Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-28
TRAPPING EELs.
Peculiar Industry in Oneida River
Smoked for the Market,

FROM the New York Tribune
A small but very interesting New York
industry which is threatened with total ex-
tinction is the catching of cells in eel traps
in the Oneida river, at Caughdenhoy. For
many years the residents of this pretty lit
tie village have built their eel traps or
we1rs. year after year, without any fear of
molestation. but now they are face to face
with threatened lawsuit, which, if sue
ceSsful, will totally destroy their livelihood.
The fight against them is being made by
farmers living along the river bank between
Caughdenhoy and Oneida lake. and along
the western end Of the lake, who claim
that the building of the traps causes a
rise in the river sufficient in many instances
to flood their Iow-lying lands along the
water front. The suit, if brought will
doubtless be against the state, as the fish
ermen are permitted by law to build these
traps, but the ultimate result would be,
should the suit be successful, that the state
would forbid their use. This phase of the
question is troubling the fishermen very
much, and this can be easily appreciated
when it is stated that Caughdenhoy has
been built up practically on cells, there be-
ing no other business in the village, eX-
cept farming on limited scale. The fish
erInen claim, and with apparent truth, that
as their traps are never over fifteen inches
in height, it is impossible for them to cause
a rise in the river sufficient to flood lands
lying two and three miles further up the
river. let alone the western shore of the
lake 1t is probable that the excessively
high waters Of the last two years in that
region have had most to do with the flood
ing of the low-lying lands.
There are fourteen of these eel traps,
valued at about 81 400 owned at Caughden-
hoy and the manner of building them is as
follows: Heavy stakes are driven into the
bed of the river until they are just about
even with the surface during a medium
height of water. They are driven in such d
way that when completed they extend from
shore to shore in the shape of an immense
W. with the open portion facing up
stream. When In this shape 1T makes two
traps. When only one is to be built the
shape is a w. with the open portion up
stream. A framework of planks is then
built around these stakes. AT the two lower
tips of the wv a small opening is left
which Is later occupied by the trap itself.
This is usually made of lattice work. built
either rectangular or rounded and with the
lower end of larger diameter than the
upper. From the sides of the mouth long
Iaths run back into the trap, until they
almost meet in the center, leaving only
narrow 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 Ontario,
and thence to the ocean, and it is then that
the fishermen reap their harvest. When the
eel reaches the side wall it follows slowly
along this until it finds a narrow opening
which seems to present a way of escape;
but upon wriggling along it few feet it
finds itself in the large end Of the trap,
with no means of escape.