246 LIFE OF AUDUBON. 



water-proof oil jackets and trousers, large boots, broad-brimmed 

 hats -with a round crown, and stout mittens, with a few shirts. 

 The owner or captain furnishes them with lines, hooks, and nets, 

 and also provides the bait best adapted to insure success. The 

 hold of the vessel is filled with casks of various dimensions, some 

 containing salt, and others for tbe oil that may be procured. 

 The bait generally used at the beginning of the season consists 

 of mussels, salted for the purpose ; but as soon as the capehngs 

 reach the coast, they are substituted to save expense ; and, in 

 many Instances, the flesh of gannets and other sea-fowl is em- 

 ployed. The wages of fishermen vary from sixteen to thirty 

 dollars per mouth, according to the qualifications of the indi- 

 vidual. 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 except Sunday. Each person carries with him his 

 dinner ready cooked, which is commonly eaten ou the .fishing 

 grouurl. 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 lug-sails. 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. Bach 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 w^ater, 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, 

 however 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 

 game course pursued. In this manner, a fisher busily plying at 



