REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [106] 



to drift to leeward, the master, with a " bait-heaver," throws the bait 

 from the bait-box into the water fore and aft the vessel to attract and 

 draw the mackerel alongside. Some of the crew are below and others 

 looking on, or perhaps put out a line with the skipper's to try for 

 them. Soon the peculiar tapping of a mackerel's tail is heard on the 

 bottom of a barrel, which, with the cry of "here they pre," from the 

 skipper, brings every man to his berth, and for a time the "strike bar- 

 rels" standing a little in the rear and at the right of the fisherman, in 

 which the mackerel are slat from the hooks, resound with the lively 

 occupants. The best fishermen fishing with four and sometimes six 

 lines each. The "spurt," however, is soon over, and after " picking" one 

 once in a while the master orders "take in your lines," after which we 

 haul in our mainsail, hoist the jib, and go on. The mackerel are then 

 dressed, generally by gangs of three, comprising a "splitter," one to 

 pass up the mackerel to him, and the " gibber" ; the mackerel, after being 

 split, are thrown into a "keeler," which is a shoal square box, about two 

 by three feet square, which are put on board in nests of three; the 

 "gibber," with mittens on to prevent getting his hands sore from the 

 bones, opens the mackerel, takes out the gills and entrails (which are 

 thrown overboard after dressing the catch), and throws the mackerel 

 into a barrel partly filled with water to soak the blood from them, which 

 is called a "wash barrel"; after soaking, they are thrown into a keeler 

 of salt, a few at a time, rubbed all over in the salt, and packed in a 

 " sea barrel," one barrel of salt (3£ bushels) being used in packing four sea 

 barrels; after the barrel is filled and the fish allowed to shrink it is 

 filled up (sometimes there is not time enough to allow it to shrink before 

 heading up). The head of the barrel is put in reversed, on which the 

 private mark of the catcher is cut in to identify it when landed, after 

 which the barrels of mackerel are stowed in the hold. Frequently, 

 when mackerel are scarce and time hangs heavy, industrious ones will 

 "mess" their mackerel by scraping the blood from the backbone and 

 cutting off the heads and tails, losing by the operation thirteen pounds 

 on a hundred, but making the mackerel bring more in the market for the 

 labor. 



During our voyage we sometimes tried for mackerel with others of 

 the fleet one or two miles from shore, and being "hove to" together, and 

 occasionally picking a mackerel which, as it glistened in the sun com- 

 ing over the rail, no doubt led those on shore to suppose we were get- 

 ting a good catch offish, when fifteen wash barrels would cover the whole 

 catch for the fleet in several hours' fishing. The latter part of October 

 finds us on the way home, at Georgetown, Prince Edward Island, 

 where we put in for a harbor, paying one dollar for harbor dues, and on 

 2d of November arrived at Gloucester, having been absent two mouths 

 and twenty-eight days, and caught 250 sea barrels of mackerel. 



The mackerel are hoisted out with a horse, the crew paying for it in 

 preference to hoisting them out by hand, as formerly. After being 

 landed each man's lot is stood upon the head together, with the marked 



