APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 331 



that fisli in great abundance are taken everywhere on tlie coast, around 

 the islands, in the bays, and throughout the adjacent seas. On this 

 head the evidence is constant and complete. Here are oyvsters, clams, 

 crabs, and a dainty little fish of the herring tribe called the "oolachan," 

 contributing to the luxury of the table, and so rich in its oily nature that 

 the natives are said to use it sometimes as a " candle." Besides these, 

 which I name now only to put aside, are those great staples of commerce 

 and mainstays of daily subsistence, the salmon, the herring, the halibut, 

 the cod, and, behind all, the whale. This short list is enough, for it 

 offers a constant feast, with the whale at hand for light. Here is the 

 best that the sea affords for the i^oor or tlie rich ; for daily use or for the 

 fast days of the Church. Here also is a sure support at least to the 

 inhabitants of the coast. 



But in order to determine the value of this supply we must go fur- 

 ther and ascertain if these various tribes of fish, reputed to be in such 

 numbers, are found under sucii conditions and in such places as to 

 constitute a permanent and profitable fishery. This is the practical 

 question, which is still undecided. It will not be enough to show that 

 the whole coast may be subsisted by its fish. It should be shown 

 further that the fish of this coast can be made to subsist other places, 

 so as to become a valuable article of commerce. And here uncertainty 

 begins. The proper conditions of an extensive fishery are not yet 

 understood. It is knoAvn that certain fisheries exist in certain waters 

 and on certain soundings, but the spaces of ocean are obscure, even to 

 the penetrating eye of science. Fishing banks known for ages are 

 still in many respects a mystery, which is increased where the fishery 

 is recent or only coastwise. There are other banks, which fail from 

 local incidents. Thus very lately a cod fishery was commenced on 

 Eochdale Bank, 65 miles northwest of the Hebrides; but the deep 

 rolling of the Atlantic and the intolerable weather compelled its 

 abandonment. 



Before proceeding to consider the capacity of this region for an 

 extensive fishery it is important to know such evidence as exists with 

 regard to the supply, and here again we must resort to the early navi- 

 gators and visitors. Their evidence, reinforced by modern reports, is 

 an essential element, even if it does not entirely determine the question. 



Down to the arrival of Europeans on this coast the natives lived on 

 fish. This had been there constant food, with small additions from the 

 wild vegetation of the country. En summer it was fish freshly caught; 

 in winter it was fish dried or preserved. At the first landing on the 

 discovery Steller found in the deserted cellar which he visited 

 83 "store of red salmon,^^ ami the sailors brought away '■'■ smol:ed 

 fishes that appeared like carp, and tasted very well." This is 

 the earliest notice of fish on this coast, which are thus directly associ- 

 ated with its discovery. The next of interest which appears is the 

 account of a Eussian navigator in 1765, who reports on the Fox Islands, 

 and especially Ounalaska, ^^ cod, perch, pilchards, smelts." Thus early 

 cod appears. 



If we repair to "Cook's Voyages" we shall find the accustomed 

 instruction, and here I shall quote with all possible brevity. At ISTootka 

 Sound he reports fish " more plentiful than birds," of which the princi- 

 pal sorts in great numbers were " the common herring, but scarcely 

 exceeding 7 inches in length, and a smaller sort, the same with the 

 anchovy or sardine," and now and then "a small hrownish cod, spotted 

 with white." Then, again, he reports at the same place ^^hcrrinf/s and 

 sardines and small cod,^^ the former " not only eaten fresh, but likewise 



