Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-11-27
RUSSIAN FISHERIES.
THE WAY CAVIAR is OBTAINED
AND PREPARED.
Sturgeon Large Enough to Swallow a
The Picturesque Female Fish
ers - Drying the Catch.

chan, Russia, is an enormous space re-
served for the sale of fish. Four large
trenchers in the middle of the room hold
the red fish, and tables to the right and
left are piled up with the white. This
is the general division Invariably made
in Russian markets. Red fish include
the four varieties of sturgeon caught in
the Volga and Caspian Sea. The great
sturgeon, or belonga, often attains a
length of four metres. The mouths of
these animals are large enough to admit
a good sized man; but as they have no
teeth, the only danger to be feared is
from a blow of their powerful tails,
which is quite sufficient to shatter limb.
There arc three varieties Of red fish; the
ordinary sturgeon, which is esteemed
more highly than the others; the little
sturgeon, curious looking fish with q
long, fat nose, and the sterlet, most popu-
lar with Russian gourmets. Sterlets are
very expensive, fine fish selling for S13
or SIS. But they must be kept alive,
for the sterlet, to use the gourmet phrase,
"likes to be put into the frying-pan
while it is living"
Astrachan is the centre Of the Volga
fisheries, and much of the caviar in the
markets of the world is prepared aud
shipped from that port. The river is
literally lined along its banks with fish
ing barges, called sadki, or, in the singu-
lar, sadok. These barges are very
large and strongly built, pierced with
numerous openings through which the
water circulates freely, without allowing
passage for the fish. The decks arc
divided into compartments for the
different varieties of fish, and each
sadok is crowned with a little wooden
house which serves as an Office for the
proprietor.
The sadki are reached by means Of a
narrow gang-plank running from the
shore to the nearest barge. The decliv-
ity is very steep and the only supports
are little sticks of wood nailed at more or
less regular intervals along the gang
plank for ladder steps. Nothing but a
clear head and sure foot saves the pas
senger from an icy bath in the Volga.
Along the sides of the barge are
crowded men with boat-hoOks or har-
poons, cords and wooden malets. A
fish is skilfuly harpooned aud thrown
into tub; man seizes it, holds it
against the side of the tub, while
another man, lying fat strikes it several
blows with malet. The sturgeon,
half dead, is dragged out on deck aud
fms he'd with clubs in the hands of boys
A more awkard way of disposing of
them could hardly be imagined.
Tue sturgeon is next opened and the
ovalies removed, cut up in small pieces
thrown on a sieve placed over glazed
iron vessel. The eggs are rubbed
through the netting and fall like pearl
into the jar. In this way the caviar n
obtained, entirely free from the men,
brane which envelopes it. Some fish
furnish as much as pound aud half
of caviar. The best comes from the
ordinary sturgeon; it is lighter in color
and of much better qualify than of the
great sturgeon. That of the little sturgeon
is too small in grain.
Equally interesting With the sadki are
the promislo, or establishment where
the fish are salted and made ready for
export. They are mostly situated on the
other side of the river in the town of Far
post. From a distance the promislo
looks like a large farm; it is composed
of numerous detached buildings, ice
houses, sheds lined with sailing watts,
store-houses and lodgings for workmen,
etc. As one draws near, the odor of fish
in all stages Of decay manifests itself
very strongly.
On the quays are piled up great mount
aims Of fish, and boats laden with fresh
supplies are constantly arriving. Nearly
200 women, in white trousers and tunics,
with gay handkerchief headdresse' and
long boots, bestride wooden benches,
two-by-two, facing each other, line
the sides Of the quay. A woman grasps
fish from the pile closest to her, scales
it with few strokes Of large knife,
opens 1t, removes the eggs, which are
thrown into a wooden pail between the
two women, and the intestines, which
are thrown into another pail on the
ground. The fish are then taken away
by mon and thrown into a large ditch
lined with boards. They remain there
In salt for FIVE days, after which they are
taken out and hung up under a shed, cx-
posed to the sun aud air for fifteen days.
1t is really beautiful sight; these long
sheds with millions Of fish, their brilliant
white sides glistening in the sun as they
swing back and forth in the wind. At
the end Of the fortnight they are put in
the storehouse. The eggs OF the voblats
are made into very salty and de-
cidedly inferior caviare for expert TO
Turkey and other Mediterranean coun-
tries.
The women who are employed in these
ssbsr;ss arc mostly from the Kalmuk