22 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A PEN OF" CODFISH ON A SCHOONER'S DECK 



At the end of the day in the dories the work of "dressing down" the catch begins 



(see text on this page). 



Certain sections of the deck have been 

 penned off for the reception of the catch, 

 which prevents the fish from sliding- to 

 leeward when the schooner rolls. 



THE JOB OF DRESSING DOWN THE CATCH 



At the end of the day, when all hands 

 are aboard, the work of "dressing down" 

 the catch commences. The fish are split 

 and gutted, and some species are be- 

 headed, by the fishermen, standing at 

 tables rigged up on deck. The dressed 

 fish are then washed in tubs of salt water 

 and consigned to the hold, where they are 

 packed away on chopped ice. 



If the vessel is salt-fishing, the fish are 

 piled upon each other in the hold-pens 

 and liberally covered with coarse salt. 



After the catch has been cleaned and 

 stowed away, the men bait up their gear 

 for the morrow's "set." If the fish are 

 biting freely and the catch is heavy, the 

 fisherman's day is a long one. Dories 

 will often be swung overside before sun- 

 rise and the men will finish by midnight. 



There is very little sleep to be got on 

 the Banks when the weather is fine and 

 the vessel is "on fish," and the writer 



remembers one occasion in winter fishing 

 on a market fisherman where the gang 

 were kept hard at it from Sunday night 

 to Thursday morning with but an hour's 

 sleep each night. On Thursday a gale of 

 wind came along and it was hailed with 

 pleasure, as an opportunity to "lay off" 

 and catch up on slumber. 



FOG, THE FISHERMAN'S WORST ENEMY 



The foregoing description is that of 

 the life on a market or fresh-fishing 

 schooner running her catches to port for 

 consumption in a fresh or smoked state. 



The "marketmen" seldom remain at 

 sea longer than ten days, but life aboard 

 these craft demands the greatest skill and 

 hardihood on the part of skipper and 

 crew. They waste no time in getting to 

 the fishing Banks, and usually go tearing 

 out under a press of sail. Dories are 

 hoisted over before dawn, and the men 

 often fish all night, with torches aflare on 

 the dory gunwales. They will go over- 

 side in pretty rough weather and will re- 

 main out until the last minute, in the face 

 of fogs and squalls. 



In summer, fog is the fisherman's 



