﻿[67] 
  THE 
  GULF 
  FISHING 
  GROUNDS 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  283 
  

  

  ians, 
  Scandinavians, 
  Minorcans, 
  French, 
  Spanish, 
  &c. 
  — 
  some 
  of 
  whom 
  

   come 
  here 
  in 
  ships 
  which 
  they 
  leave 
  to 
  engage 
  in 
  fishing. 
  The 
  average 
  

   crew 
  for 
  a 
  snapper-catcher 
  is 
  about 
  seven 
  men, 
  and 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  

   of 
  fishermen 
  employed 
  in 
  this 
  business 
  is 
  probably 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  one 
  

   hundred 
  and 
  forty. 
  

  

  3. 
  VESSELS 
  AND 
  BOATS. 
  

  

  The 
  vessels 
  employed 
  in 
  the 
  red 
  snapper 
  fishery 
  are 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  

   of 
  northern 
  build, 
  and 
  are 
  about 
  equally 
  divided 
  in 
  type 
  between 
  the 
  

   tight-bottom 
  schooners 
  in 
  common 
  use 
  north 
  of 
  Cape 
  Cod, 
  and 
  the 
  

   welled 
  smacks 
  of 
  southern 
  New 
  England. 
  They 
  are 
  mostly 
  of 
  small 
  size, 
  

   compared 
  with 
  the 
  larger 
  class 
  of 
  sea-going 
  fishing 
  schooners 
  now 
  em- 
  

   ployed 
  from 
  Maine 
  and 
  Massachusetts, 
  and, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  are 
  quite 
  old. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  formerly 
  employed 
  in 
  the 
  Gloucester 
  fisheries, 
  and 
  

   others 
  from 
  ports 
  on 
  Long 
  Island 
  Sound, 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Maine. 
  A 
  

   few 
  — 
  generally 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  smallest 
  class 
  — 
  have 
  been 
  built 
  in 
  Gulf 
  

   ports. 
  Coming 
  from 
  so 
  many 
  sources, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  marked 
  diversity 
  in 
  

   these 
  vessels, 
  and 
  no 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  could 
  be 
  described 
  as 
  characteristic 
  of 
  

   this 
  special 
  fishery. 
  Those 
  which 
  came 
  from 
  northern 
  New 
  England 
  

   are, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  sharp, 
  schooner 
  -rigged, 
  keel 
  craft, 
  and 
  have 
  the 
  charac- 
  

   teristic 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  clipper 
  fishing 
  schooners 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  where 
  they 
  

   were 
  built. 
  The 
  principal 
  change 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  them 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  

   substitution 
  of 
  a 
  large, 
  long-clewed, 
  balloon 
  main-stay 
  sail 
  instead 
  of 
  the 
  

   rather 
  short-clewed 
  sail 
  used 
  in 
  New 
  England. 
  None 
  of 
  them 
  carry 
  a 
  

   flying-jib 
  in 
  winter, 
  and 
  only 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  have 
  a 
  foretop-mast 
  and 
  jib- 
  

   topsail. 
  The 
  schooner 
  Henrietta 
  Frances, 
  of 
  Boston, 
  did 
  attempt 
  to 
  

   carry 
  a 
  flying-jib 
  the 
  present 
  winter, 
  but 
  she 
  soon 
  lost 
  her 
  jib-boom, 
  hav- 
  

   ing 
  broken 
  it 
  off 
  in 
  the 
  short 
  sea 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf. 
  

  

  Although 
  tight-bottomed 
  vessels 
  are 
  now 
  found 
  as 
  well 
  or 
  better 
  

   adapted 
  for 
  the 
  fishery 
  than 
  welled 
  smacks, 
  the 
  latter 
  were 
  at 
  first 
  in 
  

   favor, 
  therefore 
  smacks, 
  both 
  sloops 
  and 
  schooners, 
  were 
  then 
  purchased 
  

   for 
  the 
  trade. 
  Comparatively 
  little 
  use 
  is 
  now 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  wells, 
  since 
  

   it 
  has 
  generally 
  been 
  found 
  more 
  satisfactory 
  to 
  ice 
  the 
  fish 
  than 
  to 
  keep 
  

   them 
  alive. 
  The 
  northern-built 
  smacks 
  differ 
  in 
  no 
  essential 
  particular 
  

   from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  locality 
  from 
  whence 
  they 
  came. 
  Those 
  from 
  ports 
  on 
  

   Long 
  Island 
  Sound 
  are 
  generally 
  deeper, 
  and 
  somewhat 
  fuller 
  than 
  the 
  

   vessels 
  from 
  north 
  of 
  Cape 
  Cod, 
  but 
  are 
  precisely 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  one 
  may 
  

   see 
  at 
  Noank, 
  New 
  London, 
  or 
  at 
  Fulton 
  Dock, 
  New 
  York, 
  where 
  smacks 
  

   20 
  to 
  25 
  years 
  old 
  are 
  still 
  in 
  use. 
  

  

  Some 
  of 
  these 
  old 
  smacks 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  seaworthy, 
  and, 
  though 
  

   they 
  are 
  small, 
  they 
  are 
  considered 
  well 
  adapted 
  to 
  the 
  fishery 
  in 
  which 
  

   they 
  are 
  engaged, 
  and 
  which, 
  at 
  present, 
  is 
  not 
  sufficiently 
  remunerative 
  

   to 
  warrant 
  the 
  employment 
  of 
  large 
  and 
  costly 
  vessels. 
  So 
  far, 
  it 
  has 
  

   not 
  been 
  found 
  profitable 
  to 
  employ 
  vessels 
  much 
  larger 
  than 
  50 
  or 
  00 
  

   tons, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  this 
  will 
  always 
  be 
  a 
  safe 
  limit, 
  since 
  noth- 
  

   ing 
  can 
  be 
  gained 
  by 
  additional 
  tonnage. 
  This 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  

  

  