78 FISHERMEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 



have been in trouble, but a fisherman generally can extemporize a very good one. When they 

 reached the stream and were ready to begin filling the barrels, one man drew off his oilskin trou- 

 jers and crumpling up one leg at the bottom, introduced it into the bung-hole. He then held 

 np the leg of the trousers, while bucket after bucket of water was poured in, and found its way 

 into the barrel. This stream and many others like it running from this natural spout aud thus 

 easy to catch are found in the various coves and harbors that indent the shore line of Newfound- 

 land, and the places where they occur are known among bankers as 'good places to fill water.' 



"Taking in ice. — Another duty of the fisherman while in harbor is the care of the ice, which 

 is used iu preserving fresh bait. In some cases the vessel can be hauled up to a wharf and the ice 

 brought down in wagons and slung on board with very little trouble, but often this cannot be 

 done, because of the shallow water in the harbor, and it is then necessary that it should be brought 

 aboard in dories. When our vessel iced at Trinity Bay the dories were all sent ashore and beached 

 out of reach of the swell which would have otherwise kept them too unsteady. The ice was then 

 I aken from the rude wagon in which the dealer drew it to the shore, carried to the dories and packed 

 in them. The men haudled the ice, for the most part, without tongs, their hands being protected 

 by mittens, and carried the huge blocks in their arms. As each dory was loaded it was shoved off 

 and rowed to the vessel. Coming alongside, the ice was slung on board with a tackle and dropped 

 into the hold, where it was received by men and stowed in the ice-pens. 



"Icing bait. — A third duty of the fisherman, at this time, is to care for all the bait which is 

 brought on board, icing or saltiug it as the skipper directs. I presume that all kinds of bait are 

 treated alike, but my personal observation relates only to the squid as iced at Trinity Bay. When 

 some thousands had accumulated, several of the crew 'oiled up' and prepared to 'ice' them. The 

 labor was divided and operations began. One gang brought blocks of ice from the ice-pen, passed 

 them to the deck and into one of the huge tubs used in splitting. The tub was placed during this 

 operation on the quarter deck, just aft the main shrouds, and the squid usually lay in one or more 

 piles somewhere near the tub of ice. 



" Two men stood by the tub aud each one began with his pew to pick the ice into small pieces. 

 After it had been reduced to the proper size, it was thrown into a basket and passed through 

 the alter hatch into the hold. Here it was received by a second man who passed it into 

 the bait-pen to a third, who, receiving the basket, emptied the ice on the floor of the pen and 

 spread it evenly in a layer ."> or 1 inches thick. When he had thus covered the bottom of the pen, 

 he called for squid. A layer of squid was now spread over the ice followed by another layer of 

 ice. In this way four or five baskets of ice and squid were alternately laid down until at last the 

 bail was all iced. The man in the bait-pen handled the bait and the ice with mitten-covered 

 hands, standing on the floor till the layers of ice and squid rose too high for convenience and 

 afterward he stood on the bait. 



'■Jt was the regular practice to ice at night all the bait which came on board during the day. 

 Several times the bait came to us so last that by noon as many as 5,000 had accumulated. When 

 this happened all hands would turn to and ice them, also icing in the evening those received later. 



•• Visiting, strolling, &c. — As soon as the vessel is anchored and properly cared for one of 

 the first things is to go ashore and 'take stock.' Soon a dory may be seen leaving the vessel's 

 side. One or two men are rowing and the others are grouped in the bow and stern. Rowing 

 toward one of the rude wharves that line the shore, they all scramble up, and, making the dory last, 

 spread out over the town, generally in little knots of two or three. In accordance with the habit 



of Newfi llanders, they enter any house that may seem attractive, and without any introduction 



proceed al Once to talk of the fish, the bait, their trip, or kindred subjects of mutual interest. 



