364 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
I asked of a neighbor. ‘ They’re only looking if anything’s coming,’ 
was ihe reply. Presently, signs of animation amongst the group drew 
others along, myself amongst the number. The first trawler was in 
the offing. However, there was some dispute on the point. ‘I tell 
yee it’s not the ,’ says one. c It’s the tug — ,’ says another, and 
so on, until one ancient looking individual, who pits his eyesight against 
the younger of the crowd, exclaims, 4 It is the . There’s her der- 
rick. And there’s her beam.’ The object of dispute seemed some 
miles away. I watched her for some half hour, growing larger and 
larger, now sinking to all appearances in the water up to the top of 
her funnel, then riding in bold relief on the top of a wave. Several 
others had been sighted in the meanwhile, and all were voted trawlers. 
The first one seemed bent on getting first to the river, and again and 
again huge rolls of black smoke came from her funnel, mingling with 
occasional puffs of steam which rose from her valves as she lifted to 
the seas, these demonstrations of activity bringing forth the remark, 
i He’s firing up, anyhow.’ At length she came between the piers and 
into the smooth water of the river, and with her paddles slowly dab- 
bing the water, drew alongside the quay. It was low water, and from 
the quay above an over-all view could be had of her decks. Her black 
funnel was powdered like a wedding cake several feet upwards, where 
the spray had struck it and left the white salt hard baked on. The 
last shot had evidently been a good one, for the sorting of it up had 
not been completed. Several of the hands encased in oilskins, and 
looking like yellow lobsters standing on end, were busy putting the 
cargo to rights. The fore-deck was divided into pens, like a cattle 
market, each kind of fish being stuck amongst its own kith and kin. 
During the whole of the operation the quick pulsations of the donkey- 
pump were heard, and one of the hands vigorously plied the hose pipe 
right and left as a kind of polishing up of fish, deck, boxes, and boards. 
A pile of baskets were then put aboard, and filled, so much into each, 
as far as the smaller fish would go. These, with the larger fish, brought 
up in twos and threes, were then hauled on to the quay, and taken 
charge of by assistants of the salesman who usually had the < selling’ 
of the boat. Whilst all this was going on, other trawlers had arrived, 
one after the other, and assembled round the quay, until there was a 
general hauling up of fish going on, to the accompaniment of donkey- 
pumps working, lorries rolling to and fro, and shouts from the men 
ashore and afloat. 
u The scene on the quay was now one of great animation. The fish 
had been taken along from the trawlers and placed in various lots upon 
the quay. The larger fish were sorted up into groups $ for instance, 
you might see two or three cod, or two or three ling, lying together, 
and here and there a conger, a grim-looking cat-fish, halibut, turbot, 
or monster skate. The plaice, soles, codlings, whitings, etc., remained 
in baskets. It was a sight to see this mustering of the tribes of the 
