98 FISHERMEN" OF TOE UNITED STATES. 



discipline. They fished on terms of perfect equality, and frequently any one of them was equally 

 competent to take charge of the vessel in case of necessity. It is probable that in the early days 

 of the New England fisheries vessels were often fitted out for the fisheries without the form of 

 selecting any one to take charge. This, of course, could be the case only with very small vessels. As 

 vessels increased in size, it became necessary for some one to be designated as the leader, but since 

 it was usually the case that many or all of the crew owned shares in the vessel the position was 

 not one of undivided responsibility. The position of master was often kept up simply to fulfill the 

 requirements of the law, and the person occupying the position had no more actual authority than 

 any other man on board. Traces of the old manner of doing things may still be found on vessels 

 from some of the smaller New England ports. The Swampscott vessels, for instance, are to the 

 present day usuallj owned by several members of the crew, and the master holds his position more 

 as a matter of form and honor than on account of any particular responsibility which he assumes. 

 Sometimes each member of the crew owns a share in the vessel in which he ships. Many of the 

 Cape Cod vessels are managed in very much the same way. The captain always has associated 

 with him two or three " sharesmen " who are members of the crew. These men usually own a part 

 of the vessel or, at least, assume a part of the responsibility of fitting her out with stores and ap- 

 paratus for a voyage. If they are not possessed of sufficient capital to assume this position on their 

 own responsibility, they are supplied with capital by the actual fitter of the vessel, and the posi- 

 tion is maintained in a fictitious manner. The " sharesmen" are, as a rule, unable to advance tin; 

 money, and they are consequently obliged to obtain the fittings on credit from the capitalists or 

 "owner," who undertakes the financial responsibility of the voyage. 



In Gloucester and other large ports the influence of the old traditions is seen in the condition 

 of the discipline on the fishing vessels. The members of the crew seldom have any pecuniary 

 interest in the success of the voyage, other than their share from the sales of the fish. The ma- 

 jority of the skippers likewise are not directly interested in the vessel which they command, except 

 so far as their share aud percentage on the stock are concerned. 



The fishermen have so little responsibility and interest in the vessel that they are accustomed 

 to leave her whenever they choose. Some of the fishermen seldom make two trips on the same 

 vessel, and it is not uncommon for parts of the crew to abandon their vessel when she is on the 

 point of leaving port on a fishing voyage, even after the sails have been spread for departure. The 

 success of fishing trips is occasionally materially injured by members of the crew leaving a vessel 

 when she is obliged to touch at other ports during the progress of her voyage. The crew, under 

 such circumstances, have the master of the vessel very much at their mercy, for it is against the 

 law of the United States for a vessel to leave any of the crew ashore in a foreign port until they 

 have been absent more than twenty-four hours, and they cannot therefore be considered as 

 deserters. The master has but a limited power to compel his crew to remain on board, and they 

 sometimes take advantage of this fact by going ashore at will, saying that if the master leaves 

 them on shore he is liable to the penalty of the law. 



The character of the master's authority has been already explained, but he is not supported 

 in this by law. His only legal hold upon the. movements of the men, when the vessel is at anchor 

 in the harbor, is his power over the boats belonging to the vessel. These are the property of the 

 owners and in bis charge, and men taking them without leave may be prosecuted for stealing. 

 About the year 1877 Capt. Dennis Murphy was prosecuted for damages by two of his crew, whom 

 he had left ashore at Liverpool, Nova Scotia. They were not successful in their suit; the captain 

 proved that they bad taken one of the vessel's dories without leave and were therefore guilty of 



