NORTH CAROLINA: THE MORE IMPORTANT DISTRICTS. 491 



the Southern coast. In order to lessen the cost of outfit, guns similar to those used by the Passa- 

 maquoddy Indians in the porpoise fisheries of Eastport might be introduced with advantage, or, 

 better still, the fishermen might be provided with both guns and seines. 



So far as we have been able to ascertain, no one has yet attempted to combine shore whaling 

 and porpoising. These might be combined with little inconvenience and doubtless with excellent 

 results. The men engaged in whaling are obliged to remain constantly on the shore where the 

 porpoise are most abundant, and there are days and weeks together when no whales are seen. 

 At such times the fishermen, with the exception of one or two who should be kept on the lookout 

 for whales, could devote their attention to the capture of porpoise, and when a whale came in 

 sight they could at once leave off porpoising and start in pursuit. 



NOVEL METHODS EMPLOYED IN THE CAPTURE OF TURTLE AND TERKAPIN. Prior to the War 



no terrapin were shipped from the district, and the local demand was very light. The fishery was 

 then confined to the capture of a limited number for family use by the fishermen. Recently an 

 extensive business has sprung up and many terrapin are now taken annually and sold to the 

 resident dealers, who confine them in large pounds until it is found desirable to send them to 

 market. They are usually bought from the fishermen at a nominal price during the summer and 

 kept till the market advances in the fall. The catch in 1879, if we include those consumed in the 

 locality, amounted to 1,200 dozen, netting the fishermen $3,500. In winter they are chiefly taken 

 by means of dredges, though we are told that the marshes are occasionally burned, and the terra- 

 pin feeling the warmth are induced to leave their bedding places in the hope that spring has come. 

 In summer they are gathered by boys and men who wade through the marshes and paddle about 

 in the shallow water in search of them. They are also hunted with dogs that are trained to follow 

 their trail from the water to their breeding places in the sand. 



Loggerhead and hawk-billed turtles are also present in small numbers in the sounds during 

 the summer mouths. A few are taken and sold in the State at 50 cents to $2 each, but the demand 

 is very limited. Formerly they were caught with spears, but, as they must be kept alive for the 

 market and the wound inflicted by the spear frequently caused death, Capt. Joshua Lewis con- 

 ceived the idea of diving for them, and this mode of capture is now quite common in this vicinity. 



THE CRAB FISHERIES. Crabs are very abundant in Core and Bogue Sounds. They occur in 

 such numbers in the waters about Beaufort as to be a serious annoyance to the fishermen. There 

 is little sale for them, however, beyond the few tubs that are sent to the larger cities of the State. 

 Both hard and soft shelled crabs are eaten, and a few are occasionally shipped, the latter some- 

 times being sent to the Northern markets. The crab trade of the region is, however, in its infancy, 

 though it is destined to become an important branch of the fishing interests. In 1879 the total 

 value of those eaten and shipped amounted to about $450. 



THE SHIPMENT OF QUAHAUGS. Beaufort is the most southern point on the coast where 

 quahaugs are extensively taken for shipment. It is said that they occur here in great abundance, 

 and that a man can rake from 3 to 10 bushels at a tide. The local price is 20 to 25 cents a bushel. 

 The clamming season lasts from November to April. The quantity shipped depends wholly on 

 the severity of the winter. During cold seasons, when the bays and sounds farther north are 

 covered with ice, many are shipped by steamer and rail to New York and Philadelphia, but during 

 open winters, when clamming can be carried on in New Jersey, Beaufort, owing to the distance 

 from the markets and the high freights, then abandons the trade. The winter of 1879-'80 was an 

 unusually mild one and few were shipped. The average year's catch amounts to 5,000 or 0,000 

 barrels. 



