182 



of the previous day's work. But the means which were so successful 

 then fail now, and perhaps for days to come; for the capricious crea- 

 tures will not take the hook, nor can all the art of the most sagacious 

 and experienced induce them to bite. 



Repeating, however, essentialtythe operations which I have described, 

 from time to time, and until a cargo has been obtained, or until the 

 master becomes discouraged, or his provisions have been consumed, 

 the vessel returns to port and hauls in at the inspector's wharf, where 

 the fish, many or few, are landed, sorted into three qualities, weighed, 

 repacked, resalted, and repickled. In two or three days she is refitted, 

 and on her way to the fishing ground for a second fare. Meantime the 

 owner, and all others who inquire "Avhat luck?" learn from some wise 

 " old salt" (and there is always a Sir Oracle on board) how much Jcnowl- 

 edge the mackerel have acquired since the previous season. Having 

 been thus employed until the cold weather approaches, the smaller 

 vessels haul up, and their "skippers" pass the winter in cracking nuts, 

 relating stones, and accounting for bad voyages or boasting of good 

 ones; while the larger vessels go south, and engage in freighting. 



The bait, which 1 have said is thrown overboard to attract the fish 

 to the surf ice, is usually composed of small mackerel or salted herrings 

 cut in small pieces. As economy and success alike require a careliii 

 use of it, the masier seldom allows other hands than his o\^m to dispose 

 of it. It was formci-ly the duty of the man who kept the watch on deck 

 in the night to cut the bait on a block; but the hait-mill has taken place 

 of this noisy and tedious process. Nothing, certainly, in the time of any 

 fisherman now living, has occasioned so much joy as its introduction. 

 This labor-saving, sleep-promoting machine, as constructed at first, was 

 extremely simple. It was a box which was made to stand on end, and 

 had a crank projecting through its side ; while internally it had a wooden 

 roller armed with small knives, in rows, so arranged that when the 

 roller was turned, the fish to be gi'ound or cut up should undergo the oper- 

 ation by coming between these rows of knives and others which were 

 arranged along a. board that sloped towards the bottom. It has been 

 impi'oved in firm and efficienc}", and is in common use. 



The superiority of sound, strong, and weil-furnished vessels over 

 those of opposite qualities, may seem too apparent to require a word of 

 notice. Many poor ones are nevertheless employed, and so are poor 

 masters ; but the misplaced economy of trusting either is becoming so 

 perceptible, that their number is rapidly diminishing. Yet I may be 

 pardoned fjr relating a single fict,- illustrative of the lolly of retaining 

 in use a solitary vessel that ought to be, or one master that seeks to be, 

 in a harbor during any of the gales which occur on our coast before 

 the equinox. A tew years ago, between Mount Desert and Cape Sable, 

 there were one day three hundred vessels in sight of each other ; and, 

 as was judged, they were mostly mackerel catchers, meeting with more 

 than the average success. The moderate breeze ot" the morning fresh- 

 ened towards noon, and as night approached there were strong indica- 

 tions of a storm. A movenient was soon perceptible throughout the 

 fleet, and it finally scattered and sailed away. The staunch vessels 

 which were controlled by stout hearts sought an oifing; but the rest, 

 the shelter ot the nearest ha.vens. Two thousand men, probably, wer© 



