196 LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



they have been unsuccessfully hunting for fish on previous days, and adds to their excite- 

 ment. This sound ceases as the barrels begin to fill up, the resonance of the wood being 

 deadened by the accumulation of fish ; it is, however, from time to time renewed, as 

 empty barrels are substituted for those which have been filled. Every man is striving to 

 the top of his bent to catch as many mackerel as possible while the ' spurt ' continues, and, 

 if possible, to catch a larger share than any of his comrades. The emulation to be ' high- 

 line ' for the day and for the season is extreme. The number of barrels caught by 

 each man is carefully noted, for upon his relative success depends his proportion of the 

 proceeds of the voyage, and his reputation as a fisherman. In a single day a high-line 

 fisherman has caught from ten to fifteen barrels, and since each barrel contains from 

 150 to 200 mackerel, the rapidity of the men's movements throughout the day may be 

 estimated. In seven or eight hours' fishing he has probably lifted over the side 2,000 

 to 3,000 fish, to say nothing of throwing over his jig and bringing it back empty 

 almost as many times more. Such cases as this are exceptional, since mackerel rarely 

 continue biting long enough to allow such a number to be taken. At the same time, 

 when a much smaller number is caught, the activity of the fishermen is something to 

 be wondered at. The confusion and excitement is increased by the frequent snarling 

 of the lines and the attempts to straighten them out again." " Each expert fisherman 

 has ten or twelve lines in his berth, and changes from one to the other according to 

 the rapidity with which the fish are biting, or the strength of the wind. Much expe- 

 rience and skill are necessary to enable the fishermen to make these changes under- 

 standingly. Little is said while the fishing is going on ; the men lean far over the rail 

 in strange attitudes of expectanc}', with one or two lines in each hand, the hands mov- 

 ing up and down and constantly hauling in or throwing out one of the lines at a time. 

 When it is necessary to haul in one of the lines, the others are allowed to drop upon 

 the rail." 



Now and then, gentlemen of leisure with piscatorial leanings, attracted by the 

 tales of the pleasure and excitement of mackerel fishing, ship for a voyage, and for 

 the first few minutes may delight in the glories of successful angling, but such crowd- 

 ing to be caught as has been just described has not been experienced by the ordinary 

 angler. Fatigued arms and maimed hands soon compel the novice to desist from 

 what has ceased to be a pleasure and become an onerous task. The hardening pro- 

 cess of much manual labor must fit the apprentice to endure the strain of active 

 mackerel-fishing. 



After the catch comes the care and cure of the fish. The men engaged in dress- 

 ing are divided into gangs, each of which is usually composed of three men. Each 

 gang has two wooden trays, about three feet square, and six to eight inches deep, and 

 these are placed on the tops of barrels. One of these trays is the " gib-tub " or " gib- 

 keeler," and the other the " splitting-tub " or " splitting-keeler," of the mackerel men's 

 nomenclature. " Except on the seiners, the mackerel when caught, are put into bar- 

 rels, and the splitting is done upon a board laid aci'oss the top of the barrel, rather than 

 in a ' splitting-tub.' One man of each gang splits, the other two gib, or eviscerate 

 the fish. The tub of the man who splits, of course, contains the fish to be split. 

 With a scoop-net, the splitter, or one of the 'gibbers,' from time to time, fills the 

 splitting-tub from the piles of mackerel lying upon the deck. On the side of the 

 splitting-tray, next to the ' gibbers,' is a board about six to ten inches wide, called 

 a 'splitting-board,' on which the splitter places the fish." As he cuts them open, "he 

 takes them in his left hand (on which he has a mitten) round the centre of the body, 



