300 Life of Auduhon. 



small round bar of iron placed near his back, which forces 

 open die mouth, while the weight of the body, howevei 

 small , the fish may be, tears out the hook. The bait is 

 Still good, and over the side the line again goes, to catch 

 another fish, while that on the left is now drawn up, and 

 the same course pursued. In this manner, a fisher busily 

 plying at each end, the operation is continued, until the 

 boat is so laden that her gunwale is brought within a few 

 inches of the surface, when they return to the vessel in 

 harbor, seldom distant more than eight miles from the 

 banks. During the greater part of the day the fishermen 

 have kept up a constant conversation, of which the 

 topics are the pleasures of finding a good supply of cod, 

 their domestic affairs, the political prospects of the na- 

 tion, and other matters similaidy connected. Now the re- 

 partee of one elicits a laugh from the other ; this passes 

 from man to man, and the v/hole flotilla enjoy the joke. 

 The men of one boat strive to outdo those of the others 

 in hauling up the greatest quantity of fish in a given 

 time, and this forms another source of merriment. The 

 boats are generally filled about the same time, and all re- 

 turn together. Arrived at the vessel, each man employs a 

 pole armed with a bent iron, resembling the prong of a 

 hay-fork, with which he pierces tlie fish and throws it with 

 a jerk on deck, counting the number thus discharged with 

 a loud voice. Each cargo is thus safely deposited, and 

 the boats instantly return to the fishing ground, when, 

 • after anchoring, the men eat their dinner and begin anew. 

 There, good reader, with your leave, I will let them pur- 

 sue their avocations for awhile, as I am anxious that you 

 should witness what is doing on board the vessel. The 

 captain, four men, and the cook have, in the course of the 

 morning, erected long tables fore and aft of the main 

 hatchway. They have taken to the shore most of the 

 salt barrels, and have placed in a row their large empty 



