17^ 



and was too poor and too young in command to bear the consequences 

 of returning without a full fare ; and, besides, I was never good at ae- 

 counting for bad luck, and felt that it was far easier for me, even under 

 these untoward circumstances, to fill my vessel, than to explain to 

 every one who would question me at hom6 as to the causes of my 

 failure ; and the result of the matter was, that I got as many fish per 

 ton and per man as any vessel that I met on the coast." 



"Another season," says the same- friend, "while in the West India 

 trade I was disappointed in obtaining a cargoi, and was compelled to 

 go to Labrador, or haul my schooner up. I was too restless to be 

 idle, and resolved upon fishing. It was three weeks too late ; and, on 

 attempting to ship a crew, I found that no good men were to be had, 

 and that I must take raw Irishmen, and a drunkard for a mate. 



The chances, as you may well suppose, were all against me; but I 

 made the voyage and obtained as many fish as my vessel could carry. 

 But I always had pistols in my pockets, and enforced most of my orders 

 with a threat or a handspike. I sle'pt full dressed, and with arms in 

 my berth. A battle with one or more was almost of daily occurrence, 

 and I was in constant fear either of losing my own Hfe, or of being 

 compelled to take that of some one of my crew, to overawe the rest." 

 These incidents occurred on voyages made from a port on the frontiers 

 of Maine, and before the commencement of the temperance reform ; 

 and are, of course, to be regarded not only as having been rare in 

 former times, but as never happening now. But the master's duty, if 

 he be an efficient man, is never an easy one. If he would provide for 

 every contingency, and make sure of a cargo despite of every adverse 

 event, he must n6t e.ven allow the full repose which nature craves. It 

 is upon liis regularity and perseverance in procuring fresh bait, a service 

 which must sometimes be performed at the hazard of his life ; upon the 

 frequency of his visits to his boats, which are often miles asunder; upon 

 his readiness to use his own hands to make up the laggard's deficiency; 

 upon his economy and system in the use of time and outfits ; upon the 

 degree of energy and regularity which he infuses; and, finally, upon the 

 care which he exercises in dressing and salting the object of his search, 

 that the success or failure of the voyage mainly depends. Masters 

 who are able and willing to sustain these varied and incessant calls 

 upon their bodily vigor and mental activity are to be found, probably, in 

 every fishing port. But it is very certain that the number has sensibly 

 diminished during the last twenty years, and that the transfer to other 

 and more profitable and ambitious commands is still going on. The 

 mercantile men of the commercial emporium of the North, and the 

 packet-ships of the commercial emporium of the Union, rank deservedly 

 high; but vcere their counting-rooms and quarter-decks to yield wp all, 

 or even half, of those whose birth-places were on the two capes of 

 Massachusetts, and whose earliest adventures were made in fishing- 

 craft, thejr would lose many high and honored names. So, too, were 

 either to cease recruiting from the same sources, the humble employ- 

 ment of which I am speaking would speedily become more prosperous, 

 in public estimation more respectable, and of consequence be consid- 

 ered more worthy of the care and protection of our rulers. 



