304 Life of Auduhon. 



to the fishermen themselves, or recommend you to go to 

 Labrador, where you will give credit to the testimony of 

 your eyes. The seining of the cod-fish is not, I believe, 

 quite lawful, for a great proportion of the codlings which 

 are dragged ashore at last are so small as to be con- 

 sidered useless, and, instead of being returned to the 

 water as they ought to be, are left on the shore, where 

 they are ultimately eaten by bears, wolves, and ravens. 

 The fishes taken along the coast or fishing stations only 

 a few miles off are of small dimensions, and I believe I 

 am correct in saying that few of them weigh more than 

 two pounds when perfectly cured, or exceed six when 

 taken out of the water. The fish are liable to several 

 diseases, and at times are annoyed by parasitic animals, 

 which in a short time render them lean and unfit for use. 

 Some individuals, from laziness or other causes, fish with 

 naked hooks, and thus frequently wound the cod without 

 securing them, in consequence of which the shoals are 

 driven away, to the detriment of the other fishers. Some 

 carry their cargoes to other ports before drying them, 

 while others dispose of them to agents from distant 

 shores. Some have only a pick-axe of fifty tons, while 

 others are owners of seven or eight vessels of equal or 

 larger burden ; but whatever be their means, should the 

 season prove favorable, they are generally well repaid 

 for their labor. I have known instances of men who on 

 their first voyage ranked as ' boys,' and in ten years after 

 were in independent circumstances, although they still 

 continued to resort to the fishing. ' For,' said they to 

 me, ' how could we be content to spend our time in idle- 

 ness at home ? ' I know a person of this class who has 

 carried on the trade for many years, and who has quite a 

 little fleet of schooners, one of which, the largest and 

 most beautifully built, has a cabin as neat and comforta- 

 ble as any that I have ever seen in a vessel of the same 



