SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 253 



CONNEOTIODT RIVER. 



With the exception of Keniiebec Kiver, the Connecticut is the prin- 

 cipal shad streaui of Xew Enghin(\. This river rises in tlie extreme 

 northern i)art of New llanipsliire, within half a mile of the Canadian 

 border, Hows in a general southerly direction a distance of 375 miles, 

 forming" tlie boundary line between New llampshire and Vermont, and, 

 traversing ^Massachusetts and Connecticut, empties into Long Island 

 Sound near the eastern end. It is navigable for steamers from the 

 mouth to Hartford, a distance of 50 miles. Above Hartford there are 

 numerous falls, the most important being Enfield, Holyoke, Turner, 

 r.ellows, Olcott, and Mclnloe, all of which are provided with dams for 

 developing water-power. 



At Enfield, 6Q miles from the sound, the river descends over a rocky 

 bed, with a fall of 32 feet in a distance of 5 miles. A dam 1,500 feet 

 long and 4 feet high, built of logs filled in with stone, extends in a 

 broken line across the river. Originally this dam consisted of two 

 wings running out from either side of the river, leaving an opening of 

 150 feet for navigation purposes. This opening was closed about fifteen 

 years ago by a new section of dam 5 feet high, in the middle of which 

 there is a flshway 40 feet long. Windsor Locks Canal permits the 

 passage of small boats around the obstruction. The Enfield dam has 

 caused much irritation among the fishermen above that point, especially 

 among those in IMassachusetts. In 188G the general assembly of that 

 State adopted a resolution suggesting mutual measures on the part of 

 the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts toward overcoming this 

 obstruction, but no satisfactory result was accomplished. 



The Holyoke dam, 18 miles above Enfield, extends entirely across 

 the river, with a length of over 1,000 feet and a height of 35 feet. It 

 was completed in 1819 and is one of the most substantial constructions 

 of its kiiul in the country, developing about 15,000 horse-power, used 

 mainly in the manufacture of paper. During freshets the water on the 

 crest of the dam is sometimes several feet deep, but ordinarily there 

 is little overrtow. A condition was imposed in the charter that the 

 Holyoke Water Power Company should pay for the fisheries destroyed 

 above the dam, and this requirement was complied with. Under a 

 provision of the common law enjoining owners of dams high enough to 

 stop the passage of fish to provide a suitable fishway, the Holyoke 

 company was directed to build a fishway. The company contended 

 tliat it was exemi)t from this common-law injunction because it already 

 had i)aid for the fisheries destroyed above the dam, as required by the 

 charter. 



In a very interesting case, involving the rights of river fisheries, of 

 the water-power corporations, and of the eminent domain of the State 

 over both, the [Jnited States Supreme Court, affirming the de(;isions of 

 the supreme court of Massachusetts, decided that as the dam had 

 injured the fisheries below as well as destroying those above that 



