Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1896-07-09

according to the nature of the shore. At
the outer end of the hedge is an enclosure
called the pound" The fence, or
"hage," rs the native calls it, is made by
driving line OF stout poles firmly into
the riyer-bed and weaving in birch or
alder twigs and other material to make a
barrier impenetrahle to fish I've size of a
salmon or great deal smaller.
The pound is usually in the shape Of
trefoil, some fifteen feet or so across, and
Is built like the hedge except that netting
or MARITIME or wire is used. A floor of
boarding, which is calculated to be barely
covered by water at ebb tide completes
the trap. At the end of the hedge where
the pound commences, small opening is
left on either side jast large enough to
admit large salmon to the outer pound
and smaller opening still to the inner
tioored portion.
The fish run up river usually with the
flood tide, and il swimming well nshore
they come in contact with the hedge.
They follow this along, looking for an
opening, and go into the outer and then
to the inner pound. Once in, like fly i'll
balloon trap, they rarely find tine way
out. They swim round and round and
pass their only way OF escape hundreds
of times, but seldom find it. Then the
fall OF the tide leaves them stranded on
the board floor OF the pound where they
! meet their doom in the way OF the Weir
tender w no comes with long handled dip
net and deXterously scoops them in f7em
his boat outside the pound, or through n
little door in the side. II the water Is
low on he floor and half dozen or so
big fellows have got worked up into a
highly excited state, tn re is rumpus
that makes weir-tending something of
a sport.
The salmon is very tender fish and
Will live hardly five minutes out of water;
a slight tap on the nose will put quetus
on the most vigorous specimen.
DRAWBACKS TO THE BUSINESS.
The weirs are built as soon as the
floating ice will permit. Sometimes it
| happens that an over-zealous fisherman
| is in too much of a hurry and has his
hedge nearly finished and down comes
belated foe and smashes the whole outfit
like a bunch OF PUSHES. There is one
Weir owner on the Penobscot who seems
to be especially favored by Providence,
and is usually the first to capture the
coveted S1.25 per pound fish. a. IL.
Whitmore owns the privilege at the
extreme lower end OF Verona island. A
point makes out into the river and here
the tides and river currents run in such
a manner that the ice sWerves away
from Mr.. Whitmore's holdings, aud he Is
able to build his traps without danger
of cvll-disposcd tiotsam for weeks be-
fore his less fortunate neighbors, who see
him take cut fish worth go to $50 each,
white the ice is grinding in huge masses
along their own shores.
The salmon fisherman has trials
and tribulations without number. The
building OF his weir in the early spring is
hard, cold work, often to be smashed fiat
10y the ice or the leeward drift Of some
ewildered or befogged coasting schooner.
Then seals, dog fish, porpoise, sturgeon
or some OF her stray ''critter,' gets mixed
up with the netting, much to its detri-
ment.
The seal is the particular hane of the
weir owners existence. They sneak into
the pound and catch fine salmon, scoop
everything out OF the skin and leave it
| floating like the shell OF a sucked egg to
encourage profanity. In places whore
seals are plenty, dory with a stuffed
dummy man in the stern Is anchored mar
the Weir mot exactly "scafe-cro"' hut