The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-24
IN THE HAUNTS OF THE VIKINGS.
Descendants of the Old Sea Kings
Are Chasing the Herring,
whose Re-Appearance Has Revived
Forgotten Swedish Industry,
The Piscatoriai Studies of a Diplomat
from Maine.
Especial to the Press.l

lDpocldl W tHo IIeSS.l
WASHINGTON, March 23.-The State De
partment has received and will soon publish
in its regular issue of reports very interest
ing sketch of the recently revived herring
fisheries of Sweden, from Hon. W. w.
Thomas, Jr., American Minister to Sweden.
King Oscar made trip to the West Coast of
Sweden in November, and personally in
spected the herring fisheries. This expedi-
tion brought to light many interesting facts
In relation to this industry, of which Mr..
Thomas has made use to good purpose. He
writes as follows:
"The province of Bohus extends along the
west coast of Sweden from the Norwegian
frontier at Frederickshald, where Charles
XII. was shot. south as far as. and, intact a
little beyond, the mouth of the Gotta River,
where lies the thriving commercial city of
Gothenburg. The province thus embraces
the entire Swedish coast which faces the
Skagerak, that great open-sea highway lead
ing out to the German Ocean and the Allan
tic.
"TEe rocky coast of Bohus is indented with
numerout bays and fjords, and strewn
throughout its entire length with thousands
of rocky islands. which form the 'Skargard,
literally, 'rock-yard.' The water is deep
close in to the cliffs. and good harbors are
everywhere among che isles and along the
bays.
"This province was the favorite abode of
vikings in the middle ages, and in our own
day it is the seat of a lively commerce and of
the most important fisheries of Sweden. In
deed, the product of the fisheries of this single
province of Bohus is, at the present time, of
greater value than all the remaining fisheries
of the kingdom put together.
sin former times herring were wont to visit
the rocky shores of Bohus in great numbers,
but their visits were always periodical, or
for only limited number of years at time.
"The records show that at different periods
the herring suddenly appeared, frequented
the shores for fifteen or twenty years in sue
cession. arriving in the late autumn of every
were seen no more for much longer period.
"A dozen years ago the Oldest inhabitant
of Bohus could recollect the herring fishery
but as dim reminiscence OF his boyhood.
For sixty-eight years this fish had not been
seen on the Swedish coast. when. in 1873, to
the surprise and joy of the inhabitants. the
herring made their appearance, not in paltry
numbers, but in vast schools as of yore, and
Lney IOrc6Q Lltlr way III almost SOllu column
through the inlets, crowded in among the
islands, and swarmed in the fjords
"fhe fishermen were entirely unprepared
for their arrival. Neither boats nor nets
adapted to the herring fishery could be OBJ
tanned. There were no factories for sailing
the fish. and scarcely any barrels for them
when salted. Yet, with all these disadvan-
tages, the catch of that year amounted to
244,500 barrels. worth 61S,40 crowns equal
to 26S cents.
''Since 1873, the herring have returned to
the coast of Bohus in the autumn of every
year. Boats suitable for the herring fishery
have been built, seines and nets manufac-
tured. and an ample number of houses for
sailing and smoking the fish have been erect
ed. Scotchmen and Russians have estab-
lished themselves on the coast, bringing
with them, especially the Scotch, improved |
methods Of curing the herring, and special |
steamers have been built for carrying the |
fresh or slightly halted herring to Germany. |
1.-THE herring fisheries of the west coast of |
Sweden form today ian important industry,
and should be taken into account In any es-
innate of the catch of food fish entering into
the markets of the world.
"The following table shows the amount and
value of herring taken on the Swedish west
coast for each year from 1878 to 1883, inclu-
sive. 1t is taken from the Handels Tidning,
an enterprising and accurate newspaper pub
lished in Gothenburg, to which 1 am indebt-
ed for many of the facts contained in this
dispatch: