76 FISHERMEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 



hi each. Then the men jumped into them and pulled strongly away, each in his own direction. 

 After their departure, the vessel was again left vacant. The only sound to be heard at this even- 

 ing hour was the scrape, scrape, scrape, thud, thud of the cook's knife, or the tramp of the skip- 

 pers boots as he paced the quarterdeck for exercise. The men usually finished setting and re- 

 turned to the vessel just at sunset. The dories were hauled on board, the men took the bearings 

 of their buoys, and then all was done for the night. 



"Watches. — The watch on the bank was only kept at night, and was much shorter than 

 when the vessel was on a passage. It was usually set from 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening until 3 

 the following morning, or later, when the sun rose later during the last baiting. A single man 

 kept the deck during his portion of the watch, then called his successor. The password in those 

 times used often to contain directions as to the proper care of the vessel. Each man was expected 

 to pump the vessel out at the end of his watch on blowy nights ; one of his duties was to watch 

 the cable and 'fleet the strad in the hawse-pipe,' if necessary; that is to say, veer out the cable a 

 little to prevent it from being chafed and parted. 



" The watch was not always very strict in the performance of his duty. He made frequent 

 excursions into the cabin to consult the clock, and to assure himself that he was not losing track 

 of the flight of time. Indeed* it is said that the men sometimes regulated the clock during their 

 watch so that the man of the last watch found the dawn breaking much later than usual. 



"Lights. — In the evening, as soon as it began to grow dark, the cook lighted a large lantern, 

 with convex lenses on four sides, and hung it in the fore-peak halyards. This was the only light 

 used to warn off vessels : the red and green lights t* ere used only when the vessel was running. 



"Blowy dats. — Sometimes we had 'blowy days.' All day and all night long the wind would 

 whistle through the rigging and the sea become so rough that even the stanch dories could not 

 be trusted over the side. On such days fishing was interrupted. If the trawls were out they must 

 remain till the wind moderated. The men did not seem to enjoy their enforced leisure at such 

 times. Meals were served at more suitable hours than during moderate weather, and they slept 

 much ; the sense of ennui seemed overpowering. 



"PASTIMES ON BOARD SHIP. 



"Conversation. — The fishermen, for the most part, passed their spare time, of which they 

 had abundance, in idling. In order to break up the monotony of silence they talked a very great 

 deal on various subjects. 



"At such times a good storyteller was a great blessing, and even one of poor grade was 

 willingly listened to. All sorts of short stories circulated, also Irish bulls, witty retorts, &c, and 

 a good story was usually greeted with hearty laughter. Among the stories told one might fre- 

 quently hear those of which the morality was unquestionable, yet it was noticed that when a 

 smutty story was told it was partly excusable, since it was usually irresistibly ludicrous. Indeed, 

 in some eases stories were begun in which the principal point lay, not in fun, but in tilth, and 

 these were growled down by more than one of the hearers. Narratives of personal adventure were 

 also in great demand. Those who had been in the merchant service; who had sailed to foreign 

 shores, and who could acceptably describe these scenes or tell of their adventures, were heard with 

 a great deal of interest. One fertile topic of discussion was the oppression of sailors, particularly 

 in the merchant service. Instances of ill treatment were often told, and the conduct of the cap- 

 tain roundly condemned. When the maltreated sailor came off first best the expressions of 

 satisfaction from the listeners plainly indicated the side with which they sympathized. The 

 oppressions of the boarding-house keepers were also examined into, and to have left one of these 



