FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 139 



prayed most fervently that they might be picked up before morning. Soon 

 after, Roberts thought he heard the noise of a steamer, and raised his head 

 above the side of the dory. Joy unspeakable ! there were a steamer's lights 

 not fifty yards distant. The dory had been seen from her deck, and the 

 shouts of the men were soon answered, Roberts was enabled to get on 

 board without help, but it required the assistance of two of the steamer's 

 crew to get Austin on board. It proved to be the ocean steamer Greece, 

 and the men were kindly cared for by her captain and officers, and by care- 

 ful nursing were well nigh recovered upon her arrival in New York. Upon 

 leaving the steamer the men were presented with twenty dollars each, a gift 

 from her officers and passengers. 



A very singular circumstance connected with this afifair is, that at nine 

 o'clock that evening the Captain of the steamer altered his course half a 

 point to the northward. If he had not done so, he would have gone so far 

 to the southward as not to have seen the dory, and in all probability the 

 two men would have perished. A kind Providence had ordered it other- 

 wise, their prayers were heard, and from the dangers which surrounded 

 them they were returned to their friends. 



Remarkable Circumstances. — In July, 1873, John Como, one of the 

 crew of sch. Magic of this port, caught a small halibut on the Bank, on 

 ■which he took a notion to cut his initials, and threw the fish overboard, not 

 expecting to see him again. In 1874 he shipped in sch. Mary E. Daniels, 

 and while hauling his trawl on Grand Bank, discovered, to his great sur- 

 prise, the identical halibut he had marked some eight months before. The 

 halibut was on exhibition at the wharf of the New England Fish Company. 

 The initials were plainly discernible, although the fish had grown consider- 

 ably since they were cut. This is no fish story, but a veritable fact, and 

 the circumstance is certainly a most remarkable one. 



Among the halibut landed by sch. Chester R. Laivrence, in May, 1875, was 

 one with the name "Lynch" cut thereon. The halibut had grown consid- 

 erably since the carving operation, which from the appearance of the scars 

 had been done about a year. The letters were some six inches in length 

 and very clearly defined. 



In February, 1876, while dressing fish at the Gloucester Fish Company's 

 wharf, a plain gold ring was taken from the paunch of a codfish. It was 

 brought to the "Cape Ann Advertiser" sanctum by Mr. William E. Ansell, 

 and had the appearance of having been in the keeping of the fish for some 

 time. The mark 18 K, signifying the quality of the gold, was plainly dis- 

 cernible on the inside of the ring. The query is, how came the fish in pos- 

 session of it, and who was the owner ? 



In March, 1877, George Harvey, one of the crew of sch. Rebecca Bartktt 



