New-York tribune., 1897-08-17
HOW CAVIARE is OBTAINED.
POE OF THE STURGEON SENT TO EUROPE
AND RETURNED HERE WITH
FOREIGN LABEL.
From The Chicago Record.


When the American eats Russian cavlare ne ,f eat
conpatrot who has travelled many thousanu' rJe G
sS eais the eggs of the Lake Of the Woods sturgeoa
That lake OF many islands which lies IN ,nce rny Of
| ontario is the home of more sturgeon than any
| other body of water in the world ana toI Una "a
has rsGS 9efomf But f 6ore he
the table as Russian G9yare ,ndy hack again
Lake Of the Woods is one of the most oeauIlui ai,
bodies of water in America II is ao9h, h. egnE gaTiS
ern half Of it is filed with so many rocky ISLANDS
| liGC0 The southern half of the lake-the pig
traverse"s open, and IN one direction , Inc "r,o Ta
| water being shallow. hardly ever passing hfty
@set feet % Inv ~nd sTe o G danseon Ra the pas
| senger steamers always remain in harpor W@mei @
! that face the storms often strike bottom in the
| depression between the swells. so high are they
att il is is along the low shores and in the shallow
s Sdr S1 nf o he r states ' nnd c"nada
their hunt for the big mE SlmTy aniaces m m
small eyes, its mouth the under side OF its
| it is. is taken in great numbers. chiefly in pound
| The pound net is built the trap plan-lke the
| mouse trap that has doors so easy 10 find: but no
| exits a fence of netting is run out into the lake
| swins along beside it until he comes to a narrow
opening at the end Of pasfag&s & fenced in b wa II
| doomed for he is in the pound-an area. PERHAPS
forty feet Snrs ire, d 6y nets M caES EHS
are gantd by rough fishermen and thrown into the
Scath. af "S 0rdinariy there win be two thousand
three thousand pounds of sturgeon IN each hail hail
ere. Occasionally AS many as eleven thousand
fish hpy sefp o ak ssg IN to TH
pounds in weight and is often six or seven feet
Of the roes or eggs. which are made into caviar;
Formerly no part Of & the rs h n was no nsc and o of the
| female except the eggs were thrown away and left
to decay on the shores unless the Indians happened
| hon ucclVc n
The Lake of the Woods fisheries COMPRISE many ng,;
! men There are several small Canadian companies
| and three large American companies. The Amer 1s
business Is so extensive that it demands the invest,
ment Of considerable capital the c9nstrnction oi
| the use of many tugs, rowboats and saiiboats Tn
Dominion Fisheries department whiIe the VI MINI t
| sofa Game and Fish Commissitn n regulates, tne
an agent who lives at Ra, Portage. and who keeps
the fisheries well under his eye He has the pow"r yer
them on the Can%d"n hTed Ge me oe Hets apar nrf
The Minnesota law calls for intervals 9t flftesn cen
hundred feet sSnse s;d 70 & Sh cDs}s ~ e on The
best fisheries the American SIDE are on the sHoIe %
wiefe wsfer % or I by Canadian land
,br Woods has been very poor-partly on account OF
he extraordinarily high water which has peImiTd ibnra
nets and partly because o tne nnrs rsdceI o
the bs sh have cT hf[ ony er savaon lies
| g.; ,he foct that the Minnesota Commission refuses
TO permit the use Of nets on Rainy River me prih-
feeding ground and breeding pace OF ne hSh, MamE
! FISH are caught in this river at he rapids however
| wih a gaT stand at the rapids with the hook well
stream. keep near the shore where the current is
| gaH Then the Indian quickly puIlS tie gan mo ~,
| the under side of the fish and lands MN OH the
| After the sturgeon are caught at the fisheries
they are picked up from the small boat ar the nsl-
ing stations and taken in tugs 10 roned ne sro H.,
females. and the flesh Is either smoked or stnt 10
| the market on fee Properly cooked. the sturgeon
| geon IL often sold as smoked habut. Minneapolis
| is the principal market for the hsh-sturs'on ana
other knds-caught by the AincIcah 6Pppa e,
| Louis and Kansas City and other points. As the
water OF Lake o: the Woods IS very cold the trout
| and wh.tehsh quite equal TO those or Lake Su-
The sturgeon eggs are taken to the iishhouses and
| pu; through process which separates them from
| other matter. They then packed In l25-pound
| kegs. salted and shipped 10 Germany and tussia
| The roe from single sturgeon IS worth about ss
| much of the surgeons carcass was wasted in the
| past II is al saved now. The oifal is made into
| ness oil. All of these products are shipped from
| Rat Portage on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. and
frequently f three or four week.
| The eggs. after being shipped 10 Europe and sub
ectoi the caviare process. come back 10 America
in little tin cans with foreign labels and with no
| suggestion OF Lake of the Woods. II is said by
| others say II Is not. but that the industry is
| ancient one in Europe. and Americans have found
| There Is talk OF establishing a Canadian
| caviare factory AT Rat Portage. but uncss the
| there Will be neither Russian nor Amercap cav!arc
| in the near future. Lake Of the Moods will soon
| be fshed out. so FAR as concerns The sturgeon:
| though IT is only few years since 1t dshed
| al al