526 COD-FISHING IN LABRADOR.
should it blow hard during the night. You see, reader, that the life of a
Labrador fisherman is not one of idleness.
The capelings have approached the shores, and in myriads enter
every basin and stream, to deposit their spawn, for now July is arrived.
The cods follow them, as the blood-hound follows his prey, and their
compact masses literally line the shores. The fishermen now adopt another
method : they have brought with them long and deep seines, one
end of which is, by means of a line fastened to the shore, while the other
is, in the usual manner, drawn out in a broad sweep, to inclose as great
a space as possible, and hauled on shore by means of a capstan. Some
of the men in boats support the corked part of the net, and beat the
water to frighten the fishes within towards the land, while others, armed
with poles, enter the water, hook the fishes, and fling them on the beach,
the net being gradually drawn closer as the number of fishes diminishes.
What do you think, reader, as to the number of cods secured in this
manner at a single haul ?—thirty, or thirty thousand ? You may form
some notion of the matter when I tell you that the young gentlemen of
my party, while going along the shores, caught cod-fish alive, with their
hands, and trouts of many pounds weight with a piece of twine and a
mackerel-hook hung to their gun-rods ; and that, if two of them walked
knee-deep along the rocks, holding a handkerchief by the corners, they
swept it full of capelings. Should you not trust me in this, I refer you
to the fishermen themselves, or recommend you to go to Labrador, where
you will give credit to the testimony of your eyes.
The seining of the cod-fish, I believe, is not quite lawful, for a great
proportion of the codlings which are dragged ashore at last, are so small
as to be considered useless ; and, instead of being returned to the water,
as they ought to be, are left on the shore, where they are ultimately eaten
by bears, wolves, and ravens. The fishes taken along the coast, or on
fishing-stations only a few miles oft', are of small dimensions; and I believe
I am correct in saying, that few of them weigh more than two
pounds, when perfectly cured, or exceed six when taken out of the water.
The fish are liable to several diseases, and at times are annoyed by parasitic
animals, which in a short time render them lean and unfit for use.
Some individuals, from laziness, or other causes, fish with naked hooks,
and thus frequently wound the cod without securing them, in consequence
of which the shoals are driven away, to the detriment of the other fishers."
COD-FISHING AT LABRADOR. 527
Some carry their cargoes to other parts before drying them, while others
dispose of them to agents from distant shores. Some have only a pickaxe
of fifty tons, while others are owners of seven or eight vessels of equal or
larger burden; but whatever be their means, should the season prove
favourable, they are generally well repaid for their labour. I have
known instances of men, who, on their first voyage, ranked as " boys,"
and in ten years after were in independent circumstances, although they
still continued to resort to the fishing; for, said they to me, " how Could
we be content to spend our time in idleness at home !" I know a person
of this class who has carried on the trade for many years, and who has
quite a little fleet of schooners, one of which, the largest and most beautifully
built, has a cabin as neat and comfortable as any that I have ever
seen in a vessel of the same size. This vessel took fish on board only
when perfectly cured, or acted as pilot to the rest, and now and then
would return home with an ample supply of halibut, or a cargo of prime
mackerel. On another occasion, I will offer some remarks on the improvements
which I think might be made in the cod-fisheries of the coast
of Labrador.