30 HISTOUY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



halibut were troublesome, to string them on a line and hang them over the stern of the vessel. 

 Halibut were occasionally brought home, but they were generally thrown away. Before 1825, 

 however, a considerable demand for halibut sprang up in Boston, and small vessels were accus 

 tomed to carry cargoes to that market. The supply of fish on the inshore grounds slowly dimin- 

 ished, and about 1830 the announcement that halibut were abundant on George's Bank led several 

 vessels to make trips thither in their pursuit. The present George's cod fishery sprang up in 

 connection with the halibut fishery, the latter being the original inducement for vessels to visit that 

 region; and in early days, at the season when halibut occurred on the Bank, it is stated that it 

 was often impossible to catch many codfish, if desired, on account of the great abundance and 

 voracity of the halibut. The following account of the inception of the halibut fishery on George's 

 is taken from the Fisherman's Record Book, pages 77 and 78: 



"It is claimed by a large majority of those interested in the fisheries that the schooner 

 Nautilus was the first vessel which ever ventured to George's on a halibut trip. There are others 

 who assert that the schooner Eomeo is entitled to the claim of being the pioneer schooner in this 

 branch of the fisheries. We have made the most careful inquiries, and from one of the crew of 

 the Nautilus we obtain the date of her sailing, and several interesting particulars of the trip. We 

 could not obtain any date of the sailing of the Eomeo, although we interviewed one of her crew. 

 He felt confident that there was not many days' difference in their time of sailing, and was rather 

 inclined to the opinion that the Nautilus was the first. Our informant is positive that he is correct 

 in his dates, and as he is a man of undoubted veracity, and in the absence of any contradictory 

 statements, we publish his narrative. The vessel was commanded by Capt. John Fletcher Wonson, 

 recently deceased, one of the most able and careful skippers among those of the olden time. 



"In 1828, while coming home in the Nautilus from Wilmington, N". C., he noticed on the chart 

 used on board the vessel a picture of a halibut, under which were printed the words, 'Good halibut 

 grounds here.' This he remembered, and two years after concluded to give the halibut catching a 

 trial. On the 5th of March, 1830, the vessel started out of the harbor on her trip for halibut. 

 Among her crew were the following persons, all of whom but the last named are now living: John 

 W. Wonson, Nathan F. Wonson, Samuel G. Wonson, Daniel Douglass, and Benjamin Marble. The 

 result of this trip was twenty halibut, which were landed, but met with a dull sale. The schooner 

 Eomeo, Capt. Henry Pew, sailed soon after, and brought in a trip of upwards of 3,000 pounds, 

 which were sold for 3 cents per pound. Other vessels soon followed, but the business did not 

 amount to much until it had been prosecuted five or six years, when it began to assume consid- 

 erable importance and became established as a regular branch of the fisheries. 



"This first trip of the Nautilus came very near being the last of one of her crew, Mr. Marble, 

 and gave a little foretaste of the dangers accompanying the vocation. The vessel was lying to, 

 the crew having succeeded in finding some halibut, when Mr. Marble launched the dory, and, 

 throwing over his anchor, commenced fishing by himself. It was quite moderate, and the vessel, 

 drifting with the current, was soon some distance off. This was thought nothing of in the excite- 

 ment attending fishing, until one of the crew remarked that Marble was about out of sight, and he 

 thought it queer that he didn't row for the vessel, especially as night was coming on and there 

 were indications of a storm. All hands then began to talk it over, and thought that something 

 must have happened to him. A man was sent aloft to keep the dory in sight, and a little breeze 

 springing up, the vessel was got under way, and they succeeded in reaching him just before the 

 darkness and storm came on. It seems that in the hurry of launching the dory he forgot the 

 oars, ami this accounted for his not attempting to regain the vessel. There lay the oars on the 

 vessel's deck, and not one on board had observed them. If they had, the mystery of Marble's not 



