and respectfully ask the protection of the Government of the United States for my vessel, and our just claim for damages.

STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS,

County of Essex, ss:

JOHN CHISHOLM.

Subscribed and sworn to this seventeenth day of August,

A. D. 1887, before me,

[SEAL.]

Affidavit of William F. Harris and Members of the Crew of the Schooner Col. Jonas H. French.

I, William F. Harris, a resident of Gloucester, in the State of Massachusetts, Master of schooner Col. Jonas H. French, of Gloucester, on oath depose and say, that I left Gloucester on or about the 27th day of June, 1887, in said vessel on a trip to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, for mackerel.

On the 24th of July following, in the afternoon, we were off West River, Prince Edward Island, about three and a half miles, when we saw mackerel outside of us about a mile. I took my two largest seines in the boats (the seines being two hundred and twenty fathoms long and twenty fathoms deep such as we use in deep-water fishing) and rowed outside from the vessel about a mile, setting our seines around the school of mackerel, and left two men in charge of the seine, with the mackerel enclosed. We then, in our other boat with the other seine rowed away, parallel with the shore, one and a half miles for another opportunity to set which we did not find, then went back to the vessel intending to run the vessel to the seine, which we had left in charge of We were fully the two men with the mackerel caught in it.

aware of the presence of the Cutter before we set our seine, she had been in company with the fleet for three days; when I got to my vessel I saw the Cutter lower a boat and go to my boat and seine. My boat and seine was to windward and I stood to the southeast, in order to fetch my boat on the next tack, afterwards sent a dory and four men to the assistance of my seine boat that had the seine in charge as the boat and seine were drifting rapidly with the tide. I had to stand out some three miles and on tacking and standing in my seine boat and seine gone, having been taken by the Cutter, the four men I had sent in the dory returning on board and reporting that fact. Finding my boat taken and my seine gone, I had no resource except to return home for another seine and boat. I could not obtain any fishing gear nearer than home. I was not molested or otherwise interfered with, but anticipated detention and perhaps the breaking up my voyage for months, should the Cutter endeavor to make a case against the vessel after seizing our boat. I knew my seine when first set was certainly from four to five miles from shore. The tide was setting easterly, which would set the seine, being very deep, shoreward, which I afterwards ascertained to be the fact. I considered I had the right to take the fish outside the three-mile limit, which I did. I never took or caught a fish inside the limit. There were about eighty vessels in the fleet, off East Point. The mackerel were schooling from two to twelve miles off shore. There was no necessity for going nearer than three miles to find mackerel.

WILLIAM F. HARRIS.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Essex, ss:

Subscribed and sworn to, this sixth day of August, A. D.

1887, before me,

[SEAL.]

DAVID W. LOWE,

Notary Public.

Also appeared Ronald P. McDonald, Martin Foley, John F. McDonald, George MeLean, Thomas Brown, Charles W. Swim, George Faulkingham, Norman MeIsaac, John Bennett, Raymond Nickerson, crew of said Schooner Col. Jonas H. French, and read the above statement of Captain Harris and on oath depose and say that his statement is true as to what occurred on board when they were not absent from vessel. Two being with the seine and boat and four absent for a time in dory, and to our best knowledge and belief, all his statement is a true one.

RONALD P. McDONALD.

MARTIN FOLEY.

JOHN F. MCDONALD.

GEORGE MCLEAN.

THOMAS BROWN.

CHARLES W. SWIM.

GEORGE FAULKINGHAM.

NORMAN MCISAAC.

STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, Esser, ss:

JOHN BENNETT.

RAYMOND NICKERSON.

Subscribed and sworn to by the above named affiants, this sixth day of August, A. D. 1887, before me,

[SEAL.]

DAVID W. LOWE.

Notary Public..

EXHIBIT 15.

Affidavit of George McLean.

I, George McLean, of Gloucester, in State of Massachusetts, on oath depose and say, that I was one of the crew of the Sch. Col, Jonas II. French on her late trip to the Gulf of St. Lawrence for mackerel, that on the 24th day of July, 1887, being off West River, Prince Edward Island, about

.

four miles or more, we saw mackerel outside of us schooling, and I went in the seine boat with the captain, we rowed about a mile or more and set our large seine around a school of mackerel, after pursing the same, myself and Norman McIsaac were left in the boat with the seine in charge while the captain and the rest of the crew, went with the other seine in search of another school. About three-quarters of an hour after the captain and other boat left us, the Cutter's boat hailed us. When we were left in charge of the seine we were over four miles from the shore we soon found we were drifting rapidly with the tide along the shore and also toward the shore. We had no anchor or other means of preventing the boat and seine from going with the tide, when the Cutter's boat came up we were fully three miles off, finding that we must inevitably drift inside the threemile limit, before the captain's return, and to avoid all trouble we endeavored to take in the seine before drifting within the limit, and while doing so were arrested by the Cutter's boat. We were taken on board the Cutter and the captain threw over a kedge anchor with line and buoy attached, for the purpose of marking where we were taken, but the tide ran so strong that the buoy was run under by the tide. He then took a dipsey (sounding) lead and threw over and tied a small boat or dingy by the line, but the tide caused the boat to drift, as the lead was insufficient to hold her. He then put a small boy in the boat with a pair of oars to try and keep the boat in place. He then stood in shore to about five fathoms of water, and what he called a distance of a half-mile from the shore, then went about and stood for the boat or dingy, throwing over a taffrail log and when we got to the dingy, the log showed the run to be about two miles. From the time we were taken until the time the Captain of the Cutter got the dingy anchored as above set forth, the Cutter had drifted quite a long space, certainly a quarter of a mile, and the dingy had also drifted, how much, I am unable to estimate, before the Cutter

reached her on her run off from the shore. The wind was

very light, tide strong.

GEORGE MCLEAN.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Essex, ss:

Subscribed and sworn to this sixth day of August, A. D.

1887, before me,

[SEAL.]

DAVID W. LOWE,

Notary Public.

I, Norman MeIsaac, have read the above statement of George McLean and on my oath certify that the statement, by him subscribed as above, is true.

NORMAN MCISAAC.

ESSEX, SS:

Subscribed and sworn to August sixth, A. D. 1887, before

I, Martin Foley, of Gloucester, in the State of Massachusetts, do on oath depose and say that I was one of the crew of the American schooner Col. Jonas H. French just returned from a voyage to the Gulf of St. Lawrence for mackerel. That on the 24th of July, 1887, we found some mackerel schooling off West River, P. E. Island, and our vessel being over four miles from the shore as estimated by us, the I went in the seine boat mackerel showed up outside of us. and helped secure one haul of mackerel, when we left one boat with the seine in charge of two men and went after another school." the boat and seine with the mackerel were certainly from four and one-half to five miles from the