452 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July 2, 1885. 



ble chronicler of early voyages, in giving an account of a 

 expedition to Newfoundland in the year 1593, consisting of 

 two vessels commanded by Eichard Strang and George 

 Drake, informs us that, "in his time there were on the shores 

 of the island of Ramea, within the Straits of St. Peter, on the 

 hack of Newfoundland, chiefly in April, May and June, 

 multitudes of amphibious creatures called Dacca;- marmm, or 

 morses, the two large teeth of which resern bling ivory and 

 their oil, were considered as valuable articles of commerce. 

 That Captain Drake found there a ship belonging to the 

 inhabitants of St. Malo, almost full freighted with morses. 

 That he also observed several whales of an enormus size, 

 together with great numbers of seals and porpoises, of which 

 they killed several." 



Then the simple-miuded old chronicler goes on to tell us 

 that these morses or sea cows were very strong and difficult 

 to be taken on shore, and that the inhabitants used to catch 

 them by the following stratagem: "They tie," says Hack- 

 luyt, "a bull to a stake in the depth of two feet of water, 

 they then beat and torment him by twisting his tail until 

 they make him roar; as soon as these creatures hear his 

 cries they crawl to the bull and are easily taken." With our 

 knowledge of the habits of the walrus we smile at Ibis In- 

 genious method of taking the animal in the olden time. We 

 are lost in wonder as to how the scattered fishermen of those 

 days managed to procure enough bulls for the prosecution of 

 this branch of the fisheries, and how it came to pass that the 

 roariog of the bull proved so irresistibly attractive to the 

 walruses that they scrambled ashore to him. Was there an 

 "affinity" between "sea cows" aud laud bulls in those prim- 

 itive ages? Evidently our honest chronicler had been im- 

 posed on by some sailor's "yarn" which he was too unsus- 

 picious to question. In those days there were no means of 

 verifying the tales of wonder told by sailors and travelers 

 who had visited the New World. 



In Churchill's collection of voyages published in 1606, the 

 following account of the walrus is given in a description of 

 "New France:" "This aunimal is called morse, hippopota- 

 mus or sea-horse, and is said to be more like a cow than a 

 horse; of hair like the seal, that is to say, dapple gray and 

 somewhat toward red, the skin very hard, and small head 

 with two rows of teeth on each side, between which there 

 are two of them hanging from the upper jaw downward of 

 the form of a young elephant's tooth, wherewith this crea- 

 ture hslpeth himself to climb on the rocks; his ears are short 

 as well as his tail; he loweth as an ox, has wings or fins at 

 bis feet and the female calletb her young ones on the land." 

 It is quite clear from these accounts and especially from 

 the returns of the admirals already referred to, that the 

 walrus was found on the southern and western coasts of the 

 island at an early date in considerable numbers, and that it 

 was captured for a lengthened period, and finally became 

 extinct or scarce about 1774, An occasional wanderer from 

 the Arctic regions is sometimes taken at present by the seal- 

 hunters among the ice fields to the northeast of the islands, 

 but it is not now met with near the shores. 



Hackluyt's account of Drake's voyage, already referred to, 

 and that of Captain Rice Jones's voyage in 1594, make it 

 clear that whales were also found in these regions in greater 

 abundance than at present, and of larger size than any to be 

 met with in these days. In fact, a whale fishery on rather 

 an extensive scale was carried on in the Gulf of St, Law- 

 rence, off the southern coast of Newfoundland and as far 

 south as Nantucket; and New England men were actively 

 engaged inii, In the Scots' Magazine for March, 1764, it is 

 stated that a valuable whale fishery had been discovered and 

 prosecuted, during the preceeding three years, in the Gulf 

 and River of St. Lawrence. The New England people sent 

 from fifty to eighty vessels to take part in this fishery, which 

 appears to have been very valuable. A "History of British 

 America," published in 1773, mentions that whales formerly 

 set along shore by Cape Cod for many successive years, at 

 which time there was good whaling in boats. After this the 

 whales left this ground and the fishermen had to follow them 

 further out into the ocean. "Letters from an American 

 Farmer," published in 1782, inform us that the whale fish- 

 ery was at that time very considerable at Nantucket, this 

 being the greatest mart for oil, whalebone aud spermaceti 

 on the continent; and that there were no less than eleven 

 different species known then at that part of the North 

 American coast. The whale fishery is still pursued, to some 

 extent, in the Bav of Qhaleurs and the adjacent seas. The 

 whalea caught within the Gulf of St. Lawrence are the hump- 

 backs, which are from 40 to 70 feet in length and yield 

 from three to eight tons of oil. The same species is still 

 seen occasionally on the Newfoundland coast, and also the 

 finback, the spermaceti of various sizes, the blackfish whale, 

 the grampus and porpoise. In Fortune Bay whales are still 

 taken, but the fishery is now unimportant. 



While the whales have been gradually disappearing from 

 these seas, the seals, on the other hand, have not diminished 

 in numbers, and their capture now constitutes one of the 

 most important industries of the Newfoundland fishermen. 

 We have seen that at first the seals were taken in nets. The 

 next step was shooting them from large boats, which sailed 

 about the middle of April. At that time of the year the 

 young seals had left their icy cradles and taken to the water, 

 so that only a few could be reached by the seal hunter's gun. 

 As late as 1795 the whole catch of seals only amounted to 

 about 5,000 per annum. At length an important step in ad- 

 vance was taken by fitting out small schooners of from thirty 

 to fifty tons, carrying from twelve to eighteen men, the out- 

 fit of each vessel costing about seventy-five pounds. The 

 vessels were strongly built and had certain appliances for 

 encountering ice. They did not at first leave port till after 

 March 21, in order to avoid the equinoctial gales, or "St. 

 Patrick's brash," as it was called. Soon, however, 

 they learned by experience the advantage of making 

 an " earlier start in order to reach the young harps 

 before they had taken to the water. The first of March at 

 length became the usual time for starting on the seal hunt. 

 In these little schooners the men speedily acquired hardihood 

 and daring, and became expert in battling with the floes. 

 The people of Conception Boy led the way in this new enter- 

 prise, and Carbonear, Harbor Grace, Bay Roberts, Cupids 

 and Brigus became the centers of the sealing industry. The 

 skippers of these little vessels of from 40 to 100 tons, be- 

 came "mighty hunters" of seals, and many of them acquired 

 considerable wealth. St. John's, the capital, soon followed, 

 and its enterprising people had speedily a small fleet em- 

 ployed in the hazardous but frequently lucrative industry. 

 One hundred vessels used to leave the port of St. John's for 

 the ice fields. There can be little doubt that seals were in 

 those days much more numerous and were taken nearer 

 shore than at the present time. So remunerative was the 

 new industry found to be that its growth was wonderfully 

 rapid. In 1800 and the five following years there were only 



about 50. vessels from all the ports in the island engaged in 

 the seal fishery, the largest not exceeding 60 or 70 tons. But 

 the returns show a striking expansion up to 1815, when the 

 whole business of the country sustained a severe shock by 

 the termination of the war between England and France, and 

 the depression of trade which followed. In 1805, 81,088 

 seals were taken; in 1815, 126,315; in 1820, 213,679; in 1822, 

 306,982; in 1826, 292,007; in 1829, 357.523; in 1830, 558,- 

 942; in 1831, 686,836; in 1832, 508,407; in 1836, 384,321; in 

 1840, 631,385; in 1844, 685,530; in 1848, 521,004; in 1852, 

 534,378. 



375,282; in 1862, 268,624. In 1857 there were 400 vessels of 

 from 80 to 200 tons engaged in the seal fishery, their united 

 crews numbering 13,000 men. The average annual value of 

 the fishery, at that period, was from a million to a million 

 and a quarter dollars. 



The history of the seal fishery during the last fourteen 

 years shows the usual fluctuations and hut few large catches, 

 as the following table will show: 



Tears. No. of Seals. Years. No. of Seals. 



ISO 537,094 1879 457,855 



I87B 278,072 1880 223,795 



1874 398,368 1881 447,903 



1875 3 10,924 1 882 200 500 



I8?fl 500,000 1883 300 350 



1877 451,078 1884 238,687 



1878 409,658 18S5 (estimated) 310,000 



The foregoing table shows that during the last four years 

 the seal fishery has been a failure, the catch not having been 

 much over half the average of former years. Whether this 

 has been caused by an actual diminution in the number of 

 seals or has arisen from the unfavorable condition of the ice 

 which prevented the vessels from reaching the seals, or, 

 what is more likely, partly from both causes, cannot at 

 present be determined. 



The practice of killing old breeding seals, in large num- 

 bers, in addition to the young, has been followed for the last 

 ten years, and may have exerted an injurious influence on 

 the fishery. That practice has now been parlially aban- 

 doned, by an agreement among owners of vessels not to con- 

 tinue the fishery after April 30 in each year. I do not believe 

 that any serious injury has yet been done, or that the number 

 of seals* is less than formerly. 



In the year 1863 the great innovator, steam, entered the 

 field, and the first steamer took part iu this fishery. The 

 value of steam, in connection with Arctic explorations, had 

 previously been demonstrated ; and its introduction has rev- 

 olutionized the sealing industry. It was soon found that 

 steamers strongly built and armed for encountering ice, pos- 

 sessed an immense superiority over the old sailing vessels. 

 They could cleave their way through ice in which the sailing 

 vessel would be powerless; could hold on to a "seal patch" 

 when the other would be blown off; and carrying larger 

 crews could bring in immense loads of pelts when the seals 

 were met with in abundance. In consequence the number 

 of steamers rapidly increased, and the number of sailing 

 vessels still more rapidly diminished. In 1866 there were 

 177 sailing vessels and 5 steamers; in 1873 there were 18 

 steamers) in 1882, 25 steamers. Since that date the number 

 of steamers has lessened, and is now about twenty. They 

 are from 350 to 500 tons burthen, and carry from 200 to 300 

 men each. During the last few years six of the Dundee 

 steamers, formerly engaged in the, Greenland seal fishery, 

 have come out here each season, and after shipping New- 

 foundland crews have taken part successfully in this fishery. 

 When it closes they leave for the whale fishery in Davis 

 Straits, and return to Dundee in October. 



To the poor fishermen of Newfoundland the introduction 

 of steamers, in connection with the seal-fishery, has been 

 most injurious. The work is now done with far fewer 

 hands; large numbers of the men fail to find berths, and the 

 competition on the part of the fishermen is so keen that they 

 will accept any terms rather than be left behind. In steamers 

 men share among them one-third the proceeds of the voy- 

 age, the owners get two-thirds. In sailing vessels the men 

 share among them one-half the proceeds. Capitalists thus 

 obtain the lion's share. Of course the expense of fitting out 

 steamers is very great. Only a little more than half the 

 number employed iu the sealfishery in the "good old times" 

 now find employment, aud their number is diminishing; not 

 more than 7,000 to 8,000 men now take part in it. The prob- 

 ability is that sailing vessels in connection with this industry 

 will soon be things of the past, and that it will be entirely 

 carried on by powerful steamers. Sailing vessels have but 

 a poor chance in competition with steamers. 



In spite of frequent failures and disappointments, the seal 

 fishery will continue to attract enterprising capitalists by the 

 enormous prizes it, presents to those who are fortunate 

 enough to win them. Should a steamer obtain a full load 

 only once in three years, she would pay her way. This year 

 the fishery is likely to wind up very poorly, but as an illus- 

 tration of the large prizes sometimes within reach, we may 

 take the case of the two steamers Resolute and Ranger, both 

 of which brought in full cargoes. The lormer had on board 

 34,628 seals, the gross weight being 772 tons, cwl., 2 qrs,, 

 22 lbs., the average weight of the seals being 49| pounds. 

 The crew's share was $68 per man. The Ranger had 

 36,112 seals on board, the gross weight of which was 

 755 tons, 3 cwt., 2qrs., 19 lbs. The average weight of seals 

 was46flbs. The crew shared $91.28 per man. Thus these 

 two steamers in three or four weeks brought in 70,740 seals, 

 value, at $2.50 per seal, $176,850. When they entered port 

 their decks were hardly twelve inches above water at mid- 

 ships. Every nook and cranny was filled with pelts. The 

 men's berths were filled; the coal had been thrown over- 

 board to make room for the precious seal fat; and the decks 

 were piled with pelts. The Ranger, the smaller of the two, 

 had 7,100 on deck. Of course this is a wonderful 

 success, but then eight or ten steamers will return 

 almost "clean," as they get jammed in the ice 

 and could not reach the seals. The Esquimaux arrived 

 two davs aeo with less than 100 seals on board. The Aurora 

 brought in 12,000, the Terra Nova 24,000, the Falcon 24,000, 

 the Vanguard 11,000, the Wolf 8,400, the Iceland 24,800, the 

 Neptune 5,500. These are the successful vessels, but the 

 failures are so many that the whole catch this year will not 

 greatly exceed 200,000 seals— about half an average catch. 

 The ice this year has been most unfavorable for sealing, 

 being very heavy and jammed together in huge masses which 

 never opened out. In this way nature guards the young 

 seals from the selfish cupidity of man, otherwise speedy ex- 

 termination would overtake the plump innocents. It may 

 be that the large number of young seals which have escaped 

 during the last few years will have the effect of increasing 

 their numbers and improving the fishery in the^future. 



I may mention that a still larger load than those named 

 was brought in last year by the Neptune. She had on board 

 41,900 seals, the gross weight being 874 tons. This was the 

 largest, and finest trip of seals ever brought into port in this 

 or any other country. Its value was $103,750. In the 

 annals of seal hunting, a halo of glory surrounds the Nep- 

 tune and her commander. Captain Blandford. This year the 

 same vessel had only 5,500 seals. 



The average annual value of the products of the seal 

 fishery of late years had been about $1,100,000. These pro- 

 ducts include the skins and oil. The former are salted and 

 sent to England, where they are tanned or used by furriers. 

 It should be observed that these are not the fur seals whose 

 skins are manufactured into ladies' cloaks. The fur seals 

 are now chiefly obtained iu Alaska. The seal oil, now ex- 

 tracted by steam process, is exported chiefly to' Britain, 

 where it is largely used in coal mines for illumination ; also 

 in lighthouses. It is also used in the manufacture of the 

 finer kinds of soap. The respective values of the skins and 

 oil will appear from the following returns for the years 1877 

 and 1878: 



1877. 



Seal skiua, 451,678, value $361,342 



Seal oil, 6,081 tons, value 754,04*1 



$1,115,386 

 1878. 



Seal skins, 409,658, value $286,760 



Seal oil, 5,992 tons, value 719,010 



$1,005,800 

 St. John's, N, B., April 22, 1885. M. HARVEY. 



JOHNNIE AND 1. 



EVERY ONE called him Johnnie— probably as much on 

 account of his small stature as anything — but that 

 was not his name, nor does it matter about his name and 

 age, only that while he looked to be about thirty with his 

 hat on and twenty years older with it off, he was in spirit 

 every inch a boy. Johnuie and I were fishing chums. We 

 lived in a quiet "little village at the foot of one of the pretti- 

 est lakes in Central New York, a lake where can be found 

 some of the best fishing for black bass, pickerel, perch, lake 

 trout, and the inevitable sunfish, that is to be had in the cen- 

 tral part of that Stale. Johunie had a shop — a veritable 

 Uncle Lisha's shop — which was headquarters for all who 

 either fished or hunted. There they would congregate and 

 exchange ideas on the subjects uppermost in their minds or 

 nearest their hearts. Johnnie had the reputation of being a 

 lucky fisherman, the luckiest one in the town; this reputa- 

 tion was shared in part by his chum, who always fished with 

 him. Johnnie was an old one; he was always too busy to 

 sit on a jury or go to a funeral, but to go fishing, never. 



It has probably been noticed by the readers of Forest 

 and Stream, that among anglers in general and bait-fishers 

 in particular, one who is commonly successful is termed 

 "lucky." His brothers will not credit him with doing harder 

 work, with being more observing, more patient and perse- 

 vering, and with being better prepared. No! it must be 

 luck. 



Johnnie and I were termed lucky fishermen, and as this 

 reputation was earned by nothing more nor less than hard 

 work, work that was a pleasure to us, I will give a descrip- 

 tion of how we fished, what we caught, and what we caught 

 them with. (This may seem a little egotistical, but then I 

 am open to criticism, and if the relation does no good, like 

 the quack's bread pills, it will do no harm whether you take 

 the w T hole or half the dose. And I might explain here that 

 this is a bait- fishing story; fly-fishermen can turn over the 

 leaf). Our rig was inexpensive, and consisted of a jointed 

 rod each, a minnow pail, a minnow net, a box for grass- 

 hoppers, several long lines and a "ditty bag" that held mis- 

 cellaneous paraphernalia beyond any description, and only 

 to be conjured up by the brain of an experimenting angler. 

 Our start was generally made in this way: I would drop in 

 at Johnnie's shop and suggest that it was a good day to go 

 fishing; he would cast his weather eye about, and if the 

 weather was right he was ready to go (and it was always 

 near enough right for him), or it it did not just suit him, he 

 was willing to try it in the hope that it would be better 

 before we got back, If I should drop in during the evening 

 and remark that we had better go and try the next day, his 

 answer would invariably be, "1 was just thinking about it." 



Our first move, then, was to get the bait. Always catch 

 your own bait; therein lies half the pleasure of fishing. 

 When we took a day for fishing, one-half was spent in catch- 

 ing bait and the other half in catching fish, and it would be 

 hard to tell which half of the day gave us the most pleasure. 

 Certain it was that by catching our own bait we got just 

 what we wanted, and would catch more fish in half a day 

 with good bait than in a whole day with a poorer quality. 

 And in this matter of bait, to my mind, lies the whole secret 

 of success. Fish are always hungry (or curious), but they can- 

 not always be tempted by the same morsel; therefore, when 

 a half day was spent in securing the necessary bait, it was 

 not in vain. We would start out with our minnow net and 

 pail, and in following up the brook where we caught the 

 finest minnows, now and then we came across a crayfish of 

 just the right age, or perchance a burdock patch where nice 

 yellow grasshoppers were to be found, or, iu some widening 

 of the stream which formed a marshy spot, we stopfer a few 

 of the fat, speckled frogs that "Kingfisher" lays in such a 

 store of; and now we come to a cow stable, with its roof of 

 old, weather-beaten boards sloping toward the brook, where 

 we add to our variety the ugly helgramite. Do we stop 

 hereV No. Unless we include the. angle worm, which all 

 good anglers know how to capture, or the white grub of the 

 rotten log, which is sometimes a very good bait, our variety 

 is not complete; but we go on, interested and fascinated by 

 the sport, ever looking for choicer minnows, fatter frogs or 

 softer-shelled crayfish, until our appetite or the whistle on 

 the village shop reminds us that half the day is gone. 



Ah.what happpy hours have we spent in following up some 

 winding brook, now watching a kingfisher dive aud bring 

 up a redfin that we knew would be worth a four-pound bass, 

 or may be startling a blue heron just in the act of gobbling 

 up the very frog we had come a mile and a half to capture; 

 now wondering why we did not bring the rifle along, for 

 there sits a woodchuck on yonder high bank, just ready to 

 turn a handspring and disappear. Would we have taken his 

 life? I don't know; it was a beautiful shot. It is well we 

 left the gun at home, for now we surprise a gray squirrel 

 that has~come a long way from home to get a choice ear of 

 green corn, too early our little friend for us and the corn, 

 but you can scamper up that tree yonder by the fence and 

 bark your defiance at us, we may see you later. And so we 

 wander on, enjoying the scenery, the potpourri by the birds 

 and beetles and frogs, and ever and anon finding some new 



