News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-08-29
" MOSS SINGING"
ONE QUEER AND SOMEWHAT
ROUGH SEASIDE INDUSTRY.
Have Quilted Fishing for Mack
erel, sc.

this summer. 1t is the only industry
that pays, simmer hotels excepted, and
as the facilities for running hotels are
limited, the great majority OF the fish
ermen have become moss singers
Fishing is one of the lost arts, Holsters
are scarce, and the worthy shippers arc
obliged to grub long aud patiently be-
fore thew can turn an honest dollar. A
moss singers outfit is as simple and in
expensive as that of the fisherman, but
of the two occupations few would choose
the former If there was any prospect OF
luck with the hook and line. 1t is q
matter of necessity rather than of choice
that drives many of the Massachusetts
moss men into that industry. A few
years ago Massachusetts, Bay was alive
with mackerel This year there are none
to be found. The men, who would
otherwise be Juggling for the gamy fish
or corralling them in seines, are raking
down the sides of lodges and supplying
the market with carrageeD, or Irish
moss, as it is better known to the pub
lie. The reefs and scattered lodges that
line the south coast from Minot's Ledge
to Plymouth Rock are covered with this
species OF seaweed, which is called moss
1t is not moss, and it bears no relation
to the Iceland moss, so-called. 1t grows
below low-water mark, and must be
raked into boats. 1t is not altogether n
pleasant occupation. Maud Muller
would have entered dainty protest If
she had been obliged to spend sum
mer's day welding a moss rake, There
is nothing romantic about the business.
The man who goes messing must make
L 4 l.. l. -l.Ok
money he makes ont of it.
The moss singers kit of tools COM
prises n dory, wide and strong, and n
long handled iron rake. Tho teeth arc
fully six inches long, and set close to
gether, and the handle is Mt least twenty
feet long, This is all the native mosser
carries with him in the line of extra
equipment. He wears the oldest clothes
he possesses. The amateur provides
himself with his rubber boots and oil
skin clothing, but they quickly yield to
the wear and tear of the work. Then
he gets wet just as the veteran does.
Scituate is the headquarters for moss
singers of Massachusetts, Bay, and
quite colony of them are found there
every summer. Their manner OF living
is as primitive as was that of the
'"49ers" A simple hut suffices for par
lor, kitchen, bedroom and storehouse.
There is but one room as rule Wis tors
are not always welcome, for there is no
room in which to put them. Cooking,
eating and sleeping arc conducted un-
der more or less difficulty, and without
home comforts and convenienccs. A
stove is the largest piece of furniture,
and the chairs are in proportion to the
number of persons who require them.
The beds are temporary structures. As
soon as there is a supply of moss ready
for storage the men use it for sleeping
purposes. But for the benefit of the
public it should be stated that the moss
is first covered with canvas or rubber.
The hut is, perfOrce, located on the
beach. There is common law which
gives all toilers of the sea the right To
ply their vocation on the scacnast if it is
necessary There is no landlord tn bargain
with. Moss singers, though cramped
for room within doors, want plenty of
space to work IN under the sun. They
must have large area of smooth surface
upon which to spread their moss, and
the more moss they get the larger must
be their domain. Such territory, when
once staked out, is considered good
claim, aud other mossers keep off. The
sea is open to ALL 1t offers "A fair field
and no favois. The most Industrious
man gets the most moss. The moss is
spread out to dry and bleach without fear
of theft. Theman who has good crop"
doesn't lose any sleep worrying lest it
should be stolen, although it would be an
easy matter to do that without fear of
detection All the men live together in
peace and harmony. They generally go
60 bed at dark and are the first astir in
the morning. 1t is peaceful life. and
full of interest from naturalist's stand
point. Unfortunately there are not
many naturalists engaged in that line of
work, and much that would he of in
terest to students is UNDECIDED. The
men are after moss, and other things
have to give way.
Equipped with his long handel rake,
the moss Singer starts ont in his dory in
quest of the appetiZing sea weed. If he
Is a careful man his dory is beached
high and dry above high water mark
That means n pull Of hundred feet
down the beach, for the work of gather
ing moss can only he done ut low tide
Along the Massachusetts, coast it is not
necessary to go great distance before
finding the moss banks. The hedges are
being constantly scraped, and that ne
cesSitates an occasional change of ter
ritory. But it is seldom necessary to 60
more than y mile from the beach which
is prepared for the bleaching process.
TO a novice the moss singers In ties
arc very mysterious. There seems 10 bc
no method in what he does. He rows
until he reaches the rock which he has
decided to operate upon. The rock is
seldom within sight, but its peek is So
near the surface that vessel of any re
spectacle tonnage would he wrecked If
the water is smooth the rock can hes seen
to depth of several feet. Sometimes
it is entirely covered with the moss, and
presents very attractive appearance
with the different shades of brown aud
green. When the suns rays illuminate
the mass it looks like a veritable garden
spot. Mossers like to find such a rock
as that, for the work of gathering the
moss is greatly simplified The steel
rake is plunged into the water, drawn
over the surface of the rock, and pulled
to the surface with the long teeth filed
with the moss. This is deposited in the
boat 1t is clean and all ready to be
ever, are capped by weed which has no
commercial value, the Irish moss grow
ing on the lower portions of the ledge.
Here the moss gatherer has to exer-
else greater care Sometimes he drags
up a rakeful of unmarketable grass,
and at other times the moss is
so badly mixed with the grass that
much time is lost in separating the
good from the bad But it. is bind
struggle for gain. More than half
the time the moss singer has no idea
what his rake will bring to the sur
face. 1t is easy raking when the water
is smooth, but when the boat pitches
the lone wielder Of the rake has tough
time of it. No anchor is lowered, the
constant shifting of the boat making
that impossible. The moss man has,
therefore, to hold the boat against wind
and wave by main strength exercised Mt
the end of a twenty-foot pole. Then
quick work is needed or the boat will be .
blown away from the rock.
The moss singer cares nothing for the /
His iron rake plunges to /
the bottom, sends the fish in all direc- .
tions, tears the moss from its rocky bed, i
scoops up a handful of shells and star
fish at the same time, and bears the
whole to the surface Sometimes q luck +
less crab or lobster is captured by the
iron Jaws If so, he never returns to
his quiet home in that ledge. He is
into the moss heap to keep
with the shrimps and cookies
and siarfish. In spite of the mixture of
amin o. and vegetable life, the moss is +
4 Il 4