120 FISHERMEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Danger of being washed feom the bowsprit ok jib-boom.— Another danger is encoun- 

 tered by fishermen while on the bowsprit eagaged in furling or reefing the jib. As the vessel 

 plunges up and down, the bowsprit is often completely submerged. It is then very difficult for a 

 man to retain his hold and to prevent being washed off and drowned. The force of the sea added 

 to the resistance of the water to the rapid motion of the plunging vessel brings tremendous power 

 to bear upon any object on the bowsprit. 



A remedy for disasters of this class is possible. If, as in the English cutter and some other 

 European vessels, our schooners were provided with two jibs, or rather with a fore staysail and a 

 small jib, instead of the immense jib which is now commonly in use, in heavy weather the jib could 

 be furled and the men would not be obliged to go outside of the bow to shorten sail. This style 

 of rigging has been introduced to some extent upon the New England pilot-boats and upon the 

 larger class of Nova Scotia schooners, and is quite as applicable to all fishing vessels. 



Men going on to a jib-boom to furl the flying jib are liable to be washed overboard, and many 

 instances are on record of disasters of this kind, most of which have resulted in loss of life. 



Men also sometimes fall overboard by the parting of the foot-ropes, or by missing their hold 

 during a sudden lurch of the vessel. 



Dangers met with in holding the cable. — There is danger in connection with " hold- 

 ing the cable" when it is " hove up" or hauled in, either to change the arrangements of the cha- 

 fing gear or to " weigh the anchor." The sudden rise of a vessel on the crest of a wave may 

 jerk the cable forward and throw the persons who are holding it with much violence over the wind- 

 lass and into contact with the iron brakes, thus inflicting injuries. 



Danger from lightning.— Yessels are sometimes struck by lightning, their masts shat- 

 tered, and injuries inflicted to the crew. This sometimes occurs on the Banks, and in 1878 several 

 vessels were thus injured while lying at the wharves at Gloucester. 



Dangers from furniture. — Minor accidents are frequent on shipboard. When a vessel is 

 knocked down by a sea the cabin stove may break loose and tumble about, burning some of the 

 men. In the gale of December 9, 1876, such an accident occurred to one of the crew of the 

 schooner Ruth Groves, of Gloucester. 



Dangers from outs or bruises. — In dressing fish or cutting bait sudden movements of 

 the vessel are likely to cause fishermen to cut their hands. Such accidents, however, are not gen- 

 erally serious, though fingers and thumbs are sometimes sacrificed. When a man is engaged in 

 fishing the least cut or scratch soon becomes a painful sore, for it is impossible to protect the raw 

 surface from the slime and salt with which the hands are constantly in contact. Sometimes pain- 

 ful abscesses, or what are called by the fishermen " gurry sores," are the result. In the summer 

 months fishermen suffer a great annoyance from the stings of "sun -jellies," "sun-squalls," or "sea- 

 nettles," usually of the species Cyanea arctiea. The tentacles of these animals cling to the lines 

 and seines and the stings of the lassoo cells cause the most intense pain at times. On the southern 

 coast even more serious results are caused by contact with the tentacles of the Portuguese man- 

 of-war, which sometimes produces a temporary paralysis of the muscles and always acute suffering. 

 AH fishermen protect their hands, when dressing fish, by wearing mittens, but, nevertheless, slime 

 will penetrate between the fibres and get upon the skin. In handling the lines, the fishermen use 

 the so-called " nippers," knitted from woolen yarn. Cots of rubber or wool are used by the mack- 

 erel fishermen in order to protect their fingers when fishing with hand-lines ; and sometimes they 

 wind yarn around their fingers for the same reason. Almost all of the fishermen upon the Banks 

 are afflicted with small boils (called "Pin-jinnets") upon the forearm, caused by the chafing of the 



