The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-03-15

Pilgrlmlng IN many lands, l have been
much among their waterSide fOlk-with the
fishermen of AlEieTs, who are conglom-
crate race Of Greeks, Italians, Spaniards
and Arabs; with the fishermen of Sicily,
gloomy and yoiceless as gypsy dogs; with
those Of Barcelona, the giants Of the south
Ot Spain; with BiSeayaD, Breton and Cor
nish fishermen, supersttiOus and sOdden
above all others; with the brave, kind men
of Claddagh. at Galway and those along
the wondrous Kerry coast; with the lazy
fishermen of the dreamy Azores, who,
transferred 10 our own coast, prove the most
valuable recruits to our eaSt-shOre fishing
fleets; with the cap and tasseled peseadores
Of Cuba; with the Squatty Eskimos Of tile
Labrador coast satisfied with any fruitage
81 the deep which will barely sustain life;
with the croiter fisher of the North Scottish
and Shetland coasts; and with our own
brave Gloucester men. who risk their lives
upon the Grand Banks, and the 'QuOddy
fishermen, whose chiefQuarry is the herring,
all along the grand Maine coast to the mist
wreathed crags Of wild Manan-and h ave
been continually impressed with the almost
indefnable and wholly indescribable sadness
that seems to brood over and among all this
class Of people.
II = III lutAI EdDlus anu uOlel4 SUGldl
life. 1t Is in their voices and looks. In re-
pose, it sets on their faces piJifully. Reused
into some great activity, in storm, in taking
fish or in saving lives, they have grand,
earnest faces, these fishermen. But in the
quiet hours there is something hunted,
wearied worried, dreading and dreadful, TO
be read in the lines OF their faces, in the
tremulousness of their voices and in the
light which shines from their eyes that all
their brave and hearty ways cannot hide or
disguise. 1t is as if the sea, from which
they live, had whispered in secret to each
consciousness some savage threat of reprisal;
As if over every little comfort, home Joy or
well-earned content hung the specter-hand
o. fate. coming closer TO the inner vision
every time the fsherman'S heart grows glad.
In whatever degree this is universal II
seems TO me to be more marked
among the fishermen OF Yarmouth
than | have ever found il elsewhere re-
yealtd. / believe Dickens saw and felt this
here at this old fshing-porL when he created
out OF his great and tender heart the pa
thetic haIacters OF the eggOttys-Simpe,
tcHdeT, true; scorning baSentsS; resOlute in
all manly attributes; majestic in snffering
and forgiveness; and through and over ell,
the pathetic thread Of sadness. 0Iiveriug
like an endless plant in a melOlious though
mOunfu song.
Il Is surely here amIhgall these thousands
O. aTmouth nsnermen, wives and BARNS
Iiic lid, far look in their eyes has
come as a heritage of centuries of d0lor and
loss The set stern shutting OF
THE JAWS AND LIPS
Tells better than history can of the endless
Isher-fsht against the elements and pow
erty. For that matter all old ! armouth
folk have the resolute, half-defant expression
that tells as plainly as book can: This IS
Yarmouth. as YOU see it. because we have
Gattled with the sea a thousand yearSl'
And 50 they have. i desperate and un-
cPasing struggle against the elements was
necessary on the part of Yarmouth folk,
past and present, to retain their very eX-
istenc', as well as their trade in behring's
The history OF the Dutch IN their battles
for the preservation OF their dykes against
the gnawing Of the sea cannot surpasS
the record of Yarmouth folk in their
struggles to preserve their port. For hun
dredS of years it was the eYer-Tecurring
victim Of destructive temDests and shifting
sands. Seven different harborS were eX-
cavated between the middle of the four
tenth cen uTy and the time of Eliza
beth. While the storms and the SANDS
were destroying one harbOr after another,
war, rebellion, pestilence and famine as
sailed the brave Yarmouth folk ashore.
In the old books one can read how they
sold their church-plate, bells and vest
menis ;fOr funds to preserve the harDOr.
Again you can find where every inhabi-
tAAls saw lACaoAl pm Ai7AAso az WI II th hOl-
ring-bOats, were compelled to labor three
days of every week, on Sunday, No nday
and Tuesday, at the excavations. They
worked first and worshiped afterward, in
East Anglia, in those rigorous old days. At
another time. when the danger was most
imminent, the precious store of the towns
gunpoWder was sold for means with which
TO save the port. And again, when the sea
had almost buried the wharveS and town in
sand, the entire inhabitants, divided into
60 Iok1 IL md ,frfF for
months, and Yarmouth was saved. The
seventh harbOr done, it has since stood, the
greatest monument TO human pluck and in
yincibiity that can be found IN all Britain
to-day.
One cannot help having an admiration and
affection for men made out Of this sort Of
stuff; and to know them in their humble
homes, in their haunts and resorts of the
quaint old town, and in their dangerous
toll OF gathering the halvestS of the deep, is
10 possess long-remembered pleasure and
delight. Their methods OF fishing vary lit
tie at the present time from those in vogue
for the past hundreds of years save tnat
the little open boats formerly IN use have
been supplanted by fine decked smacks; as
Is true with the fishermen Of the entire
British coasts, barring those of the west
and northwest Irish islands, where the
ancient curragh, or skin-keeed canoe, is
still in use. Though longtime and deep-sea
fishing is prosecuted by many the year
IOuIl, ana, curing lie winter nlUnLl5 uuQBI
The most peTll0uS circumstances known TO
any fishermen on the globe, the paramount
interest mt Yarmouth, from the hsherman's
standpoint, is conferred ia the herring fish
cries OF this coast.
THESE MADE YARMOUTH.
They sustained the city and its citizens.
At the present time it is reckoned that the
city increases its population ten-fOld, and
houses $4,000 sOulsduring the season" two
thirds OF this number being drawn here
solely b5 The herring Industry. Again, this
number Is doubled by excursiOnistS and sea-
SIDE i0ltererS from the near manufacturing
cities, and even from far-away London
Itself; 50 that from June until September,
IL Is no uncommon thing for Yarmouth to
hold from 100000 to 10000 peOp lie.
Now, as Of old. the merchants of Var
mouth, LoWestoft Confession and other near
ports fit out large decked boats of from 80
to 50 tons burthen, the Yarmouth and near
coast fleet numbering perhaps 1900 of these
vessels. Each Que is manned with master,
mate, hawsemaD. waterman, net-rOpe man,
MISSIONER and about half a dozen IaborerS
Ut 'capsteTn-meD." All these engage
10 serve during the season, at stipu-
lated wages, with an allowance of
certain sum in money, for every last of
herTinEs taken, TO the master, mate, hawse-
man and waleman; some vessels engaging
with this allowance to each vessel,
the allowance being divided by the
entire crew, share and share alike" A
'last" Of herring is the Yarmouth standard
of reckoning. 1t comprises ten barrels of
fish Another method of computing tile
last" where the fish are sold out OF the
boat, is to count out 1920 behring's. The
vessels are Vietualed by the owners, and
are also provided with several tons Of salt,
Tor the herrings taken at Yarmouth are dis
posed of in an entirely different manner
from those secured by the Scottish and
Shetland fishers. The latter sell their
takes" Immediately to ''curers." who, at
stations" alongshore. pickle" the herring
according to the old Dutch method, in bar
rcls, which, after receiving Government in
spection and brand, are shipped to the Con-
tinental market. All the herring taken
along the east of England coast
are marketed at Yarmouth, and are
either shipped fresh IN carload lots to the
London fshmongers or are Transformed
by saltiug and smoking into Var
mouth bl0aters" for shipment to all parts
of the world In the little pine boxes, which
from time immemorial have adorned grocery
store windows. Every boat is furnished
Ngirb ahauf 100 Of wi 10