HISTOEICAL REFERENCES: MASSACHUSETTS. 



691 



They built G schooners, and with visions, perhaps, of a renewal of the ante-revolutionary prosperity of the town, com- 

 menced by giving their vessels names having initial letters in alphabetical order. 



"The Amity, Borneo, Crescent, and Diligent were of the old model, deemed best for the Grand Bank fishery, and 

 were employed in that, while the Economy and Favorite were built according to a modern style, and sent in pursuit 

 of cod and mackerel on our own coast. The bounty act passed by Congress in 1819, or the anticipation of that act, 

 may have added stimulus to this project; but a business which private capital avoided could hardly be expected to 

 yield profit, even to the best corporation management, and accordingly, in the third year, this enterprise came to an 

 end, with a loss of all the interest on the capital and a portion of the capital itself. Since this period it is probable a 

 year in which no vessel has gone to the Grand Bank from Gloucester has sometimes passed, and not even the high price 

 of cod in recent years [written in 1859] has tempted many of our people to send their vessels to that fishing ground. 



THE INSHORE FISHERIES FROM 1792 TO 1828. "The- shore fishery of Gloucester had risen to some importance before 

 the Revolution, and upon the return of peace the enterprise of the people was again directed to this pursuit, to which 

 some encouragement was given by early acts of the General Government. In 1792, U!3 Chebacco boats, measuring 

 in the aggregate 1,549 tons, were engaged in it. These boats resorted to the ledges and shoal grounds near the coast, 

 where they found, at different seasons, cod, hake, and pollock, and pursued their fishery with such success that in 

 twelve years from the last-named date the number of boats engaged in it had increased to about 200, while the ton- 

 nage had nearly doubled. At this time the boat fishing was chiefly carried on at Sandy Bay and the other coves on 

 the outside of the cape ; but the advantage of a good harbor for their large boats drew a few of the people away from 

 these localities to settle 011 Eastern Point soon after 1800. The business, however, was not profitable enough, even 

 with additional encouragement from the General Government, to attract many new adventurers, or even to stimulate 

 inucb the enterprise of the old ones, and it had a slow growth for the next quarter of a century, the annual average 

 increase of tonnage during that time having been only about 125 tons. At the end of this period (in 1828) the whole 

 number of vessels upward of 20 tons engaged in the Gloucester fisheries was 154, measuring 5,899 tons, to which are 

 to be added about 40 boats, of an average burden of 15 tons. The total annual product of the cod fishery of the town 

 at this time is said to have been about 60,000 quintals." 



GLOUCESTER FISHERIES IN 1821, 1827, AND 1829. In 1821 the George's cod fishery began, and at the same time the 

 fishery for mackerel from Gloucester began to assume considerable importance. 



In 1827, according- to a statement in the Gloucester Telegraph of February 9, 1828, the products of the fisheries of 

 tliis port were 66,132 quintals offish, 27,225 barrels of mackerel, and 2,204 barrels of oil. 



The condition of the fisheries in 1829 is told in an article in the Gloucester Telegraph of that year, which says: 



" There are now but few vessels employed in the cod fishery from this place, as the business of late has been no 

 source of profit to owners, owing to foreign competition and higher rates of bounty or depression in trade. When our 

 vessels could proceed from the fishing grounds with a fare to some foreign port, and there receive a full cargo of sugars, 

 wines, &c., it was an inducement for many to engage in the business, because such a cargo yielded an immense profit 

 on its return to the owners and crews. The ports of Lisbon and Bilboa were the markets which generally received 

 our staple commodity, but the trade to those places has long since ceased. The mackerel fishing is now about all that 

 is pursued from this port and others on the seaboard of Massachusetts and Maine, with the exception of Marblehead, 

 from whcnri' about fifty vessels, averaging 60 tons each, have been fitted out the present season for the Grand Bank 

 fishery." 



THE GLOUCESTER FISHERIES IN 1830 AND 1837. In 1830 the Georgi-'s halibut fishery commenced, and about the same 

 year mackerel trips were first made to the Bay of Saint Lawrence. The shore fisheries at this time were also of con- 

 siderable importance. The year 1831 is famous for the great abundance of mackerel off the coast of New England. 



In 1837 the assessors of the town gave the following facts concerning the fisheries for that year: "Vessels employed 

 in the cod aud mackerel fisheries, 221; tonnage of same, 9,824; codfish caught, 55,181 quintals; value of same, $186,516; 

 mackerel caught, 43,934 barrels; value of same, ^. !:!.">,. "iilii; salt, used in the cod and mackerel fisheries, 113,760 bushels; 

 hands employed, 1,580; capital invested, $349,000." 



THE COD FISHERY IN 1844. From the records of the collector of the port at that time we find that the cod fisheries 

 of Gloucester for the year 1814 employed 1,210 men and produced 86,315 quintals of fish. The amount of bounty paid 

 March 31, 1845, was $36,423.50. 



A list of the names of cod-fishing vessels belonging to Gloucester in the year 1844 is preserved in the custom-house 

 records. It gives the following facts concerning the fleet in that year: 



THE FISHING FLEET IN 1846. In the Gloucester Telegraph of January 1, 1846, is published a list of vessels then 

 owned in the district. The list includes 161 schooners, 55 boats, a?id 1 sloop, aggregating 8,363.70 tons, employed in 

 the fisheries, and 1 ship, 11 brigs, 80 schooners, 21 sloops, and 3 boats, aggregating 8,075.13 tons, employed in coasting 

 and foreign trade. The same papef says: " Under the head of fishing vessels are placed the names of 161 schooners. 



