108 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



wheel an hour earlier tbau the preceding day. The next day g has the wheel between 5 and 6, and 

 7^ omitting, i takes the wheel from 6 to 7. 



The watches were arranged so that dorymates watched together every other day. Thus, in 

 the table, suppose that e and /are dorymates. The first day e and /watch together, the second 

 day /and g, while the third day e and/ are together again. Each watch called the next watch. 

 The order of the watches was decided in the following manner: A hat was held crown clown, one 

 man from each dory putting a finger upon the border of the opening, while one of the others, com- 

 mencing at random, counted the fingers in succession until he reached the number nine. Finger 

 number nine being withdrawn, the counting commenced again with one and continued to nine, 

 which was also withdrawn. This continued until no fingers were on the hat. The owner of the 

 first finger withdrawn, together with his dorymate, had the first watch, the owner of the second 

 finger withdrawn, with his dorymate, the second watch, and so on through the whole. 



I have said that the watches were two hours long, and this was true while we were on the pas- 

 sage out and back, but not so the intervening time; for while we were anchored in the Strait no 

 watch was kept, because there was little or no danger. When, however, we shifted position, and 

 were expecting to anchor in a very few hours, the time would be divided into twelve equal parts, 

 each man taking one part at the wheel. Thus once or twice the watches were only ten or fifteen 

 minutes long. 



The passage from Gloucester to Holsteinborg lasted twenty days, and was- along the coast of 

 Nova Scotia through the Gut of Canso, northward in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, within sight of 

 the western coasts of Cape Breton and Newfoundland, and thence, through the Straits of Belle 

 Isle, into the Atlantic and Davis' Strait. The pleasanter days were occupied by the crew iu fixing 

 the dories and fishing-tackle. The crew were very much like bees. On warm, pleasant, sunny 

 days, they were all activity; other days, when it was cold and rainy, they were in their bunks most 

 of the time from breakfast until dinner, and during the rest of the time, with few exceptions, they 

 did little or nothing. This was not on account of any disposition to shirk work, but rather because 

 of there being only enough to do to occupy them on pleasant days; for. after the fishing commenced, 

 they showed themselves to be good, steady workers. 



The duties devolving upon the men while on the way north were the sailing of the vessel, fixing 

 the dories, and rigging the trawls. The first was of course attended to principally by the differ- 

 ent watches, leaving much time for the others. The fixing of the dories did not take very much 

 time, as it only consisted in making thole-pins, three seats, and two vertical partitions for each 

 boat, and winding the oars with oakum to prevent them from wearing out. The vertical partitions, 

 like the seats, were movable, and were used to divide the dory into three parts. Typically, the 

 stern apartment held the trawls, the central one the fish, while the bow was reserved for the 

 anchors; but whenever the fish were numerous they were put wherever room could be found for 

 them. 



The rigging of the trawls, however, kept the men busy much longer than fixing the dories. 

 Four skates had to be rigged for each dory, and all of these were of new material, excepting a 

 large part of the lines to which the hooks are fastened. These short lines, called gangings, had 

 been for two years kept in bundles, with the hooks protected from moisture by a canvas or rubber 

 covering. These must, of course, be examined, in order to test the strength of each ganging, and 

 to free the hooks from rust. Besides this, most of the hooks had to be taken from the line and 

 refastened. This last operation is called " ganging the hooks." 



The gangings finished, the ground-line next occupies the fisherman's attention. This being 



