THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 299 
Many times I have seen these vessels with the space 
below decks divided only by chalk marks on the inner 
lining of the hold, to indicate the few feet allotted to each 
crew and family. The separation of sexes and privacy 
for women is inadequate at best, and frequently to all 
intents and purposes absent. Ihave attended confinements 
and almost every kind of sickness in these vessels where one 
could scarcely stand up. I have seen suffering aboard them 
that I trust none of my own kith and kin will ever have to 
experience. The natural, simple kindness of the fishermen 
surely stands them in good stead. The fact that crowds 
of women and children are battened down in the holds of 
these vessels in rough weather is too suggestive to need 
detailed description. The carrying of single girls on these 
vessels has led to many troubles also, and I have never 
ceased to deplore the carrying of females as part of the crews 
of fishing vessels that are months away from home and 
civilization. It is a matter of profound gratitude that the 
opening up of other work is lessening the necessity for it, 
but it should long ago have been made illegal. 
The freighters are often so close to the decks and beams 
that it is impossible even to sit up without care. When 
the weather is rough, the hatches must be closed, and then 
no daylight can get below. Meanwhile the “lumber” 
makes it impossible to get about on deck in a breeze to 
handle the vessel. Such schooners, therefore, have to pick 
their way along the shore, “keep inside all the runs,” and 
always, if possible, get an anchorage at night. This be- 
comes doubly essential on the return voyage in the autumn, 
when the sudden storms sweep down off the high land and 
the proverbial gales of the “roaring forties” make it hard 
