412 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



I Juke 18, 1885. 



there was a suspicion of delicate fish, your thought will he 

 on blubber. But even as in order to know the delicacy of a 

 rose it is necessary to smell one, so if you would know how 

 the flavor of a porpoise steak can combine harmoniously that 

 of a liver, a canvasback and a kingfish, you must eat one. 



There are several morals which might he drawn from this 

 simple and affecting tale, but perhaps the most important 

 are these: (1) Take your steak from a young porpoise and (2) 

 have it properly cooked, 



If all young porpoises are as palatable as this dolphin 

 of the ancients, it is a pity that so much succulence should 

 wasle itself upon the waves, and never a morsel come to re- 

 lieve our menu. The golden age of gastronomy was long 

 ago, and in that time kings and other great persons looked 

 upon porpoise as a delicacy of delicacies. May we not hope 

 that some day our menus may again be enlivened by some 

 such phrase as "Marsomn an Comintern-ire des Peeked" or 

 "Dauphin hrasUle mix Esquimaux du pole aretique?" 



F. W. True. 



Washington. June 8. 



Riparian Rights. — United States Marshal McMullin, 

 under an order issued by the United States Court at Wil- 

 mington, Del., on June 9' went to Port Penn and seized from 

 Purnell J. Lynch, a local constable, two fishing skiffs which 

 the constable and a party of fifteen Delaware men on June 3 

 cut loose and carried off from the sloop Mary A. Brown, 

 which was on the sturgeon fishing grounds near Reedy Island 

 in the Delaware River. The skiffs were restored to their 

 owner, Thomas J. Torton, of New Jersey, The first seizure 

 was made in support of Delaware's claim to the exclusive 

 right to fish in certain parts of the river, and the replevin 

 was obtained through the action of Gov. Abbett, of New 

 Jersey, who sent Chas. G. Garrison, a Camden lawyer, to 

 look after the interests here of the Jersey fishermen. The 

 action of the Delaware constable is alleged to be iu con- 

 tempt of an injunction of the United States Supreme Court. 

 A large party of fishermen at Pennsgrove, N. J., had armed 

 themselves for a raid on Monday night for the recovery of 

 the captured boats, hut were restrained by a telegram from 

 Gov. Abbett counseling delay. Any serious complication 

 over the matter this year, except in the courts, is improbable, 

 as the fishing season is nearly over.— Homo. 



A Fishing Problem.— Editor Forest and Stream: Here 

 is a problem for your readers and old woodsmen to solve. 

 Given a lake in the North Woods full of large, trout, but 

 to be reached only by a tramp of fifteen miles through virgin 

 forest. Piscator arriving there has no means on hand to get 

 into deep water where the fish are. The shores are spread- 

 ing and covered with about three-quarters of an inch of 

 water, and under that soft mud of unknown depth. A raft 

 will not float in the low water. Carrying an ever so light 

 canoe in is out of the question, the difficulties encountered 

 forbid it. The mud won't allow any wading, and the hungry 

 sportsman sees hundreds of big trout jumping just about a 

 hundred feet from shore. How is he to get on the lake and 

 to the fish? Are there any rubber bags in the market, 

 which could be inflated and made the basis for a light raft 

 for one man? Or anything in the way of a folding boat to 

 carry one man and not weigh more than fifteen pounds? I 

 know that hundreds of fishermen find themselves in the 

 same quandary, and would heartily welcome a contrivance to 

 help them out. — Piscator. 



Trout in England and the Adirondack^.— Glens 

 Falls, New York, June 6.— In a letter received from Mr. 

 Marston to day he says, "Spring trout fishing here has not 

 been good — such gales that there was no chance of fly-fishiug 

 to speak of. Fourteen trout going about ten pounds is 

 the best I have done yet this season. Fished eight hours 

 yesterday in a cold gale of rain and only saw three rises; 

 got one fish of three-quarter pounds." That is better trout 

 (brook) than I have yet had. Our streams are too high and 

 roily. Yesterday we bad a rain fall of 2f inches. I shall 

 try the trout again Tuesday. Saw a basket to-day that 

 came from the North Woods with some fine trout. Last 

 Tuesday I tried the trout, and they would only take a green 

 drake in a certain stream, and this was the case last year in 

 same water. — A. N. C. 



Salmon in the Potomac. — A fine specimen of Penob- 

 scot salmon was caught in a trap net last evening iu the 

 Potomac at a point twenty miles below Glymont by Thomas 

 Adams. It weighed nine and a half pounds and measured 

 two feet eight inches in length. Ten thousand of these fish 

 were planted in the Potomac four years ago. Since then 

 they have increased rapidly. It was' shipped to Mr. R. A. 

 Golden, in charge of the fish wharves in this city. — Evening 

 Star, Washington, June Yd. [We do not. think that any 

 Penobscot salmon were ever planted in the Potomac. Some 

 ten years ago many of the chinook salmon from California 

 were placed in the river, but have not been heard from. If 

 this fish was an Atlantic salmon it was probably a straggler 

 from some other river.] 



Short Supply op Gtjt.— Redditch, Eng , June 2.— Editor 

 Forest ani Stream: We have just received a report from the 

 manager of our gut manufactory in Spain which will inter- 

 est your readers. He says: "There will be a scarcity of 

 gut this season. The gut harvest has been small, the north 

 wind haviug killed the greater part of the worms. Thick 

 gut is very rare, while the extra long, fine gut is all worm- 

 eaten and worthless." We have no doubt that your readers 

 will regret this as we do. — S. Allcock & Co. 



Bass and Temperature.— Lake, Pa.— I have made 

 observations in the lake here for three seasons past with a 

 view to ascertain the temperature of the water when the 

 small-mouthed black bass made their first appearance after 

 their winter's hibernating? None of them have been seen by 

 me or by any of my acquaintances here until the temperature 

 of the water had reached 51°, but always then. This infor- 

 mation maybe of no practical value 'to you; possibly it is 

 only an accidental coincidence. — T. G. 



A Big Trout.— London (Eng.) Truth records: A trout 

 was caught last Tuesday in the Kennet at Newbury which 

 weighed 16.J- pounds. It was a well-known fish, and many 

 anglers had visited Newbury in the hope of catching it, but 

 it had always evaded the hook, although it could be seen 

 every day swimming for hours in the neighborhood of the 

 bridge. It was captured by means of a net, a .scandalously 

 unsportsmanlike proceeding, which ought not to have been 

 allowed. 



A Wonderful Fish. — A correspondent of the San Fran- 

 cisco Examiner, writes from Lake View, Oregon: "A won- 

 derful fish is becoming numerous in Goose Lake. It is 

 called by some the greenback fish, for it is certainly an infla- 

 tionist. It has the' power to fill itself with air until it be- 

 comes very much like a round ball. Of evenings about sub- 

 down they may be seen playing on the surface of the water. 

 They will swell up by taking in the air, and the wind will 

 blow them over the lake. They reflect all the colors of the 

 rainbow, and when sporting over the lake are a grand sight. 

 A hunter several weeks ago saw a crane swallow one of 

 these fish when in its normal condition, but before the crane 

 had got more than fifty feet above the lake the fish had taken 

 in enough air to explode the crane, which at the sound of a 

 report like that of a gun, flew all to atoms, and the fish came 

 lightly down on the water, no worse off for the short ride in 

 the air. The fish is a great curiosisy, never having been 

 found, I believe, in other waters." On reading this our 

 office boy was moved to amend this notice by saying that 

 the greenback fish could be found iu Fulton Market, but sus- 

 pecting him of levity we suppressed him before he got off a 

 new joke about the man who has toiled all day and caught 

 nothing, and visited Mr. Blackford on his way home. Our 

 ichthyologist, says that this airy and festive fish is known to 

 science as the Windycus j1iUulen.iiv.ii, and may be a hybrid 

 between a puff-ball and a Boston baked bean. Our fishcul- 

 turist doubts that such a hybrid would ever stay in the 

 water, but would soar aloft like a balloon. The fishing 

 editor, a truthful man, says he has used the Windycus as a 

 float while bottom fishing for suckers iu Windermere, and 

 that its buoyancy is overrated. The yachting editor has 

 heard the fish explode when jammed in the locks of the Erie 

 ("anal as he went through, and our rifle editor thinks that 

 they can be employed by the Fenians to the exclusion of 

 dynamite. Altogether we agree with the Examiner that it 

 is a wonderful fish. 



Northrup Lake.— Johnstown, N. Y., June 10.— I have 

 just returned from my annual spring fishing trip in the 

 Adirondacks. One of our guides (an old trapper who spends 

 his entire winter in the woods) told us of an unknown lake 

 he crossed on snow shoes in winter, while following an otter. 

 The morning of May 24 saw an exploring party wandering 

 by devious ways over mountain tops till at 3 P. M. the lake 

 was found and the old trapper named it in my honor Northrup 

 Lake. Soou a dead spruce was felled, withes twisted, a raft 

 made and a line wet for the first time in its waters. Then 

 such a sight I never saw; the raft was the center of jumping 

 trout. We all believe that a barrel of trout could be caught 

 there in an hour- But the lengthening shadows warned us 

 to hurry back to camp, where the inability of eating one 

 quarter what we could catch every day was the only draw- 

 back to our happiness. The weather of the two last weeks 

 in May this year has never been excelled for camping out, 

 sleeping as we did every night in an open camp with no fire 

 after bed time. The glorious moon, the perfect days with 

 total absence of those pests, blackflies and mosquitoes, made 

 two weeks to live over in memory for the rest of the year. — 

 M. S. Northrup. 



Philadelphia Notes.— Rockfish are biting at Columbia 

 Dam on the Susquebana River. These rockfish can now be 

 caught with pearl minnow or bright fly. It will pay to try 

 them, although they do not run much over half a pound to 

 a pound in weight. A number of black bass were taken this 

 week in Shawmont Dam on the Schuylkill River — one very 

 large one, four pounds it is said, but this is doubtful; two 

 pounds is nearer the mark. White catfish are biting well at 

 different points on the Delaware. At the biidges which cross 

 the Rancocas Creek just before it empties into the De law are 

 many are now being caught on the young flood tide. Stur- 

 geon* bait seems to be the most attractive, although many use 

 dough, cheese and raw cotton kneaded together into a paste. 

 — Homo. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE PORPOISE FISHERY OF CAPE HAT- 

 TERAS. 



[Read before the American Fisheries Society.] 



BY FREDERICK W. TRUE. 



THERE is a legend among the Indians of Brazil that when 

 the shades of evening are falling on the Amazon, the 

 dolphin (called inia) becomes transformed from its peculiar 

 fish-like form, and assumes that of a lovely maiden. Passing 

 through the streets of the village, her fail" hair floating on the 

 breeze, the youths are attracted by her charms and follow her 

 in crowds. When she has walked through all the streets she 

 reaches the banks of the river, dons her fish-like mien, and 

 plunges in suddenly. The youths in hot pursuit, oblivious of 

 their danger, fail down the steep and perish in the water. 



Such a transformation as we have indicated, though cer- 

 tainly with some radical modifications, has taken place in the 

 eyes of some capitalists of Philadelphia in regard to one of the 

 porpoises of our own coast. They think they see iu this com- 

 mon porpoise not a useless creature, but an animal from which 

 great profit can be derived if proper means are taken to secure 

 it. They have, therefore, undertaken to utilize this animal 

 for industrial purposes. It is not the first time in the history 

 of industries that porpoises have been made use of. Inhabit- 

 ants of all Arctic countries, as the members of this society are 

 aware , are accustomed to feed upon porpoises, especially the 

 smaller species, and to utilize especially their flesh and od. In 

 this country, too, certain species of porpoise have been em- 

 ployed at one time or another in connection with industrial 

 pursuits. 



About 1790 there was quite an important fishery for the 

 capture of porpoises on Long Island. This was in operation 

 for several years, but eventually faded to yield a profit. There 

 is now a similar fishery, if such Ic may be termed, not only r on 

 our own coast at Cape Cod, but also on Norwegian shores. 

 The object of capture in this instance, how T ever, is a different 

 species of the family of dolphins— namely, the blackfish. This 

 animal is occasionally stranded on our shores, and usually is 

 seen in herds comprising 100, 500 or 600 individuals. From 

 these cetaceans valuable products are obtained, the most im- 

 portant of which is oil. It is a rather curious factthat many of 

 the most important fisheries are carried on for the capture of 

 animals other than fish. The whale, for whose capture so 

 much energy is devoted, and so large an amount of capital in- 

 vested, is not a fish. Again, the object of the seal fishery is a 

 mammal; of the oyster fishery a mollusk, as also of the 'pearl 

 fishery; of the lobster fishery, a crustacean; and it now seems 

 as ii we are to see and the fishery rise to considerable import- 

 ance, whose object of cipture is not a fish — the common 

 dolphin of our coast. This species, Tursiops tursio, a cast of 

 which 1 have placed before you, is exceedingly common. It 



sports in the waves from Maine to Florida. I have observed 

 them at various points, especially between Cape Cod and 

 North Carolina. They are fearless, approaching very closely 

 in shore, perhaps not further than twenty or thirty paces. 

 They play around the steamers and sailing vessels regardless 

 of any danger. 



The specimen before you is not full grown. The species 

 attains nine, ten, and even eleven feet in length. They are 

 not very rapid swimmers, but can attain considerable speed 

 Regarding their habits we really know verv little. They ap- 

 pear to breed at all seasons of the year. It was this species 

 and one other which were known to the ancients and entered 

 into their art. They were portrayed with curious convention- 

 alization on their coins, and were endowed with many peculiar 



be very wide. It probably occurs in all salt waters of the 

 globe. 



The fishery which is now being prosecuted at Cape Hatteras 

 has been carried on in a minor degree for many years. As 

 long as there has been a colony on the coast of North Carolina, 

 the fishermen have been in the habit of catching some por- 

 poises during the winter and converting them into oil. The 

 apparatus used for this purpose was, however, verv rude, and 

 consequently the oil produced was of no great value. Last 

 year, however, for some unknown cause, it occurred to cer- 

 tain gentlemen in Philadelphia that this animal could be made 

 more profitable than had before appeared, and they therefore 

 formed a company with their base of operations near to Cape 

 Hatteras, where they were engaged last winter in catching 

 porpoises. So abundant are the dolphins at this point that 

 they had no difficulty in taking 2,000 during the cold weather. 

 The fishiug season is not yet finished, and it is probable that 

 1,000 more will be added to the number captured. 



The method of the fishing is the same as has been in use for 

 a long time by the fishermen of Cape Hatteras. Having ex- 

 plained this at length in print, it is perhaps unnecessary to 

 dwell upon the details at this time. I may say, however, that 

 it consists simply in surrounding the animals with large nets, 

 forming a great pound from which they cannot escape, and 

 then sweeping out a few at a time by means of a smaller net. 

 Sometimes 600 are surrounded by the large nets, and of this 

 number fifty or sixty are hauled ashore at a time. They are 

 drowned as they come up, or if still living, are killed' with 

 knives. 



The products, which the Hatteras Porpoise Fishing Com- 

 pany hope to derive from the capture of these animals, are 

 primarily oil and leather. There is no doubt that, if properly 

 purified, their oil would be of a high grade, and could be used 

 to great advantage in the arts. So far as the leather is con- 

 cerned, it must be more or less a matter of experiment for the 

 present. Unquestionably certain members of the family Del- 

 phinidce furnish excellent leather. We have in the museum 

 some which was made from the skiu of the white whale. 

 This is (or until recently was) extensively used in Canada. 

 Excellent leather is also made from the skin of the 

 blackfish, of which I have seen magnificent samples. 

 From the skin of a blackfish a piece of leather of large size can 

 be manufactured. This porpoise leather, though not verv thick, 

 is exceedingly tough and entirely waterproof, ft has not 

 great market value at present, excepting in a limited trade, 

 but I think this is simply because it has not been put upon the 

 market in any considerable quantities. As soon as people 

 recognize the quality of this leather, and as soon asasuffieient 

 quantity of it is made, so that it may be brought into general 

 use, I think it will become very popular in the manufacture 

 of articles for which a somewhat thin, very tough and entirely 

 waterproof material is required. The Hatteras Company, not 

 satisfied to produce oil and leather only as fruits of their labors, 

 hope to render the flesh palatable as food. In this I fear they 

 wull not be entirely successful. The flesh of this animal lias a 

 strong, ody flavor which does not disappear entirely until 

 quite thy, in which state it would be, I fear, too tough to eat. 

 In Arctic regions, however, the flesh of many such animals is 

 eaten. In Norway, too, the flesh of considerable numbers of 

 blackfish is consumed. It is cut up into small strips and dried 

 in the sun until quite hard, I am not familiar with the pro- 

 cess of cooking. 



Regarding the value of this porpoise fishery, it may be said 

 to be quite important. It has been calculated that each por- 

 poise as it lies upon the beach is worth §25. If such an esti- 

 mate be correct, it is not difficult to understand that the con- 

 version of its od and skin into objects of commercial use 

 would add considerably to this sum. If the company captures 

 3,000 or 4,000 a year, the drst value of the product to the com- 

 pany will, according to the figures, be §100,000. Of course, 

 this value would be greatly enhanced when the products were 

 manufactured into objects of use. For a single fishery this is 

 by no means a small sum. The success of this company will 

 probably have an important bearing upon the formation of 

 other similar companies in the future. 



I can see no reason why the pursuit of an animal so easy to 

 capture, and from which marketable articles of such undoubt- 

 edly high grade can be obtained, should not be profitable to 

 the fisherman. Of course, there are certain prejudices to be 

 removed ; but if the company shows a fair amount of persist- 

 ence, I see no reason why then labors should not be crowned 

 with great financial success. 



Mr. GoonE— I should like to say a word or two about the 

 products to be obtained from the porpoise. It seems to me 

 that the possibilities of this fishery are very great, provided 

 that the number of animals caught is sufficient to make it 

 worth while bringing them into the markets. As regards the 

 food value of the porpoise I woidd say that I have tasted the 

 Norwegian whale product— a whale hermetically sealed in tin 

 cases at the London Fisheries Exhibition in 1 88o, and really it 

 had in some way been divested of its oily taste, and resembled 

 beet a la mode. It seems possible, therefore, that some 

 method may be found for removing the oily taste from the 

 porpoise flesh. As to the value of tne od it is undoubtedly so 

 far superior to any other animal oil that I cannot doubt its 

 coming into general use for lubricating purposes, as soon as it 

 can be sold for a reasonable price. At present twenty-five 

 cents is charged for a bottle hardly larger than one's little 

 finger, and i am not aware that any other oil is put on the 

 market in a cheaper form. The leather made from the skin 

 of the porpoise is held in high esteem in Europe for walking 

 boots— especially by Alpine travelers. In London a good pair of 

 such boots is worth fifteen to twenty dollars, nor can they be 

 obtained for less. As you are aU probably r aware, the leather 

 of the white whale was some years ago used by the Canadian 

 government exclusively in the manufacture of mail bags, being- 

 indestructible, and impervious to the water. These qualities 

 render it a most desirable leather for boots. I am also under the 

 impression that this leather is particularly adapted for belting 

 for machinery and for lace leather. Porpoise leather boot 

 laces are in great favor abroad. I might perhaps enlarge upon 

 What I have said in regard to the special applications of the 

 products of this animal, but am satisfied that they are numer- 

 ous and may be made of great commercial value. 



Mr. H. J. Rice— It wfil perhaps not be out of place for me 

 to say that at the present time porpoise leather is used to a 

 large extent in New Brunswick and along the coast of the 

 British provinces from the St. Lawrence down, and is highly 

 esteemed. I have been informed by Commissioner Stdlwell, 

 of Maine, that he uses shoes made of this leather in preference 

 to any others, and I understand that they are quite commonly 

 used in St. Johns and other cities of the Provinces. 



Mr. Lyman— In regard to the use of porpoise flesh as food, 

 I find that like many other things m this world, it is a matter 

 of taste. One gentleman in Washington has said that he con- 

 sidered smoked porpoise flesh superior to smoked beef, and 



