Autumn rose funeral home vegreville

Economic History

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A barn near St. Adolphe, Manitoba (ca. 1920). Original photograph in the Anthologist’s collection.

Cover Image: Dixon, S. J. (ca. 1890). Untitled (Toronto) [Photograph]. Anthologist’s collection.

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STORIES

FROM CANADA’S

Economic History

Collected From

CONTEMPORARY NEWSPAPERS

SECOND EDITION

“And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, / On your imaginary forces work.” Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 1, Prologue

CURATED, EDITED AND ANNOTATED BY

Christopher Willmore Victoria, B.C., 2019

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All articles in this collection are in the public domain in Canada; they were re–typed from their sources by Christopher Willmore.

Edited Text and Annotations © Christopher Willmore 2019

ISBN 978–1–9992295–3–5

A Skeride Publication

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To

ELISHEA

For Her Patience

&

MY PARENTS

For Their Support

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A QUICK NOTE

This work is not intended as a comprehensive textbook, but as an invitation to explore. Don’t feel you have to read it cover–to–cover; feel free to flip through these pages and start reading whatever catches your interest. I find that part of the fun in reading from the past is seeing how language evolves. To that end, I’ve left spelling and punctuation mostly as it was in the original articles. Since these stories are drawn from newspapers, which were often printed on a tight deadline, there are more errors than usual in the source material. I have silently corrected obvious typos, and sometimes changed spelling to be internally consistent in each article. I have also added paragraph breaks for ease of reading, and broken up some run–on sentences with commas. All text in bold (save some article titles) is mine, as are all footnotes1 and [words in square brackets]. I’ve made use of the following standard devices to comment on the text: […] = “I’ve skipped some words here.” [sic.] = “I know this looks like a typo, but it was written that way in the original.” Ibid. = “Same source as the above.” It was common in the past for Canadian newspapers to use words that are now (and in many cases, were then) ethnic slurs, especially when writing about Indigenous people. I believe it is important to acknowledge that these hurtful terms were used, but I have no wish to either perpetuate them, or to introduce them to new audiences. I have therefore replaced such words with their first letters followed with several dashes, as in h––––– (referring to a person of mixed heritage), s––––– (an Indigenous woman) and s–––––h (an Indigenous man). That’s it! You’re all set – enjoy!

C. WILLMORE

1 Like this one.

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Table of Contents

A QUICK NOTE .................................................................................................................................... 6

I. Newfoundland .......................................................................................................................19

1. A Natural History of Newfoundland’s Fisheries (1859) ................................................................. 20

2. Among the Fishermen of Newfoundland (1884) ........................................................................... 27

The Bait Act and its Aftermath ......................................................................................................... 31 3. No More Bait (1887) ................................................................................................................................ 31 4. Concerns About the Bait Act (1889) ......................................................................................................... 33 5. Realities of Competition with the French (1890)....................................................................................... 34 6. Suspension of the Bait Act (1893) ............................................................................................................ 36 7. Waste of Herring Prior to the Bait Act (1896) ........................................................................................... 37 8. The Aftermath of the Bait Act (1896) ....................................................................................................... 38

Factors Influencing the Price of Cod ................................................................................................. 39 9. Song of the Fisherman (1889) .................................................................................................................. 39 10. Fishermen, Prepare for War! (1894) ....................................................................................................... 39 11. A Cod Cartel (1894) ................................................................................................................................ 41 12. The Codfish Cull (1894) .......................................................................................................................... 43 13. Abuses of the Truck System (1894) ........................................................................................................ 45 14. Smelly and Hard to Prepare (1903) ........................................................................................................ 47

The Crash of 1894 ............................................................................................................................. 48 15. No Calm Before the Storm (Early December, 1894) ................................................................................ 48 16. The Crash (December 10, 1894) ............................................................................................................. 50 17. The Aftermath (February, 1895) ............................................................................................................. 50 18. The Roots of All Trade (1894) ................................................................................................................. 51 19. A Run on Three Banks (May, 1895)......................................................................................................... 52 20. Signs of Recovery (November, 1895) ...................................................................................................... 53

Our Staple Product: The Letters of James Murray ............................................................................ 55 21. Relieving the Fish Market (July, 1897) .................................................................................................... 55 22. Mr. Anderson Replies (July, 1897) .......................................................................................................... 56 23. The Price of Fish (July, 1897) .................................................................................................................. 57 24. Our Staple Product (July, 1897) .............................................................................................................. 59 25. On the Subject of Dry Codfish (July, 1897) .............................................................................................. 61 26. The Staple Industry (July, 1897) ............................................................................................................. 63 27. The Chief Consumers of Dried Codfish (July, 1897) ................................................................................. 64 28. The Final Letter (August, 1897) .............................................................................................................. 66

29. The Man Who Owned Half of Newfoundland (1898) .................................................................. 68

30. The Reids and Labrador (1907) ................................................................................................... 71

II. Fur ........................................................................................................................................73

Beavers and their Fur ....................................................................................................................... 74 1. The Beaver (1887) ................................................................................................................................... 74 2. One of the Romances of the French Regime (1918) .................................................................................. 77 3. The Beaver Club (1910) ............................................................................................................................ 78 4. ‘Made Beaver’ as a Currency (1921) ......................................................................................................... 80

Fashion and the Beaver Hat .............................................................................................................. 83

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5. “Many in Number and so Absolutely Unlike” (1909) ................................................................................. 85 6. “Becoming and Refined” (1911) ............................................................................................................... 86 7. Mrs. Quain’s First Reception (1914) ......................................................................................................... 93

Edmonton and the Fur Trade ............................................................................................................ 93 8. The Founding of Edmonton (1921) ........................................................................................................... 93 9. How the Trade is Handled (1899) ........................................................................................................... 104 10. Seasonal Shipments (1899) .................................................................................................................. 106 11. The Revillons (1906) ............................................................................................................................ 109 12. Further History of the Revillons (1918) ................................................................................................. 111 13. Competition and Indigenous Fur Traders (1922) ................................................................................... 112

14. How Fur was Sold in London (1894) .......................................................................................... 113

Fur Farming .................................................................................................................................... 117 15. Capacity and Quality Constraints to Trapping (1926) ............................................................................ 117 16. A Rapidly Developing Industry (1928) ................................................................................................... 118 17. A Russian Prince and Canadian Muskrat Rancher (1929) ...................................................................... 119 18. The Growth of Fur Farming (1935) ....................................................................................................... 120 19. A Demonstration of Dentistry (1934) ................................................................................................... 120 20. A Mink Factory (1949).......................................................................................................................... 121

Freight and Transportation ............................................................................................................. 124 21. By Canoe (1920) .................................................................................................................................. 124 22. By Dog Train (1897) ............................................................................................................................. 127 23. By Cayoose (1883) ............................................................................................................................... 131 24. By Steamboat (1921) ........................................................................................................................... 133

Traders and Trappers ...................................................................................................................... 136 25. Silhouette of the Northern Fur Trapper (1909) ..................................................................................... 136 26. Wending Home (1907) ......................................................................................................................... 138 27. A Companionable Tobacco Pipe (1909) ................................................................................................ 140 28. Jack Norris, Pioneer (1916) .................................................................................................................. 143 29. Pa–Ta of the Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (1923) .......................................................................................... 152 30. The Tales of Johnny Berens (1923) ....................................................................................................... 154 31. A Unique Family Gathering (1906) ....................................................................................................... 161 32. Number Sixteen (1894) ........................................................................................................................ 162

III. The Treaties, and After ...................................................................................................... 166

Starvation, the End of the Buffalo, and Sitting Bull......................................................................... 167 1. Conditions Near Battleford (1879) ......................................................................................................... 167 2. The Indians in Manitoba (1879) ............................................................................................................. 168 3. Starvation and Cattle Ranching in Alberta (1912) ................................................................................... 171 4. The Buffalo are Near Extinction (1882) ................................................................................................... 172

Land and the Treaties ..................................................................................................................... 174 5. An Early Treaty Talk (1849) .................................................................................................................... 174 6. Treaties and the Mounted Police (1885) ................................................................................................ 177 7. An Account of a Signing of Treaty 6 (1918) ............................................................................................. 179 8. A Treaty 6 Payment (1884) .................................................................................................................... 182 9. Indian Department Oxen and Treaty 6 (1884) ........................................................................................ 184 10. Denied Rations (1885) ......................................................................................................................... 186 11. Crowfoot’s Oration (1886) ................................................................................................................... 187 12. Hunger, Rations and Hayter Reed (1888).............................................................................................. 189 13. The Signing of Treaty 8 (1899) .............................................................................................................. 191

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14. “Nothing to be gained by being Indians” (1882) ................................................................................... 197 15. Speculation in Scrip (1911) ................................................................................................................... 198 16. Conflict Over Urban Land (1882) .......................................................................................................... 204 17. Minor Chiefs Swear Not to Sell Lands (1913) ........................................................................................ 206

18. The Life of Peter Hourie (1920) ................................................................................................. 207

The Potlatch ................................................................................................................................... 214 19. A Songhees Potlatch (1874) ................................................................................................................. 214 20. ‘Evils’ of the Potlatch (1896) ................................................................................................................ 215 21. “The Potlatch is Our Bank” (1896) ........................................................................................................ 216 22. The Potlatch Economy (1898) .............................................................................................................. 218 23. A Fort Rupert Potlatch (1899) .............................................................................................................. 220 24. Albert Edward Edenshaw, Chief of the Haidas (1897) ........................................................................... 221 25. A Potlatch in Settlement of Debts (1900) ............................................................................................. 222 26. Collecting Debts for the Potlatch (1902) ............................................................................................... 223 27. “The Last Great Potlatch” of the Songhees (1910) ................................................................................ 225 28. The Indian Act’s Potlatch Ban (1913) .................................................................................................... 226 29. “The Last of its Kind” (1922) ................................................................................................................. 227

30. The Feast of the Bear (1900) ..................................................................................................... 229

31. Sacket of the Quatsino First Nation (1895) ............................................................................... 233

The Oolichan................................................................................................................................... 235 32. Food and Light (1883) .......................................................................................................................... 235 33. Use and Preparation of the Oolichan (1885) ......................................................................................... 235 34. Catching the Candle–Fish (1884) .......................................................................................................... 237

Settler Perceptions of Indigenous Women ..................................................................................... 238 35. L. M. Montgomery on Saskatchewan (1891)......................................................................................... 238 36. How a Woman Should Dress (1892) ..................................................................................................... 241 37. “Woman’s Position Among the Indians” (1887) .................................................................................... 241 38. “Infinite Patience” (1911) .................................................................................................................... 243 39. “The heavy end of the burden” (1911) ................................................................................................. 244

40. The Green Corn Dance of the Onondaga (1896) ........................................................................ 244

“Back and Forth from Time Immemorial” ....................................................................................... 248 41. Mrs. White–Feather and Mrs. Full–Moon (1925) .................................................................................. 248 42. “Two Women Turned Back” (1925) ...................................................................................................... 249 43. A Right, Interrupted (1925) .................................................................................................................. 250 44. “With Bag and Baggage Galore” (1908) ................................................................................................ 251 45. “Tribes thus United” (1908) ................................................................................................................. 252

IV. Chinese Immigration ......................................................................................................... 255

Changing Perspectives on a Chinese Head Tax ............................................................................... 256 1. Mr. Bunster’s Argument (1871).............................................................................................................. 256 2. A Motion for a Head Tax (1875) ............................................................................................................. 259

The Head Tax of 1878 ..................................................................................................................... 260 3. Difficulties Collecting the Tax (1878) ...................................................................................................... 260 4. ‘A Bathos of Meanness’ (1878) .............................................................................................................. 262 5. The Turning Point (1878) ....................................................................................................................... 263 6. The Strike (1878) ................................................................................................................................... 264 7. More ‘Inconvenience’ (1878) ................................................................................................................. 265

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8. Chinese Cooks are not Easily Replaced (1878) ........................................................................................ 265 9. Collection of the Tax Resumes (1878) .................................................................................................... 265 10. Unconstitutional and Void (1878) ........................................................................................................ 265

11. An Anti–Chinese Meeting (1885) .............................................................................................. 266

12. A “Monster Public Meeting” (1886) .......................................................................................... 268

The Occupations ............................................................................................................................. 268 13. Statistics of Victoria’s Chinese Trade (1901) ......................................................................................... 269 14. Catching Fish (1861) ............................................................................................................................ 269 15. A Chinese Restaurant (1883) ................................................................................................................ 270 16. Hing, the Chinese Servant (1885) ......................................................................................................... 270 17. Hing Celebrates the Chinese New Year (1885) ...................................................................................... 272 18. Farmers and Sanitation Workers (1891) ............................................................................................... 273 19. Sanitary Issues with Chinese Laundries (1908)...................................................................................... 274 20. Improved Sanitation in Chinese Laundries (1908) ................................................................................. 275

The Fall of Kwong Lee ..................................................................................................................... 275 21. A Meeting in Chinatown (1884)............................................................................................................ 275 22. The Second Meeting (1884) ................................................................................................................. 276 23. An Auction of Goods (1885) ................................................................................................................. 276

Standard of Living and Way of Life ................................................................................................. 277 24. A Chattel Mortgage (1900) ................................................................................................................... 277 25. What’s in a Name? (1908) .................................................................................................................... 278 26. Edmonton’s Chinese Community (1908) .............................................................................................. 279 27. An Edmontonian Aviator (1923) ........................................................................................................... 282 28. A Walk Through Victoria’s Chinatown (1886) ....................................................................................... 283 29. A Prosperous Tailor’s Household (1902) ............................................................................................... 287 30. Chinese New Year in Victoria (1903)..................................................................................................... 290

Victoria: Opium Smuggling Central ................................................................................................. 295 31. A ‘Lucrative Trade’ (1865) .................................................................................................................... 295 32. “The Use of the Deadly Drug in Victoria” (1881) ................................................................................... 296 33. “Chinese and Opium Smuggling to the States” (1885) .......................................................................... 297 34. Canned Opium (1878) .......................................................................................................................... 298

The Business of Opium ................................................................................................................... 299 35. Dr. Helmcken’s License Fee (1865) ....................................................................................................... 299 36. Alcohol and Opium (1884) ................................................................................................................... 299 37. War and the Opium Trade (1894) ......................................................................................................... 300

The Beginning of the End for the Opium Industry........................................................................... 301 38. Low Prices from a Rival (1889) ............................................................................................................. 301 39. A Falling Chinese Population (1890) ..................................................................................................... 302 40. Lower Taxes are Bad for Smugglers (1894) ........................................................................................... 303 41. The Wilson Bill (1894) .......................................................................................................................... 304 42. A Celebration of the End (1894) ........................................................................................................... 305

Supply and Demand of Chinese Workers ........................................................................................ 306 43. “A Flood of Celestials” (1876)............................................................................................................... 306 44. Where do they Come From? (1884) ..................................................................................................... 306 45. From China to Alberta (1911) ............................................................................................................... 307 46. Across the Ocean to Red Deer (1925) ................................................................................................... 309 47. “We mean to stay.” (1884) .................................................................................................................. 311

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48. After Working on the Railway (1885) ................................................................................................... 312 49. The Impact of Layoffs (1900) ................................................................................................................ 313

Chinese Participation in the Gold Rush ........................................................................................... 314 50. Early Arrivals (1860) ............................................................................................................................. 314 51. Old Fields, Fresh Eyes and Fortune (1862) ............................................................................................ 315 52. Claims in the Kootenays (1866) ............................................................................................................ 316 53. Later, in the Kootenays (1867) ............................................................................................................. 316 54. The Prettiest Nugget in British Columbia (1874) ................................................................................... 317

V. Gold .................................................................................................................................... 318

1. A Song of the Cariboo Gold Rush (1864) ..................................................................................... 319

The Gold Fields of British Columbia ................................................................................................ 320 2. Victoria and the Fraser River Gold Rush (1858) ...................................................................................... 320 3. Gearing Up for the Gold Rush (1860) ..................................................................................................... 323 4. The First Pioneer to East Kootenay (1902) .............................................................................................. 332 5. “We opened fire on them killing eleven” (1884) ..................................................................................... 334 6. From Hill’s Bar to Big Bend (1886) .......................................................................................................... 336 7. Hydraulic Mining in the Cassiar (1917) ................................................................................................... 345 8. Barkerville in Later Days (1912) .............................................................................................................. 348

The Rossland Mines ........................................................................................................................ 351 9. 480 Feet Under Ground (1896) .............................................................................................................. 351 10. A $60,000 Suit of Clothes (1910) .......................................................................................................... 354 11. The War Eagle Mine (1910) .................................................................................................................. 358 12. What is a Mine Worth? (1903) ............................................................................................................. 360

The Cariboo in ‘62 ........................................................................................................................... 363 13. When Cariboo Was in Flower (1908) .................................................................................................... 363 14. The town of Williams Creek (1862) ...................................................................................................... 366 15. Throwing Twenties Away (1861) .......................................................................................................... 366 16. “The Usurper Fantasy Dethroned” (1862) ............................................................................................ 367 17. “Such is Life in Cariboo” (1862) ............................................................................................................ 370 18. “I have seen so much gold that I am sick.” (1862) ................................................................................. 371 19. Abbott and the Mirror (1903) .............................................................................................................. 373

Eliza Ord, Cariboo Entrepreneur ..................................................................................................... 373 20. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks’s Saloon (1864).................................................................................................... 374 21. Isaac Brooks runs low on money (1865) ............................................................................................... 374 22. Tumultous Times (1866 – 1868) ........................................................................................................... 375 23. Courts and Contractors (June, 1872) .................................................................................................... 376 24. The Breach of Promise Trial (June, 1872) .............................................................................................. 377 25. Eliza Ord’s Reply (June, 1872) .............................................................................................................. 380 26. An Unfortunate Case (October, 1889) .................................................................................................. 381

Roads to Gold (or Lack Thereof) ..................................................................................................... 382 27. The Burden of a Road Tax (1860) ......................................................................................................... 382 28. The Road from Port Douglas (1860) ..................................................................................................... 384 29. Blazing the Dewdney Trail (1901) ......................................................................................................... 384 30. Unreasonable and Cranky Kickings (1890) ............................................................................................ 388

The Klondike Rush .......................................................................................................................... 389 31. “The Most Remarkable Gold Country” (1897) ...................................................................................... 389 32. Tips for the Tenderfoot (1897) ............................................................................................................. 395

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33. How to Mine Gold in the Klondike (1897) ............................................................................................. 396 34. Home Life in Dawson City (1897) ......................................................................................................... 398 35. “It pays to be good looking” (1898) ...................................................................................................... 399

Gold on the Saskatchewan ............................................................................................................. 403 36. With Pick and Shovel and Grizzly (1922) ............................................................................................... 403 37. Gold Dredging on the Saskatchewan (1901) ......................................................................................... 404 38. From Fine Nothingness to Bright Nugget (1901) ................................................................................... 406 39. The Autobiography of Tom Clover (1917) ............................................................................................. 408

Nellie Cashman ............................................................................................................................... 417 30. Death of an Explorer (1925) ................................................................................................................. 417 41. Tea in the Snow (1875) ........................................................................................................................ 417 42. Miner, Leader and Entrepreneur (1889) ............................................................................................... 418 43. Cassiar and the Klondike (1898) ........................................................................................................... 419 44. A Bold Impersonator (1898) ................................................................................................................. 419 45. At the Home of Kate Ryan (1924) ......................................................................................................... 421

Kate Ryan ....................................................................................................................................... 422 46. “The far north is the only place to live” (1924) ..................................................................................... 422 47. Running for Office (1920) ..................................................................................................................... 423 48. A New Store (1921).............................................................................................................................. 423 49. “The Producers of the Real Money” (1921) .......................................................................................... 424 50. Death of a “Big Sister” (1932)............................................................................................................... 425

VI. Railways ............................................................................................................................ 426

1. Waiting for the Railroad (1910) .................................................................................................. 427

2. Ontario’s First Steam Railway (1914) .......................................................................................... 430

The Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) ............................................................................................. 433 3. “The Offspring of Two Great Ideas” (1886) ............................................................................................. 433 4. Tyrants of the Lunch Counter (1893) ...................................................................................................... 435 5. “Luxurious in Comparison” (1899).......................................................................................................... 436 6. Supplying Food for the Railway (1913) ................................................................................................... 437 7. How the Canadian Pacific Selects Cooks (1912) ...................................................................................... 439 8. “A Subtle Ingenuity in Advertising” (1914) ............................................................................................. 440 9. Adventures of a Dime Laundry Bill (1914) .............................................................................................. 441

Land Grants and the C.P.R. ............................................................................................................. 441 10. The Pacific Swindle (1880) ................................................................................................................... 441 11. Land Grants, Schools and Taxes (1913) ................................................................................................ 443 12. A Closer Look (1896) ............................................................................................................................ 444 13. The Owners of the Land (1884) ............................................................................................................ 448 14. Crowding by Colonization Companies? (1882) ...................................................................................... 450 15. “At Present Virtually Locked Up” (1882) ............................................................................................... 452

Sir John Lister–Kaye and the C.P.R. Lands ....................................................................................... 454 16. In the Beginning (December, 1886) ...................................................................................................... 454 17. An Incentive to Settlement (January, 1887) .......................................................................................... 454 18. A Great Canadian Farming Scheme (December, 1888) .......................................................................... 455 19. “Irrevocably Lost” (September, 1891) .................................................................................................. 457

Manitoba vs. the Canadian Pacific Railway .................................................................................... 460 20. Fighting a Monopoly (1887) ................................................................................................................. 461 21. A Manitoban Protest Song (1887) ........................................................................................................ 462

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22. How Manitoba Won (1911).................................................................................................................. 464

The Canadian Northern Railway (C.N.R.) ........................................................................................ 465 23. “A Record of Progress” (1914).............................................................................................................. 465 24. Donald D. Mann of the C.N.R. (1909) ................................................................................................... 469 25. Financing the C.N.R. (1903) .................................................................................................................. 476 26. Land Grants and the Early C.N.R. (1914) ............................................................................................... 479 27. Building Ahead of Demand (1913) ........................................................................................................ 480 28. The Development of Vegreville (1913) ................................................................................................. 481 29. Education on Rails (1915)..................................................................................................................... 482 30. The C.N.R. is Taken Over (1917) ........................................................................................................... 484

VII. The American ‘Invasion’ ................................................................................................... 486

A Sudden, Massive Movement ....................................................................................................... 487 1. The Man Who Made the Valley (1910) ................................................................................................... 487 2. The Magnetic Northwest (1906) ............................................................................................................ 490 3. Canada’s New Settlers (1902) ................................................................................................................ 492

Personal Stories .............................................................................................................................. 497 4. Spurred by Faith and Hope (1910).......................................................................................................... 497 5. The Grousers Return (1901) ................................................................................................................... 502 6. Settlers of Saskatoon (1908) .................................................................................................................. 503

“What classes does Western Canada welcome?” ........................................................................... 509 7. The Speculator’s Point of View (1915) .................................................................................................... 509 8. “Detrimental to the Country” (1915) ...................................................................................................... 512 9. Wheat and Empire (1909) ...................................................................................................................... 514 10. “It has been good to me.” (1909) ......................................................................................................... 516 11. A Closer Look at Trego’s Farm (1909) ................................................................................................... 518

VIII. Wheat and Farming ........................................................................................................ 520

1. The First Grain in the West (1919) .............................................................................................. 521

Early Farming .................................................................................................................................. 522 2. An 18th–Century Wheat Farmer (1790) ................................................................................................. 522 3. Starting a Farm in 19th–Century Ontario (1911) ..................................................................................... 524 4. From New York to Ontario (1907) .......................................................................................................... 528 5. Wheat Farming in Edmonton in 1874 (1907) .......................................................................................... 533 6. Spring on an Alberta Farm (1929) .......................................................................................................... 536

Harvest Help ................................................................................................................................... 538 7. A Diminished Harvest Migration (1909).................................................................................................. 538 8. “The farmers will not give us work” (1923)............................................................................................. 541 9. A Portrait of the Harvest Hand (1927) .................................................................................................... 542 10. Threshing Wheat in the Northwest (1891) ........................................................................................... 545 11. When Threshing Was Threshing (1947) ................................................................................................ 548

Technology and Farming ................................................................................................................. 550 12. “A Wonderful Course of Improvement” (1892) .................................................................................... 550 13. A Brief History of the Massey–Harris Co. (1911) ................................................................................... 554 14. A Combined Harvester and Thresher (1925) ......................................................................................... 558 15. An Inspiring Sight (1928) ...................................................................................................................... 559 16. Combines and Prairie Wheat (1928) ..................................................................................................... 560

New Strains of Wheat ..................................................................................................................... 563

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17. Red Fife and Marquis Wheat (1916) ..................................................................................................... 563 18. Alberta’s First Winter Wheat (1907) ..................................................................................................... 566 19. Alberta Red (1907)............................................................................................................................... 567

From Farm to Market ..................................................................................................................... 570 20. The Canada Grain Act (1915)................................................................................................................ 570 21. How Wheat was Inspected and Graded (1904) ..................................................................................... 571 22. The Transportation of Grain (1914) ...................................................................................................... 576 23. Marketing Canadian Wheat (1921) ...................................................................................................... 580 24. The World’s Wheat Markets (1910) ..................................................................................................... 583

The Wheat Board of 1919 ............................................................................................................... 589 25. Marketing the Post–War Harvest (August, 1919) .................................................................................. 589 26. Powers and their Limits (August, 1919) ................................................................................................ 590 27. Hauling Wheat Across the Border (November, 1919) ........................................................................... 590 28. Equity and Justice (December, 1919) ................................................................................................... 591 29. The Price of Bread (December, 1919) ................................................................................................... 593 30. “The Farmer has Unquestionably Benefited” (January, 1920) ............................................................... 593 31. Questioning the Benefit (January, 1920) .............................................................................................. 594 32. Whipsawing Producer and Consumer (January, 1920) .......................................................................... 596 33. What Was the Government Doing? (March, 1920) ............................................................................... 596 34. Free Trading in Wheat (July, 1920) ....................................................................................................... 598 35. A Return to Normal Methods (July, 1920) ............................................................................................ 600 36. Who Will Pay the Debt? (August, 1920)................................................................................................ 601 37. Price of Flour May Drop Soon (August, 1920) ....................................................................................... 604 38. Better than the Open Market (October, 1920) ..................................................................................... 604 39. Wheat Control (October, 1920) ............................................................................................................ 605 40. The Case of the Farmer (December, 1920) ........................................................................................... 605 41. A Second Opinion (January, 1921) ........................................................................................................ 608 42. The End of the Wheat Board (August, 1921)......................................................................................... 611

Women and their Farms ................................................................................................................. 611 43. Mrs. Foster’s Farm (1921) .................................................................................................................... 611 44. Ruth Hillman (1916) ............................................................................................................................. 612 45. Other Successful Farmers (1907) .......................................................................................................... 613 46. Georgina Binney–Clark (1909) .............................................................................................................. 614 47. Hazlett’s Homestead (1921) ................................................................................................................. 615

Ready–Made Farms and the Woman Farmer ................................................................................. 617 48. Felix’s Failure (1894) ............................................................................................................................ 617 49. The C.P.R.’s Ready–Made Farms in Western Canada (1915) ................................................................. 619 50. Why the Settlers are Content (1910) .................................................................................................... 619 51. “A profitable field for the business woman” (1912) .............................................................................. 623 52. “Jack” May’s Ready–Made Farm (1911) ............................................................................................... 624 53. A New Neighbor (1911) ....................................................................................................................... 624 54. “I love the freedom of the life” (1912).................................................................................................. 625 55. A Change in Policy (1915) ..................................................................................................................... 626

IX. The Status of Prairie Women, 1912 – 1916 ........................................................................ 627

The Country Homemakers .............................................................................................................. 628

Guardianship of Children ................................................................................................................ 628 1. The Law in British Columbia (1913) ........................................................................................................ 629 2. The Law in Manitoba (1913) .................................................................................................................. 630

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Homesteads and Land .................................................................................................................... 631 3. “A Defective Law” (1916) ....................................................................................................................... 632 4. A Clarification of the Defective Law (1916) ............................................................................................. 632 5. Women and Homesteads (1916) ............................................................................................................ 633 6. “There are harder things than fighting” (1916) ....................................................................................... 634 7. “A Colony of Women Farmers” (1916) ................................................................................................... 635 8. A Woman Farmer with ‘No Occupation’ (1916) ...................................................................................... 636 9. First the Vote, Next the Land (1916)....................................................................................................... 636

Financial Dependence ..................................................................................................................... 638 10. The Poor Wives of the Well–to–Do (1912) ........................................................................................... 638 11. Equal Rights in the Bank Account (1912) .............................................................................................. 640 12. Queens of the Household? (1913) ........................................................................................................ 642 13. A Tight–Wad’s Wife (1912) .................................................................................................................. 644 14. A Declaration of Independence (1912) ................................................................................................. 645

X. Housework ......................................................................................................................... 647

1. A Woman’s Time (1911) .............................................................................................................. 648

The Nature of Rural Housework ..................................................................................................... 649 2. “Mysterious Providence” (1866) ............................................................................................................ 649 3. Scientific Housekeeping (1897) .............................................................................................................. 650 4. “You Must Still Smile” (1911) ................................................................................................................. 652 5. Woman’s Life Should Vary (1915) .......................................................................................................... 654 6. “A Host of Children to Eat her Bread” (1921) .......................................................................................... 654

Housework in Verse ........................................................................................................................ 656 7. For the Sake of Being Supported (1896) ................................................................................................. 656 8. Isn’t it enough? (1896) ........................................................................................................................... 657

Housework and the Canadian Male ................................................................................................ 658 9. What the Boy can do at Home (1911) .................................................................................................... 658 10. ‘Batching’ or, Life as a Bachelor (1898) ................................................................................................. 659 11. Bachelor Bread (1907) ......................................................................................................................... 663 12. “More Unhappy, More Unhealthy” (1893) ........................................................................................... 664 13. A Grass Widower’s Ranch Batching (1910) ........................................................................................... 665

Labour–Saving Innovations............................................................................................................. 667 14. Making Woman’s Work Easier (1918) .................................................................................................. 667 15. Five Valiant Servants Wanting Country Employ (1912) ......................................................................... 668 16. “Her fairies do the housework” (1911) ................................................................................................. 672 17. An Electrical Age (1930) ....................................................................................................................... 673

Canned Food for Unexpected Guests.............................................................................................. 678 18. “Absolutely Nothing” in the House (1897) ............................................................................................ 678 19. “I will be glad to have you any day” (1913) ........................................................................................... 680

The Changing Craft of Laundry........................................................................................................ 683 20. June and the Laundry Woman (1892) ................................................................................................... 683 21. “Blame it on the Soap Suds” (1909)...................................................................................................... 685 22. A Bachelor’s Laundry (1907) ................................................................................................................ 685 23. Winnipeg’s Options for Urban Laundry (1911)...................................................................................... 688

XI. Women and Paid Work ..................................................................................................... 697

On Women and Work ..................................................................................................................... 698

16

1. Woman’s Sphere (1887) ........................................................................................................................ 698 2. All Honor to the Girl Who Works (1909) ................................................................................................. 699 3. “The Bumps and Clicks of the Day’s Work” (1911) .................................................................................. 699 4. The Greatest Extravagance (1916) ......................................................................................................... 700

Conditions of Life and Work ........................................................................................................... 701 5. “Here is a Working Girl” (1906) .............................................................................................................. 701 6. “Button Holes for Sale” (1901) ............................................................................................................... 701 7. “Indifferent in the Matter of Food” (1912) ............................................................................................. 702 8. “The Girls do not Need to be Reformed” (1916) ..................................................................................... 703 9. An Excellent Plan (1911) ........................................................................................................................ 704 10. Women in Offices (1898) ..................................................................................................................... 705 11. Typists Declare “Movies” Have Libelled Them (1913) ........................................................................... 708

The Domestic Help Problem ........................................................................................................... 711 12. “There is a reason” (1915) ................................................................................................................... 711 13. “Labor Must Expect to Produce” (1920) ............................................................................................... 714 14. “No Future Before Her” (1913) ............................................................................................................ 715 15. The Mary Janes of Edmonton (1908) .................................................................................................... 715 16. “There’s millions in it.” (1901) .............................................................................................................. 719 17. “Partiality for the Chinese.” (1900)....................................................................................................... 719 18. If You Can’t Beat Them… (1897) ........................................................................................................... 720

19. “Women are a Decided Success” (1917) ................................................................................... 720

20. Women and Paid Farm Work (1916) ......................................................................................... 722

Egg and Butter Money .................................................................................................................... 724 21. A Complaint (1887) .............................................................................................................................. 724 22. “Far from Pleasant” Hawking (1887) .................................................................................................... 725 23. In Payment of Taxes (1889) .................................................................................................................. 727 24. “The Farmer’s Wife Still Comes to Town” (1915) .................................................................................. 727 25. Marketing Farm Produce (1917) .......................................................................................................... 729

How Some Women Earn Their Money ............................................................................................ 733 26. “Male and Alien Hands” (1892) ............................................................................................................ 733 27. The Staff of Life (1894) ......................................................................................................................... 734 28. Opportunities for Work (1913) ............................................................................................................. 735 29. “Profitable Fields of Undertaking” (1897) ............................................................................................. 736

A Living Wage for Women .............................................................................................................. 739 30. “How Much do you Pay your Girls?” (1900) .......................................................................................... 739 31. “Women Regard Business as a Makeshift” (1913) ................................................................................ 740 32. The Girl’s Side of the Question (1913) .................................................................................................. 742 33. “Do you Live at Home?” (1917) ............................................................................................................ 743 34. “There is another angle” (1921) ........................................................................................................... 744 35. “Why should she not have equal pay for equal work?” (1921) .............................................................. 746

British Columbia’s First Minimum Wage ......................................................................................... 747 36. Women Approve Minimum Wage (November, 1918) ........................................................................... 747 37. Laundry Workers to get Fair Wages (December, 1918) ......................................................................... 749 38. Minimum Wage for House Workers (May, 1919).................................................................................. 752 39. A Working Girl’s Complaint (1922) ....................................................................................................... 754 40. The Minimum Wage Act and Wages (July, 1924) .................................................................................. 755

XII. Money and Banking ......................................................................................................... 756

17

When Halifax Ran on Doubloons (1820) ......................................................................................... 757 1. Senex’s First Letter (September 13) ....................................................................................................... 757 2. Senex’s Second Letter (September 22) ................................................................................................... 759 3. A Replacement for Senex’s Third Letter (September 28) ......................................................................... 762 4. Senex’s Fourth Letter (October 6) .......................................................................................................... 765 5. Senex’s Fifth and Final Letter (October 12) ............................................................................................. 768 6. A More Practical Complaint (October 19) ............................................................................................... 771

7. A History of the Bank of Montreal (1917) ................................................................................... 773

Banks and the Farmer ..................................................................................................................... 778 8. Why Farmers Borrow Money (1915) ...................................................................................................... 778 9. Promissory Notes as the Farmer’s Collateral (1915) ............................................................................... 778 10. Who Will Finance the Farmers? (1921)................................................................................................. 780 11. Coupons for Money (1932) .................................................................................................................. 782 12. Creditors, Debtors and the Ability to Pay (1894) ................................................................................... 783 13. What Farmers Should Know About the Bank Act (1910) ....................................................................... 785 14. How Banks Provide Currency for Crop Movement (1906) ..................................................................... 792

Canada’s Banking System ............................................................................................................... 796 15. Branches and the Cost of Banking (1917) ............................................................................................. 796 16. “Grievances of Two or Three Classes” (1907) ....................................................................................... 798 17. The Powers and Business of Canadian Banks (1910) ............................................................................. 800

XIII. Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 810

The Annual Hops–Picking Migration ............................................................................................... 811 1. “Mostly done by Indians” (1884) ............................................................................................................ 811 2. “Sublime Effrontery” (1888)................................................................................................................... 811 3. “No More Prosperous Natives” (1889) ................................................................................................... 812 4. Of Horses and Custom Houses (1890) .................................................................................................... 813 5. “About 50 Canoes” (1891) ..................................................................................................................... 813 6. A Smallpox Scare (1892) ........................................................................................................................ 814 7. On Savary Island (1893) ......................................................................................................................... 815 8. The Destruction of Nootka (1894) .......................................................................................................... 815 9. “Color and General Picturesqueness” (1897) .......................................................................................... 816 10. “An Epidemic of Measles” (1898) ......................................................................................................... 816 11. New Metlakahtla (1899) ...................................................................................................................... 817 12. Trade at the Turn of the Century (1900) ............................................................................................... 817 13. “Indians Wanted” (1902) ..................................................................................................................... 819 14. Playing Ball (1903) ............................................................................................................................... 819 15. The Wreck of the Boscowitz (1904) ...................................................................................................... 819 16. The Nez Perce and ‘Poaching’ (1905) ................................................................................................... 820 17. The E. Clemens Horst Hop Co. Camp (1906) ......................................................................................... 821 18. “Interesting and Picturesque” (1907) ................................................................................................... 822 19. “A Poor Season” (1908) ....................................................................................................................... 823 20. “Labor is Scarce” (1909) ....................................................................................................................... 824 21. “An Interesting Sight” (1910) ............................................................................................................... 825 22. Experimenting with Machinery (1911) ................................................................................................. 825 23. A Strike (1912) ..................................................................................................................................... 826 24. How Hops Were Picked (1913) ............................................................................................................. 827 25. A Prelude to Wartime (1914) ............................................................................................................... 829 26. The Agassiz Hop Fields (1915) .............................................................................................................. 829 27. “A Boon to Local Merchants” (1916) .................................................................................................... 830

18

28. Reduced Operations (1917) ................................................................................................................. 831 29. Gatherings (1920) ................................................................................................................................ 831 30. Conditions are Bad (1921) .................................................................................................................... 831 31. “Wishes to Employ All White Labor” (1926) ......................................................................................... 832

Settlers and the Songhees Nation ................................................................................................... 833 32. The ‘Problem’ of the Songhees Reserve (1908) .................................................................................... 833 33. “After More than Fifty Years of Trying” (1910) ..................................................................................... 840

The Evolution of Chop Suey in Canada to 1949 ............................................................................... 844 34. A Rare Banquet (1907) ......................................................................................................................... 844 35. By Appointment to His Majesty the King (1936) ................................................................................... 847 36. A ‘traditional’ recipe (1910) ................................................................................................................. 848 37. “This recipe is splendid” (1910) ............................................................................................................ 848 38. An Edmontonian Chop Suey (1923) ...................................................................................................... 849 39. Calgary–style Chop Suey (1929) ........................................................................................................... 850 40. Canadian Chop Suey (1936) ................................................................................................................. 850 41. Name Brand Soda Wafers (1939) ......................................................................................................... 851 42. “Around a mound of Rice Krispies” (1940)............................................................................................ 851 43. Chop Suey Moderne (1945) ................................................................................................................. 852 44. The Study of China (1948) .................................................................................................................... 853 45. Menu Suggestions (1949) .................................................................................................................... 853

46. How Brennan Got A Cook (1910) .............................................................................................. 854

Mother’s Hens (1915) ..................................................................................................................... 859 47. CHAPTER I. .......................................................................................................................................... 859 48. CHAPTER II........................................................................................................................................... 863 49. CHAPTER III.......................................................................................................................................... 866 50. CHAPTER IV. ........................................................................................................................................ 869 51. CHAPTER V. ......................................................................................................................................... 871 52. CHAPTER VI. ........................................................................................................................................ 873 53. CHAPTER VII. ....................................................................................................................................... 876 54. CHAPTER VIII. ...................................................................................................................................... 878 55. CHAPTER IX.......................................................................................................................................... 880

Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. 883

Index of Named and Pseudonymous Authors ......................................................................... 884

19

I. Newfoundland

20

1. A Natural History of Newfoundland’s Fisheries (1859)2

William Epps Cormack was a naturalist and early European explorer of the

interior of Newfoundland. In the following account he gives a useful

summary of the state of Newfoundland’s fisheries in the mid–nineteenth

century. Not only were codfish and seal exploited – there was also a brisk

trade in bait fish, such as capelin and squid. This would prove fateful after

the passing of the 1887 Bait Act.

Of the fishes of the British North American seas, the most abundant is, at the

same time, the most important to man. The cod (Gadus Morhua) here holds dominion over all the habitable parts of the ocean, – from the outer edges of the great banks of

Newfoundland, which are more than 300 miles from land, and more than 100

fathoms3 deep, to the verge of every creek and cove of the bounding coasts: it even

ascends into the fresh water.

To support such a mass of living things, the ocean sends her periodical masses

of other living beings; and these in the economy of nature, are next in importance,

and, of necessity, in abundance in these seas. Nature furnishes two successive tribes

of animals as food for one tribe; and for the three together, this busiest of the oceans

seems to exist.

THE COD

The cod is accompanied at one season by shoals of myriads of the capelin

(Salmo arcticus4) and at another by equal hosts of that molluscous animal the cuttle– fish (Sepia Loligo5), called in Newfoundland the Squid6. The three animals are

2 Originally published in five parts, in the British Colonist for July 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29, 1859. Written

by William Epps Cormack (1796 – 1868). 3 About 183 metres, or 600 feet. 4 This appears to be an error. The capelin’s Latin name is Mallotus villosus, while Salmo arcticus refers to the Arctic Grayling. The capelin and arctic grayling are very different fish. 5 An obsolete term, though the one originally adopted by Carolus Linnaeus in the 1750s. Today, the

Sepia (cuttle–fish) and Loligo (squid) are separate branches of the ten arm cephalopod (Decabrachia) family. 6 “The squid itself is one of the most curious inhabitants of the waters. It is a cephalopod, or that class

of molluscs whose heads are the organs of locomotion. The length of the soft cartilaginous body is seven

or eight inches. It has ten arms radiating from the central mass of the head, two of them being longer

than the other eight, and with discs or suckers. The mouth consists of a strong horny beak like that of

a parrot. The eyes are large, bright and staring. The arms serve for the capture of its prey, to which it

attaches itself by suckers. Another remarkable peculiarity of the squid is the ink bag for secreting a

fluid of intense blackness, which it can spout at will. This substance, frequently called “ink,” from the

use to which it was anciently applied, mixes freely with the water, diffusing an impenetrable obscurity

for some distance around, by which the animal often escapes from danger; thus, as Ray wittily

observed, “hiding itself like an obscure or prolix author, under its own ink.” It possesses the power of

swimming either backward or forward by means of a hydraulic apparatus by which it can eject the

water from a tube with considerable force and thus by the action of the surrounding medium, it can

dart back with amazing velocity. The tube can be turned in any direction so as to drive it either way,

and the fin–like expansion of its tail aids as rudder and propeller. A shoal of these squids is perceived

at a distance by the number of little drops of water, like rain drops, which each shoots into the air as

21

migratory; and man, who stations himself on the shores for their combined

destruction, conducts his movements according to their migrations. By art he

captures annually more than two hundred millions of the cod with the capelin, and

one hundred millions with the cuttle–fish. On the coast of Labrador, and in the north

part of Newfoundland, the cod is so abundant, that it is hauled on shore with seines7

in vast quantities. Thus, by these three means, and the use of herrings and shell–fish

for bait, along the southern shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there are caught in

the British North American seas, upwards of four hundred millions of cod annually. There appear to be four varieties or kinds of the cod in these seas; but their

history has not been sufficiently attended, to determine their relations to each other

as species or variety. The first is the bank–cod, found on the great bank8, many miles

from land; the second is the shore–cod, caught in the bays around the shores, and in

the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the third is the red–cod (Gadus callarias9), resembling the rock–cod or red–ware codling of Scotland, caught near the shores; the fourth and most

remarkable, is what may be called the seal–headed cod10, from its head resembling

that of a seal or dog. The haddock (Gadus AEglefinus11), of a large size, is also met with among the proper cod. All the kinds approach towards one size, and are caught

and dried promiscuously by the fishermen. The bank–cod differs from the other

varieties in his place of resort, which is almost always on the banks, at a distance

from land; he is also larger and stronger, with large scales and spots; his body is of a

lighter color throughout, with the spots more generally diffused, and more distinctly

marked; his flesh, too, is firmer. The shore–cod resembles most the cod in a healthy

state on the coasts of Britain, and is that of which the greatest quantity is caught,

owing to its being most conveniently taken: the back is of a dusky–brown color; the

belly, silvery or yellowish, and the spots in general not remarkably distinct. The red–

cod is probably larger than our rock–cod, and is not numerous. The seal–headed cod

is of the same color and size as the shore–cod, and its head is, in like manner covered

with skin; and it is comparatively rare. The young cod, tom–cod, or podley, swarms

in summer in all harbors and shallow waters.

There are some other differences in the cod, which may partly arise from

difference of latitude and of coasts or grounds, where they are found. Thus, the farther

it darts backward, near the surface of the sea.” OUR NEWFOUNDLAND LETTER. (1882, October 4).

The Montreal Gazette, p. 2. 7 A seine is a fishing net placed in the water vertically. For stability, weights are attached to its bottom edge and buoys to its top edge. 8 The grand banks of Newfoundland are underwater plateaus. On these plateaus, the water is shallow

and rich in nutrients, making them very suitable for fishing. 9 This is the original name given to Baltic cod by Linnaeus. Today, it is called G. morhua callarias. This appears to be another error by Cormack, since Baltic cod is a very specific, low–salinity type of

cod found only in Europe and the Baltic sea. The red cod is not a true cod, and bears the Latin name

Pseudophycis bachus. 10 Harvard University lists ‘seal headed cod’ as an alternate name for Atlantic cod, gadus morhua. The distinct head shape appears to have been due to a rare mutation or deformity. 11 This is the haddock’s original designation. It is now no longer a Gadus, having been reclassified as Melanogrammus aeglefinus.

22

north, the less oil is obtained from them, their livers being smaller; and the bank–cod

yields the least oil of any.

The cod is sometimes caught six feet in length, but there are accounts of its

having been larger. All the kinds of cod obey the same general laws of migration. They

shift according to the changes of temperature in their element, arising from the

seasons, and with the supplies of food which invariably accompany these changes.

The bank–cod seems to be the most stationary.

As we advance northward from the gulf of St. Lawrence, the migrations of the

cod assume a more decided character, and it strikes in greater abundance. This holds

as far north as fishing–posts have yet been established on the coast of Labrador. The

same applies to the migrations and abundance of the other fishes inhabiting these

seas, more especially of those connected with the cod, and they arise together from

the same general causes. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Lat, 45o48o, particularly along

the shores of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and the adjacent Islands, where

shell–fish are more abundant than farther to the north, and where perhaps, in

consequence, more other fishes remain in the winter, the herring arrives in Spring

about the same time that it arrives on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, in

April and May, when the cod, in consequence becomes equally abundant at all places;

but afterwards, worlds of food arrive on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador; at

first the capelin, over the shores of both these countries, and then again the cuttle–

fish12, around the shores of Newfoundland; they never failing to bring in with them

their hosts of cod, and to retain them at these shores during the summer. Neither the

capelin nor any equivalent, appears at the countries farther south, although the

cuttle–fish visits, and sometimes in considerable quantities, the coasts of Nova Scotia

and Cape Breton: Hence the pre–eminence of Newfoundland and Labrador as a fishing station, over every other part of the northern hemisphere.

At Labrador, and in the north part of Newfoundland, where the length of the

summer is not more than six weeks or two months, the hook and line are often laid

aside for the seine; for it is necessary that enough of cod should be taken within the

first two or three weeks otherwise the remainder of the warm weather would not be

sufficient to dry it. Hence the cod–fishery, according to the present mode of curing,

which is, with the exception of a very trifling proportion, by drying the fish in the sun,

cannot be carried on further north than a certain latitude.

The fisher of Newfoundland commences in June, as soon as the capelin appears

on the coast, and ends about the beginning of September, when the cuttle–fish begins

to move off the shores. The capelin is the bait used during the first month or six weeks

and after that the cuttle–fish.

When bait is scarce, considerable numbers of cod are caught by jigging; the jiggers being an artificial bait13, with hooks affixed.

12 At the time, cuttle–fish and squid were often lumped together. Here and below, Cormack probably

refers to the northern shortfin squid (Ilex ilecebrosus, or as it would have been called at the time, Loligo ilecebrosus), which is abundant in the waters around Newfoundland. Cod find them delicious, and according to the FAO, northern shortfin squid are still in high demand as bait in the cod fishery. 13 A jig typically consists of a lead sinker attached to one or more hooks.

23

The process of curing the cod requires about a month in favorable weather.

Of the four–hundred millions and upwards of cod that are taken annually out

of the British North American Seas, about one hundred millions, or sixty thousand

tons, are exported in a dried state by the British, to the warm countries of Europe

and America: Of the remainder, a part equal to double that of the British is taken

away by the Americans, – a part by the French, – and a part is consumed in the

countries themselves.

It is from the livers of the cod–fish, that the cod–oil of commerce is made. These

are exposed in casks, and sometimes in vats, to the sun, and the heat in all these

countries is sufficient to render them into oil. There is a falling off, some years, in the

average quantity of oil obtained from the cod throughout the British fisheries; but the

French having the exclusive right of fishing at those parts of the island where the

different kinds of fish abound most14, it is probable that the quantity of oil in

proportion to the quantity of fish caught, including all the fisheries, in any one year

may not vary very much.

As the sun withdraws from the north, the temperature of the surface water

decreases; its vivifying principle vanishes, and it is no longer inviting to the free

inhabitants of the deep. The cuttle–fish begins to retire, and with it man ends his

warfare with the cod. All feel the warning, and begin to retire to the strongholds in

their respective elements, leaving the field of their industry and summer rejoicing,

where air, earth, and water had met in harmony together, soon to become the

conflicting scene of an arctic winter.

THE CAPELIN

The value of this delicate and interesting little fish may be estimated, when it

is known to constitute the bait with which more than half the cod caught in these

seas are taken. The capelin arrives on the coasts of these countries to spawn about

the end of June, and departs about the end of July and the beginning of August. It

arrives at Labrador about a month later, and remains from two to four weeks. Its

numbers are often truly wonderful. Immediately on its arrival, it pushes its dense

shoals into the small bays and creeks, as if to shun the jaws of millions of its

devouring enemies, the cod, and many other fishes which had followed it from the

deep, and which remain arrayed at a distance, impatient for its destruction. These

massive clouds of capelin are sometimes more than fifty miles long, and many miles

broad. Their spawn is sometimes thrown up along the beaches, forming masses of

considerable thickness, most of which is carried back into the sea by a succeeding tide

or two.

The capelin is six or seven inches in length; although the males sometimes

occur nearly twice the ordinary size. It is caught for bait, in nets constructed of

different forms for the purpose. It possesses some peculiar quality, which unfits it to

be cured for domestic use like the herring, and is, therefore, merely dried in the sun.

Whether the migration of the capelin is to and from the north sea, or limited to the

adjacent deep waters, does not appear to be as yet well ascertained, notwithstanding

14 It’s worth remembering that the French also fished Newfoundland’s waters, as this would later lead

to the passing of the Bait Act.

24

that its appearance and disappearance at all parts of these coasts are watched, as

important events, by every fisherman. On the great scale, it is as regular and certain

in its appearance and disappearance, as the herring is on the coasts of Europe. It

generally appears some days earlier at the south–east parts of Newfoundland, than

at the neighboring parts of the island farther to the north; and form its leading in the

bank–cod to these places, as in 1825, it would seem to have come in from the Great

Bank. There is little doubt that it is on the banks at certain seasons, as is shown not

merely by the circumstance of its appearing to have led in the cod from thence

towards the shores, but by the fact that, very early in the spring, and some weeks

before it appears every where at the shores, the cod on the banks take it very readily

as a bait salted, when, at the same time, the cod on the shore will not take in that

state. It is well known that the cod will take readily, as a bait, on the great scale, that

only which is its common food at the time; and, in the present case, when the capelin

arrives at the shores, the bank–cod, which we infer to have followed it from the banks,

not only continue to take it salted, but the shore cod, which refused it before, now

take it fresh and salted promiscuously.

The capelin are salted the preceding year purposely, to fish for the cod on the

banks earlier in the ensuing spring than the cod nearer the shore can be caught; that

is before the capelin has struck in.