496 GEOGRAPHICAL BE VIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



third year, when it had been thoroughly tested, the business was abandoned, with a loss of the 

 original capital and $25,000 additional. Mr. Gray gives it as his opinion that it would be impos- 

 sible to make the menhaden fisheries profitable along this coast. 



CHUECH BROTHERS' FACTORY AT OREGON INLET. The next factory was built at Oregon 

 Inlet by Church Brothers of Rhode Island, who later associated with themselves Mr. J. W. 

 Etheridge, of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. According to Mr. Etheridge, this factory was 

 built about 1870, and, after running two seasons, it was closed on account of the strong current that 

 prevented the vessels from passing in and out of the inlet. The first season a menhaden steamer, 

 the Seven Brothers, was used, and the following year the fishing was prosecuted by means of 

 small sail vessels. 



A FACTORY BUILT AT CAPE FEAR IN 1871 BY THE NEVASSA OlL AND GUANO COMPANY OF 



WILMINGTON. In 1871 the Nevassa Guano Company, of Wilmington, established a menhaden 

 fishery at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, for the purpose of supplying their factory with fish- 

 scrap, to be used in the manufacture of fertilizers. They had two vessels that were provided with 

 purse-seines, and two carry-away boats; but, after two seasons, the business was abandoned with 

 a loss of $8,000 to $10,000. The president of the company says that the principal obstacles in the 

 way of success were the scarcity of fish, and the limited amount of oil to be obtained from them. 

 Not over 500 barrels of fish were taken in any one week, and the average yield of oil was but three 

 pints to the barrel. 



RECENT EXPERIMENTS BY CAPTAIN CAIN. In 1878 Capt. I. Cain, of Roanoke Island, made 

 some experiments that satisfied him that the menhaden fishery could be carried on with profit. 

 Accordingly, in the spring of 1879, he provided himself with kettles and presses, and fitted out a 

 small vessel to engage in the fishery, but the fish did not enter the sounds in sufficient numbers 

 to warrant him in beginning the work. The present season (1880) he intends to purchase a steam 

 boiler and hydraulic presses for engaging extensively in the business. 



178. THE WINTER BLUEFISH FISHERY OFF THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST. 



THE BLTJEFISH VISIT THE SHORE TO FEED UPON THE SHAD, MENHADEN, AND OTHER 



SPECIES. The winter bluefish fishing of North Carolina is confined to that portion of the coast 

 lying between Ocracoke Inlet and Cape Henry, the bulk of the fish being taken between Cape 

 Hatteras and Currituck Sound. The fish seem to be drawn to the shore by the large schools of shad, 

 herring, menhaden, and other species that visit the different sounds during the summer months. 

 The coast has but few inlets, and these are often widely separated from each other, while the water 

 for miles to seaward is so shoal that the fish have little chance to escape, and fall an easy prey to their 

 pursuers. At those seasons of the year when the fish are approaching or leaving the inlets namely, 

 in the spring and fall the bluefish are said to gather in immense numbers to feed upon them, and 

 the presence of a school of fish of almost any of these species is a strong indication that the blue- 

 fish are not far distant. In the fall the menhaden that have been feeding in the sounds during the 

 summer months are gradually driven to the outer shore by the decreasing temperature of the water; 

 here they remain in considerable numbers for several weeks before leaving for their winter quar- 

 ters. At this time the large bluefish gather for the feast, and remain until the school on which 

 they are feeding is completely destroyed, or till the fish leave for the deeper water. When the 

 shad, herring, and menhaden return in the spring the bluefish are said to be still among them. 

 When feeding they are often so greedy as to strew the water with fragments of the fishes that they 

 have mutilated, and to even redden their path with the blood of their victims. They occasionally 

 surround their prey and drive them into the surf, where many are caught by the waves and thrown 

 upon the shore. During a visit to the region in May, 1880, the fishermen reported finding many 



