1. Although permission was given by the Deity, immediately after the
flood, to employ for human sustenance "every moving thing that
liveth," yet it is not probable, that fishes were used as food, to any
considerable extent, for several centuries afterwards. It is stated by
Plutarch, that the Syrians and Greeks, in very ancient times,
abstained from fish. Menelaus, one of Homer's heroes, complains, on a
certain occasion, that his companions had been reduced by hunger to
the necessity of eating fish; and there is no mention in Homer, that
the Grecians, at any time, used this food at the siege of Troy,
although, for the ten years during which that contest was carried on,
their camp was on the sea-shore.
2. Moses, the Jewish lawgiver, is very explicit in designating the
land animals which might be used by the Israelites as food; and he was
equally so with regard to the animals which inhabit the waters. We
learn, from the twelfth chapter of Numbers, that the children of
Israel, while journeying to the land of Canaan, "remembered the fish
which they did eat," in Egypt.
3. This is the earliest notice on record, of the actual use of that
class of animals for food; although it is probable, that they had been
applied to this purpose, in Egypt, six or seven hundred years before
that period, or soon after the settlement of this country by the
descendants of Ham.
4. For a long time before the advent of Our Saviour, fishing had been
a regular business, even in Judea; and from the class of men who
followed this occupation, he chose several of his apostles. At the
time just mentioned, fish had become a common article of diet, in all
parts of the world subject to the Roman power, and probably in almost
all other countries.
5. The methods of catching fish, pursued in ancient times, were
similar to those of the present day; for then, as now, they were
caught with a hook, with a spear, and with a seine or net, according
to the character of the animal, and the nature of the fishing station.
But the great improvements in navigation, made since the twelfth
century, have given modern fishermen the command of the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, and, consequently, a knowledge of many species of fish
which were formerly unknown.
6. According to Linnaeus, the great naturalist, about four hundred
species of fish have come to our knowledge; and he presumes, that
those which remain unknown are still more numerous. Notwithstanding
this great variety, the chief attention of fishermen is confined to a
few kinds, which are the most easily caught, and which are the most
valuable when taken.
7. Every place which contains many inhabitants, and which is located
in the vicinity of waters well stored with fish, is supplied with
these animals by men who make fishing a business; still, these
fisheries may be considered local in their benefits, and perhaps do
not require particular notice in this article. We will only remark,
therefore, that, in large cities, fresh fish are sold either in a
fish-market, or are _hawked_ about the streets. The wives of the
fishermen are very often employed in selling the fish caught by their
husbands. The fisheries which are of the greatest consequence, in
general commerce, are those which relate to herring, mackerel, salmon,
seal, and whale.
8. _Herring Fishery._--There are several species of herring; but, of
these, four kinds only are of much importance, viz., the common
herring, the shad, the hard head, and the alewife; of which, the first
is the most valuable, being by far the most numerous, and being, also,
better adapted than the others for preservation.
9. The winter residence of the common herring is within the arctic
circle, whence it emigrates, in the spring, to more southern portions
of the globe, for the purpose of depositing its spawn. The first body
of these migratory animals, appears on the coasts of both Europe and
America, in April, or about the first of May; but these are only the
precursors of the grand shoals which arrive in a few weeks afterwards.
10. Their first approach is indicated by the great number of birds of
prey, which follow them in their course; but, when the main body
appears, the number is so great, that they alter the appearance of the
ocean itself. In this last and principal migration, the shoals are
five or six miles in length, and three or four in breadth; and,
before each of these columns, the water is driven in a kind of ripple.
Sometimes, the fish sink together ten or fifteen minutes, and then
rise again to the surface, when they reflect, in clear weather, the
rays of the sun, in a variety of splendid colors.
11. These fish proceed as far south as France, on the coasts of
Europe, and as far as Georgia, in America, supplying every bay, creek,
and river, which opens into the Atlantic. Having deposited their
spawn, generally in the inland waters, they return to their
head-quarters in the Arctic Ocean, and recruit their emaciated bodies
for another migration in the following spring.
12. In a few weeks, the young ones are hatched by the genial heat of
the sun; and, as they are not found in southern waters in the winter,
it is evident that they proceed northward in the fall, to their
paternal haunts under the ice, and thus repair the vast destruction of
their race, which had been caused by men, fowl, and fish, in the
previous season.
13. These fish are caught in nearly every river, from Maine to
Georgia, which has a free communication with the Atlantic; but the
most extensive fisheries are on the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, and on
those which flow into the Chesapeake Bay.
14. The instrument employed in catching these fish is called a
_seine_, which is a species of net, sometimes in length several
hundred fathoms, and of a width suiting the depth of the water in
which it is to be used. The two edges of the net-work are fastened
each to a rope; and, to cause the seine to spread laterally in the
water, pieces of lead are fastened to one side, and pieces of cork to
the other.
15. In spreading the seine in the water, one end is retained on land
by a number of persons, while the rest of it is strung along from a
boat, which is rowed in the direction from the shore. The seine
having been thus extended, the further end is brought round, in a
sweeping manner, to the shore; and the fish that may be included are
taken into the boats with a scoop-net, or are hauled out upon the
shore. In this way, two or three hundred thousands are sometimes taken
at a single _haul_. This fish dies immediately after having been taken
from the water; hence the common expression, "As dead as a herring."
16. The herrings are sold, as soon as caught, to people who come to
the fishing stations to procure them; or, in case an immediate sale
cannot be effected, they are cured with salt, and afterwards smoked,
or continued in brine. In the Southern states, the herring is
generally thought to be superior to any other fish for the purpose of
salting down; although the shad and some others are preferred while
fresh.
17. The importance of this fishery is superior to that of any other;
since the benefits resulting from it are more generally diffused. The
ancients, however, do not appear to have had any knowledge of this
valuable fish. It was first brought into notice by the Dutch, who are
said to have commenced the herring fishery on the coasts of Scotland,
in the year 1164, and to have retained almost exclusive possession of
it, until the beginning of the present century.
18. The shad is a species of herring, which inhabits the sea near the
mouths of rivers, and which ascends them in the spring, to deposit its
spawn. It is caught in all the rivers terminating on our Atlantic
coasts, as well as in some of the rivers of the North of Europe. This
fish is captured in the same manner and often at the same time with
the common herring. It is highly esteemed in a fresh state; although
it is not so good when salted, as the herring and some other kinds of
fish.
19. _Mackerel Fishery._--The common mackerel is a migratory fish,
like the herring, and ranks next to that tribe of fishes in regard to
numbers, and perhaps in general utility. Its place of retirement in
the winter, is not positively known; but it is supposed by some, to be
far north of the arctic circle; and by others, to be in some part of
the Atlantic farther south. Shoals of this fish appear on the coasts
of both Europe and America, in the summer season. Of this fish there
are twenty-two species.
20. The mode of catching the mackerel, is either with a net or with
hooks and lines. The latter method succeeds best, when the boat or
vessel is driven forward by a gentle breeze; and, in this case, a bit
of red cloth, or a painted feather, is usually employed as a bait.
Several hooks are fastened to a single line, and the fish bite so
readily, that the fishermen occasionally take one on each hook at a
haul. The mackerel is _cured_ in the usual manner, and packed in
barrels, to be sold to dealers.
21. This fish was well known to the ancients, as one of its places of
resort, in the summer, was the Mediterranean Sea. It was highly
esteemed by the Romans, for the reason, that it was the best fish for
making their _sarum_, a kind of pickle or sauce much esteemed by this
luxurious people.
22. _Salmon Fishery._--The salmon is a celebrated fish, belonging to
the trout genus. It inhabits the seas on the European coasts, from
Spitzbergen to Western France; and, on the western shore of the
Atlantic, it is found from Greenland to the Hudson River. It also
abounds on both coasts of the North Pacific Ocean. The length of
full-grown salmon is from three to four feet; and their weight, from
ten to fifteen pounds.
23. As soon as the ice has left the rivers, the salmon begin to ascend
them, for the purpose of depositing their spawn. It has been
ascertained that these fish retain a remarkable attachment to the
river which gave them birth; and, having once deposited their spawn,
they ever afterwards choose the same spot for their annual deposits.
This latter fact has been established by a curious Frenchman, who,
fastening a ring to the posterior fin of several salmon, and then
setting them at liberty, found that some of them made their appearance
at the same place three successive seasons, bearing with them this
distinguishing mark.
24. In ascending the rivers, these fish usually proceed together in
great numbers, mostly swimming in the middle of the stream; and, being
very timid, a sudden noise, or even a floating piece of timber, will
sometimes turn them from their course, and send them back to the sea;
but having advanced a while, they assume a determined resolution,
overcoming rapids and leaping over falls twelve or fifteen feet in
perpendicular height.
25. Salmon are caught chiefly with seines, and sometimes seven or
eight hundred are captured at a single haul; but from fifty to one
hundred is the most usual number, even in a favorable season. They are
also taken in _weirs_, which are inclosures so constructed that they
admit the ingress, but not the regress of the fish.
26. The salmon fisheries are numerous in Great Britain and Ireland, as
well as in most of the northern countries of Europe. In the United
States, the most valuable fisheries of this kind are on the rivers in
Maine, whence the towns and cities farther south are principally
supplied with these fish, in a fresh condition. They are preserved in
ice, while on their way to market. In the cured state, salmon is
highly esteemed; although it is not easily digested.
27. _Cod Fishery._--There are several species of cod-fish, or gadus;
but the most important and interesting of the class, is the common
cod. These fish are found in great abundance on the south and west
coasts of Iceland, on the coasts of Norway, off the Orkney and Western
Isles, and in the Baltic Sea. Farther south, they gradually diminish
in numbers, and entirely disappear, some distance from the Straits of
Gibraltar.
28. But the great rendezvous of cod-fish is on the coasts of Labrador,
the banks of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and Nova Scotia. They are
invited to these situations by the abundance of small fish, worms, and
other marine animals of the crustaceous and testaceous kinds, on which
they feed. The fishermen resort, in the greatest numbers, to the
banks, which, stretch along the eastern coasts of Newfoundland about
four hundred and fifty miles. The water on these banks varies from
twenty to fifty fathoms in depth.
29. By negociations with Great Britain, the French, Dutch, Spanish,
and Americans, have acquired the right to catch and cure fish, both on
the _Grand Banks_, and several other places on the coasts of the
English possessions in North America. The number of vessels employed
on the several fishing stations, during each successive season,
amounts to six or seven thousand, each measuring from forty to one
hundred and twenty tons, and carrying eight or ten men.
30. The fishing on the Grand Banks commences in April, and continues
until about the first of August. Here, the fish are caught exclusively
with hooks, which are usually baited with a small fish called the
capelin, as well as with herring, clams, and the gills of the cod
itself. But this fish is not very particular in its choice of bait, it
biting greedily at almost any kind which may be presented. An expert
fisherman will frequently catch from one hundred to three hundred cod
in a single day.
31. As soon as the fish have been caught, their heads are cut off,
and their entrails taken out. They are then salted away in bulk in the
hold; and, after having lain three or four days to drain, they are
taken to another part of the vessel, and again salted in the same
manner. The fishermen from New-England, however, give them but one
salting while on the fishing station; but, as soon as a cargo has been
obtained, it is carried home, where conveniences have been prepared
for curing the fish to greater advantage. By pursuing this plan, two
or three trips are made during the season. Some of the fish are
injured before they are taken from the vessel; and these form an
inferior quality, called _Jamaica fish_, because such are generally
sold in that island, for the use of the negroes.
32. The fish which are caught on the coasts of Labrador, at the
entrance of Hudson's Bay, in the Straits of Belleisle, and on fishing
stations of similar advantages, are cured on the shore. They are first
slightly salted, and then dried in the sun, either on the rocks, or on
scaffolds erected for the purpose. In these coast fisheries, the
operations commence in June, and continue until some time in August.
The cod are caught in large seines, as well as with hook and line.
33. _Seal Fishery._--There are several species of the seal; but the
kind which is most numerous, and most important in a commercial view,
is the common seal. It is found on the sea-coasts throughout the
world, but in the greatest numbers in very cold climates, where it
furnishes the rude inhabitants with nearly all their necessaries and
luxuries.
34. The animal is valuable to the civilized world, on account of its
skin and oil. The oil is pure, and is adapted to all the purposes to
which that from the whale is applied. In the spring of the year, the
seals are very fat; and, at that time, even small ones will yield
four or five gallons of oil. The leather manufactured from the skins,
is employed in trunk-making, in saddlery, and in making boots and
shoes.
35. Since the whale fishery has declined in productiveness in the
northern seas, _sealing_ has arisen in importance; and accordingly,
vessels are now frequently fitted out for this purpose, in both Europe
and America; whereas, a few years since, it was regarded only as a
part of the objects of a whaling voyage.
36. Our countrymen of New-England have particularly distinguished
themselves in this branch of business; and the part of the globe which
they have found to be the most favorable to their objects, has been
the islands in the Antarctic Ocean. A sealing voyage to that quarter
often occupies three years, during which time the hunters are exposed
to great hardships, being often left in small detachments on desolate
islands, for the purpose of pursuing the animals to greater advantage.
37. The best time for sealing in the Arctic Ocean, is in March and
April, when the seals are often met with in droves of several
thousands on the ice, which is either fixed, or floating in large
pieces. When the sealers meet with one of these droves, they attack
the animals with clubs, and stun them by a single blow on the nose.
After all that can be reached, have been disabled in this way, the
skin and blubber are taken off together.
38. This operation is called _flenching_, and is sometimes a horrible
business; since some of the seals, being merely stunned, occasionally
recover, and, in their denuded state, often make battle, and even leap
into the water, and swim off. The skins, with the blubber attached to
them, are packed away in the hold; and, in case the vessel is to
return home soon, they are suffered to remain there, until she arrives
in port; but, when this is not expected, the skins, as soon as
convenient, are separated from the blubber, and the latter is put into
casks. There are other methods of capturing the seal; but it is,
perhaps, not necessary to enter into further details.
39. _Whale Fishery._--There are five species of the whale, of which
the _Balaena Physalis_, or razor-back, is the largest. When full grown,
it is supposed to be about one hundred feet in length, and thirty or
thirty-five feet in circumference. It is so powerful an animal, that
it is extremely difficult to capture it; and, when captured, it yields
but little oil and whalebone. The species to which whalers direct
their attention is denominated the _Mystecetus_, or the _right whale_.
40. The mystecetus is found, in the greatest numbers, in the Greenland
seas, about the island of Spitzbergen, in Davis' Straits, in Hudson's
and Baffin's Bays, and in the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean. It
is also found in the Antarctic Ocean, and along the coasts of Africa
and South America, and occasionally on the coasts of the United
States.
41. Each vessel engaged in this fishery, is generally fitted out by
several individuals, who receive, of the return cargo of oil and
whalebone, a portion corresponding to the amount which they have
contributed to the common stock, after the men have received their
proportion of it. Should the voyage prove altogether unsuccessful,
which seldom happens, the owners lose the amount of the outfit, and
the captain and hands, their time.
42. The whalers commence operations in the northern latitudes, in the
month of May; but the whales are most plentiful in June, when they are
met with between the latitudes 75 deg. and 80 deg., in almost every variety of
situation, sometimes in the open seas, at others in the loose ice, or
at the edges of the _fields_ and _floes_, which are near the main,
impervious body of ice.
43. On the fishing station, the boats are kept always ready for
instant service, being suspended from davits, or cranes, by the sides
of the ship, and being furnished with a lance and a harpoon, to the
latter of which is attached about one hundred and twenty fathoms of
strong but flexible rope. When the weather and situation are
favorable, the _crow's nest_, which is a station at the mast-head, is
occupied by some person with a telescope.
44. The moment a whale is discovered, notice is given to the watch
below, who instantly man one or two boats, and row with swiftness to
the place. Sometimes, a boat is kept manned and afloat near the ship,
that no time may be lost in making ready; or, two or three are sent
out on _the look-out_, having every thing ready for an attack.
45. The whale being very timid and cautious, the men endeavor to
approach him unperceived, and strike him with the harpoon, before he
is aware of their presence. Sometimes, however, he perceives their
approach, and dives into the water, to avoid them; but, being
compelled to come again to the surface to breathe, or, as it is
termed, _to blow_, they make another effort to harpoon him. In this
way, the whalers often pursue him for a considerable time, and
frequently without final success. The animal, when unmolested, remains
about two minutes on the surface, during which time he blows eight or
nine times, and then descends for five or ten minutes, and often,
while feeding, for fifteen or twenty.
46. When the whale has been struck, he generally dives towards the
bottom of the sea either perpendicularly or obliquely, where he
remains about thirty minutes, and sometimes nearly an hour. The
harpoon has, near its point, two barbs, or withers, which cause it to
remain fast in the integuments under the skin; and the rope attached
to it, is coiled in the bow of the boat in such a way, that it runs
out without interruption. When more line is wanted, it is made known
to the other boats by the elevation of an oar. Should the rope prove
too short for the great descent of the whale, it becomes necessary to
sever it from the boat, lest the latter be drawn under water; for this
emergency, the harpooner stands ready with a knife.
47. When the whale reappears, the assisting boats make for the place
with their greatest speed; and, if possible, each harpooner plunges
his weapon into the back of the creature. On convenient occasions, he
is also plied with lances, which are thrust into his vitals. At
length, overcome with wounds, and exhausted by the loss of blood, his
approaching dissolution is indicated by a discharge of blood from his
blow-holes, and sometimes by a convulsive struggle, in which his tail,
raised, whirled, and jerked in the air, resounds to the distance of
several miles. The whale having been thus conquered, and deprived of
life, the captors express their joy with loud huzzas, and communicate
the information to the ship by striking their flag.
48. A position near a large field of solid ice is very advantageous;
because a whale diving under it is obliged to return again to blow;
and this circumstance gives opportunity to make upon him several
attacks. Close fields of drift ice present great difficulties; since
the boats cannot always pass through them with sufficient celerity. In
that case, the men sometimes travel over the ice, leaping from one
piece to another, and carrying with them lances and harpoons, with
which they pierce the animal as often as possible. If they succeed in
thus killing him, they drag him back under the ice with the fast line.
49. The whale, having been towed to the ship, and secured alongside,
is raised a little by means of powerful blocks, or tackle. The
harpooners, with spurs fastened to the bottom of their feet to prevent
them from slipping, descend upon the huge body, and, with spades and
knives adapted to this particular purpose, cut the blubber into oblong
pieces, which are peeled off, and hoisted upon deck with the
_speck-tackle_. These long strips are then cut into chunks, which are
immediately packed away in the hold. After the animal has been thus
successively flenched, and the whale-bone taken out, the carcase is
dismissed to the sharks, bears, and birds of prey.
50. The blubber is somewhat similar, in consistence, to the fat which
surrounds the body of the hog, although not quite so solid. In young
whales, its color is yellowish white; and, in old ones, yellow or red.
Its thickness varies in different parts and in different individuals,
from eight to twenty inches. The weight of a whale sixty feet in
length, is about seventy tons, of which the blubber weighs about
thirty tons.
51. The whale-bone is situated in the mouth. About three hundred
laminae, or blades, grow parallel to each other on either side of the
upper jaw, being about half an inch thick, and ten or twelve inches
wide, where they are united by the gum. As the whale grows old, they
increase in length, and approach from each side to the roof of the
mouth. The whale, while feeding, swims with his mouth wide open, which
admits a great quantity of water containing insects or small fish, on
which he subsists. The whale-bone acts as a filter, or strainer, in
retaining the little animals, while the water passes off at the
corners of the mouth.
52. Before the whalers leave the fishing station, they cut the blubber
into small pieces, and put it into close casks. Sometimes, however,
when the ship has been very successful, there is a deficiency of
casks. In that case, it is slightly salted, and packed away in the
hold. But, as the ship must necessarily pass through a warmer climate,
on her voyage homeward, the blubber, while packed in this manner, is
liable to melt and be wasted, unless the weather should prove
uncommonly cool.
53. When the vessel has arrived in port, the blubber is found to be
melted. To separate the oil from the _fritters_, or _fenks_, as the
integuments and other impurities are called, the contents of the casks
are poured into copper boilers, and heated. The heat causes a part of
the latter to sink to the bottom, and the former is drawn off into
coolers, where other extraneous matters settle. The pure or fine oil
is then drawn off for sale. An inferior quality of oil, called _brown
oil_, is obtained from the dregs of the blubber.
54. The spermaceti cachalot, or _Physeter Macrocephalus_, is an animal
belonging to the norwal genus; although it is generally denominated
the spermaceti whale. It is found in the greatest abundance in the
Pacific Ocean, where it is sought by American and other whalers, for
the sake of the oil and spermaceti. This animal is gregarious, and is
often met with in herds containing more than two hundred individuals.
55. Whenever a number of the cachalot are seen, several boats, manned
each with six men provided with harpoons and lances, proceed in
pursuit; and, if possible, each boat strikes or fastens to a distinct
animal, which, in most cases, is overcome without much difficulty.
Being towed to the ship, it is deprived of its blubber, and the matter
contained in the head, which consists of spermaceti combined with a
small proportion of oil. The oil is reduced from the blubber, soon
after it has been taken on board, in "try works," with which every
ship engaged in this fishery is provided.
56. About three tons of oil are commonly obtained from a large
cachalot of this species, and from one to two tons from a small one,
besides the head-matter. The manner in which these two products are
treated, when brought into port, has been described in the article on
candle-making.
57. The Biscayans were the first people who prosecuted the whale
fishery, as a commercial pursuit. In the twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth centuries, they carried on this business to a considerable
extent; but the whales taken by them were not so large as those which
have since been captured in the polar seas. At length, the whales
ceased to visit the Bay of Biscay, and the fishery in that quarter was
of course terminated.
58. The voyages of the English and Dutch to the Northern Ocean, in
search of a passage to India, led to the discovery of the principal
haunts of the whale, and induced individuals in those nations to fit
out vessels to pursue these animals in the northern latitudes, the
harpooners and part of the crews being Biscayans. The whales were
found in the greatest abundance about the island of Spitzbergen, and
were, at first, so easily captured, that extra vessels were sent out
in ballast, to assist in bringing home the oil and whalebone; but the
whales, retiring to the centre of the ocean, and to the other side to
the Greenland seas, soon became scarce about that island.
59. The whale fishery was revived, as above stated, about the
beginning of the seventeenth century; and, with the Dutch, it was in
the most flourishing condition in 1680, when it employed about two
hundred and sixty ships, and fourteen thousand men. The wars about the
beginning of the nineteenth century, extending their baleful influence
to almost every part of the ocean, annihilated this branch of business
among the Dutch; and, in 1828, only a single whale-ship sailed from
Holland.
60. The English whale fishery was, at first, carried on by companies
enjoying exclusive privileges; but the pursuit was attended with
little success. In 1732, Parliament decreed a bounty of twenty
shillings per ton, on every whaler measuring more than two hundred
tons; and, although this bounty was increased in 1749 to forty
shillings, yet the English whale fishery has never been very
flourishing.
61. The whale fishery has been carried on with greater success from
the United States than from any other country. It was begun by the
colonists, on their own shores, at a very early period; but the whales
having abandoned the coasts of North America, these hardy navigators
pursued them into the northern and southern oceans.
62. The number of American vessels now employed in pursuit of the
spermaceti cachalot and the mystecetus, amounts to about four hundred,
and the number of men to about ten thousand. The inhabitants of the
island of Nantucket, and of the town of New-Bedford, are more
extensively engaged in these fisheries than the people of any other
part of the United States.
[Illustration: SHIPWRIGHT.]