This creature is familiar to every one who has been at sea, or who has
frequented the bays and harbors along our coast. It may often be seen
in troops gambolling in the water, and seeming like a drove of black
hogs, with their backs above the waves. It is imagined by the sailors
that they are the most sportive just before a storm. The following
method is adopted for taking them on the banks of the St. Lawrence:
When the fishing season arrives, the people collect together a great
number of sallow twigs, or slender branches of other trees, and stick
them pretty firmly into the sand-banks of the river, which at low water
are left dry; this is done on the side towards the river, forming a
long line of twigs at moderate distances, which at the upper end is
connected with the shore, an opening being left at the lower end, that
they may enter. As the tide rises, it covers the twigs, so as to keep
them out of sight: the porpoise, in quest of his prey, gets within the
line; when those who placed the snare rush out in numbers, properly
armed, and, while in this defenceless state, they overpower him with
ease.