fishermen's memorial axd record book. 55 



the rail pulling in fish, rapidly as hands and arms could move. Soon 

 our position was selected, anchor down, and the crew busy getting 

 ready to try their luck. 



The cold, to one of my constitution, was intense, and pierced into 

 the very marrow of my bones, although thickly clothed. • But this 

 deep sea fishing was so exciting that I stood at the rail sometimes a 

 full hour, without changing my position, pulling in the big codfish, 

 and occasionally a halibut. It was a moment of supreme gratifica- 

 tion when I hauled in my first fish of the latter species, and saw him 

 floating alongside with the hook securely fastened in his mouth. 

 One of the cre^r helped me to gaff him over the rail, and I felt myself 

 master of the situation. Our steward, a Portuguese, was a clever 

 fellow, and, iu honor of my first halibut, brought me a mugful of hot 

 coffee, and a pancake with plums in it, called by the fishermen a " joe- 

 flogger." Pulling in these big fish from so many fathoms down, 

 against a strong tide, was work I was not accustomed to, and glad 

 enough was I, after partaking of a hearty supper, to turn into my 

 bunk, and be lulled to sleep by the tossing of the billows. 



The crew were a jolly set, and for several da3'3 the weather was 

 fine, the fish abundant, and the fun immense. We had changed our 

 berth twice, each time drawing nearer to the body of the fleet, and 

 each time found the fish more plentiful. I began to think that the 

 Georges fishery, after all, was not so bad as it had been represented, 

 although it used to fret me exceedingly to see so many of the vessels 

 lying so near together, knowing full well that, in case of a sudden 

 storm and they dragged their anchors, chafed off their cables and 

 went adrift, collision would be inevitable. But there being no appar- 

 ent danger, I dismissed the thought in keeping busy. 



We now had more than half a fare, and the skipper remarked, one 

 afternoon, as he lit his pipe : — 



" Boys, if our luck holds on, by another week we'll think of putting 

 our craft on the homeward track." 



This was cheering, and we finished up the day with a good catch. 

 At sundown, there was quite a sudden change in the weather. The 

 clouds massed, and the rising wind made the sea rough. All signs 

 indicated an approaching storm. It was a wild-looking night ; the 

 vessels tossed up and down like cockle-shells. At eight o'clock the 

 skipper began to get uneasy. He kept looking up at the sky, and 

 then glanced along the horizon. Ben, my chum, whispered to me : — 



" Depend on it, we're going to have a tough one out of this, and I 

 shouldn't wonder if you had a chance to see more o' Georges than 



