420 AUDUBON 



vary from sixteen to thirty dollars per month, according 

 to the qualifications of the individual. 



The labor 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 cur- 

 ing 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 

 commonly eaten on the fishing-grounds. 



Thus, at three in the morning, the crew are prepared 

 for their day's labor, 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 commenced. Each man 

 has two lines, and each stands in one end of the boat, the 

 niiddle 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, 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 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 brought within a few inches of the surface, 

 when they return to the vessel in harbor, seldom distant 

 more than eight miles from the banks. 



