040 GEOGRAPHICAL KEV1EW OF THE FISHERIES. 



dnction of steam-tugs in both gill-net and pound fishing. The smaller boats are of better model 

 than formerly, and the fishermen have grown more skillful in the management of them. 



The yield of the fisheries of Escauaba was larger in 3879 than during the four or five years 

 preceding. The increase was most noticeable on the grounds about \Yashingtou and Saint Martin's 

 Islands. 



MENOMINEE, MENEKAUNEE, AND VICINITY. The communities resident on the west side of 

 Green Bay, between Cedar Eiver and Peshtigo Point, are more extensively engaged in and depend- 

 ent upon the fisheries than those farther north. 



The fishermen, as a rule, are well fitted for their occupation, but for the past four or five years 

 their gains have been but barely sufficient to support them. Their houses are scantily furnished 

 and are always built near the fishery and close to the beach. A few have cleared fields of consid- 

 erable extent about their dwellings, but the majority cultivate only sufficient land to enable them 

 to raise a few vegetables. 



The different fisheries are scattered along the shore quite regularly. A few miles north of 

 Meuominee the road is replaced by an indistinct trail which leads through the almost impenetrable 

 pine forests which cover the shore, and is the only line of communication between the fishing 

 stations, except by water. 



Between Cedar River and Peshtigo Point, we find about thirty families of professional fish- 

 ermen, aggregating about one hundred and fifty persons. A few of the net-owners are single 

 men, but the majority are married and have large families. The owners are principally Swedes, 

 Americans, and Norwegians, but many other nationalities are represented among the fishermen. 

 The Swedes and Norwegians are said to be most successful. 



The pound-net fishery is the most important, and occupies the fishermen during the summer. 

 In winter the pounds are replaced by gill-nets. The summer grounds are near shore, but in winter 

 the fishermen venture far out on the ice. The pounds increase in depth from Peshtigo Point 

 northward. Many in use in the vicinity of the former station are only 8 or 10 feet deep, while 

 near Ingleston, north of Menominee, they are frequently 60 or 70 feet deep. 



The value of fishery apparatus used in the fisheries of this section of shore is about $30,000. 

 There are no special peculiarities in the nets or boats which demand attention. Steam-tugs are not 

 employed. The Menominee dealers send boats along the shore to the different stations every day 

 during the height of the season to collect fish from the pounds. There are also two vessels which 

 cruise along the shore periodically, gathering up the fish which the fishermen have salted, and 

 supplying the latter with salt and barrels. 



During 1879 about 1,500,000 pounds of fish were taken, of which 500,000 pounds were sold fresh, 

 and the remainder salted. Whitefish and herring formed the most important factor in the amount 

 of fresh fish, but trout, sturgeon, dory, and many other kinds were included. Few fish, except 

 whitefish, trout, and herring are salted in this locality. 



The larger proportion of fresh fish is sent directly to Chicago by rail in boxes or refrigera- 

 tors. One firm in Menominee uses about twenty refrigerators constantly, and considers this method 

 of preparation for shipment less expensive and troublesome than packing in boxes. Salt fish are 

 sent to Chicago and to several distributing points on Lake Erie. 



There have been many changes in the methods of fishing at Menomiuee and the neighboring- 

 towns, as well as in the form of apparatus and the location of the fishing grounds. Summer gill- 

 net fishing, which was carried on extensively in former years, has been almost entirely abandoned. 

 In the canvass of this region in the summer of 1879, but one fisherman could be found engaged in 

 this occupation. 



