THE SQUETEAGUES. 



the largest are known as " Yellow fins ;" in New York and in New Jersey, 

 "Weak-fish;" from Southern New Jersey to Yirginia, '■'■ Bluefish." The 

 name " Squeteague " is of Indian origin, and "Squit," " Succoteague," 

 "Squitee" and " Chickwit " are doubtless variations of this name in 

 different ancient and modern dialects. In the Southern Atlantic States 

 it is called " Grey Trout," " Sun Trout " and " Shad Trout," and with 

 the other members of the genus is spoken of under the name "Sea Trout " 

 and " Salt-water Trout," though, of course, distinct from the " trout " of 

 the fresh waters of the South, wdiich is a Black Bass. The name 

 " Squeteague," since it is the aboriginal Indian term, seems most char- 

 acteristic, and is well worthy of being permanently retained. 



" Weakfish " appears to be a legacy from the Dutch colonists of Man- 

 hattan, as may be inferred from the use of the word in the poem quoted 

 at the head of this essay. It means a soft fish, but whether, like IMoss- 

 bunker, this name was transferred from some species known to them in 

 Holland, I have not been able to learn. Some old authorities use the 

 name " Wheatfish," and Brown in the "Angler's Guide," accounts for this 

 by the theory that in former days the fish made its appearance in harvest 

 time. It is, in all likelihood, however, a corruption of the Dutch name. 

 This etymology resembles those suggested for " Weakfish." " because he 

 does not pull very much after he is hooked," or, as others allege, "be- 

 cause the laboring men who are fed upon him are weak by reason of the 

 deficient nourishment in that kind of food." 



The Squeteague is found on the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to 

 Eastern Florida, where I observed it, sparingly, in 1S78. Its extreme 

 southern distribution has not yet been indicated. Some writers have 

 claimed that it occurs at New Orleans, but Mr. Stearns did not succeed in 

 finding it in the Gulf, and Prof. Jordan writes that it is certainly not found 

 in the Gulf of Mexico, unless as a stray. 



The Squeteague is abundant throughout the above range, except in the 

 regions where its productiveness is interfered with by the bluefish. In 

 Massachusetts Bay, according to Dr. Storer, it is very rare, but scatter- 

 ing individuals have been found as far north as the Bay of Fundy. The 

 early annals of New England make frequent mention of this fish and of 

 its variations in number with that of the bluefish. Thus, according to 

 Dr. Storer, it was very abundant in the Yineyard Sound in the early part 

 of the present century, but gradually became more scarce, until about 



