THE FISHERIES, OF THE CONNECTIOUT RIVER. 663 
some years there were only two licensed inn-keepers at the falls—Daniel Lamb and widow Mary 
Pomeroy, but every house on both sides of the river was full of men, and some lodged in shelters 
and out-houses. Horses filled the stables und many other places. It was estimated one day that 
there were 1,500 horses on both sides of the river; this estimate is not reliable. A great number 
of the men brought victuals with them; many cooked shad, and others bought food at the houses. 
Many were detained one day or longer. They indulged in plays and trials of skill. Where there 
were 80 many men, and rum was plenty, there was of course much noise, bustle, and confusion. The 
greater part were industrious farmers, and after leaving the falls they wound over the hills and 
plains with bags of shad, in every direction. They were plainly dressed, according to their busi- 
ness. There was another class at these gatherings, composed of the idle, the intemperate, and the 
dissipated. They came to drink and frolic, and some to buy shad if their money held out. (There 
were great gatherings at Amoskeag Falls, on the Merrimac, in the fishing season, more than a 
century since. In 1742 Rev. Joseph Lecombe gave them a discourse, which was published. J adg- 
ing from the title, it must have suited the merry-makers). Many thousands of shad are still taken 
annually at South Hadley Falls, though none can ascend the river above Holyoke dam. Instead 
of a penny each, which was paid one hundred years ago, men now pay at retail for shad brought 
from these falls and from Saybrook from 25 to 40 cents, and sometimes 50 cents.”* 
THe CHICOPEE RIVER.—The Chicopee, though one of the principal tributaries of the Con- 
necticut, reaches the level of that river by falls, which have always proved an insurmountable 
barrier to the ascent of fish, and has never, therefore, been a salmon stream. 
EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY.—The fisheries of the Connecticut have always been 
important, although the annual production is steadily diminishing, owing to the restrictions alluded 
to and the consequently impaired spawning-grounds. The shad, salmon, and alewife have becn 
the species most eagerly sought after. The salmon-fishery is now practically extinct. New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, and perhaps Connecticut, have, however, co-operated in their efforts to , 
restore this fishery by planting salmon fry in the sources of the river. As a result of these experi- 
ments, some salmon have now returned to the river, and specimens have been taken in gill-nets at 
the mouth, at the first obstruction on the Farmington River, and at Holyoke Dam, near Hadley 
Falls, on the main river. It is not probable that such measures will result in any permanent 
restoration, since no suitable spawning-grounds are accessible to these fish upon their return from 
the sea. It was hoped that the very costly fishway erected over the dam at Hadley Falls would 
open a passageway for both shad and salmon into the Upper Connecticut, and in this way provide 
for the permanent restoration of the salmon-fishery under natural conditions. There is no evi- 
dence, however, that such results have been brought about. Certainly no shad have ascended it, 
and no salmon, if their capture above that point is to serve as a criterion. This dam being the 
only obstruction of consequence, it would appear that the importance of the result to be looked for 
would justify. the States interested in the fisheries of this river in making a large expenditure of 
money in order to secure an open river. 
At the present time the alewife-fisheries are insignificant, although their numbers seem to 
have been increasing since the enactment of a law prohibiting the placing of pound-nets in the river 
a d fixing the minimum size for the mesh of haul-seines; the number of haul-seines fished has been 
greatly diminished by the restrictions imposed. 
“History of Hadley, Mass., by Sylvester Judd, pp. 313 to 318. 
