This shed had at first been covered by means of strips of bark, as well 

 as the cabins. In the 19th century, a great tarpaulin was substituted which was 

 removed at the end of the season to render the places unusable. Later, tarred 

 canvas was used. 



After the dock was built the living quarters of the men were raised, sim- 

 ple barracks in which were arranged along the sides of the bunks, generally of 

 wood one above another, in which each man slept, the mattress and coverings 

 being his own property. 



The quarters of the captain and first mate, who had to do a minimum of 

 paper work and had to assure protection for the records and navigational in- 

 struments, were a little more comfortable. A stove, a table, some chairs 

 and one or two clothes-presses constituted their furnishings. The doctor, 

 when they had one, also had his own cabin. 



The kitchen was a separate building used exclusively for this purpose. 

 The equipment consisted only of a hook on which hung the kettle above a wood 

 fire. In turn, each long-boat left a man ashore to function as cook for the en- 

 tire encampment on that day. 



The menu varied little. It always consisted of a soup made from cod 

 heads, its principal quality being that it was hot. . With it they ate fresh bread, 

 with which the greater part of the stations were provided, potatoes brought 

 from France, as well as vegetables, cabbage, radishes and salads that the 

 more enterprising raised in small gardens, the fish waste serving as fertilizer. 

 Each man received, besides, each week 500 grams of salted pork, 250 grams 

 of salted butter, and a like quantity of fat. 



Wine was rationed in variable quantities according to the habits of each 

 group and individual and collective working conditions, with a minimum of 

 two quarts per week. With a deplorable custom, alcohol bought by the out- 

 fitters at 96 percent and diluted to 40-50 percent, was distributed much more 

 freely: theoretically a third of a liter, but practically a half liter per day. 



Water is found everywhere in Newfoundland in abundance, but is not, 

 without risk, to be used always for drinking. Typhoid fever raged frequently 

 among the fishermen of the French Shore, and it had, often, no other origin. 



54 





