Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-05-13
PORPoISE FISHING.
A Profitable Industry Pursued in Winter
OFF Cape Hatteras.

A Profitable Industry Pursued in Winter
OFF Cape Hatteras.
During the summer porpoises are scat
tered all over the seas, and are IA
miliar sight to the steamship passenger,
but when cold weather comes the prey
upon which they feed, menhaden, herring
and other small fish that associate IN
schools, go southwark, and assemble by
millions in the shadows lying between
Ocracoke and Hatteras inlets. Cape
Hatteras affords a barrier against the
fierce winds from the north, and IN the
waters below it these little fishes see a
shelter. There, accordingly, thousands
of porpoises congregate. There, too, men
gather to fish for porpoises.
Usually there are about twenty men
in a porpoise fishing camp. There must
be a sufficient number to manage tour
boats and as many seines. The boats
are distributed at three stations along
shore. Two of them are together III one
spot, while the third is mile above, and
the fourth a mile below. Each boat has
a seine on board. Lookouts are conhnu-
ally stationed upon high bluffs to watch
for game, and they signal with flags
when a school of porpolses is coming
Suppose the porpoises are coming down
the coast. Warned in time by the sig
mails, the men at the station turthest
south rapidly row their boats out to sea,
dropping their seine as they go. Ii the
thing has been properly managed, they
have 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 its seine
on the way. Thus the porpoises lind
themselves hemmed in between two
fences of net each stretching mile out
into the ocean.
They might easily escape by swimming
seward. save for the fact that mean
while the two boats from the middle sta
ton have put -out a mile from land, not
dropping their seines on the way, but eX-
tending them on a line parallel with the
shore, and joining the two seaward 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,
inasmuch as their strength is enormous.
but they do not think of that.
The porpOises thus enclosed are sur
rounded with smaller seines and drawn
inshore where they are kept in pound
until the fishermen wish to kill them.
Sometimes as many as 200 will be Sc
cured at single haul. The fishery is
very profitable, because there are several
VI luGN pOI pOlSS NulSA dlC Nol
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 I'M
born young. 1t 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. 1t is one of the
most costly oils known, because only a
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 yiscera
Hides are worth from IS cents to $3.50
apiece, the latter price being paid for
the best skins of unborn calves. A
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
Hatteras.-New York Sun.