454 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHEKIES. 



and are spread out upon the land to the depth of a few inches to a foot, and occasionally stirred or 

 kicked about by the fisherman who may chance to be on watch for the purpose of noting the 

 weather and calling all hands in case it becomes necessary to take in the fish. The place selected 

 for freezing is usually a clean gravelly beach above high-water mark, or a surface of crusted snow 

 and ice, or, in case no such spot can be found, clean grassy land is occasionally used. If the daj 

 is cold they can be frozen at once, but if warm they must be kept on the vessel till night before 

 spreading, or, in case of a continued thaw, they must be salted or thrown away. Herring kept 

 over three or four days before they are frozen are not considered equal to those frozen immediately, 

 as the scales of the former are apt to come off, which very much injures their appearance, while 

 the latter remain constantly fresh and bright. 



There is often a lively competition between the trading vessels as to which shall secure the 

 largest amount of fish in the shortest time. This generally results in a rise in the price, as one 

 vessel will frequently outbid another, and it sometimes occurs that much more is paid for the bait 

 than it is actually worth. Another method adopted by the captains is that of winning the favor 

 of the fishermen. This is especially noticeable by the vessels visiting the Newfoundland coast. 

 In this region the captain who is kindest is the one who will have the preference of the fish taken 

 by them. The Newfoundlanders are not slow to improve the opportunity of asking and accepting 

 favors, and in the bait as well as the herring fishery many of them often board the vessel as soon as 

 she reaches the harbor. Capt. D. E. Collins, in speaking of a visit to Newfoundland in the summer 

 of 1879, says : " It is customary in most of the baiting-places of Newfoundland for the fishermen 

 to flock aboard of an American vessel as soon as she anchors, and it is not unusual to see a dozen 

 or twenty on deck at once, all eager to gather and retail the fishing news and to make arrange- 

 ments for baiting the vessel. If near meal-time they may also be attracted by the hope of getting 

 an invitation to eat, and thereby a ' square meal,' for there is a great difference between the food 

 of American fishermen and that of the average Newfoundlander." In another place, while 

 speaking of the competition between the vessels in securing a supply of bait, Captain Collins 

 adds: "There being twenty-five sail of bankers here (Carbouiere, Concepcion Bay), and all wild 

 to get it with as little delay as possible, it follows, as a matter of course, that every possible effort 

 is put forth by each. The price having reached 40 cents per hundred none of them felt like 

 going beyond it, but every other artifice has been resorted to, and the Newfoundland fisherman, 

 who was fortunate enough to have a good catch of squid, has been the subject of more attentions 

 than were ever lavished upon a belle of society, and, for the time being, the bait-fisherman is 

 master of the situation. The cook, too, with a full appreciation of the influence of a good dinner 

 upon a hungry fisherman, keeps a well-spread table below always ready, and takes care to invite 

 the fishermen below for a 'bite.' It is scarcely necessary to add that generally they are in no 

 way loath to accept the invitation, and they rarely fail to do justice to the occasion." 



This same fact is noticeable to an equal or even greater extent in the frozen-herring fisheries 

 during the winter months, and we learn of instances where twenty to twenty-five natives have 

 been fed at one time, the cook being kept constantly busy preparing food for them during the stay 

 at the island. 



In return for this kindness some of the fishermen improve the opportunity of their visit to 

 steal certain articles belonging to the vessel, and, unless they are carefully watched, a good many 

 things are lost in this way. 



Mr. Augustus Dower, who visited Fortune Bay in the winter of 1879-'80, says in his journal 

 of January 9 : " We bought sixty-nine barrels of frozen herring from a Bay-the-North schooner, 

 the crew of which stole two shovels, a bucket, and a pair of oars. We searched their vessel 



