220 
THE AMERICAN-SC AN DIN A VI AN REVIEW 
as of old, and indeed, when thus modernized, nothing can surpass these 
craft for fishing purposes. 
Let us follow the fishermen through a day in March when the 
season is at its height. At five in the morning the smoke rising from 
chimneys on shore and from the boats shows that life is stirring. Some 
of the older men perhaps take a stroll up a hill to look at the weather. 
They will certainly be in their shirt sleeves, or at most wear a jersey, 
for winter in Lofoten is quite mild. Though the sun has not yet 
appeared above the blue and white mountains on the mainland in the 
east, it is quite light with perhaps a fair westerly wind. At six 
o’clock everybody has had coffee, and one can hear the rattling of the 
chains from some of the motor boats which are departing quite without 
ceremony. Formerly this would not have been allowed. Then the 
starting from port in the morning was the most picturesque sight the 
fisheries afforded. All the boats lay still until at six o clock the signal 
was hoisted on the flag-staff in port, when suddenly oars were plied, 
sails flew, and every boat went at full speed for the fishing-grounds. 
The race was to the swift, and it was a fair race. But when the motor 
boats were mixed with the old row-boats, the equality was gone. The 
crews of the latter would often arrive at the fishing-grounds, perhaps 
three or perhaps ten miles from port, only to find their gear hopelessly 
spoiled or even swept away altogether by the onslaught of the motor 
boats which had beaten them to the scene of action. Naturally there 
was much indignation, and the custom was therefore changed, so that 
now the signal is given from the police boat at the fishing-grounds at 
eight o’clock. Before that no fisherman is allowed to begin hauling 
in his gear. If the weather is fine, the hauling of the gear will take 
from two to three hours, after which a new set is put out to sea. 
Even if the weather is smiling in the morning and everything 
promises a fine day, the fleet may be suddenly overtaken by a gale 
from the northwest, which is the really dangerous part of the compass 
in these latitudes. The motor boats generally manage to reach their 
port or another harbor in the Lofoten Islands, but the open boats 
are often compelled to sail for their lives across the broad Vestfjorden, 
a distance of perhaps 25 or 30 miles. Especially perilous is such a 
trip in January or February, when the days are short, and in former 
days accidents on a tremendous scale were by no means rare. This 
led to the organization, about forty years ago, of the Life-saving 
Society, which provides a set of hard-sailing cutters that patrol the 
fishing-grounds and pick up the crews from the open boats—the boats 
being generally left to their fate. 
On a normal day, when no accident happens, the fleet is generally 
. back in port by three or four o’clock in the afternoon. When the catch 
has been sold either to the tradesman on shore or to a “jakt” or “galeas” 
—as the boats are called that lie in wait to buy the fish and cut and salt 
