The Progress., 1889-01-26

-
CATCHING ooNoER EELs.
11sh That HAvs ahArn Tssth ana struggle
Hss Like Young whales.
tJnst previous to leaving Ireland
Tor America ] lived near tho fisher VII.
lago At CiiddNgh, on the bay Of CAL
way. Tho village contained about
two thousand inhAb Abitnnta and they
1.-Two entirely BY themselvos and speak
an idiom very di1ioult to understand.
They live III little thatched huts with
Sbut one window. and they subsist on
prodncls Of tho 30 pollock, hake
ling goldfish. herring and conger oels.
The eols are tishod for about one mile
from shoro on the reefs or rocky bot
toms. Occasionally the eols aro
caught III nets, but not often, ns
They ars % powerful and are.
armed with such sharp teeth that
they can easily cut their way
through the meshes Of net, even were
it made Of beil.cord. They are caught
from August to January. About
Christmas slime the conger eel Is con-
sidered excellent eating. The fishing
boats are called pookavns. They Gerry
n curious sail. It being \ jib anl main.
snil made into one sheet. Tho boats
have keels and carry about five tons.
They are excellent sea boats. The
bait used is cut from tho body Of a
species of mackerel called ''curro.
vine by tho fishermen. This fish Il
highly priced rs bait. Tie lines are
Of twisted flax made BY the fishermen.
md are each three hundred feet In
length. They aro very strong and
about ns thick rs q lead pencil.
The sinker is usually piece oi
triangular lead two pounds iu weight
The hooks are thicker than telegraph
wire. six inches long. and about two
and one-han inches from barb to wire.
The fishing is dona In about one hun.
dred feet of water As the tidcs are
very strong very heavy anchor Is
required for the beat Those fisher
mon who are too poor to buy an iron
anchor OF the regular pattern make a
| curious wooden contrivancc, which
J. | somewhat resembles - big clothes.pin.
Between the legs OF tho clothes. pin.
!. and secured in position by a rope, is
placed large stone. The wood pre-
vents the stone from becoming fast
ened to the bottom. Each man fishes
with two lines, one on each side Of the
boat. The sinkers are placed about
six feet from the hook. When the
fisherman has dropped his line over
board and feels his two-poun,l sinker
touch the bottom he lifts the sinkcr up
about six feet, so that the bait is kept
gently swinging back and forth. For
a distance of about two feet above the
hook wire is wound around the line
to protect it from the teeth Of the eel.
/ The fisherman usually has not to
| wait for bite. He feels sensation
as though his line had been seized
violently. He stands up erect ii, the
boat and begins to haul in rs rapidly
as the weight and The fiercencss OF the
struggle TO escape will permit. The
conger eel IS \ very greedy tlsl,. and
he succeeds in hooking himself very
thoroughly. He comes up toward the
surface in the shape If 4 spiral. When
he Is still sixty feet from the boat he
. can be seen in the phosphorescent se,,
on dark night like monstrous gold
en- spiral fastened to a golden cord.
The ordinary.size,i ecls caught will
weigh anywhere from twelve to thirty
pounds. It will readily be seen that It
is quite an Undertaking ia pull ono OF
these eels into boat. The eel's head,
as a rule, is thrown over the thwart,
and a short, stout club is used TO quiet
him before ht is taken out of the
water Thirty cells is 9 good nights
work.
The smaller cells are split upen, the
skin left upon them, and thoy are
hung upon tho sides Of houses and
npon the stone walls to dry in tile sun,
after being salted for 4 short time. II
is very curious sight TO sec the
stone walls ornamented with the
carcasses 81 these cells. After being
thoroughly dried the cells are smoked
an,l the flesh becomes as hard rs 4
board. It takes a vcrv sharp knife ia
cut the flesh Of dried and smoked
con ger eel nine months after his capt-
,lrc. When prepared for the table thc
flesh is cut down 10 the skin in chunks
and is boiled for i've Or six hours.
Thct1itis fried in lard. IN Y EJsn.
ing bh,s.
|..s.... |A.s....a - &.
Recovered His Property.
a Gentleman crossing BrUatlway mar