Marvellous Life in Labrador. 303 



several times a day, and in the intervals the men bear a 

 hand on board at clearing and stowing away the daily 

 produce of the fishing banks. Towards evening they re- 

 turn to the drying grounds, and put up the fish in piles 

 resembling so many haystacks, disposing those towards 

 the top in such a manner that the rain cannot injure 

 them, and placing a heavy stone on the summit to pre- 

 vent their being thrown down, should it blow hard dur- 

 ing the night. You see, reader, that the life of a Labra- 

 dor fisherman is not one of idleness. The capelings 

 have approached the shores, and in myriads enter every 

 basin and stream to deposit their spawn, for now July 

 is come, the cods follow them as the bloodhound follows 

 his prey, and their compact masses literally line the 

 shores. The fishermen now adopt another method. 

 They have brought with them long and deep seines, one 

 end of which is, by means of a line, fastened to the shore, 

 while the other is in the usual manner drawn out in a 

 broad sweep, to inclose as great a, space as possible, and 

 hauled on shore by means of a capstan. Some of the 

 men in boats support the corked part of the net, and 

 beat the water to frighten the fishes within towards the 

 land j while others, armed with poles, enter the water, 

 hook the fishes, and fling them on the beach, the net be- 

 ing gradually drawn closer as the number of fishes di- 

 minish. What do you think, reader, as to the number of 

 cods secured in this manner at a single haul i* — twenty or 

 thirty thousand. You may form some notion of the mat* 

 ter when I tell you that the young gentlemen of my party, 

 while going along the shores, caught cod-fish alive with 

 their hands, and trouts of weight with a piece of twine 

 and a mackerel hook hung to their gun rods ; and that 

 if two of them walked knee-deep along the rocks, holding 

 a handkerchief by the corners, they swept it full of 

 capelings : should you not trust me in this, I refer you 



