(352 GEOGRAPHICAL KEVIEW OP THE FISHERIES. 



employed, and at Saugertauk tliree. In all, therefore, there were fourteen boats and oue steam- 

 tug, employing about eighty-eight men. Besides these professional fishermen there are four or 

 five men who fish with what are known as "plump-nets," and four or five others who make a 

 living by oil rendering. Fifty of the fishermen have families, the rest being single. Although 

 many nationalities are represented among these fishermen, the larger proportion are Germans. 



Gill net fishing is the principal branch engaged in, and during 1879 no less than two thousand 

 eight hundred nets were in use. Pound-net fishing is not carried on extensively on account of the 

 nature of the shore. In former years seining was prosecuted to a considerable extent, but at the 

 present time there are no seines in use. The entire value of the apparatus employed, including 

 boats, nets, and accessories, is about $29,000. This is certainly a large amount when compared 

 with the yield of the fisheries of the three villages. 



The total catch in 1879 amounted to about 608,000 pounds, of which about 500,000 pounds 

 were taken by the Saint Joseph fishermen. About one-third of the fish were trout, the remainder 

 being whitefish and other species of minor value. With the exception of about 10,000 pounds the 

 fish were sent fresh to Chicago. A small amount excepted was sent to the neighboring inland 

 towns. 



The fishermen of Saint Joseph have probably suffered more from disaster than any others on 

 the whole of the lakes. In 1869 two boats were lost, carrying down nine fishermen. On the 29th 

 of April, 1875, while eleven boats were fishing at a long distance from shore, a sudden and violent 

 squall sprang up from the northwest, striking the fleet with great violence. Some of the boats 

 were returning home and had all the canvas up ; they were unable to get their sails down before 

 the storm was upon them. Out of the whole number of boats four were lost, carrying down with 

 them eleven of the fishermen. Not one, however, of the boats returned in safety. Some were 

 driven upon the beach many miles from their harbor, and nearly all sustained some injury besides 

 losing their nets, sails, and other parts of their apparatus and rigging. In 1876 one boat and 

 one fisherman were lost, the rest of the crew being picked up by a passing vessel. 



These disasters, together with the decrease of fish and the low prices received, discouraged 

 many fishermen, and numbers of them have given up the pursuit and gone into other occupations. 

 For several years prior to 1879 the fishermen have been losing money, but the prospect fo'r that 

 year was much more satisfactory. 



Mr. C. P. Haywood, the famous boat-builder, is located at Saint Joseph, but during later 

 years he has been unable to sell any boats, as the fishermen have been too poor to invest in them. 

 He lias, however, the reputation of being the best boat-builder on the lakes. His boats, known as 

 the " Haywood," " Huron," or " Square Stern," have a great reputation in Lake Huron, but have 

 not sustained it well at Saint Joseph, where they have been subjected to very severe trials. The 

 first boat used here was the " Mackinaw," after which the unwieldy " Norwegian sloop " was in 

 vogue for many years, the latter being finally superseded, as already mentioned, by the Haywood 

 boat. There seems to be a determination on the part of the fishermen to return to the Norwegian 

 sloop again, as it is considered absolutely safe in all weathers and is best suited for the boisterous 

 offshore fishing. 



SAUGEETAUK TO GLEN HAVEN. The principal fisheries on this shore are at Grand Haven, 

 Little and Big Points Sable, Whitehall, Pent Water, Ludiugton, Manistee, and Point Betsy. 

 The most important of these points is Grand Haven, where more men are engaged in fishing than 

 in all of the other villages together. The following is the number of fishermen in each place : 

 Grand Haven, 865 Pent Water, 4; Whitehall, 12; Ludington, 31; Manistee, 6; Frankfort, 4. 



