THE PICKLED-HERRING TRADE. 463 
whiteness of the sand of the bay, the presence of the herring, if in shoal water, was readily 
detected by the contrast between their color and that of the bottom. In case the herring remained 
in deeper water and failed to “show up,” their presence was often known by the numerous bubbles 
that rose to the surface above them. It often happened that one or more of the fishermen were 
stationed on the top of a high hill overlooking the bay, where they could more easily detect the 
presence of the fish. If any were seen, the seining-masters of the vessels were at once notified, 
the lookout indicating by signal or otherwise the exact location of the school. 
Whenever a school came within half a mile of the land it was at once surrounded by a seine, 
and lines made fast to either end were taken to the shore, where the hauling was commenced by 
some twenty-five to thirty men. While the seine was being landed, one boat was usually rowed 
back and forth across its mouth to prevent the fish from escaping, and whenever they attempted 
to swim out, oars were thrown into the water to frighten them back. The ends of the netting 
having been brought to land, the seine was gradually hauled in until the fish were confined in a 
small space, after which the seine was made fast and the dipping began. 
The catch was often enormous, sometimes reaching four or five thousand barrels at a single 
haul. At such times it was very difficult to get the ends of the seine to the shore. When only a 
small haul was made, a smaller and lighter seine was occasionally shot inside of the large one, so 
that the fish could be more easily handled. 
The extensive fishing is said by some to have caused a diminution of the supply, and it fre- 
quently happened that the bulk of the fish remained in the deeper water at a considerable distance 
from the shore, and consequently could not be taken in sufficient quantities to supply all the ves 
sels, and many that had not provided themselves with nets were compelled to return “light” o1 
with only partial fares. To overcome this difficulty the Gloucester vessels began bringing their 
purse-seines which they used in summer for catching mackerel. With these they were enabled to 
fish in the deeper waters of the bay, at any desired distance from the shore, and they were often 
very successful when the haul-seines secured almost nothing. 
PURSE-SEINES.— The first purse-seines were carried by Gloucester fishermen about 1865, and 
from this date to 1872 the large part of the herring was taken in this way. Many of the fisher- 
men of other towns, including Eastport, Lubec, and Lamoine, soon began to use purse-seines, and 
all were for a time very successful. 
For various reasons, principal among which were cleanliness and convenience of handling, 
the herring were never landed on the beach, and even when the fish had been inclosed in a haul- 
seine they were simply drawn towards the land unti! they were brought into a compact mass, after 
which they were taken out by means of dip-nets into small boats and carried to the vessel. The 
boats used are usually the ordinary “Hampton” build, 20 to 25 feet in length. Each vessel 
carried from two to four of these, for transporting the fish from the seine to the vessel. Some- 
times the crews of twenty or more vessels would be engaged in dipping from the same net, each 
vying with the other in securing the largest possible quantity before the supply should be exhausted. 
The competition has at times been so great that some in their greediness have loaded their boats 
so heavily that they have been swamped in the rougher water on their way to the vessel. Large, 
long-handled dip-nets were used in transferring the fish to the boats, one man handling the net and 
the other assisting in “rolling in the fish.” As soon as the boat had been loaded it was rowed at 
once to the vessel, which usually lay in the harbor, from 1 to 4 miles distant. On arriving 
the fish were thrown upon the deck, to be cared for by those on board, and the boat returned for 
another load. From three to seven loads could be taken by a boat in a day, the number depend- 
ing, of course, upon the distance to which the fish must be carried and the condition of the weather. 
