126 FISHEEMEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Overloaded, as they are, with thick clothing, rendered doubly heavy by saturation, they Lave 

 comparatively very little use of tlieir limbs, and, besides, tbe water is so cold that their muscles 

 would soon become paralyzed. The majority of New England fishermen are completely ignorant 

 of the art of swimming ; in fact, the ability to swim is not considered by them to be of any special 

 importance, as it scarcely increases their chances for safety. In talking with fishermen upon the 

 subject they will refer to instances which have fallen under their observation of two men in a 

 boat, one of whom could .swim and the other could not. The former, trusting to his skill when 

 the boat was capsized, attempted to swim to a place of safety and was drowned, while the other, 

 clinging to the boat, was rescued unharmed. 



Precautions, actual or possible, for the safety of life. — Strange to say, there are 

 rarely any provisions on our fishing fleet for the succor of those who are overturned into the water. 

 If fishing vessels, like merchant and other vessels, could be compelled by law to carry life-buoys 

 or preservers, many lives might yearly be saved. This law might be enforced much in the same 

 way as has already been suggested for the provision of life-ropes and eatables upon the fishing 

 dories. A small outlay by the owners of the fishing vessels to provide such simple safety appa- 

 ratus as would be needed by a vessel and its crew of twelve or fifteen men, woidd yield results 

 of immense importance in the way of preserving valuable lives. 



Dangers of salmon-fishing in the Columbia Eiver. — As the salmon have become less 

 abundant up the river, the men go farther down, and now the best fishing is found near the bar 

 at the river's mouth, where the breakers are very dangerous, especially in the spring. 



Many of the fishermen are drunk or asleep in the bottom of the boat when it nears the bar, 

 and hence lose their lives. Often, too, sober and skillful men take dangerous risks for the sake 

 of a good catch. Sometimes miscalculations as to wind and tide result in the boats being driven 

 into the breakers, where they are swamped at once. 



In stormy weather, for various reasons, some men are drowned almost every night. In 1879 

 about forty men were drowned, and more than that number in April and May of 1880. Little outside 

 notice is taken of these accidents. Most of the fishermen are foreigners, without family or friends, 

 and, unless their bodies are taken in gill nets, when drowned they drift out to sea and the boat is 

 reported as missing. 



Dangers to 'whalemen and sealers. — The whaleboats sent out from the vessels to kill 

 and secure the whales are often struck by the whale's flukes, and many whalemen have lost tlieir 

 lives at such times. Sometimes the men are caught by a foul line and being carried overboard 

 arc drowned. Men engaged in the fur seal and sea elephant fisheries have lost their lives by the 

 capsizing of the boats while making a lauding on the rocky shores of the seal islands. In the 

 description of the whale and seal fisheries, in another section of this report, numerous instances 

 of these and other dangers to whalemen and sealers are more fully discussed. 



51. PROVISION FOR THE BEREAVED FAMILIES OF FISHERMEN. 



The nature and extent of the disasters to which our fishermen are constantly exposed having 

 been considered, it is of interest to know what systematic efforts are made for the relief of their 

 families when, as is usually the case, they are left without adequate means of support. 



Private benevolence and the organized charity of the different religious denominations have 

 been found snfficieni for the needs in this respect of many of the smaller fishing communities. In 

 the larger ports private charity is very extensively practiced, notwithstanding the existence of 

 various charitable organizations. 



