OLD-FASHIONED ANGLING 33 



to it. The discipline in the Dutch whale fleet 

 seems to have been very good ; the following are 

 some of the standing regulations : — In case a vessel 

 was wrecked and the crew saved, the first vessel 

 they met with was to take them in and the second 

 half of those from the first, but were not obliged to 

 take in any of the cargo ; but if any goods taken 

 out of such vessel are absolutely relinquished and 

 another ship finds and takes them, the captain was 

 to be accountable to the owner of the wrecked ship 

 for one-half clear of all expenses. If the crew de- 

 serted any wrecked vessel, they would have no 

 claim to any of the effects saved, but the whole 

 would go to the proprietor. However, if present 

 when the effects were saved and they assisted there- 

 in, they would have one-fourth. That if a person 

 piked a fish on the ice, it was his own so long as 

 he left anyone with it, but the minute he left it, the 

 fish became the property of the first captain that 

 came along. If it was fastened to the shore by an 

 anchor or rope, though left alone it belonged to its 

 first captor. If any man was maimed or wounded 

 in the Service, the Commissioners of the Fishery 

 were to procure him reasonable satisfaction, to which 

 the whole fleet were to contribute. They likewise 

 agreed to attend prayers morning and evening, on 

 pain of a forfeit at the discretion of the captain ; 



