The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-01-27
WENT FISHING.
Gen. Baker Out on the Pacific
Ocean.
Writes About a Great Industry That
is Rapidly Coming TO the
Front.
No 5.

came from the California Fish company
whose office is in this city, but whose
packing house and fishing establishment
is at San Pedro, on the ocean beach,
about sixteen miles from this city. Our
former fellow citizen, A. P. Halfhill, is
one of the chief proprietors of this now
famous plant, and l think, one of the
originators of this business I find our
good friend, George l. Lidgerwood, once
of Mankato, is also one of the proprie-
tors, each holding large interest
These parties and their associates have
opened up and successfully established
an entire new industry for Los Angeles
and Southern California. So taking
the San Pedro train, we had delight
| full run down to the ocean beach, pass
ing through hundreds of acres of
| Chinese gardens, green with all sorts of
| growing vegetables. We also observed
quite number of dairy farms and one
creamery These farms all had silos,
the contents of which are used to carry
the cows through the dry season. The
COWS were nearly allJerseys wish to
remark here, that neither the milk or
butter, made in this portion of the state,
at least will at all compare favorably
with our Minnesota products. There is
some essential element wanting in both.
But there is more dairy farming here
than I had supposed.
| We soon arrived at the ocean beach.
We left the cars at Long Beach," and
going out on the long pier, we watched,
with great interest, lively crowd fish
ing in fifty-foot water. They were pull
ing out yellow tails" which. is beau
tiful sea fish, weighing from ten to
twenty pounds They proved to be
gamy fish, and the sport was fine. We
descended the stairs to the company's
yawl, and were speedily rowed to the
big fishing schooner laying at anchor
little way from the shore. We were
about to be introduced to the mysteries
of sardine fishing The captain of the
vessel had already located great school
of sardines. They are generally found
along these Southern California shores,
and never as far north as San Francisco
| The sardines which we have hitherto
had, and are familiar with, come from
the warm waters of the Mediterranean
sea, and generally from near Sardinea,
from which island they take their
name That we possess the same fish
in incrediable numbers on these warm
shores is now an established fact Their
habitation is chiefly on this coast be-
| tween Santa Barbara and San Diego.
The ships big boat was loaded with
an immense seine of the strongest Irvine.
These seines are 720 feet long and fifty
feet wide We could easily discern the
form of the vast school of sardines, like
great shadow in the blue waters of
the ocean. There were countless multi
tudes flashing up their silver sides in
the clear waves. They were far more
compact than I expected to find them.
They appeared solid mass. The boat
with the seine, rowed directly to the
school, and dropping the end of the
seine at the outer edge of the school and
letting it go, they ran along through
the edge of the mass of fish, playing the
seine out as they went, until the whole
720 feet was out. The men then drew
the ropes attached to each end of the
sein together as fast as they could,
drawing them tighter and tighter, un-
til the mass of fish they had sliced off
from the school were in a pocket of
about twenty feet square. These ropes
were then run aboard of the schooner,
and the windlass drew the black, pisca-
tory mass to the schooner's side The
little fishes were in trap, and seemed
to make no effort to get away, but sub
mitted to their fate. Then great dip
net was scooped into the mass and
lifted by pulley About six or eight
bushel of sardines were drawn over and
emptied on the deck at lift, until the
big seine was entirely relieved of its con
tents. What sight it was to see these
thousands of silver sided fish, flashing
wiggling and sparkling in the SUI light
A fisherman sprinkled dry salt over the
squirming mass, to keep them from get
ting soft. We Immediately weighed
anchor and started out to sea, and over
to the fish homes, at East San Pedro, as
fast as steam could carry us. The flag
was run up to announce to the employees
that we had made a successful catch
and to summon them to hasty work
, The fish was scooped up with great
, wooden shovels into big buckets aud
lifted by pulleys to the proper floor, and
J then to large tables where the work OF
decapitation was carried on with g
rapidity that was marvellous. All hands
} engaged in this work of beheading, fol
) there must be no delay in taking off the
heads and cleaning and washing the
) catch The work must be done thai
night The fish are then dried on crates
; These dried fish are now placed in some
wire wicker work, and are held, fol