﻿[15] 
  THE 
  GULF 
  FISHING 
  GROUNDS 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  231 
  

  

  dollars" 
  by 
  fishermen, 
  came 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  beam-trawl. 
  Where 
  these 
  occur, 
  

   cither 
  in 
  northern 
  or 
  southern 
  seas, 
  the 
  bottom 
  is 
  usually 
  barren 
  of 
  

   such 
  fish 
  life 
  as 
  would 
  be 
  of 
  any 
  economic 
  importance. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  evening 
  of 
  the 
  7th, 
  the 
  ship 
  steered 
  for 
  Pensacola, 
  where 
  .she 
  

   arrived 
  and 
  made 
  fast 
  to 
  the 
  navy-yard 
  wharf 
  on 
  the 
  following 
  morning. 
  

   Monday, 
  Dr. 
  Bean 
  and 
  I 
  went 
  on 
  a 
  seining 
  expedition 
  along 
  the 
  west 
  

   shore 
  of 
  Pensacola 
  Bay. 
  Six 
  seamen 
  were 
  detailed 
  to 
  go 
  with 
  us 
  in 
  the 
  

   dinghy 
  to 
  assist 
  in 
  handling 
  the 
  apparatus. 
  We 
  carried 
  both 
  the 
  capelan 
  

   seine 
  and 
  the 
  Baird 
  'collecting 
  seine, 
  but, 
  notwithstanding 
  the 
  men 
  

   worked 
  with 
  much 
  willingness, 
  volunteering 
  to 
  wade 
  into 
  the 
  water 
  

   whenever 
  there 
  was 
  any 
  probability 
  of 
  securing 
  fish, 
  the 
  results 
  ob 
  

   tained 
  were 
  rather 
  unimportant. 
  Our 
  lack 
  of 
  success 
  was 
  chiefly 
  due 
  

   to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  a 
  cold 
  westerly 
  wind 
  was 
  blowing, 
  and 
  this 
  lowered 
  

   the 
  temperature 
  of 
  the 
  shallow 
  inshore 
  waters 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  extent 
  (ac- 
  

   cording 
  to 
  the 
  local 
  fishermen) 
  that 
  the 
  fish 
  would 
  not 
  "piny 
  in." 
  

  

  O. 
  FROM 
  PENSACOLA 
  TO 
  NEW 
  ORLEANS 
  AND 
  RETURN. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  afternoon 
  of 
  February 
  10 
  the 
  ship 
  left 
  Pensacola 
  and 
  stood 
  

   out 
  to 
  sea. 
  

  

  While 
  at 
  rensacola, 
  Mr. 
  Warren 
  had 
  shown 
  me 
  a 
  chart 
  on 
  which 
  a 
  

   bank 
  of 
  considerable 
  size, 
  with 
  an 
  average 
  depth 
  of 
  about 
  40 
  fathoms, 
  

   was 
  laid 
  down 
  between 
  Pensacola 
  and 
  the 
  passes 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  in 
  

   a 
  position 
  where 
  the 
  twenty-ninth 
  parallel 
  of 
  north 
  latitude 
  cut 
  its 
  

   southern 
  edge, 
  and 
  the 
  eighty-eighth 
  meridian, 
  west 
  longitude, 
  crossed 
  

   nearly 
  at 
  its 
  center. 
  On 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  recently 
  published 
  charts 
  no 
  

   soundings 
  are 
  laid 
  down 
  in 
  this 
  particular 
  locality, 
  which 
  is 
  some 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  outside 
  of 
  the 
  50-fathom 
  line 
  of 
  shore 
  soundings, 
  while 
  on 
  others 
  

   it 
  is 
  marked 
  as 
  ''uncertain." 
  The 
  fishermen, 
  therefore, 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  

   some 
  doubt 
  as 
  to 
  whether 
  such 
  a 
  bank 
  really 
  existed 
  or 
  not, 
  and 
  as 
  they 
  

   fully 
  believed 
  that, 
  if 
  it 
  did 
  exist, 
  red 
  snappers 
  and 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  food- 
  

   lishes 
  would 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  abundance 
  on 
  it, 
  they 
  have 
  naturally 
  felt 
  much 
  

   interest 
  in 
  having 
  this 
  tactfully 
  determined. 
  On 
  one 
  occasion 
  a 
  smack 
  

   attempted 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  bank 
  and 
  failed, 
  but 
  as 
  she 
  was 
  provided 
  with 
  no 
  

   nautical 
  instruments 
  for 
  determining 
  her 
  position, 
  it 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  a 
  

   mooted 
  question 
  whether 
  or 
  not 
  she 
  sounded 
  in 
  the 
  right 
  locality. 
  So 
  

   important 
  was 
  the 
  settlement 
  of 
  this 
  question 
  considered 
  that 
  Mr. 
  

   Stearns, 
  in 
  a 
  letter 
  addressed 
  to 
  the 
  Commissioner 
  of 
  Fish 
  and 
  Fisher- 
  

   ies, 
  mentioned 
  this 
  as 
  a 
  matter 
  deserving 
  of 
  special 
  investigation 
  by 
  the 
  

   Albatross 
  whenever 
  she 
  should 
  visit 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  

  

  Having 
  made 
  this 
  seemingly 
  necessary 
  explanation, 
  it 
  only 
  remains 
  

   to 
  be 
  added 
  that 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  soundings 
  were 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  11th, 
  with 
  the 
  

   purpose 
  of 
  determining 
  whether 
  or 
  not 
  such 
  a 
  bank 
  exists 
  in 
  the 
  locality 
  

   alluded 
  to. 
  

  

  