times succeed in doing. This bait, which is used for the purpose of keeping the scool about the vessel, consists of other fish taken on board in port, and salted. It is ground up very fine in a bait mill,' and always used while fishing. The hooks are baited with a small piece of fish taken from the throat of the mackarel that are caught, and when this cannot be procured, with pieces of pork. They bite very quick, much like a pickerel, and must be drawn in the instant they are felt touching the hook. There is no mercy shown to the fish after he is taken; by a sudden jerk of the line the hook is torn from his mouth, and he falls into a barrel or on deck. Frequently, after they cease biting, the remainder of the scool is seen swimming about near the surface of the water, in which case, they are gaffed,' or hooked up, with an instrument called a gaff,' which is an iron or steel rod, two feet long, bent at the end like a hook, but without a beard, and attached to a pole about six feet long. When the fish have all disappeared (probably sunken), the fishermen proceed to dress, wash, and salt those caught, which is done with such despatch by those practised in the business, that in less than an hour after we had ceased fishing, seven barrels were salted, and the crew's work ended for the day.

"Mackarel seldom ever bite except early in the morning, or just at night, and since they are not found every day, there is much leisure time on board a fishing vessel, which is the dullest part of the voyage. Such time is employed by the crew in making miniature vessels, catching various kinds of fish for amusement and to eat, and in sleeping. The fishing business is very uncertain; one may fall in with mackarel, and return home fully laden with them in four or five days, or may cruise about till the stores are all exhausted, without finding any.

"We coasted along Cape Cod for about three weeks, catching a few mackarel now and then, but found them rather scarce, and what few there were, very small. Cape Cod is, from the water, the most dreary looking place that I ever saw. As you sail along you see nothing but a sand bank, with two or three huts upon it, which have been erected for the benefit of shipwrecked sailors, who might chance to be washed on shore alive. It is no terror, however, to fishermen, as they are not there during the stormy part of the season. The greatest danger fishermen are in, is of being run into by other vessels during a fog, which is sometimes so thick that you can see but little more than the length of the vessel. Such an accident occurred to a vessel that was near us almost all the trip, and she was obliged to put into the nearest port.

"One morning, the skipper spoke a vessel from the Bay of Chaleur, with 100 barrels of mackarel, that reported them plentiful in that bay. The skipper, thinking it was not best to remain there when he heard of mackarel elsewhere, immediately set sail and steered for home, to take a new fit-out for the Bay of Chaleur. The next day we were alongside of the wharf we sailed from. Thus it is with fishermen, whenever they hear that mackarel have been caught in any other place, they all set sail for the spot, but nine times out of ten, they learn, too late, that the fish are somewhere else. Many fishermen have (as I am told) been living almost entirely upon hope, for two or three years past, expecting soon to find mackarel plenty, and to catch their share of them. Some, last year, did not catch the amount of fifty barrels, which would not pay their outfits. They are led to suppose that they shall do well before long, because there was once a time when they found mackarel plenty, and, because even now, occasionally a vessel is fortunate enough to make a good trip. But the business must, undoubtedly, be dropped by many of them, for it is evident that mackarel are pretty well caught up, and will never again be so plenty as they have been.

"If any class of people ought to be well paid for their labour, it is the fishermen, for theirs certainly is a hard life. As they go in small vessels, they cannot enjoy even many conveniences that seamen do on board large vessels, and they are obliged by necessity, to live among much filth. They cannot carry with them a great assortment of provisions, and being out almost all the summer season, they are deprived of fruits and many of those productions of the soil, which in the season of them, furnish landsmen with so many luxurious dishes."

LAKE AND RIVER FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

The fisheries of the lakes, and especially of Lake Huron, are of very considerable value. The following account of those fisheries is extracted from the New York Merchants' Magazine for 1842.

"The larger lakes, as well as the interior waters of the state, abound in fish, some of them of the most valuable sorts, which are now taken in Lake Superior during the summer by the American Fur Company, whose traders are found scattered at widely separated points along its shores. Among those of a superior sort are the Mackinaw trout, the white fish, sturgeon, salmon trout, muskelunjeh, pickerel, pike, perch, herring, the rock bass, the white and black bass, catfish, trout, and gar, which constituted, during the earlier condition of the country, a very valuable article of food, as they do now of commerce. Among the most prominent of these are the white fish, which are not only peculiar to the lakes, but from the first colonisation of the territory by the French explorers, have been highly celebrated; large quantities of trout, as well as the white fish, are taken upon the lakes and shipped to Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.

"The subjoined statement derived from the Detroit Daily Advertiser, exhibits the progress of the lake fisheries at different periods, from 1835 to 1840:

"With the immense business which is destined to be done on the western lakes, that of the fisheries should not be overlooked, as it has already become a considerable item of exports. The number and varieties of fish taken, are worthy of notice, and it is stated that no fresh waters known, can, in any respect, bear a comparison.

"From the earliest period of the settlement on the shores of the lakes, fishing has been carried on to supply the inhabitants with a part of their food, but not until the past five years has fish become an article of export. Since that time, the business has rapidly increased. The number of barrels taken, so far as information can be gathered, in 1835, was 8000, and in 1840, it reached 32,005 barrels.

"The weight to which some of the fish attain is unparalleled, except in the Mississippi as follows:

"The varieties usually taken for pickling, are trout, pickerel, white fish, and sisquoelle; the latter, however, is to be found only in Lake Superior.

"Since the projected canal at the Sault Ste. Marie has been suspended, Yankee enterprise, at great expense, in the absence of artificial locks, has surmounted the difficulty of getting over the falls leading from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior, and within the two past years, two vessels, by means of slides, rollers, &c., have reached the upper lake.

"Three vessels have, also, been built on Lake Superior by the American Fur Company. The two former vessels will hereafter be engaged in the fishing trade, in freighting salt, provisions, &c., to various points on the lakes, and returning with fish. Heretofore the American Fur Company have monopolised the trade. This will open a new era in the upper lake fisheries, as they are said to be inexhaustible,

"From the following table, of the amount of fish barreled, which was obtained from various sources, the rapid increase of the business will be seen :

"The average price of fish, per barrel, for the past five years, in Detroit, is eight dollars, which gives a total value of the business, in 1840, at 256,040 dollars. infancy, it adds this large amount annually to the wealth of Michigan.'

Thus, in its

In the Mississippi and other rivers, various fishes, which we have already described, abound. Of some of the lakes near the delta of that river, the following account is curious :

"One fact, however, distinguishes the summer of 1839. It is the drying up of the lakes in the Mississippi swamp-at least in that portion of it in Adams county, extending from below Natchez to Ellis' cliffs, north and south, and from the highlands of St. Catharine creek to the Mississippi river, east and west. This occurrence, so far as the writer's inquiries extend, is unexampled, and is, at least, a striking proof of severe drought. In company with a friend, on a hunting excursion of a day or two, in the last week in September, we visited several of these lakes. They are almost entirely dry, and can be crossed anywhere on horseback. They form beautiful meadows of various extent, from 100 yards to 200 yards in width, and from half a mile to two miles in length, covered with luxuriant and tender grass.

"The myriads of fish that once swarmed in these lakes, have all perished. As the water recedes to the centre, they naturally crowd to that point, and as these reservoirs fall, also, the eagles and vultures, and fish eating vermin of all kinds, flock in vast numbers, to such a feast as is seldom spread to them. In the deeper and larger lakes, a few inches of water were found in the centre, not sufficient to cover the dying fish, and stained with blood drawn from them by the talons of their ever vigilant and insatiable foes. The remains of those that were dying and bleaching in the sun, covered large spaces, and presented to the eye an appearance, to use the words of an old hunter, 'like leaves after a frost.' "These lakes have, for time, whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary,' been the habitation of numerous species of fish, from the grim garr, that shark of these fresh waters, to the diminutive pan-fish. The winter rains will again restore water to their basins, but another great overflow of the Mississippi can alone supply them with their ordinary inhabitants. Even the amphibious alligator will have small temptations to return to them; for his usual supply of provision has failed. At present, they are covered with an exuberant coat of grass, without any object to interfere with the view, extending, in some of them, almost as far as the eye can reach. Upon these meadows the cattle and horses find a plentiful subsistence; and the venison of this season is uncommonly fat and delicate, owing to the superabundance of pasturage.

"It will suggest itself to the mind of a medical man that millions of fish, thus perishing, and corrupting, must affect the atmosphere. Such is the fact; and before reaching the open bed of the lakes, the effluvia becomes extremely offensive."-Hansard's Register.

LAKE AND RIVER FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

The fisheries of the lakes, and especially of Lake Huron, are of very considerable value. The following account of those fisheries is extracted from the New York Merchants' Magazine for 1842.

"The larger lakes, as well as the interior waters of the state, abound in fish, some of them of the most valuable sorts, which are now taken in Lake Superior during the summer by the American Fur Company, whose traders are found scattered at widely separated points along its shores. Among those of a superior sort are the Mackinaw trout, the white fish, sturgeon, salmon trout, muskelunjeh, pickerel, pike, perch, herring, the rock bass, the white and black bass, catfish, trout, and gar, which constituted, during the earlier condition of the country, a very valuable article of food, as they do now of commerce. Among the most prominent of these are the white fish, which are not only peculiar to the lakes, but from the first colonisation of the territory by the French explorers, have been highly celebrated; large quantities of trout, as well as the white fish, are taken upon the lakes and shipped to Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.

"The subjoined statement derived from the Detroit Daily Advertiser, exhibits the gress of the lake fisheries at different periods, from 1835 to 1840:

-

pro

"With the immense business which is destined to be done on the western lakes, that of the fisheries should not be overlooked, as it has already become a considerable item of exports. The number and varieties of fish taken, are worthy of notice, and it is stated that no fresh waters known, can, in any respect, bear a comparison.

"From the earliest period of the settlement on the shores of the lakes, fishing has been carried on to supply the inhabitants with a part of their food, but not until the past five years has fish become an article of export. Since that time, the business has rapidly increased. The number of barrels taken, so far as information can be gathered, in 1835, was 8000, and in 1840, it reached 32,005 barrels.

"The weight to which some of the fish attain is unparalleled, except in the Mississippi -as follows::

"The varieties usually taken for pickling, are trout, pickerel, white fish, and sisquoelle; the latter, however, is to be found only in Lake Superior.

"Since the projected canal at the Sault Ste. Marie has been suspended, Yankee enterprise, at great expense, in the absence of artificial locks, has surmounted the difficulty of getting over the falls leading from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior, and within the two past years, two vessels, by means of slides, rollers, &c., have reached the upper lake.

"Three vessels have, also, been built on Lake Superior by the American Fur Company. The two former vessels will hereafter be engaged in the fishing trade, in freighting salt, provisions, &c., to various points on the lakes, and returning with fish. Heretofore the American Fur Company have monopolised the trade. This will open a new era in the upper lake fisheries, as they are said to be inexhaustible,

"From the following table, of the amount of fish barreled, which was obtained from various sources, the rapid increase of the business will be seen :—

"The average price of fish, per barrel, for the past five years, in Detroit, is eight dollars, which gives a total value of the business, in 1840, at 256,040 dollars. Thus, in its infancy, it adds this large amount annually to the wealth of Michigan.'

In the Mississippi and other rivers, various fishes, which we have already described, abound. Of some of the lakes near the delta of that river, the following account is curious:—

"One fact, however, distinguishes the summer of 1839. It is the drying up of the lakes in the Mississippi swamp-at least in that portion of it in Adams county, extending from below Natchez to Ellis' cliffs, north and south, and from the highlands of St. Catharine creek to the Mississippi river, east and west. This occurrence, so far as the writer's inquiries extend, is unexampled, and is, at least, a striking proof of severe drought. In company with a friend, on a hunting excursion of a day or two, in the last week in September, we visited several of these lakes. They are almost entirely dry, and can be crossed anywhere on horseback. They form beautiful meadows of various extent, from 100 yards to 200 yards in width, and from half a mile to two miles in length, covered with luxuriant and tender grass.

"The myriads of fish that once swarmed in these lakes, have all perished. As the water recedes to the centre, they naturally crowd to that point, and as these reservoirs fall, also, the eagles and vultures, and fish eating vermin of all kinds, flock in vast numbers, to such a feast as is seldom spread to them. In the deeper and larger lakes, a few inches of water were found in the centre, not sufficient to cover the dying fish, and stained with blood drawn from them by the talons of their ever vigilant and insatiable foes. The remains of those that were dying and bleaching in the sun, covered large spaces, and presented to the eye an appearance, to use the words of an old hunter, like leaves after a frost.' "These lakes have, for time, whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary,' been the habitation of numerous species of fish, from the grim garr, that shark of these fresh waters, to the diminutive pan-fish. The winter rains will again restore water to their basins, but another great overflow of the Mississippi can alone supply them with their ordinary inhabitants. Even the amphibious alligator will have small temptations to return to them; for his usual supply of provision has failed. At present, they are covered with an exuberant coat of grass, without any object to interfere with the view, extending, in some of them, almost as far as the eye can reach. Upon these meadows the cattle and horses find a plentiful subsistence; and the venison of this season is uncommonly fat and delicate, owing to the superabundance of pasturage.

"It will suggest itself to the mind of a medical man that millions of fish, thus perishing, and corrupting, must affect the atmosphere. Such is the fact; and before reaching the open bed of the lakes, the effluvia becomes extremely offensive."—Hansard's Register.