Harold Coombs of Belvedere Road holds the five-pronged eel spear used in 1879 by his uncle, William Coombs. Also shown is an eel trap formerly used during the summer by Wilbert J. Plummer, father of Mrs. Harold Coombs. (Photo courtesy Nobleboro Historical Society)
Originally published Feb. 15, 1979
William N. Coombs of Damariscotta Mills enhanced his income in 1878-79 by catching smelts and eels in Great Salt Bay at the Mills. He was 24 years of age at that time. His catch was shipped on the Knox & Lincoln Railroad for sale by commission men at Boston or New York City.
The pounds shipped and prices received for smelts, sent in December 1878 to D. Haley & Co. in New York, are shown in an account receipt from historical society records. As the volume of fish shipped increased, from Dec. 20 to 28, the price dropped drastically from 15 cents per pound to 6 cents, and then to 5 cents. For the latter sale of 140 pounds of smelts, costs were deducted of $.85 for sales commission and $1.35 for R.R. express, leaving a net income of only 3.4 cents per pound. His total net income, received in early January 1879, was only $18.64.
But probably he was pleased to get that much income. Wages paid for work in those years were customarily only $1 a day.
Mr. Coombs also shipped smelts to Boston two months later, during February 1879. The price by then had dropped even lower. For 103 pounds shipped to Andrew, Rick & Co. of Boston, the price on Feb. 20 was only four cents per pound, which netted him a total of $3.16. On Feb. 26, he shipped 138 pounds to F. H. Johnson & Co of Boston, and the price had dropped to 3 cents, netting him slightly under 2.3 cents per pound.
What a bargain that would be for today’s consumers!
Mr. Coombs also augmented his income by spearing eels in early December, before the ice got too thick on the bay. Eels spend the cold winter months imbedded in mud, fairly close to shore, along the head of the bay. The eels were caught by use of a five-pronged spear (see picture).
As soon as ice formed along the shore, usually in early December, a modest-sized hole was cut in the ice and the eel spear was used to search the mud, hopefully taking several eels. The spearer then moved on, cutting subsequent holes for more eels.
Carrie Farris, who lives (1979) in the old Cotton house on Bay View Road, remembers how eels were speared through the ice near the shore, right off from Cotton’s ledges. Harold Witham also remembers as a boy going eeling with his father, while Harold cut the holes in the ice. Harold Coombs also recollects his folks using eel traps during the summer months, with Oyster Creek a favorite location for catching eels.
The Lincoln County News on Dec. 27, 1876 reported that Joseph Sidelinger had caught 400 pounds of eels in one day, taken from a small stream leading from the creek. What a haul!
On Dec. 11, 1878, William Coombs shipped a box of 120 pounds of eels to D. Haley & Co. of New York City. For these eels he received nine cents per pound, with a net return of $8.50. It is hard to imagine such an elusive squirming catch as 120 pounds of eels!
We regret that William Coombs died at the age of 25, the year after these shipments of smelts and eels were made 100 years ago. He died, presumably of pneumonia, shortly after helping to harvest ice on the pond at the Mills. He lived where Harold Coombs now lives and was the son of Frederick Coombs and Asenath Barstow. We will tell you more about this historic house and the Coombs family in a subsequent article.
Harold Coombs has a diary kept by his cousin, Sanborn Coombs, during 1895-96. Sanborn recorded the development of winter weather conditions in Damariscotta Mills, as follows:
“First snow that fell was Nov. 2. First skating on the mill pond, Dec. 7. First eeling on ice on the bay, Dec. 7. First sleighing, Jan. 25, 1896. Last sleighing on the pond, March 24.”
These dates were recorded in a rather unique booklet, which was a combined almanac and diary issued in 1896, entitled “Burdock Blood Bitters, Almanac & Key to Health, Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N.Y.” The name of Burdock Blood Bitters sounds, however, like a very unattractive method of achieving health. But perhaps it was unappetizing enough to speed one’s recovery. Anyway, it provided a good almanac and inexpensive diary.
One can readily recognize the importance given to winter ice as it affected the social and business lives of the community at the Mills – for skating, sleighing, smelting, and eeling, as well as ice for refrigeration.
Great Salt Bay continues to be productive of both smelts and eels. The large number of smelt houses now on the ice and the cars parked along the road indicate there are still many successful fishermen who have a taste for these delectable fish. However, there is no surplus to be shipped to Boston and New York as was true 100 years ago. However, we have enjoyed sampling a few of these fresh fish from the Bay, and others have obtained a good seafood dinner at little cost from a neighbor or from a local store.
We have also seen sizeable eels in the fish-ways during the spring alewife run. Last summer we also read of a wholesale business handling locally trapped eels that were shipped to Japan, where they are considered a great delicacy. My good wife, however, is more enthusiastic over smelts than having a pan full of wiggling eels.
Nevertheless, a study of eels is now underway by University of Maine researchers at Orono. They report that eels, which are a delicacy in Europe, are an underutilized food source in the United States. So get out your fry pan.
(As Nobleboro’s town historian George Dow contributed more than 760 articles to The Lincoln County News. These articles, as adapted by Laurie McBurnie, are being reprinted under the auspices of the Nobleboro Historical Society. Comments or requests about repeating a particular topic may be directed to lmcb293@gmail.com.)
