THE SHETLAND FISHERMEN. < 9 



most entirely in the hands of Dutch vessels. As for the 

 coast fishery, it lasts throughout the year. But the great 

 nnd all-important fishery is that which centres in the cod. 

 We need not repeat the details already given, but some 

 account seems desirable of the fishery carried on at a 

 distance of from twenty to forty miles from the Shetland 

 coast. The boats engaged in it are not so large as those 

 which fish off Faroe. They are Norway yawls, with 

 eighteen feet of keel and six feet beam, and manned by 

 no more than six men. Each has between seven and 

 eight miles of line and one thousand hooks. The lines 

 are set in the evening ; and if the first haul is not success- 

 ful, they are generally baited again, and a second venture 

 is made. Sometimes the men remain out for a couple of 

 nights living upon oat-cakes and water, or, occasionally, 

 on fish and potatoes. 



When the fish are brought to shore, they are handed 

 to the curer, who weighs and keeps an account of the 

 spoil. Then they are split up and boned ; washed in 

 sea-water ; and put into a vat, with alternate layers of 

 salt. After a couple of days they are taken out, washed 

 a second time, and piled into stacks for a day or two. 

 Next they are spread out on the open beach until 

 thoroughly dry, after which they are stored up in air- 

 tight sheds, to be shipped for market when opportunity 

 offers. 



These light yawls are ill-fitted to brave a heavy storm, 

 and therefore seldom a season passes without some sad 

 tale of disaster. And when a boat is lost, the calamity is 

 all the more severe because its crew are usually members 

 of the same family. Ah, little do we " who sit at home 

 at ease " think of the suffering experienced and the peril 



(502) G 



