HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN MENHADEN. 509 



came into view, the steamer's head was turned southeastward, toward 

 IMontauk, which, in the growing light, now stood out plain in every 

 bleak feature of sandy dune and treeless moor. Now a very sharp look- 

 out must be kept for fish, and after the substantial breakfast in the 

 forecastle, I took my pipe and a place in the shrouds. Even then I 

 could not look across IMontauk, but could easily see two great ponds of 

 fresh water, which nearly served to make an island of the Point. One 

 of them, Fort Pond, was once a scene of sanguinary warfare between 

 the Montauks and Narragausetts, the latter being beaten only by hel}) 

 from the Shelter Island Indians, who drove the invaders to their 

 canoes. 



Off Ciilloden Point the lookout excitedly announced, 'Tish off" the 

 port bow!" The captain seized his glass, and scanned the water. So 

 did I. " There's a big bunch," he shouts. " Watch 'em flirt their tails ! 

 Good color ! See how red the water is ! " 



" O, yes; to be sure," I cry. '' By Jove, that's a good color!" 



My vacant face must have belied my words, but he didn't notice it. 

 He was shouting, " Lower away the boats ! Stand by to ship the nets!" 

 furiously ringing signals to the engineer ; giving hasty orders to the 

 wheelsman ; ensconcing himself in a pair of oil skin trousers, so capa- 

 cious I half expected he would disappear altogether ; and so, amid the 

 roar of escaping steam, the creaking of davit tackle, the laughing ex- 

 citement of the crews, and the rattle of rowlocks, I tumble head-fore- 

 most into a boat, and the steamer was left behind. Now the flirting of 

 tiny tails was plainly visible, but I must confess that I did not learn to 

 distinguish the reddish hue which indicates a school of these fish until 

 much later in the day. The two large boats side by side were sculled 

 rapidly toward the shore where the fish were seen, the forward part of 

 each boat piled full of the brown seine, which extended in a great fes- 

 toon from one to the other. There were four men in each boat, all 

 standing up, and in our red shirts and shiny yellow oil skin overalls we 

 must have made a pretty picture on that sunny morning. Close by was 

 a pound-net, where a porpoise was rolling gaily, notwithstanding his 

 captivity; but by maneuvering we got the " bunch " turned away from 

 it and well inshore, where the water was not too deep. At last we were 

 close to them, and now came a scene of excitement. 



" Heave it!" yelled the captain, and in each boat a sailor whose place 

 it was, worked like a steam engine throwing the net overboard, while 

 the crews pulled with all their muscles in opposite directions around a 

 circle perhaps a hundred yards in diameter, and defined by the line of 

 cork buoys left behind, which should inclose the fish. In three minutes 

 the boats were together again ; the net was all paid out ; an enormous 

 weight of lead had been thrown overboard, drawing after it a line rove 

 through the rings along the bottom of the seine. The effect, of course, 

 was instantly to pucker the bottom of the net into a purse, and thus, 



