COD-FISHING IN LABRADOR. 523 



they are substituted to save expense ; and in many instances, the flesh of 

 gannets and other sea-fowl is employed. The wages of fishermen vary 

 from sixteen to thirty dollars per month, according to the qualifications 

 of the individual. 



The labour of these men is excessively hard, for, unless on Sunday, 

 their allowance of rest in the twenty-four hours seldom exceeds three. 

 The cook is the only person who fares better in this respect, but he must 

 also assist in curing the fish. He has breakfast, consisting of coffee, bread, 

 and meat, ready for the captain and the whole crew, by three o'clock every 

 morning, excepting Sunday. Each person carries with him his dinner 

 ready cooked, which is commonlj'^ eaten on the fishing-grounds. 



Thus, at three in the morning, the crew are prepared for their day's 

 labour, and ready to betake themselves to their boats, each of which has 

 two oars and lugsails. They all depart at once, and either by rowing or 

 sailing, reach the banks to which the fishes are known to resort. The 

 little squadron drop their anchors at short distances from each other, in a 

 depth of from ten to twenty feet, and the business is immediately com- 

 menced. Each man has two lines, and each stands in one end of the boat, 

 the middle of which is boarded off to hold the fish. The baited lines 

 have been dropped into the water, one on each side of the boat ; their 

 leads have reached the bottom, a fish has taken the hook, and after giving 

 the line a slight jerk, the fisherman hauls up his prize with a continued 

 pull, throws the fish athwart a small round bar of iron placed near his 

 back, which forces open the mouth, while the weight of the body, how- 

 ever 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 broueht within a few inches of the 

 surface, when they return to the vessel in harbour, seldom distant more 

 than eight miles from the banks. 



During the greater part of the day, the fishermen have kept up a con- 

 stant conversation, of which the topics are the pleasure of finding a good 

 supply of cod, their domestic affairs, the political prospects of the nation, 

 and other matters similarly connected. Now the repartee of one elicits a 

 laugh from the other ; this passes from man to man, and the whole 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 



