business and not likely to conduce to levity. The lines of the net freeze rigid as steel rods, the icy water soaks the thickest gloves till they are sodden and cold, the very fish that are drawn out of that dark and mysterious current under the ice are congealed — stiff as stakes — the moment they are exposed to the atmosphere, and to handle them is like handling pieces of ice. In the face of these discom- forts the winter fisherman, slapping his legs to restore lost circulation, moving stiffly because of the rheumat- ism contracted last year, or nursing the cracked and bleeding fingers that were frozen last week, is as cheer- ful a citizen as circumstances will permit; but it is a far cry from the frozen river as he sees it, a field of labour and a scene of drudgery, to the glittering, joy- ous plain that the well clad and nourished ice-boatman beholds. Digitized by Microsoft® 436 The Hudson River ^ As every one knows, the most important fisheries on the Hudson are those where the shad is taken. There has long been a rivalry between Hudson River and Chesapeake shad, New York and Maryland each cla:im- ing precedence, and finally agreeing only upon one point — that beside those two there are no others. From the mouth of the river almost to the head of navigation, as soon as winter closes, the boats of the fishermen put out to set the shad poles and get all in readiness for the approaching season. From the vicin- ity of Fort Lee, Piermont, Croton, Poughkeepsie, and many another favour able, point, they range themselves " in order serviceable ' ' and wait the advent of the van- guard of that unnumbered host that about the ist of April begins to move towards the headwaters of the river. The first "run" sends a quiver of excitement through the communities of fishers, and the news is telegraphed from New York to Albany. The news- papers herald the coming of the shad and the market- men display them with pride and expatiate upon their merits. At that time a multitude of the passengers re- turning from the Jersey shore to Manhattan by way of the upper ferries may be seen carrying mysterious newspaper packages, that emit a fishy odour. These are generally heads of families who have learned the advantage of buying their shad as they come fresh from the nets. The schools of fish ascend the river to spawn and are in prime condition during their upward migration, re- Digitized by Microsoft® Sports and Industries 437 turning in a few weeks so poor and thin that a prover- bial synonym for leanness and poverty is " the last run of shad." The Fish Commissioners have a shad station at Cats- kill where the weight and size of the fish taken, the MENDING NETS AT GARRISON preponderance of the roe over buck shad, and all other data for statistical reports are carefully noted. Mr. A. N. Cheney, State Fish Culturalist, wrote, in 1895, that: It is extremely doubtful, under the present law, and present manner of fishing the river, if the Hudson can be considered a self-sustaining shad river. The demand upon it grows with in- crease of population and improved facilities for shipping shad to a distance. It is not alone among the people living along the river that the shad find a market, but hundreds of miles of rail- ways act as distributing agents and take shad where formerly they were unknown. Since 1882, the United States Fish Com- mission has made large contributions of shad fry and eggs to the Hudson, and these contributions have been important factors in keeping the supply up to the present figures. The "contributions" of shad fry for restocking the Digitized by Microsoft® 438 The Hudson River river, from all sources, have in fifteen years aggregated probably riot less than a hundred million. Years ago the shad used to run up the river to Baker's Falls, nearly fifty miles above Troy, and the farmers came from distant points to camp at the Falls and catch the fish to salt down; But the build- ing of the Troy dam put a stop to that industry. The statistics for a recent year, published by the State Fish Commissioners, show that in three thousand five hundred nets over a million shad were caught. During the two months or less that the shad season lasts the fishing stations are scenes of picturesque ac- tivity, retaining, perhaps, more suggestion of the old distinctive river life than anything else that we can witness to-day. The toiling groups of roughly clad rivermen, handling and shipping the fish, the midget fieets of clustering boats, and the endless labour of spreading,