_— ep STREAMS = ee LVA — 157 


At all inka aaharies large nied of shad were banat ei they 
were sold from twelve and one-half cents to twenty-five cents apiece. I 
have heard of hauls containing from three thousand to five thousand, 
and three hundred was a very common haul. People came from twelve 
to fifteen miles for shad and paid cash exclusively for them. 
“The cutting off of the shad supply was a great and serious loss to 
this community from both a monetary and economic view, since this fish 
in its season was a staple article of food, and employed in the taking 
and hauling quite a large proportion of the inhabitants. This industry 
was wholly abolished by the erection of dams, and thousands of dollars 
of capital invested in the business were instantly swept out of exist- 
ence. All of the fisheries were profitable investments and the loss of 
them to this section of the country was incalculable.” 
Mr. Henry Roberts writes from Falls, Pa., as follows: 
“The first fishery at the head of Scovel’s island, opposite Lackawanna 
creek; not many shad were caught here—say from twenty to sixty per 
night. The next was at Falling Spring; same seine as that used at 
Scovel’s island. The number of shad caught here ran from fifty to three 
hundred per night. The next above Falling Spring was at Keeler’s 
ferry (now Smith’s); this was a small fishery and was only used when 
the water was too high to fish at other points. The seine was hauled 
around a deep hole to bring jn the shad. The next and only fishery be- 
tween this and Tunkhannock creek was at the head of Taylor’s island, 
or the ‘Three Brothers.’ This was an important fishery; more shad 
were caught here than could be taken care of on account of the scarcity 
of salt. I can speak of this fishery from experience since 1812. The 
catch per night ran from two to four hundred. The shareholders at- 
tended to it as closely as to their farming or other business, as it was 
our dependence in part for food. Shad was oftener exchanged for maple 
sugar than sold for cash—one good shad for a pound of sugar. Large 
shad were worth twelve and one-half cents apiece; a right in a fishery 
was worth from ten to twenty-five dollars; shareholders made a practice 
of salting down more or less shad during the season. An incident in 
connection with shad fishing presents itself to my mind, related often 
by my grandmother. A party of Indians returning from a treaty at 
Philadelphia landed their canoes, came to her house to borrow her 
big kettle to cook their dinner in; after building the fire and hanging 
over the kettle they put in the shad just as they were taken from the 
river, with beans, cabbage, potatoes and onions. My grandfather, David 
Nia dchanee, one of the early Connecticut settlers. then owned the same 
farm I occupy. Iam now in my eighty-seventh year.” 
Mr. H. C. Wilson, residing at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, sent the following: 
“T noticed in the Union Leader an article in reference to the old 
shad fisheries of the Susquehanna river, and it brought back to my 
memory many things that happened in my boyhood days, among which 
