the fish to the close of the season, which usually lasts about eight weeks. A 

 fair estimate would be about one hundred and twenty men, with fifty boats, engaged regularly 

 during the entire season. The catch will average about four or five fish a week to the man, or one 

 for each fishing day. This, it must be remembered, is an average catch, for instances have occurred 

 within a few months where ten to twenty good-sized drum were taken in two or three hours by an 

 expert fisherman, while again several days may pass without a fish being secured. The total catch 

 for the season of 1880 was 3,850 fish, or about 211,000 pounds, valued at $2,700. Three-fourths of 

 the catch goes to Beaufort, one-fifth to Savannah, and the remainder to Port Royal and the islands 

 along the shore. About 700 drum are shipped from Beaufort, the greater part going to Charleston. 



HON. WILLIAM ELLIOTT'S ACCOUNT OP THE DRUM FISHEBY. Since the above was written 

 our attention has been called to the admirable little book entitled Carolina Sports, by Hon. William 

 Elliott, in which the drum fisheries of Broad River are described. Though the volume was not 

 published till 1S59, portions of it the chapter on the drum fisheries among others were written 

 long before, some of them appearing in one or more of the leading periodicals as early as 1837. As 

 the fishery as it existed at that time is shown in detail, it will be found of considerable interest 

 historically. I reproduce here a greater part of the article : 



" In the month of April they [drum] abound on the seacoast of South Carolina, and great 

 numbers penetrate our inlets for the purpose of depositing their spawn. The large bay or sound 

 kuown on the maps as 'Port Royal Harbor,' but locally as 'Broad River,' is their chosen place of 

 resort, and constitutes the best fishing station. If you ask me icJiy they give the preference to this 

 particular spot, I answer you eoujecturally because, while it is the deepest and most capacious 

 bay along our whole southern coast, it is at the same time the saltest, there being no important 

 streams from the interior emptying themselves into it and neutralizing the properties of the sea 



water. 



******* 



" It is the largest scale fish in America. It measures ordinarily 3 feet in length, and weighs 

 from 30 to 40 pounds. It is beautifully marked on the sides by broad, dark transverse stripes, 

 alternating with silver, or else exhibits a uniform bright gold color, which fades, soon after it is 

 taken, into the hues already described. I give the medium weight and size of the fish, not the 

 extreme. I have taken one which measured 4 feet G inches in length, and weighed 85 pounds. Out 

 of 20 taken by me on a particular day during the present season (April) there were 3 weighing 

 from 05 to 70 pounds each. The smaller sized fish are excellent for table use their roes, especially, 

 are a great delicacy ; the larger are only valuable when salted and cured like codfish, from which, 

 when dressed, they are scarcely distinguishable in flavor. The planters of this vicinity are skillful 

 fishermen, and much devoted to the sport. They succeeded in taking during the last season at 

 least 12,000 of these fish: and when I add, that except the small number consumed in their fami- 

 lies, the remainder were salted and distributed among their slaves, not in lieu of, but in addition 

 to their ordinary subsistence, you will perceive that this is a case wherein the love of sport and 

 the practice of charity, are singularly coincident. 



"And now for the manner of taking them. 



"The sportsman must provide himself with a substantial boat impelled both by oars and sail, 

 and with at least 15 fathoms of rope to his grapnel. His line must be 30 fathoms, and furnished 

 with two pounds of lead, distributed in movable sinkers which draw up or let down, according to 

 the strength of the tide. He must lay in a good stock of crabs, clams, and prawn, for bait; and 

 having launched his boat on the bosom of this beautiful bay, and come to anchor in about five or 

 six fathoms of water, on gravelly or rocky bottom, he has done everything which can be consid- 

 ered as prerequisite to a successful fishing. Having baited your hook with either or with a mixture 



