a Baty Cee Le ee SE. A oe 169 

was ine year the Shamokin dam went out—yet I have never gi d tell 
of or seen shad being caught since that time above the dam. The shad, 
as I remember them, were very fine and particularly large. I have seen 
the beach, after the drawing of the seine, for a hundred feet absolutely 
alive with flopping shad, each one reflecting the sunlight like a burnished 
mirror. I recollect having the saited and smoked shad during the fall 
and winter, and fine delicacies they were. 
“ After our shad fishing was cut off, a great number of salt shad were 
brought from Philadelphia and other points, meeting with ready sale, 
on account of general knowledge of their delicacy. I believe that at one 
time the people knew more of salt shad than they now know of salt 
mackerel, and more of smoked shad than now of smoked salmon. 
“T believe that a proper shad-way could now be put in the Nanticoke 
dam sluice-way or chute at an expense not to exceed $10,000, and prob- 
ably for less, without interfering with navigation.” 
Mr. Isaac 8. Osterhout says: 
“Tn 1820 or 1821, we caught shad in very large quantities at Black 
Walnut Bottom. I remember well I went with Captain to Salina, 
New York State, after salt, as we had run out of that article very early 
in the season; he had a load of whetstones and Ia load of shad. I could 
have easily gotten rid of my shad on the first day, had it not been that 
the Captain and I had agreed that the whetstones should sell the shad, 
and vice versa. So it was several days before we got our loads of salt, 
as the whetstones went terribly slow. In 1822 and 1823 I was at Hunt’s 
Ferry, when the shad were plenty. I came to Wilkes-Barre in 1830, the 
early part of the year, the same year the Nanticoke dam was finished; 
do not recollect of any shad being caught after that. I recollect of a 
Mr. Walter Greens, who came from New England and settled at Black 
Walnut Bottom giving twenty barrels of shad for a good Durham cow.” 

Jameson Harvey says : 
“T was born in 1796; [remember the old fishing in the North Branch 
of the Susquehanna river very well; James Stewart had a fishery oppo- 
site my place. The big haul was made at Fish Island fishery. I recol- 
lect it very well; they didn’t know how many they caught. After all 
were disposed of that could be, the rest were thrown on the fields and 
pretty near stunk us to death. They were landed on the point of the 
island. There were two seines on fish island; one owned by Nanticoke 
parties, the other by Buttonwood parties, who took turnabout fishing. 
The Mud fishery was at Steele’s Ferry; they drew out on Shawnee 
side. The Dutch fishery was below the dam on Croup’s place. Below 
Huulock’s creek was another ; that was called a mud fishery. There was 
a fishery at Shickshinny. When the big haul was made the shad sold 
for a cent apiece; they sold as many as they could; there wasn’t salt 
enough. In those days they didn’t salt down so much pork; they de- 
