[25] THE HALIBUT FISHERY—DAVIS’ STRAIT. 213 
dory, two to row and one to attend to the grapple. This, fastened to a 
line by the end toward which the iron points are directed, is let down 
until the iron bar drags upon the bottom, but not so low as to permit 
the whole chain to drag. The men row back and forth over the spot 
where they think the trawl is, and, if they are right in their calcula- 
tions, it is hard to see how they can fail to grapple it. 
The fish are taken from the dories by the large iron hooks, already 
mentioned as being used in the small boats. When a load of fish is 
brought to the side of the vessel, one of the fishermen holds the stern 
and another the bow painter, while the man in the stern hooks the fish 
and hands them up to his dory mate, standing on deck ready to haul 
them on board. 
The last set was made August 27, and was done while the vessel was 
under sail. Comparatively little fishing had been done since the 20th, 
for the wind had prevented the setting of the trawls, though the hand 
line showed that the fish had not departed. The captain accordingly 
decided to run into harbor and prepare for going home, but, finding the 
wind near the shore rather gentle and the water smooth, thought best 
to see how the fish would bite near the mouth of the harbor. As this 
was the first time we had set under sail, | was curious to see how it was 
managed. 
The dories set in turns. First one is towed astern, while the outside 
buoy and buoy line are being thrown overboard, then it is set adrift and 
the rest of the trawl set at right angles to the direction the vessel is 
sailing. The rest of the dories go through with the same operation in 
suecession, by which time the first dory has finished setting and is taken 
in tow by the vessel. Some of the dories are left fastened to the buoy 
line to mark the place of the trawls while the vessel sails back and forth 
an hour or two, until the time of hauling comes. The hauling is done in 
the usual manner. This manner of setting is used quite frequently on 
e the banks of Newfoundland to find out whether the fish are abundant. 
If the fish are found in considerable numbers, the anchor is dropped, and 
the trawls run out again in the regular way. Only eighteen fish were 
caught this haul, so we turned the bow towards the harbor. 
9.—DRESSING AND SALTING. 
After all the trawls have been hauled, the men usually attend to the 
dressing of the fish. For this operation, the men had prepared four leg- 
less tables, about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide, which, in use, were inclined 
against the side of the vessel in such a manner that one end rested upon 
the gunwale while the other remained on deck. Two men worked at a 
table, one on each side. 
The knives employed were of different shapes and sizes, but the one 
seemingly the most in favor has the blade about 8 inches long, an inch 
and a half wide, and not so thick but that it had a good spring to it. 
All were sharp pointed and most of them of good material. 
