2252 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



pounds in two weeks, or she might in three or four months get 150,000 

 pounds and lose money. It all depends on the time occupied. 



Q. Daring the three years you were captain you were fishing princi- 

 pally for halibut, and so your catch would not be a fair test ? A. No. 



Q. Suppose a voyage took three months, and you got 150,000 pounds 

 of salt codfish, would that be profitable to the vessel ? A. I think not. 

 I think she would come out at the wrong end with present prices. 



Q. You were not summoned here as a witness ? A. No. 



Q. You were in the city attending to your business and you were 

 asked to come and testify ? A. Yes. 



Q. Have you had access to books, papers, or memoranda for making 

 your recollection distinct I A. No; I have not. I never had any idea 

 of coming here ; and I did not want to come here to-day, because I had 

 my business to attend to. 



Q. Where are your family ? A. At Bay of Seven Islands. 



Q. When you went with your vessel to Fortune Bay after bait, did 

 you buy it or catch it 1 A. We always bought it, never caught it. 



Q. W T hen you hired a vessel at Saint Peter's to catch bait, how did 

 you pay I A. In money. 



Q. What was your bargain? A. We would give either so much a 

 barrel or so much for what we wanted. 



Q. Then you bought the bait from them f A. Yes. 



Q. Either at so much a barrel or so much for the required quantity? 

 A. For what -we wanted. 



Q. Was that what you meant by saying you hired a vessel ? A. Yes. 



Q. Did you ever catch any halibut inshore ? A. No. 



Q. I noticed you spoke of going to Bay Chaleurs and trying for mack- 

 erel in 1865, which was the year when in the General Grant you made 

 the big catch ? A. Yes. 



Q. How did it happen that you left the ground where you were doing 

 so well and went up Bay Chaleurs ? A. We were fishing on Bradley. 

 I recollect it very distinctly. The hands of the crew were sore. We 

 went into the harbor for water, and to see if we could not do better. 

 We laid there a few days ; we caught none there, and we went back to 

 the former fishing-ground. W 7 hen I say we caught none, I mean we may 

 have caught two or three barrels. 



No. 26. 



Col. BENJAMIN F. COOK, inspector of customs at Gloucester, called 

 on behalf of the Government of the United States, sworn and examined. 



By Mr. Trescot : 



Question. What is your age ? Answer. Forty-four. 



Q. How long have you been fishing in the gult ? A. Off and on for 

 twenty years. 



Q. As sharesman ? A. W T ell, yes. 



Q. When were you in the gulf as captain? A. I never was there in 

 that capacity. 



Q. When have you been fishing lately in the gulf? A. I have not 

 fished there lately; the last year I was there was 1856. 



Q. Were you fishing there in 1852 and 1853 ? A. Yes. 



Q. Where were you fishing in 1852 ? A. We then tried all over the 

 bay. After we left Canso we went up the island, and to Banks Brad- 

 ley and Orphan. We fished broad off Malpeque, and at the Magdalen 

 Islands. 



