Deposition of George Snellgrove., this 17th day of June, A. D. 1878

Deposition of George Snellgrove.

The examination of George Snellgrove, of St. Jacques, Fortune Bay, taken upon oath, and who saith:

I am subcollector of customs for the district of Fortune Bay. I went to Long Harbor on the 8th January, two days after the dispute between the Americans and Newfoundland fishermen had taken place.

Captains Jacobs and Dago informed me that an American seine had been taken up by the Newfoundland fishermen on the Sunday previous and destroyed; that the seine belonged to Dago and McCauley, and that they had other seines out, but they had taken them up when they found that the other was destroyed. One of these captains said that the fishermen had threatened to take up the seine if they didn’t themselves. Captain Jacobs showed me a revolver and said that he had threatened them with it. I remonstrated with him for doing so, when he replied that I couldn’t suppose that he was really going to use it; that he only did it to frighten them; he had taken care there were no charges in it. I said to him: “Do you suppose that you would have got off that beach alive if you had used it?” and he said he never intended to use it.

Captain Warren told me that on the fishermen coming to haul in the seine that Captain Dago hailed them to say that they would take the seine in themselves if they waited; and that he (Warren) said to Dago: “It is too late now; you ought to have done it when they told you first; they are too excited now.”

I then communicated with the natives of the place, who related the circumstances, and gave their reasons that the Americans were fishing illegally, and would have secured the whole of the fish, which they considered part of their property, and that they would have been distressed for the winter. They told me that they had at first told them to take up their seines, and they refused; that Captain Jacobs had threatened them with a revolver, but notwithstanding this, they had taken up one and destroyed it.

I saw Captain Jacobs several times afterwards, and in the course of conversation with him I said, “If I had been there you would not have been allowed to shoot your seine.” “What!” he said, “could you prevent me?” I said, “Yes; I should have seen the law carried out and taken your seine and boat, which you forfeited for breaking the law”; and I told him “I would take the fine as well of $200”; at which he said, “Do you think I care about paying the fine? I could pay the fine”; by which I understood him to mean that the fine was not worth considering, as the quantity of fish would have more than paid for it.

Question. Was there any one in Long Harbor on the Sunday referred to who could have enforced the law and protected the interests of the fishermen?—A. No.

Q. Is it not illegal shooting seines at all at that time of the year?—A. There is an act to that effect, but it has never been carried out in Fortune Bay, nor are the natives aware of its illegality at that time of the year, nor would they have molested the Americans had it not been Sunday, and which they knew it to be not only the law but the infallible custom to desist from fishing on that day.

Q. Has there ever been to your knowledge before quarrelsome disputes or ill-feeling between the Americans and native fishermen?—A. No, never; always on the best terms.

Q. How long did you remain in Long Harbor?—A. I remained till the 12th January.

Q. Did you observe during your stay in Long Harbor whether the three American captains remained and continued to fish or not?—A. I did, and I know that they continued to fish; they were not molested as far as I know.

Q. Was there anything to cause them to leave the harbor or to cease fishing?—A. No, and they had not left it when I left; there were no further disputes to my knowledge afterwards.