GULF OF MEXICO: WESTE11N FLO11IDA. 555 



as tlio.se built at Ocklockonee Bay, antl are roughly made of pine or cypress boards. The well is 

 simply constructed: a portion of the boat, about 4 feet of its length, 2 feet forward and 2 feet aft 

 of midships, is tightly partitioned off from the rest of the boat from side to side. If the boat has 

 a center-case the well is built around it, holes an inch in diameter being bored through the case 

 as well as through the bottom in order to allow a free circulation of water. When the well is not 

 being used boards are laid over it. 



The gill-net season is divided into three parts : The mullet fishing, from September to some 

 time in December : the bottom-fish season, thence till some time in March ; and the summer season, 

 comprising the mouths of April, May, June, and parts of September. There are twenty gill-nets 

 in use, all of which are stationary; their length averages 125 yards. The average depth is 8 feet 

 and stretch of mesh 3i inches, or 1J inches from knot to knot. As above stated, they are used 

 throughout the entire fishing season, which means, whenever fish can be profitably caught and 

 shipped without spoiling. The principal kinds of fish usually taken in the gill-nets are mullet, 

 sheepshead, trout, redfish, and bluefish. The average catch for each boat is estimated at 100 

 pounds, or 15,000 pounds per annum. No seines are owned or used at Saint Mark's. 



MULLET FISHING AT SAINT MARK'S. "When the mullet are beginning to appear in schools on 

 the coast in September, all arrangements are made by the fishermen for their capture. The outfit 

 is simple and but little time for preparation is necessary. One man, usually the owner, goes in a 

 boat and handles one piece of a gill-net. Fishing is done only at high tide, and the fishermen 

 take advantage of that flow of the tide which takes place ten or twelve hours before the train 

 comes. All start to the fishing grounds together ; upon arrival they pair off. When a school is 

 sighted in shoal water, two fishermen row so as to inclose the fish between their boats. They then 

 row their nets out in opposite directions so that when both nets are out there is a man at each of 

 the two points where the nets come together. The catch is equally divided. The fish are taken 

 to town in wells or in the bottom of the boat without any other attention being paid to them 

 than that they are covered with canvas. 



In warm weather, if fishing in the daytime, the fish sometimes spoil, and in such weather it is 

 safer to split and salt them on the fishing grounds. For that purpose knives and salt are carried. 

 A colored man, named Thomas Ellisen, contracts for all the fish caught and agrees to receive and 

 pay for all the fishermen bring, in whatever condition they may be, provided only that they are 

 delivered to him at the appointed time, and, also, that the fishermen must not go out fishing sooner 

 than twelve or fifteen hours before the train is expected. While fishing for mullet, trout and red- 

 fish are often taken; these are sold with the mullet. 



WINTER FISHING. In the winter months, such fish as redfish, trout, sheepshead, and 

 bluefish in fact, any fish except mullet arc here, as at other points, called bottom fish, because 

 they keep more closely to the bottom during those months. They are taken on the same grounds 

 as the mullet^- but the plan of fishing is somewhat difi'ercnt. The gill-nets are set either across a 

 channel or around a deep hole and the fish are frightened into it by splashing the water with poles. 

 Good catches are often made in this manner, especially of redfish and trout. In winter it is better 

 to carry the fish dead than attempt to keep them in a well. These fish are sold at Saint Mark's to 

 Mr. Thomas, a dealer, who ships them on ice. 



OYSTER BEDS. At Saint Mark's there are many worthless oyster reefs, and only one or two 

 whose oysters are marketable. These profitable beds are situated about 5 miles west of Saint 

 Mark's light-house, near Shell Point. The beds are small and the oysters of ordinary size. In this 

 fishery there are but four men at present employed. They own two boats. The oysters arc sold 

 to saloon keepers in Tallahassee and in many of the towns of Georgia. The oyster boats are the 



