184 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Gill). Tbe method of their capture I had no opportunity of observing.* They are taken in immense 

 numbers by the "liviers" and furnished to the bankers. They are generally sold at a certain price 

 for the baiting, arid for $10, 10 to 20 or 25 barrels are supplied. They are stowed away in the bait- 

 pens in the same manner as the herring, and can generally be preserved about the same length of 

 time. 



SQUID. Of all the different forms of bait that are sought by the American bankers none are 

 so popular as the squid (Ommastrephes illecebrosa), and none so interesting in its capture. Their first 

 approach is watched by thousands of anxious "liviers," and news of the first capture is heralded in 

 a way that makes the man who sees the first one in any season quite a public character, and con- 

 fers considerable renown upon the hamlet where they are first captured. It is usually during the 

 latter part of July that the excitement begins, and frcrn that time till their disappearance in 

 October they form the principal topic of conversation in many a hamlet on the coast. Armed with 

 his squid jig the native fisherman leaves his home in the "wee sma' hours" of the morning and 

 putting out in his punt into the harbor stealthily lets his jig descend into the silent water and 

 dreamily awaits a bite. The squid jig is so entirely unlike any other form of hook that I will 

 briefly describe it : To one end of a cylinder of lead, 3 inches long, are fastened pins bent upward. 

 No bait is used with it, but it is simply let down among the squid, and kept in constant motion to 

 imitate the movements of a small fish and thus attract the squi I. When one grasps it with its 

 long tentacular arms the jig is quickly pulled in, and the squid thus entangled in the pins is 

 secured. When they are in- the humor, or, in Newfoundland dialect, when the squid have 

 "struck," they can be caught very fast indeed. When once the squid strike in a harbor, if 

 the punts are not all out, anchored side by side, the news is communicated to those ashore 

 by the sight of activity among those in the punts. In an instant the word," the squid's struck," 

 flies through the village like wild-fire, and in an incredibly short time all the men folks of the 

 village arc anxiously waiting for a bite. During our second baiting, while we were anchored 

 at Open Hall, a very amusing instance of this sort of thing occurred. As a rule all the punts 

 in the village are anchored in the harbor during the whole day, but on this occasion the day 

 was exceedingly blowy, and, the squid not biting, the " liviers" had all sought their own warm 

 firesides. During the early part of the afternoon one man on board one vessel, in sheer lack of 

 any better occupation, threw a jig over the side and had a bite instantly. He hauled up and 

 threw in again and found that the "squid had struck solid." '-Then there was mounting in hot 

 haste," and in less than a minute every man on board was actively running a squid jig and pulling 

 the squid in in a very lively manner. Hardly two minutes had passed when we saw a boat put out 

 from the shore. This was instantly followed by four, and in less than ten minutes twenty eight 

 punts were strung along from us as a center, and all hands excitedly "jigging squid." Like all 

 other things, squid-jigging is by no means all sunshine. The squid has one or two confirmed habits 

 which often lead to remarkably unpleasant consequences. As it is drawn from the water the squid 

 first discharges from his siphon a jet of salt water, which is very likely to strike the fisherman 

 in the face. Almost instantly the squid follows this by a second jet of dirty black ink. Unless he 

 be very quick and gets the squid off the jig and safely lodged among others of his kind this second 

 less pleasant stream will strike the fisherman. I had, during the summer, the opportunity of 

 seeing men served in that way, and judge from hearsay that it is not at all delightful. 



Squid are taken in enormous numbers in all the harbors of the island. During the first 

 few days they seem to abound most plentifully in the more southern harbors, while during the 



* They are taken ill small drag-seines, made specially for the purpose, and called "capclin si-incs " The fish are 

 inclosed in a semicircle of netting and drawn to the shore, where they are bailed into boats with a dap-net. J. W.C. 



