SAILOR FISHERMEN OF NEW ENGLAND. 49 



ligent and refined to a noticeable degree, and in many instances to a greater degree than those of 

 the average agricultural and manufacturing communities of the interior. 



Public libraries axu Lyceums.— In many of these villages libraries and reading-rooms 

 are sustained throughout the year. Courses of Iyceum lectures are kept up and well attended in 

 the winter. 



In some villages, such, for instance, as Provincetown, literary societies are kept up in the 

 winter, and readings, essays, and lectures by members provide entertainment for the weekly meet- 

 ings. In Provincetown several lectures on the fisheries have been given by one of the old fisher- 

 men of the place. Through the influence of the pastors of the churches, " sociables" are often 

 held in connection with the church, a large part of the evening's entertainment consisting of read- 

 ing and music furnished by members of the church community. The intellectual grade of the 

 Ashing towns of Massachusetts and Maine may be judged from the fact that the churches of these 

 towns are able to secure and keep in their service clergymen of fine education. In Maine ami 

 Massachusetts the Methodist Church is one of the most popular, and the appointments in the 

 principal fishing communities are deemed to lie among the best in the conferences within whose 

 limits these towns are embraced. 



We have spoken thus far of the smaller towns and fishing villages. In cities like Gloucester 

 and New Bedford, which are supported chiefly by the fishing interests, there is a large proportion 

 of the population which, though in a certain sense dependent on the fisheries, can hardly be con- 

 sidered as belonging to the seafaring classes. In these communities the opportunities for intel- 

 lectual culture are more extensive than in smaller places. 



Nantucket is still to be regarded as a fishing town, although its interest in the fisheries is 

 entirely retrospective. The intelligence of the inhabitants of this and other whaling ports is too 

 well known to require mention. 



We have spoken of the atmosphere of intellect and culture in the average fishing towns in 

 order that the home influences of the young fishermen may be properly understood. 



Foreign fishermen. — The fishermen who come to the United States from certain towns in 

 Nova Scotia are noted for their intelligence, while those from other localities, Judique, for instance, 

 are equally noteworthy for their ignorance and brutality. Among the better towns of Nova Scotia 

 may be mentioned Yarmouth and Pubnico, and many other ports on the southern coast of the 

 Nova Scotian peninsula. Yarmouth is well known to be a town of intelligence and enterprise, and 

 has, in proportion to its size, perhaps the largest fleet of square-rigged vessels in North America. 



The schools of Nova Scotia, especially those of the southern portion, are said to be excellent, 

 comparing favorably with those of New England. 



Certain districts on the island of Cape Breton have a reputation very different from that of Nova 

 Scotia, and the fishermen from these districts, especially in past years, have had a very had name 

 in the fishing fleet. The fishermen of Newfoundland are remarkable for their lack of intelligence 

 and gentleness. This is largely due to the fact that on the coast of this island the fishermen do 

 not gather together in communities to any great extent. Their houses are scattered here and there 

 along the coast, singly or in small clusters, and it is impossible for the people, with the best of 

 intentions, to provide educational facilities for their children. 



We have referred to the education and the home influences of the Provincial fishermen because 

 so large a number of Gloucester vessels are manned by them. Until within thirty years the fishing 

 population of Gloucester was almost entirely native born, and the remarks which have already 

 been made regarding the other towns on the New England coast would apply with equal force 

 to Cape Ann. At present the large' foreign element there must he taken into account in esti- 

 SEC IV 4 



