Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-31
THE TRAPPING OF EELs.
Peculiar Industry ThatIs Carried On in New York State on the
 Oneida River.

York industry, which is threatened with total extinction. is the catching of cells l in eel traps in the Oneida river, at 1 Caughdenhoy. For many yearsthe resi- dents of this pretty little village have ] built their eel traps, or weirs. year after year, without any fear of moleststion;
 but now they are face to face with 1 threatened lawsuit, which, if success full, will totally destroy their livelihood, says the New York Tribune. The fight against them is being made by farmers 1 living along the river bank between l Caughdenhoy and Oneida lake. and along 1 the western end of the lake, who claim that the building of the traps causes l rise in the river sufficient in many in- l stances to flood their low lands along the water front. The suit. If brought, will 1 doubtless be against the state, as fish, 1 arnaen are permitted by law to build 1 these traps: but the ultimate result 1 would be, should the suit be successful, that the state would forbid their use. This phase of the question is troubling l the fishermen very much, and this can be easily appreciated, when it is stated 1 that Caughdenhoy has been built up l practically on eels, there being no other business in the village, except farming on a limited scale. The fishermen claim, l and with apparent truth, that as their 1 traps are never over 15 inches in height. l 1t is impossible for them to cause rise l in the river sufficient to flood lands lying two and three miles further up the river, l let alone the western shore of the lake. It is probable that the excessively high <HP+ +1r.n hot zion have had most to do with the food ing ofAthe low lying lands.
 There are IA of these eel traps, val 1 ued at about s1 400 owned at Caugh- 1 denhoy, and the manner of building 1 them is as follows: Heavy stakes are 1 driven into the bed of the river until l they are just about even with the surface during 8 medium height of water. They l are driven in such way that when 1 completed they extend from shore to l shore ill the shape of an immense w, with the open portion facing upstream. l When in this shape it makes two traps. 1 When only one is to be built, the shape
 is 'V,' with the open portion up 1 stream. A framework of blanks is 1 then built around these stakes. At the
 
 1 ing is left, which is later occupied by the trap itself. This is usually made of lat l kice work, built either rectangular or 1 rounded, and with the lower end of a larger diameter than the upper. From the sides of the mouth long laths run back into the trap, until they almost
 meet in the center, leaving only a nar- row opening about four or five inches in diameter between the ends of the laths. During certain seasons of the year the
 cells migrate down stream to Lake On- tario, and thence to the ocean, and it 1 is then that the fishermen reap their l harvest. When the eel reaches the side l wall it follows slowly along this until ! it finds a narrow opening which seems to present way of escape; but upon wriggling along it a few feet, it finds it. self in the large end of the trap, with no
 means of escape.
 For many years each fisherman did all his own work, from the making of the trap to the marketing of the product; but a few years ago the trust fever seized even them, and they held a meet ing and decided that they would com bine; hence there is now only onesmoke-
 house among them all while the finished product is sold and the money equally
 divided. whether the f1shemnan catches one eel or 1000. In this way the losses and profits are divided in the same pro-
 portion.
 All the eels caught are smoked, none
 being sold fresh As soon as brought
 ashore they are split from the head to the vent and the yiscera removed. The head and skin are then taken off, after
 which the eels are immersed in a strong brine for 24 hours. On removal from the brine, they are washed with stiff brushes to remove the slime and sur plus salt. They are then strung on iron
 or steel rods, and are hung in the smoke house A hot fire Of kindlings and later of corn cobs is first used in cooking
 them, after which the fire is covered with sawdust which partially smothers it. causing heavy and dense smoke, which soon cures the fish. Great care
 must be exercised during the early
 stages, for if the heat becomes too great, the fish will curl out of shape. Smoked
 cells keep shorter length of time than
 almost any other smoked fish. from five
 to twelve days being about the limit; hence they must be marketed as soon as
 possible after being removed from the smokehouses
 The Caughdenhoy fishermen drive to
 Syracuse with their smoked eels. and
 find ready market for all they can pos
 sibly bring in. They are unable to ex-
 pand their business, however, as they
 find it more and more difficult each year
 to secure enough to supply the local de-
 maud. Last year was very poor from
 a financial standpoint, while this year,
 so far, has been even worse, owing to the
 excessively high water which has pre-
 vailed in the river.
 Fatal Only to Rats.
 A new virus called "danysg'' Is
 fp E,,avoa ond ;s oya;x.~S