6 FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



stern, and presented the strongest possible contrast to the swift clipper fleel 

 of our own day. The model on the preceding page of a Grand Banker ol 

 1 741 will give a good idea of the appearance of these old-time craft. 



There was one of these craft in existence in 1878, the Manchester 

 which was then owned in York, Me., and was nearly one hundred years old 

 She was formerly of this port, being owned by Mr. Daniel Gaffney anc 

 others. She was 63.95 tons, built in Duxbury, Mass., in 1784. We do no 

 know whether she is in existence now or not. 



About seventy of these vessels were owned in Gloucester in 1741, nearl; 

 all of which were probably employed in the Grand Bank fishery for codfish 

 Each of the crew kept an account of the number of fish he caught, and th( 

 proceeds of the voyage were distributed accordingly. That their earning: 

 were far from uniform is shown by an account of three trips of sch. Abigail 

 Capt. Paul Hughes, to Grand Bank in 1757 ; the three trips occupied abou 

 six months, in which were included sixty-seven days fishing, the skippe 

 being "high line " with a catch of 6643 fish, the "low line" taking 3435, th( 

 average catch of the crew of six men being 4506. From 1770 to 177, 

 between seventy and eighty Gloucester vessels resorted yearly to the Grani 

 Bank, and about seventy boats fished for cod, hake and pollock on thi 

 ledges near our own coast. These latter boats were mostly built at Essex 

 then the Chebacco parish of Ipswich, and from that fact received the nam 

 of " Chebacco boats," their model being shown in the following engraving 

 There was a large fleet of them owned here and in Rockport at the com 

 mencement of the present century, but they have all disappeared. 



The tonnage employed in the Cape Ann Fisheries at the outbreak of th 

 Revolution could not have been far from forty-eight hundred tons, repre 

 sented by one hundred and fifty schooners* and boats, and emploving abou 

 six hundred men. The yearly product may be estimated at forty-eigh 

 tliousand quintals, of a value of one hundred thousand dollars. 



The Revolution, of course, put an embargo on Bank fishing, as well a 

 an end to the exportation of fish, and the business soon dwindled to insic 

 iiificant figures. After peace had been declared the business was resumec 



