AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 2795 



about 4 inches above the saddle of the main-boom ; and the next struck 

 in the windlass-bit; five shots struck us, and we were chased between 6 

 and 7 miles. 



Q. When did you go to Newfoundland for bait f A. I was there, in 

 Fortune Bay, in the Tiger. I was on the first vessel that ever got her- 

 rings there. 



Q. Did you get the fish right inshore ? A. Yes, we got them through 

 the ice ; I was frozen in. 



Q. When was this? A. I left Cape Cod on this trip in 1838, and I 

 arrived home again in 1839. 



Q. Did you stay during the winter at Fortune Bay ? A. Yes. 



Q. You got a cargo through the ice ? A. Yes, up at the head of the 

 bay. 



Q. Inshore? A. Yes, right inshore. An army of 30 men, all armed 

 to the teeth, came there to take us five men and a black boy ; but I 

 drove the whole calabash of them off. 



Q. You succeeded in securing a cargo, and in getting safe home ? 

 A. Yes. 



Q. Did you sell any of your cargo before you left ? A. No. 



Q. Did you lose your papers? A. Yes; they were taken from me. I 

 handed them to the man who came to see about it, when I went on the 

 ice. He said his name was Gadin, and that he came from Harbor Briton, 

 on my asking who he was; I then asked to see his documents, and he 

 handed them to me. I then knew what I had to do, and I gave him my 

 papers ; but I was too honest ; I ought to have kept possession of his 

 documents until he had handed me back my papers, but did not do so. 

 Finally, I requested him to give me my papers, but he went off with his 

 army. 



Q. You staid all winter there? A. We stopped there as long as we 

 could, and took herring out of the ice. We got out of the ice on the 17th 

 of April and reached home on the 14th of May. 



No. 68. 



Prof. SPENCER. F. BAIRD, assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, Washington, and United States Commissioner of Fish and Fish- 

 eries, called on behalf of the Government of the United States, sworn, 

 and examined. 



By Mr. Dana: 



Question. It is not necessary, of course, to ask this witness any ques- 

 tions to show his position or general acquaintance with and knowledge 

 of the subject. I would like, however, to have you state, if you please, 

 as I am going to give, by and by, some of the results of your inquiries 

 I would like to have you state particularly how you have obtained, and 

 from what sources you have obtained, information respecting the fisheries 

 of late, besides what you have studied in books. Answer. I have been 

 in the habit for five years past of spending from two to three months 

 on the sea coast, for the purpose of prosecuting inquiries into the con- 

 dition of the fisheries, to determine whether, as alleged, the American 

 coast fisheries have been decreasing, and to ascertain what steps, if any, 

 might be adopted to remedy the difficulty, if found. I have, in pursu- 

 ance of that work, established stations in successive years at Eastport, 

 Portland, Salem, Woods Holl, on the south coast of New England, and 

 at Noank. And I have had with me a force of experts, naturalists, and 

 gentlemen interested in the biology of fishes, and have endeavored to 



