506 GEOGRAPHICAL EEVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



181. GEORGETOWN AND ITS FISHERIES. 



Georgetown is a village of 1,200 inhabitants, situated at the head of Winyah Bay, about 50 miles 

 northeast of Charleston. It is located in the midst of a large rice-growing section, and has also 

 a large trade in lumber. It has no railroad communication with the interior, and sail-vessels are 

 largely depended upon for the transportation of heavy materials to and from the place. A small 

 steamer makes weekly trips between Georgetown and Charleston, this being its only regular 

 communication with the outside world. 



Its fisheries, owing to the poor shipping facilities, are largely of a local nature, except in the 

 spring, when fishermen come from the North to engage in the shad and sturgeon fisheries. Accord- 

 ing to Colonel McDonald, thirty-nine men, with fifteen nets, arc engaged in the former, and thirty- 

 two men, with sixteen nets, in the latter fishery, between the last of January and the 1st of May. 

 Of these, forty are from the North, and the remainder are chiefly resident negroes, who are hired 

 to assist them during the season. The shad are mostly consumed in Charleston, and the sturgeon 

 are shipped by way of Charleston to Philadelphia and New York. 



The only shipment of salt-water fishes is during the fall and winter months, when mullet and 

 trout are taken in large quantities; after supplying the local demand the remainder are sent to 

 Charleston. The number shipped in this way varies considerably from year to year, but averages 

 about 5,000 bunches of mullet and 500 to 800 bunches of mixed fish. The total catch for 1879, 

 exclusive of shad and sturgeon, is estimated at 12,000 strings of mullet and 5,000 bunches of 

 mixed fish, valued at $2,500. 



182. CHARLESTON AND ITS FISHERY INTERESTS. 



CHARLESTON AS A COMMERCIAL CENTER. Charleston, the metropolis of South Carolina, 

 occupies a peninsula bounded by the Cooper and Ashley Rivers. It has a spacious harbor, with 

 sufficient water at low tide to admit all vessels of light and medium draught, while those of larger 

 size can enter with safety during the hours of high water. It has, therefore, a prominent place 

 among the seaports of the country, and ranks as the third commercial city of the South. It was 

 settled by the English in 1679. In 1800 its population was about 19,000 ; in 1850, 43,000 ; and in 

 1S70, despite the disastrous effects of the war, it had increased to 49,000. The chief business of 

 the city is the exportation of cotton, rice, and naval stores, together with the manufacture and 

 shipment of fertilizers from the celebrated phosphate beds of the locality. 



THE CHARLESTON FISHERIES IN ANTE-BELLUM DAYS. The fisheries of Charleston are now 

 more important than those of any other city between Sandy Hook and Key West, and, barring 

 Atlantic City, it is the only place between New Jersey and Florida that has a vessel fleet engaged 

 regularly in the food-fish fisheries throughout the year. For many years prior to the rebellion 

 the fisheries were controlled largely by Northern fishermen, together with Spaniards, free negroes, 

 and a few others who bought their time from their masters. At that time the vessel fisheries 

 were very extensive, and a greater part of the supply was landed by the smacks. In 1860, accord- 

 ing to Mr. J. S. Terry, the oldest fish dealer of the city, there were about fifteen New England 

 smacks engaged in fishing for the Charleston market during the winter months. These came 

 South in the early fall and remained till the middle or last of May. They engaged chiefly in the 

 capture of blackfish (Serranus atrarius) and landed enormous quantities, it being not an un- 

 common sight to see 100,000 in the cars of the dealers at one time. At this time Charleston had 

 a large shipping trade, supplying the entire region, including Savannah, with the greater part of 

 their fish during the winter mouths. Very few fish were shipped in summer, and after the smacks 



