FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 280 



beiug the chief kinds of fish caught; and Evans and Angola, inland 

 villages, a few fishermen from which haul seines on the adjacent beaches 

 and operate a few set-lines in the lake, catching small quantities of 

 sturgeon and whitefish in addition to the other species mentioned above. 



Enumeration of Buffalo fisheries. — The principal fisheries in the vicin- 

 ity of Buffalo are the ice fishery, the set-line boat fishery, the grapnel 

 sturgeon fishery, and the gill-net fishery. These will be considered some- 

 what in detail. 



Ice fishing. — This is one of the favorite and important methods fol- 

 lowed in the vicinity of Buffalo, and is pursued principally by dock- 

 ineu, sailors, and laborers who, because of the suspension of lake traffic 

 after freezing weather sets in, are otherwise idle in winter. The fish- 

 ing begins as soon as the ice is sufficiently solid to bear the weight 

 of men and teams, usually about the 1st of December, and continues 

 until the spring break-up, about the last of March. Usually the ice- 

 fishing season lasts about ninety days. Blue pike is the species taken 

 in greatest quantities, other species, as yellow pike, perch, trout, her- 

 ring, and sturgeon, being caught in only limited numbers. The men 

 start for the fishing grounds — 1 to 10 miles from the shore— about day- 

 light ; many of the fishermen have sleds drawn by dogs to convey them 

 to the grounds and to bring back the fish at night. It is estimated 

 that one hundred and seventy-five sleds aud two hundred and seventy- 

 five dogs are thus employed. The dogs are mostly of the Newfound- 

 land breed, but all kinds and varieties that will pull in harness are 

 pressed into service ; one or two dogs are fastened to each sled, and a 

 good team will travel 6 miles an hour, if the wind be propitious. l"he 

 sleds are cheap affairs, a few being expensive and stylish ; the average 

 value is not more than $3.50. A number of men frequently combine 

 forces aud bring in large loads of fish. A man with but one dog may 

 often be seen pulling in harness with the canine. 

 • Regarding the number of people engaged in this fishery and its ex- 

 tent, Messrs. Jones and Trevallee, as the result of personal observa- 

 tions and numerous inquiries, state that five hundred men would be the 

 very lowest estimate, and that eight hundred or a thousand would per- 

 haps be nearer the real number. A fair allowance would be a quart of 

 minnows a day for bait for each man, with which 20 pounds of fish are 

 taken; aud ninety days beiug the length of the fishing season, the low- 

 est estimate will give nearly 1,000,000 pounds of fish as the yearly prod- 

 uct of this fishery, valued at not less than $50,000. Another estimate 

 isgiveu in the following paragraph which differs somewhat from the 

 above figures; but either will show how important and extensive the 

 business is. Under date of April 19, 1S87, Mr. O. A. Trevallee, of Buf- 

 falo, writes: 



There have been caught on the ice this season, between January 20 and April 5, 

 585,795 pounds of blue pike, 7,398 pounds of perch, and 5,090 pounds of herring. 

 You could add at least 20,000 pounds to these figures. 



H. Mis. 133 19 



