SAILOR FISHERMEN OF NEW ENGLAND. 73 



From below the fish are thrown on deck; they are then thrown to the wharf, placed on scales, and 

 weighed. It is the duty of all hands, except, I believe, the cook and the skipper, to help in this 

 work. If the cook be a worthy one, he improves the occasion to clear out the forecastle lockers, 

 to wash up the pans, kettles, and other utensils, knives and forks, spoons and crockery, and, in 

 short, to leave things after him in a decent state. If the vessel has ended her year's work and is 

 ready to lay up for the winter, he will pack up the dishes and other kitchen furniture, clean up the 

 galley stove and treat it liberally with oil to keep away rust, and will remove to the storehouse of 

 the firm all of the ship's stores that have not been consumed. The skipper's duty is to direct the 

 unloading of the fish, a labor in which he may possibly bear a hand, though I believe he is not 

 obliged to. The work proceeds, enlivened by stories and small talk and occasional potations of 

 beer and other liquors, until all the fish are out of the vessel. A 11 hands are then free to do as 

 they please, and, after drawing their pay, may ship for another trip, or may depart, never to be 

 seen again. 



"In some cases a man may not care to unload a cargo, or at least to do his share in the unload- 

 ing. In such a case he is allowed to hire some one to do this portion of the work. A man may be 

 sick when the vessel gets in, or having so much money coming to him, may feel too lazy to work; 

 or he may find a chance to ship, and, not caring to lose it, engage a substitute to do his work. 

 Hence the practice of hiring substitutes to work in the unloading is not unusual. 



"Drawing pay. — "When the work of unloading has been finished the trip is considered at an 

 end. The market value of the fish is then determined, and the proper share of each man is ascertained. 

 The share of each man is at his disposal in the form of a check payable to bearer. Any money 

 he may want to use before drawing his share is advanced by the firm, and subsequently deducted. 



" The boarding house. — On reaching land after a trip the fisherman's first move, if unmarried 

 or without a home at Gloucester, is toward his boarding house. Here his arrival is unannounced, 

 yet its suddenness creates but little surprise, because such things are every-day matters. His 

 ambitions for the time center themselves in putting on some clean clothes and then in getting 

 a thorough renovation at the hands of a barber. 



" These boarding-houses are sailor's institutions. They are similar to the sailor boarding-houses 

 which exist in every seaport town, yet in morality they are higher than these, nor are their owners 

 such incorrigible rascals. The price of board varies from $3 to $0 per week, and at the latter price 

 very good fare is furnished. The boarding-houses vary greatly in their reputation. Some are 

 pleasant, home-like places of good character; others are dingy and tumble down houses, and in 

 many cases of a not altogether enviable reputation. 



"By the more careful, the board bill is paid at frequent intervals, before it can become large. 

 In other instances it is allowed to run until it has grown to an important amount. In such cases 

 the fisherman often loses all track of its amount and he is then placed at the mercy of his boarding- 

 master. If the boarding-master be dishonest, he may liberally increase the amount of the bill in 

 defiance of detection, for the cheated man has no means of defending himself. In this way the fish 

 erman is very often imposed upon, sometimes knowing nothing of it, and at others knowing it, but 

 unable to protect himself. 



"Trusteeing. — In order to protect the boarding masters, lest the fisherman depart without 

 paying his bill, a practice exists in Gloucester known as trusteeing. It is, in effect, attaching for 

 the debt the proceeds of the fisherman's trip. A practice similar to this, called "factorizing," by 

 which the factory hands are forced to pay their bills, exists in factory towns. The necessity is 

 quite evident for such a law in Gloucester to protect honest boarding-house keepers against dis- 

 honest guests. It would seem that a law to protect the fishermen might also be a wholesome 



