RHODE ISLAND: NEWPORT COUNTY, INCLUDING BLOCK ISLAND. 299 



phia shipments were forwarded by steamer from Newport, packed in barrels of about 180 pounds 

 of fish with 30 pounds of ice each, and boxes of 300 pounds of fish with 50 pounds of ice each ; and 

 two-thirds by sailing vessel iced in bulk. The money paid the fishermen for the catch in 1880, 

 $33,907.50, is quite an item, yet the chief value of the catch is in giving so large an amount of 

 good food to the laboring classes in the cities, by whom it is mostly used, at a very low cost; the 

 first-cost value being less than three-fourths of a cent a pound. To this of course must be added the 

 additional expense of placing the same on the market. 



The Newport fleet of fishing vessels includes seven sail, aggregating 100.86 tons, and manned 

 by thirty two men. The gross stock of these vessels in 1880 was $13,200. The catch comprised 

 172,000 pounds of cod, 30,000 pounds of swordfish, 130,000 pounds of tautog and other species, and 

 116,250 pounds of lobsters. The catch of pounds and traps was 3,487,750 pounds of scup, and 

 697.550 pounds of other fish, and the catch of small boats was 350,000 pounds of fresh fish and 

 160,000 lobsters, having a total value of $51,757. The number of men employed in these shore 

 fisheries is two hundred and seventeen, and the capital invested is about $40.000. The value of 

 the vessels and their outfit is included in the summation for the State. The lobsters are all sold 

 fresh, mostly in Providence, the near inland cities, and home local trade; very few being sent to 

 New York or Boston. 



98. BLOCK ISLAND AND ITS FISHERIES. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND AND ITS FISHERIES. Of the many islands along the New 

 England coast, Block Island is cue of the most interesting and possesses many features of origi- 

 nality. This island is about 8 miles long, and is of peculiar formation, consisting of a succession 

 of hills and valleys, with over a hundred fresh-water ponds scattered here and there. The hills 

 extend all over the island, at some places reaching to the water's edge, forming high bluffs, and at 

 other places retreating inland, thus leaving the water's edge bordered with small beaches. Some 

 of the hills are quite high ; Beacon hill, the highest, has about 300 feet elevation. From this hill 

 a magnificent view is obtained, not only of the entire island, but far away to the shores of Long 

 Island, 18 miles distant, and to the main shore of Rhode Island, 12 miles away. Point Judith is 

 a prominent landmark and Newport can be seen ?.0 miles to the northeast. 



The ponds are scattered all over the island, some of them near the highest points and others 

 near the sea level. The water of the near-shore ponds, although fresh enough to be drunk by 

 animals, is too brackish for domestic use, so that the inhabitants depend mostly upon cistern water. 

 The largest of the ponds is named Great Pond, and was so called by Roger Williams in 1649. It 

 is said to cover 1,000 acres, and is about 3 miles long by 1 miles wide. Its maximum depth is 12 

 fathoms. A narrow roadway that is often overflowed separates this pond from the sea. By many 

 this poud is supposed to be sustained by springs flowing from the surrounding hills ; others claim 

 that it is supplied from the ocean by the water filtering through the sandy beach, and that its 

 brackishness is caused by a partial evaporation of the salt. Enough salt is retained from this 

 cause as well as from the overflow from high tides and storms to sustain oysters and other shell- 

 fish up to about half-growth, at which time they die. A breach through the beach into the sea is 

 much needed, and this question is now agitated by the inhabitants. With a small outlay thou- 

 sands of bushels of fine oysters could be made to add to the yearly income of the fisheries. 



At present the fishing industry is, as it was two hundred years ago, the main reliance of the 

 inhabitants. From April 15 to June 1 they fish off the southeastern end of the island, at a 

 distance of 6 to 10 miles, and off the southern side at a distance of 2 miles from shore. Most 

 of this spring fishing is, however, over by May 15. The catch is mainly cod, which annually 



