[35] THE HALIBUT FISHERY—DAVIS’ STRAIT. 223 
I have said that the watches were two hours long, and this was true 
while we were on the passage out and back, but not so the intervening 
time; for, while we were anchored in the strait no watch was kept, 
because there was little or no danger. When, however, we shifted posi- 
tion and were expecting to anchor in a very few hours, the time would 
be divided into twelve equal parts, each man taking one part at the 
wheel. Thus once or twice the wheels were only ten or fifteen minutes 
long. 
The passage from Gloucester to Holsteinborg lasted twenty days 
and was along the coast of Nova Scotia through the Gut of Canso, 
northward in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, within sight of the western 
‘coasts of Cape Breton and Newfoundland, and thence by means of the 
Strait of Belle Isle, into the Atlantic and Davis Strait. The pleasanter 
days were occupied by the crew in fixing the dories and fishing tackle. 
Iam not able to give a minute account of the events on the way up, 
because prolonged seasickness prevented the taking of many notes, but 
will give some extracts from my diary that may throw light upon the 
work and character of the men. i 
Friday, June 20, ’79.— The crew act very much like bees. Yesterday, 
a warm, pleasant, sunny day, they were all activity; to-day, cold and 
rainy, they were in their bunks most of the time from breakfast until 
dinner, and during the rest of the time, with few exceptions, have done 
little or nothing.” 
Though this was true, it was not on account of any disposition to 
shirk work, but rather because of there being only enough to do to 
occupy them on pleasant days; for, after the fishing commenced, they 
showed themselves to be good steady workers. 
The duties devolving upon them, while on the way north, were the sail- 
ing of the vessel, fixing the dories, and rigging the trawls. The first was 
of course attended to principally by the different watches, leaving much 
time for the others. The fixing of the dories did not take very much time, 
as it only consisted in making thole-pins, three seats, and two vertical par- 
titions for each boat and winding the oars with oakum to prevent them 
‘from wearing out. The vertical partitions, like the seats, were movable 
and were used to divide the dory into three parts. Typically, the stern 
apartment held the trawls, the central one the fish, while the bow was 
reserved for the anchors, but whenever the fish were numerous they 
were put wherever room could be found for them. 
The rigging of the trawls, however, kept the men busy much longer 
than fixing the dories. Four skates had to be rigged for each dory, 
and all of these were of new material, excepting a large part of the 
lines to which the hooks are fastened. These short lines, called gang- 
ings, had been for two years kept in bundles, with the hooks protected 
from moisture by a canvas or rubber covering. These must, of course, 
be examined, in order to test the strength of each ganging, and to free 
the hooks from rust. Besides this, most of the hooks had to be taken 
