560 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



enty-five professional fishermen. There are thirteen fitters and owners, and three dealers, who, for 

 the most part, provide the fishermen with salt for the curing of their fish. 



The mullet fishery of Appalachicola claims the greater part of our attention in dwelling on the 

 fisheries of Franklin County. In this trade no large boats or vessels are used, and only one style 

 of small boats, and by the aid of these the seines and gill-nets are carried and set. These boats 

 are of about the same model as the "dingy" boat used in sponge fishing, but are much larger, 

 being often 20 or 22 feet long, with 6 or 7 feet beam. The forward part is decked over, and wash- 

 boards on either side are run aft to the stern. This decking has, like that of many small open 

 yachts, a high combing on its edges around the cockpit. These boats are propelled with oars and 

 sail. The sail is of the lateen pattern, being a triangular sail arranged with a long yard and a 

 very short and stubby mast. Rigged in this manner the boats arc very fast sailers and are easily 

 managed. 



Of such boats there are ten engaged at Appalachicola in the salt-fish trade, where also they 

 were built and are owned. The material used in their construction is much the same as that of 

 which the "dingies" are made. When examined closely, they look rough and plainly show poor 

 workmanship. The same may be said of all the boats and vessels made in this neighborhood. 

 When complete, these boats are worth $100 each. 



There are twelve or fifteen seines at Appalachicola, but some of them are old and unfit for use. 

 Ten only, one for each boat, are used in the fisheries. The men who own the nets also own the 

 boats. The seines range from 75 to 150 fathoms in length, and from 10 to 16 feet deep, with a 

 mesh of 2, 2J, or 2i inches long. These nets are brought from Boston, unmounted as a rale, as the 

 fishermen prefer to hang their lead-lines according to their fancy. When complete, the net entire 

 costs at a rate of $1.25 a fathom. It is estimated that there are 1,000 fathoms of seine in use by 

 Appalachicola fishermen. 



Gill-nets are but little used here ; not more than three are hauled by men who make a business 

 of putting up salt fish. All the gill-nets are stationary, and are about 100 fathoms long and 6 to 

 10 feet deep, with a 3-inch mesh. These, also, are of Boston manufacture, and cost, when ready for 

 use, 50 cents a fathom. One hundred fathoms are in use. 



Some of the crews of fishermen are stationed at regular fisheries, while others move from place 

 to place in the bay, putting up the fish, sometimes in camp and sometimes on the wharves in town. 



There are two fisheries, occupied every year, which deserve special attention : one, owned by a 

 man named Pickett, is at the mouth of Crooked River, on Saint George's Sound. This is the best 

 fishing station in the vicinity, for when the fall run of mullet comes into the bay it will surely pass 

 that point. The other is at Cat Point, a few miles east of Appalachicola ; this, although a fine 

 station some seasons, is not so reliable as Pickett's. 



In September and the first part of October, the boats, seines, and other gear are overhauled 

 and supplies of salt and barrels are procured. Then all the crews go to their camps at their 

 respective stations in order that all shall be in readiness when the mullet come. 



At the fisheries, or regular stations, eight or ten men are engaged, and at each of the others 

 roving gangs of four or five constitute a crew. 



In the latter part of October and in November the mullet are running and the fishermen are 

 then busy. Sometimes two or three weeks are passed in waiting for the fish to come along, but if 

 the station is a good one the fishermen do not go away nor lose confidence in the advent of the fish 

 sooner or later. When they arrive they sometimes come in such numbers that one or two hauls 

 constitute the catch for that season. From '20 to 150 barrels are caught at one haul of the seine, 

 and with larger seines twice or three times that amount could be taken, for the fish often come in 



