The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries

Fisheries Bureau Spawn-taker aboard a trawler. Note the snow on the rail, the frozen spray on the mast, and the ice on the rigging. Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. U. S. SERVICE SERIES. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FISHERIES BY FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER With Fifty-one Illustrations, principally from Bureaus of the United States Government BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Published, November, 1912 Copyright, 1912, by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co . All rights reserved The Boy with the U. S. Fisheries Norwood Press Berwick and Smith Co . Norwood, Mass. U. S. A. To My Son Roger's Friend COLIN McLACHLIN PREFACE Treasure-ships, bearing richer cargoes than any galleons that crossed the Spanish Main, still sail over the ocean to-day, but we call them fishing smacks; heroism equal to that of any of the pioneer navigators of old still is found beneath oilskins and a sou'wester, but the heroes give their lives to gain food for the world instead of knowledge; and the thrilling quest of piercing the mysteries of life has no greater fascination than when it seeks to probe the unfathomed depths of that great mistress of mysteries—the Ocean. Just as to save life is greater than to destroy it, so is the true savior of the seas the Fisheries craft, not the battleship; so is the hatchery mightier than the fortress, the net or the microscope a more powerful weapon for good than the torpedo or the Nordenfeldt. The Bureau of Fisheries for the United States Government, Mr. Chas. Frederick Holder and his associates for the anglers of America, and the sturdy and honorable class of commercial fishermen are raising to the utmost of dignity and value one of the oldest and greatest of all industries. Not till the waste of waters is tamed as has been the wilderness of land will their work be done, and the Fisheries Bureau must ever remain in the forefront of such endeavor. To reveal the incalculable riches of this vast domain of rivers, lakes, and seas; to show the devotion of those whose lives are spent amid its elemental perils and to point out a way where courage, skill, and youth may find a road to serve America and all the world beside, is the aim and purpose of The Author . CONTENTS Marooned by a Whale 1 The Fight of the Old Bull Seals 39 Attacked…