THE FISHING INDUSTRY. 



433 



From the period just preceding the Civil War the busi- 

 ness began to dwindle, because of the scarcity of the fish 

 and the increased expense of taking them. One by one 

 the firms engaged in the business withdrew to invest 

 their money in some more lucrative employments. At 

 last the only two left were John Bates and the Tower 

 Brothers. 



These firms tried to adapt themselves to the diminish- 

 ing profits, but the small success of a number of years 



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Mackerel Schooner of 1875. 



soon convinced them that the business was only a species 

 of benevolence to their employees. They closed the fish- 

 packing career of Cohasset in the year 1885, with a total 

 catch that year of only two hundred and sixty barrels. 



The last fishing schooner, the Charlotte, was seized by 

 the British authorities upon the coast of Nova Scotia for 

 some offense, and thus ingloriously the Cohasset mackerel 

 industry died. 



