THE FISHERIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 511 



on a branch of the Beaufort River at tlie head of navigation for large vessels. It has an excellent 

 location as a shipping point; and though 20 miles from the bar, it has the deepest water of any 

 harbor between Chesapeake Bay and Southern Florida, and seems destined to become one of the 

 leading seaports of the South. 



THE EXTENT OP THE FISHERIES. The fisheries of the region are of little importance except 

 for drum (P. chromis), though the location is good and fish are reported very plenty. At Beaufort 

 there seems to be no organized fishery^ and it is often quite difficult to get a supply for local con- 

 sumption. Six men calling themselves fishermen fish with more or less regularity, while others 

 go out occasionally for pleasure and profit. Two crews come to the region from Charleston in the 

 spring to secure fish and shrimp ; but they usually send the bulk of their catch to Charleston for 

 a market. 



At Port Royal two seines are owned and fished along the river banks in the spring and fall ; 

 and twenty to twenty-five men from the vicinity are engaged in taking shrimp and prawn with 

 cast-nets. Part of the catch is sold locally at Beaufort and Port Royal and to the fleet of naval 

 vessels stationed there, but the greater part are sold to the "train hands" who peddle them out 

 along the line of the railroad. 



THE MORE IMPORTANT FOOD-FISHES OF THE LOCALITY. The principal species taken are 

 drum (P. chromis), mullet (M. albula and M. braziliensis), whiting (M. alburnus), trout (C. maculatum), 

 bass (S. ocellata), sheepshead (D. probatoccphalus), blackfish (8. atrarius), and croaker (M. undu- 

 latus). 



DRUM FISHING IN BROAD RIVER. Probably no portion of the Atlantic coast is visited by 

 such large schools of drum as Port Royal Sound and Broad River, and the drum fisheries of this 

 section are more extensive than those of any other locality in the United States. The fish receives 

 its name from the peculiar drumming sound which it makes during the breeding season; at all 

 other times it is said to be mute. Broad River has long been a favorite spawning ground for this 

 species, and thither the fish resort in immense schools each spring. They are said to arrive early 

 in March and are soon very abundant on all of the hard clayey and rocky spots in the river for a 

 distance of 20 miles from its mouth, where they are taken in considerable numbers till the middle 

 of May. If present at other seasons they are seldom caught with a hook. 



The drum taken in this section are quite large, the smallest individuals seldom weighing less 

 than 25 pounds, while the average weight is fully 55 pounds. The largest specimen of which there 

 is any authentic record was taken -by one of the crew of the United States steamship New Hamp- 

 shire, in the spring of 1880. It weighed 108 pounds as it came from the water. 



Prior to the war many of the planters of the interior came to Beaufort each spring to enjoy 

 the sport of drum fishing. They often brought their negroes along to catch a supply for plantation 

 use. Many were taken in this way. In curing, the fish were first "slivered," after which they were 

 dry-salted for future use. Few, if any, were shipped fresh to the larger markets. Since the war 

 the fishery has passed largely into the hands of the negroes, who bring most of their fish fresh to 

 Beaufort and sell them to the dealers or residents of the village at from 25 cents to $1 apiece. A 

 few are occasionally salted by the fishermen. The principal fishing grounds are in Broad River, 

 between Paris Island and Skull Creek. 



The fishing is wholly with hand-lines in 20 to 25 feet of water. It begins early in March, when 

 many of the negroes from Beaufort, Port Royal, and the various islands engage in the fishery from 

 small bateaux, while a few larger craft come from Savannah. Soon the fishery is at its height, and 

 from seventy-five to one hundred boats, with one to six men each, are engaged to a greater or less 

 extent. Some fish only a few days, while others fish constantly, when the weather will permit, 



