EPISODES 421 



During the greater part of the day the fishermen have 

 kept up a constant conversation, of which the topics are 

 the pleasure of finding a good supply of cod, their domes- 

 tic 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 

 another source of merriment. The boats are generally 

 filled about the same time, and all return together. 



Arrived at the vessel, each man employs a pole armed 

 with a bent iron, resembling the prong of a hay-fork, with 

 which he pierces the fish, and throws it with a jerk on 

 deck, counting the number thus discharged with a loud 

 voice. Each cargo is thus safely deposited, and the 

 boats instantly return to the fishing-ground, when, after 

 anchoring, the men eat their dinner, and begin anew. 

 There, good reader, with your leave, I will let them pur- 

 sue their avocations for a while, as I am anxious that you 

 should witness what is doing on board the vessel. 



The captain, four men, and the cook have, in the 

 course of the morning, erected long tables fore and aft 

 the main hatchway ; they have taken to the shore most of 

 the salt barrels, and have placed in a row their large 

 empty casks, to receive the livers. The hold of the vessel 

 is quite clear, except a corner where is a large heap of salt. 

 And now the men, having dined precisely at twelve, are 

 ready with their large knives. One begins with breaking 

 off the head of the fish, a slight pull of the hand and a gash 

 with the knife, effecting this in a moment. He slits up its 

 belly, with one hand pushes it aside to his neighbor, then 

 throws overboard the head, and begins to doctor another. 

 The next man tears out the entrails, separates the liver, 

 which he throws into a cask, and casts the rest overboard. 

 A third person dexterously passes his knife beneath the 



