Evening journal., 1894-05-24
CASTING THEIR NETS.
Fishermen of Pennsgrove Ex-
perience a Bad Season.
LIFE INTHE sHANTY AND THE BOAT

Pennsgrove, the pretty little town on
the Jersey shore opposite this city, |
is one Of the principal places in
the Delaware river and bay for the
congregation and operation OF shad
fishermen. Many a handsome home
along the wide and densely-shsded
streets Of the place Is owned by some
horny.handed sou Of Neptune who has
braved the rigors Of all kinds Of weather
to secure for himself a competency.
Along the river front may be- seen
thousands OF dollars worth Of skifs,
nets and "shsnties," the latter belong
ing to that class of fishermen which has
not yet realized everything anticipated
Pennsgrove Is essentially hsherman's
town The lads take TO water as nat
urally as do the ducks aud many Of them
spend their entire lives in casting nets
for the funy beauties which frequent
the majestic stream.
large item in the trade of the town
is fishermen's supplies Not only cork
and twine, but oil skins, rubber boots,
tarpaulins, general articles of clothing
and food supplies bring big revenue to
the local merchants, who have nothing
but the fishermen and a limited number
OF townsmen and farmers to depend
upon.
This has been poor season and many
OF the fishermen are sorry that they have
as much money in their outfits as they
have The run Of shad has been one OF
the poorest known for years aud the
only fishermen who have made big
money are those who 20 out and keep
their nets in the water for a week at a
time, eatingisnd sleeping in their skiifs,
the only trips to shore being for A kettle
OF food This class has had a fairly
good season, but the men who live on
shore and only cast their nets on the
young food and ebb of the tide are
simply dlsconsolate.
shad Now Taste of Coat oil.
To add to their hard luck the recent
heavy rains and consequent floods have
washed so much oil, gas and sewer refuse
into the Delaware that the limited
number Of fish caught are what the
fishermen call "gassy" That is, they
both swell and taste OF oil and gas TO
such a degree as to make them either
totally unit for market or of such de-
creased value as TO render the prices un.
remunerative.
AS soon as the fishermen discovered the
existence Of this condition of things they
sent all their fish to market and tried to
have them pass muster as first class
| how well they succeeded in hoodwinking
the city purchasers will only be known
when they get their returns from the
c, mmission men. The 6sh caught near
the shore are not as "gassy" as those
taken in the channels.
winding Around the shad Nets.
A Tisit to Pennsgrove is both inter
esting and instructive, even though IL be
but hsing one II only requires few
hours. On the way over the steamer
Ulrica passes bet ween numbers Of nets
and It is creditable to the captain that he
winds his way among them and does not
tear Though them as he has the legal
right to do The fishermen know this aud
appreciate t. Other captains and pilots
are less considerate.
Il tell you what, when one Of these
tramp steamers takes a notion to come
up tue east channel she makes nets fly,
said q e sherman to an EVENING JOURNAL
reporter. "She won't even try TO avoid
them and the only thing for us to do is
to cut our nets, II we have time, or allow
her to tear out ss much as she wants.
can't say that l blame the pilot much
Away down the bay, where they lay out
nets 900 fRthoms long and a steamer oI
sailing vessel cuts through them the
, fishermen stand up in their boats and
cuss the pilot, captain and ship red
white and blue and by the time the shiI
reaches us, the whole crew is pretty mao
and doesn't care cuss what is run down
As a rule, however, the captains anC
pilots are very considerate. and will GO
away out Of their course for us. II the
master OF sailing vessel fnds that IL Is
, impossible TO prevent passing over me-
he orders the csnter-bosrd to be hsuleC
up. and then comparatively little dsmsg'
Is DONE for the tenter-board cuts a net
like a knife
[, "How do you warn a captain of the
, whereabouts of your net2' asked 6
/ reporter.
Ordinarily the skif is at one end o
II, and we have code OF signals will
the arms, and a certain sign will direc
the course Of the vessel If the captain b.
! favorably disposed"
! I'm case Of q cut what do you dor
: eve cut cut the ragged part, tie th,
ends together and drop the net back II
: the water When we get ashore we TAX
our needles and repair the break.
Ready to ship the Fish.
Arrived at Penns grove the first thin
+ which attracts the eye Of the visitor is
,, low, blsck-hulked two masted schoone
e laying at anchor. Her decks are pile
o high with what Looks like bundled shin
a giles, but which are, in reality, sha
20 crates. This is the 'lay" boat whic
e takes the s1sd TO Philadelphia. chargin
u so much per hundred commission. Atte
a the days catch the skiffs are rowed
y this schooner and the shad packed ]
crates foe market At stated interval
e the schooner takes the fish to Philade
!. phia and delivers them to the commissio
d merchants.
70 The Peach Basket Signal.
= Stepping of the Ulrica and passin
,s through the wharf shed, the visito
"A noticed another shed on the south sid
q of the wharf Over II is flag pole, bJ
sr instead of flag flying from it, an ordii
q ary peach basket hangs TO the breez
a Il sets person wondering. IL woul
10 do all right in the Delaw peach belt
and represent the prevailing sentimen