518 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



STATISTICS OP THE SAVANNAH MARKET IN 1879. In 1879 the fish-dealers of Savannah 

 handled about 45,000 shad from the various fisheries of the Saint John's, Ogeechee, and Savannah 

 Rivers. In addition, they received 50,000 pounds of red-snappers, 65,000 mullet, and 700,000 

 pounds of mixed fish from different parts of Florida; and 120,000 strings of mixed fish, 1,400 

 bushels of shrimp, and 400 dozen terrapin from the coast and rivers of Georgia. According to 

 Colonel McDonald, the amount of sturgeon handled in Savannah daring the same season was 

 312,000 pounds of dressed fish and 42,000 pounds of roe, valued at $24,800. About one-half of the 

 shad were sent to New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore ; and one-fourth of the remainder to 

 the principal cities of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The sturgeon, red-snappers, 

 terrapin, and about one-third of the shrimp go to New York and Philadelphia. The remainder of 

 the catch is sold to the city trade, or sent to the larger cities of Georgia and South Carolina. 



186. BRUNSWICK AND ITS FISHERY INTERESTS. 



Brunswick is a town of two thousand inhabitants, on one of the branches of Turtle River, 

 about 12 miles from the mouth of Saint Simon's Sound. It has railroad communication with the 

 interior, and the weekly steamers between Savannah and Fernandina touch at its wharves. It 

 has the best shipping facilities of any town on this portion of the coast ; its principal trade being 

 in lumber, while cotton and naval stores are handled in considerable quantities. 



The waters of the harbor and adjoining river abound in fish and oysters, but no fishing of 

 importance is done. Three gill-nets are fished for trout and other species, between October and 

 May, and the negroes of the vicinity go out occasionally with hand-lines, bringing their catch to 

 Brunswick. In addition, the negroes for miles on either side, especially those of Cumberland 

 Island, catch a good many fish, and, when the price will warrant, they often send them to Bruns- 

 wick for a market; but the price is usually so low that the fishing is not followed with any regu- 

 larity. The catch is sold for local consumption or to the railroad men who peddle it out at the 

 various stations along the line of the road. 



FISHING AT DAKIEN AND SAINT SIMON'S. The settlement of Darien on the north and of Saint 

 Simon's on the south of Brunswick have also extensive lumber interests, and a large fleet of 

 vessels come regularly to these points and remain for weeks at a time while securing their cargoes. 

 These purchase their supply of fish from the negroes of the locality, and a small business has sprung 

 up in this way. There is also a shad fishery on the Altamaha, near Darien, but the catch is quite 

 small and few are shipped. 



WHALING FROM BRUNSWICK BY MASSACHUSETTS VESSELS. Formerly, and for a number of 

 years, a portion of the New Bedford and Provincetown whaling fleet, while cruising on the 

 "Bahama Grounds" during the fall and winter, made a practice of running into Fernandina, Fla., 

 to ship their cargoes of oil and bone instead of taking the time to carry them home. While in this 

 vicinity they frequently sighted whales and occasionally succeeded in taking some of them. The 

 yellow fever at Fernandina several years ago caused some of the vessels to change their lauding 

 place to Brunswick. In the winter of 1875-'70 the schooner Golden Eagle, after landing her cargo, 

 remained in this region to cruise for whales, making Brunswick her headquarters for over two 

 months. During this time she secured one whale. The next year two vessels came to cruise in the 

 same locality and met with fair success. Others followed, and in the winter of 1879-'80 five whalers 

 made Brunswick their headquarters while cruising along the shore, and up to March 1 they had 

 taken five whales, yielding 226 barrels of oil and 2,750 pounds of bone, all of which was shipped to 

 the Massachusetts whaling ports. 



