Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1896-05-14
P0RP0ISE FISHING
fontanie Industry Pursued in w;n4.n
Off Cape Hatteras

'aDie Industry Pursued in Winter
On Cape Hatteras.
ine summer porpoises arc scat
tered all over the seas. and arc e.
nlliiar sight to the steamship nassanoar
out When cold weather comes tbe MO-,
upon which they feed, menhaden harr;nsr
ana other small fish that assoc;.+o =,
sc!nmoo1s, go southwark, and assemble nv
unions IN the shadows lying between
2cIacoke and Hatteras inlets. Cane
f;arc ce, as; aHords a barrier against the
waters below it these little fishes see .n .
81 no There, accordingly, thousands
VI proposes congregate There. too mon
gamer to fish for porpoises.
Usually there are about twenty men
- ia porRoise hshing camp. There must
DE sufficient number to manage fomr
boats and as many seines The boats
are distributed at three stations alone
snore. Two OF them are together in one
spot, Whlie the third is mile above. and
the fourth mile below Each boat has
seine on board. Lookouts are continn-
any any Stationed upon high bluffs to watch
when school of porpoises is coming.
suppose the porpoises are coming down
the coast. Warned in time by the sio-
nails, the men at the station furthest
south rapidly row their boats out to sea.
dropping their seine as they 60 If the
inlng mas been properly managed, they
nave been in time with their net to head
Off the first of the animals. AS soon as
the school, or most of it, has got past the
station furthest north, the boat from
that point is run out, dropping it's seine
on the, way. Thus the porpoises find
themselves hemmed in between two
FENCES OF net. each stretching a mile out
into the ocean.
They might easily escape by swimming
seaWard, save for the fact that mean
While the two boats from the middle sta
ton have put out mile from land. not
dropping their seines on the way, but ex-
tending them on line parallel with the
shore, and joining the two seward ex-
tremities of the other seines In this
way is made within a few minutes a
rectangular pen two miles long and one
mile broad. in which the luckless beasts
are confined. They could easily get out.
OF course, by breaking through the nets,
lnasmuch as their strength is enormous.
but they do not think of that.
The porpoises thus enclosed are sur
rounded with smaller seines and drawn
lnshore. where they are kept in a pound
until the fishermen wish to kill them.
Sometimes as many as 200 will be Sc
cured at a single haul. The fishery is
very profitable, because there are several
products or the pOrpolSe which are val
liable. The skin affords an excellent
leather. Upon being STRIPPED from the
animal, the hides are sailed down,
tanned crudely, and shipped to Northern
markets, where they are used in the
manufacture of shoes, travelling bags
and other goods. This leather has a
particularly fine grain, and boots made
from it derive a waterproof quality from
the natural Oil of the skin. The highest
priced porpoise leather, which is very
costly indeed is obtained from the un-
born young. It is of a most delicate
texture and exquisitely notified in black
and white For book covers it is an
admirable material.
Every one has heard of porpoise oil,
which is used for watches and other
delicate machinery. It is one of the
most costly oils known, because only
few ounces of it are got from each ami
NAL. 1t is obtained from the jaws only,
being tried out from the bones after the
skin and flesh have been removed. There
is another sort of oil, of very little value,
procured from the fat beneath the skin
and from the liver and other viscera.
Hides are worth from 70 cents to $3.50
apiece, the latter price being paid for
the best skins CT unborn calves. 4
school of 200 represents about $500 to
the fishermen. Nobody has ever at
tempted to make any use of the skele,
tons, which are scattered by tens of
thousands along the shore below Cape
Hattera s,-NeW York Sun.