Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-09-29


sARDINE sToEEH0UsE on THE MAINE COAST
yinal Haven and Passamaquoddy bay.
SerpeantvilIe leads in extent Of pro-
duetion. and the immense buildings de-
voted to the trade clustered around tue
steamboat wharfs give employment to
hundreds of New Englanders from ear
ly spring until late fall
The general supposition among I'M
suspecting buyers is that the sardlnes
bought from the retailer are a strictly
foreign product. But only in rare in
stances is such the case. The French
were the pioneers in the traffic, hay-
ing discovered the genuine fish In the
waters surrounding the island of Sar-
DINA. American imitators, however,
soon sprang UP and substituted the
most palatable of the finuy tribes
swarming in the cold currents of the
north Atlantic coast.
OF the 100000 cases of sardines
consumed in the United States last
year 100000 came from the Pine Tree
Sldlcs Aulll VI Iilal tOAlliAphAth AfCVprHSS
cases. and the remainder was exported
by France.
The fish are taken in brush weirs. re-
sembling ordinary pound nets, into
which they are guided by large leaders
and wings. which terminate in fun
mel shaped entrance. Their escape is
prevented Ty the extension of these
wings into the Enclosure, thereby form
ing n triangular hook at each end of
it, so that the fish. as they circle in
side the weir, are directed past the en-
trance
When the fish are plentiful in the
nets, quantities of scales appear upon
the surface of the water The nets are
then lifted, and their contents are
dumped by the fishermen into their
boats. The fish make a little squeak
when taken from the water and die al
most instantly.
Arriving at the packing house, the
fish are carefully cleaned. This opera
ton over they are sorted according &c
size and carried into another part OF
the establishment, where they are put
into pickle.
The length Of time required by this
operation varies according to the size
of the fish After this the fish are
washed and placed with care upon wire
nets with huge wooden frames. called
"grills." on which they are sent to The
! drying rooms. There they are dried by
! means of large fans or ventilators rur
| by powerful machinery. When dry anC
| still on the grills, the fish are cooked
| 10y plunging them into tanks containing
| boiling olive oil.
After this cooking the sardlnes, stil
upon the grills, are left to COOL anC
when cold the work of placing them il
/ cans filled with olive OIL tomato anC
mustard sauce is begun. This worl
done the cans are sealed with solde
and are ready TO be put In cases, hold
| ing 100 tins, for the market.
The story is told that the three mast
| ed sardlne schooner Elsie Belle. Cap
tain Halstead, hailing out of Machlas
was totally wrecked but a few week
ago during a severe blow by misman
| agement on the part of the crew, AM
that many hundreds of dollars wort
Of the fish were thereby lost. Charlie
Dunnell Prindle yachting enthusiast
spending the summer of 1900 at Cas-
tine, asked permission of Captain Ha
sted TO accompany him on a "sardin
voyage" Halsted consented.
About the last week in August tn
Elsie Belle headed for Sergeantvill
with an unusually large load in tn
hold, and Captain Halsted anticipate
selling out for a good price. When bu
two or three miles off Pumpkin Islam
light. at the northern limits of Pencil
scot bay. strong gusts of wind from tn
northeast whipped up a heavy SCI
Night came on. Prindle had volunteer
ed to help the crew and was standin
! a trick at the wheel Although watcl
ing the Pumpkin fiashlight very clos
ly, Prindle miscalculated his distanC
from shore and ran the Elsie Bel
hard and fast on the lodges a half mi
! from the beach. The crew BEGAN
panic stricken and, erowding into IL
only available boat. a huge dor
swung at the stern davits, pulled f
, the lighthouse The vessel was IA
, breaking up, and both Prindle and q
/ captain were forced 70 lash themselv'
7 TO n hastily constructed raft and ailo
~. 70 f1taHy OEh