Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1886-06-15
BucKspoRr BANKERS.
rur rrsursc nrrr or EASTERN MAINE

This pleasant town, being situated
some distance up the Penobsco, rivsr. 10
not VIA, IL usually termed . seaport.
ye, the people are largely Interested In
oOas,ins and fishing ersh. just nov
considerable activity Is displayed by the
residents. oonsquen, on the fitting out
Of quite = large Zee, Of Grand Bank
Fishing vessels sailing from here each
year. or the ,hir,y.t~o vessels sAiliag
from Hancock county. and virtually
comprising the entire feet Of eastern
Maine. three hail from Sedgwick. two
from Ellsworth. sish, from Lanoine. and
the balance. nineteen Ia number. from
this town. Their total capacity Is 3d.
600 quintals. and they carry crews
amounting. all tod. TO about $40 men.
Nearly al Of these vessel. are modern
style aud fitted on, In the best, possible
manner.
Their ere<s have. until within two
years. been composed u natives OF tn"
and surrounding towns. but are nov q
mixture Of Maine. New Bfun.wiek,
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
men. The work Of fitting on, began
here unusually early. the frs, step being
to beach the vessel. thoroughly inspect,
clean and repair the bottom. sns'
which .he !. painted. sails and rigging
pa, in fr., elias. shape. etc. she Is then
taken 20 ~haif where the sores are
pa, on board.
The selection Of these IL an import
ant duty. as !, Is necessary TO secure
everything thu, company Of hon hi'ten
20 tseniy men will need during cruise
Of from three 10 Eve mon,hs The hes,
Of food only !, taken. and consists OF
crackers. coined beef aud pork. -four. but.
ter. cheese. tea. coffee. spices. canned
good, in grea, variety. aud in fac, every
thing eaiable ssesp, perishable fruit aud
fre.h meat. Thi. latter article IL no, niles
ed a, much a. one would 'upPes Por-
pois.. often esugh, on the trip. and which
!. 70, unlike fre.h pork. Is readily eater
BY the men. When !, 10 considered thai
fresh col and halibu, !. added to the
bin Of fare. IL will be seen that .
Grand Baker" often sets good table
though he may be hundreds OF miles
from market.
The .,orei having been pa, on board,
attention !. ne,, paid TO the water sup
My. The ,hree.mss,ed y. T. symond'
will pa, on board Abou, 100 barrels
Thee ATE liquor barrels. purchased 10
the larger towns ~herr. Notwithstanding
the Msine l.s. they can be bad IN qaan'
title. TO sui, and serve ,~o'fold puf'
po.e. A. f.,, =, the water !. used The,
are fll,d With oil taken from the hvs'
Of the cod. which !. brOush, home and
sold 10 oil de,lsr. After the water
come. the salt. and. the hold be'ns
.,oved. the small boats. OF dofiss a. they
are called. ATE taken on deck.
There !. one Of these boat. fof each man
and. II the c,p,sin be a Fishing skip
psr," q boa, !. added for him. Thea
ihsrr are the oars. half dozen anchors
for the schooner. extra ones being car
ried ia case Of accident. anchor. for the
dorie.. cables. lines. extra sails and is'
sing, aud lastly. the men ,hem'eI'e'
With their outfit. The latter consists oil
.,ou, boots. warm ~oolsn elohing and on
suits. the ouif, Of men and vessel load
ing her deep. and are 30 placed A. to bins
her we'll down by the .isrn, that sh'
may better ride the heavy Seas OF thu
Banks.
The time for departure having AZ
aived. the .ail. are hoi.,ed, and ,h'
schooner glide, pas, frO~ning For
Knox. through the nArro~' and do~f
the bay TO C..iins or some other point,
where's call i. made for bait. This
consist. entirely Of clans shueked on, snd
pa, up ia fish barrels. Eaoush Is taken
for a whole trip. ba, the use Of them Is
discarded AZ soon as the squid "s,rik'
in" on the fishing grounds. These arr
small fish much liked by cod aud hall
but. and are eaush, with Jiss alongside
the vessel The presence Of these u
hailed With JOY by the fishermen. a.
they indicate the fact ,ha, the large h'h
are near al hand.
The clam. having been ',owed away
sail /. again made for the hshins
grounds, q thousand miles away. The
trip usually occupies about ten days
The grounds once reached the anchor u
let 20, cable paid GU, 10 the amount o.
three fa,hom. for every fa,hom Of water
and the work Of loading the 'es'e
begins.
A description Of one days work will 'uf'
fee for the whole. All vessel. from here
are "hand liners iha, is fish are caught
with line and hook in the hands OF thu
fishermen. and no, with sc, lines. called
travis. The cook "turns on, at $3.50
A. NJ. being called by the anchor watch
At $3.50 men ere called TO breakfast
after which pipe. are lighted. boats
containing jugs Of water. lines, ETC.,
launched. and the men pull away from
the schooner and begin TO fish, each mar
using two lines. Their boats are sneh'
or,d and there they ride, sometimes on
a long rolling swell and at other times
pitching and tossing on q ehopping sea,
en,sloped for the mos, par, In FOX and
mis-, or beaten by the falling rain. evei
on the sler, for cod or halibu,, until
1880 o'clock. when the hosting Of the
jib or foghorn signal announces dinner
If,hey have made "ea,eh" they TOW
in, unload. ca, hearty meal. and start
out again for the afternoons work.
The cod can usually be pulled In A. soon
as he bites, but II . vigorous halibut takes
hold the Usher uses the same tactics a'
the salmon catcher. lie gives dim llne
for q moment then Suddenly checking
him holds him, II he can, head To the
boat. As soou as he can bring him 10
the surface . blow between the eyes with q
stick carried In each boat for the purpose
puts an end To the struggle and he Is
pulled aboard. The fishing IL kept up M
III dark, when the boats return To the
schooner and supper Is eaten.
II nsh have been taken the labors or The
day are by no means over. All hands
.'turn 10" and ''dress down" The rsh
are split. the livers taken out and depos'
lied In empty hogsheads, and The refuse