THE NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES. 123 



end of September, some returning to France and 

 others with a cargo of cod to the West Indies. 



The fishery at St. Pierre and at the islands of 

 Miquelon resembles that on the Newfoundland coast, 

 only it is carried on in flat boats called wherries or 

 pirogues. There are from two to tliree thousand of 

 these, managed with sail and oar, and manned by 

 two men each. They go out in the morning, and 

 return in the evening. There are three classes of 

 persons who devote themselves to the cod-fishery 

 and to the preparation of the fish : 1st, the native 

 fishermen, to the number of a thousand to eleven 

 hundred; 2ndly, the winter fishermen, who come 

 to pass the season, or stay there for several years, — 

 the number of these does not exceed five hundred ; 

 3rdly, the birds of passage, who come every year 

 from Prance, and return at the end of the season ; 

 these number from three to four hundred. The 

 cod-fishery and the preparation of the fish are the 

 only occupations on the islands of St. Pierre and the 

 Miquelons, and supply full employment for all the 

 wintering-fishermen and the greater part of the in- 

 habitants, men, women, and children. The fishery 

 begins about the month of April, and lasts until the 

 middle of October. It is generally very abundant, 

 and produces small fish, as on the Newfoundland coast. 



The fishery on the Great Bank is carried on by 

 vessels of from a hundred and twenty to three 

 hundred tons, furnished with two long boats. From 



