44 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



half of the entire number are married, and nearly all control their own 

 apparatus in preference to fishing on shares. 



Prices and trade. — The prices paid to the fishermen vary somewhat 

 with the season. In spring and fall that of fresh fish reaches 5 and 

 even 6 cents per pound, but in the summer it falls to 2J or 3 cents, the 

 average at the time of our visit being 2J cents for trout and whitefish. 

 The dealers furnish salt and barrels, and pay the fishermen $1.75 for 

 filling with trout and siscowet, $1.25 for pike, and $3 for whitefish. Of 

 the fresh fish landed at Duluth about 40 per cent, go to Minnesota, 

 three-quarters of these being sent directly to St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

 Twenty-five per cent, go to Iowa, 15 per cent, to Wisconsin, an equal 

 quantity to Dakota, and the remainder to Kansas City. Of the salt 

 fish fully three-quarters go to St. Paul and Minneapolis, the remainder 

 going chiefly to Chicago. 



Gill-net fishery . — Gill-nets have been extensively used for many years 

 in the capture of whitefish and trout, and the gill-net fishery is at 

 present of much greater extent than any other. In 1880 there were 

 about a dozen boats fishing from the village. Formerly the gill-netters 

 fished in the immediate vicinity of Duluth, running their catch 

 there to be sold fresh or salted, but with the introduction of steam col- 

 lecting boats they were enabled to go further from home, and in 1884 

 sometimes fished a hundred miles distant, the steamer going as far as 

 Grand Marais. At present during the fall they fish anywhere within 

 200 miles of Duluth, the steamers running to Isle Royale and along the 

 main shore beyond the Minnesota boundary. The fishing begins 

 early in April, as soon as the ice breaks up, and, after working for 

 several weeks in the immediate vicinity, the men move to the south 

 shore and remain there until the middle of July. At that time the 

 catch is light and about half of them "cut out" for three to six 

 weeks to repair their nets, while the others proceed to the small 

 harbors and creeks along the north shore, where they are joined about 

 the last of August by their colaborers. They continue here till about 

 the middle of November, when they return to Duluth and fish for two 

 or three weeks from the harbor, after which their boats are hauled up 

 for the winter and the fishing practically ceases, though a few of the 

 men set nets through the ice as soon as it is strong enough for them 

 to venture upon it. 



When fishing at a distance they build rude shanties, where they 

 find shelter from the storms, and dress and salt their catch. They 

 depend wholly upon the collecting steamers, both for the transporta- 

 tion of their fish and for their supplies. The dealers aim to secure 

 as many fish fresh as possible, and for this reason make frequent 

 visits to the fishing stations, stopping both in running up and down 

 the shore. They also furnish the fishermen with salt and barrels, 

 paying them a stated price for filling them. A majority of the boats 

 carry only two men j perhaps about one-fourth of the entire number 



