16 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the whole, seem to laavc lived in very much the same manner as the inhabitants of the Tierra del Fuego, who 

 dwell on the coast, feed piincii)all,y on shellfish, and have the dog as their only domestic animal. A very good 

 account of them is given in Darwin's Journal, from which I extract the following passages, v.hich give us a vivid 

 and i)robably correct idea of what might have been seen on the Danish shore long, long ago : 



The inhabitants, living chiefly upon shellfish, are obliged constantly to change their place of residence ; but they return at intervals 

 to the same spots, as is evident from the pile of old shells, which must often auioiint to some tons in weight. These heajis can bo 

 distinguished at a long distance by the bright-green color of certain plants which invariably grow on them. * » * The Fuegian wigwam 

 resembles in size and dimensions a h.ay-cock. It merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, very imperfectly thatched 

 on one side with a few tufts of grass and rushes. The whole cannot be so much as the work of one hour, and it is ouly used for a few 

 days. * » • At a subsequent period the Beagle anchored for a couple of days under Wollastou island, which is a short way to the north- 

 ward. While going on shore we pulled alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject aud miserable creatures 

 I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the natives, as wo have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on tho west they possess seal-skins. 

 Amongst the central tribes the men generally possess an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-handkerchief, which 

 is liarely suflicieut to cover their backs as low down as their loins. It is laced across the breast by strings, and, according as the wind 

 blows, it is shifted from side to side. But these Fuegians in the eanoe were quite naked, aud even one full-grown woman was absolutely 

 so. It was raining heavily, and tho fresh water, togelher with the spray, trickled down her body. • » * Theseijoor wretches were .stunted 

 in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, 

 their gestures violent aud without dignity. Viewing such men, one can h.irdly make one's self believe they are fellow-creatures and 

 iuh.abit.ants of the same world. * * * At night five or six human beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind aud rain of this 

 tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground, coiled up like animals. AVhenever it is low water they must rise to pick shelllish from the 

 rocks, aud the women, winter and summer, either dive to collect sea-eggs or sit patiently in their canoes, and, with a baited hair-line, 

 jerk out small fish. If a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale discovered, it is a feast. Such miserable food is assisted 

 by a few tasteless berries and fungi. Nor .are they exempt from famine, and, as a consequence, cauuibalism is accompanied by parricide. 

 In this latter respect, however, the advantage appears to be all on the side of the ancients, whom we have no right to accuse of cauuibalism. 



If the absence of cereal remains justifies us, as it appears to do. In concluding that they had no knowledge of agriculture, they must 

 certainly have sometimes suti'ered from periods of great scarcity, indications of which may perhaps be seen in the bones of the fox, wolf, 

 and other carni vora, which would hardly have beeii eaten from choice ; ou the other hand, they were blessed in the ignorance of spmtuous 

 liquors, and saved thereby fi'om what is at present tho greatest scourge of northern Europe (p. 234). 



5. THE TIME AKD CAUSES OF THE EXTINCTION OF THE OYSTER IN THE GULF OF MAINE. 



Date and extent op the extinction. — I attempted to show, in the last section, to how wide an e-xtent 

 the oyster grew north of Cape Cod, and how recent was its disappearance in many localities. It is worth while 

 to inquire what has caused this sudden and widespread extinction. At Mount Desert, at Bath, Maine, in Ctisco 

 bay, at Scarborough, New Hampshire, and Salisbury, Massachusetts, in the Parker and Eowley rivers, in the 

 Charles, Mystic, and Weymouth rivers, Massachusetts, and everywhere on Cape Cod, the native oystei"S are wholly 

 extinct. A few remain in Great Bay, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and at Sheepscot, Maine. Possibly, also, 

 a few could be searched out at Damariscotta and Wellfleet, but this is very doubtful. What has killed them all ? 

 Beginning with tho.se beds whose extinction was prehistoric, there are three theories, either of which is at the 

 service of tlie reader, or he m sy, if he chooses, combine them. One is, that the Indians used them up ; another, that 

 the polluting of the water, by the refuse of mills and manufactures, had its influence; the third, that the elevation 

 of the coast, which geologists tell us has been proceeding steadily for many centuries, brought about conditions fatal 

 to this fixed moUusk, so far as the precise locality of particular beds was concerned. In George river, to begin at 

 the extreme east, we are told that the death of the oysters is very recent. They continued plenty up to 1S3G, 

 according to the account of old residents of the district, who are under the impression that their subsequent 

 extinction was due to the sawdust coming down from lumber-mills, and brought in by the eddying tide.* 



In regard to the decline of the great deposits above Damariscotta there is much to excite curiosity. After all, 

 there was only a limited area of this oyster-growth— at most a square mile of water suitable for their habitation, 

 and it is certain that they were sought for year after year by a large number of persons. It would not be strange, 

 therefore, if, unable to propagate fast enough to supply the demand, they finally became extinct. I believe that this 

 calamity would not have been long delayed had the red men been left alone for a few decades longer. Indeed, it has 

 been gravely doubted whether any oysters were in existence in Salt bay when the locality was first discovered by 

 white men. The traditions are uncertain, but I think they give satisfactory evidence that the fii-.st settlers found 

 at least a small number of oysters here, and that their disappearance is comparatively recent, probably within the 

 present century. I am satisfied that the first white men found still alive here the remnants of the great oyster 

 colony which the Indians had been foraging upon for many generations, perhaps, atid had at last nearly exterminated. 



Possible effects of natural skdoient upon the Damariscotta beds. — The influence of the Indians 

 having been considered, various other causes are assigned for the utter extinction of the oyster in this region. Dr. 



• It is convenient to mention the following facts : lu 18,'j3 oysters were planted in Oyster river, near the George, but without success. 

 In I81i4 it is s;ii<l that a few living large ones were taken there, and it is probable that a few still exist. Tlie saw-mills have all ceased to 

 run oil these rivers, and I sec no good reason why tho beds should not be restocked with success. The original loi'ality was near the 

 railway bridge. There are no sliell-lu^aps here. — Liilcr from the Hon. E. E. O'lliivn. 



