The record-union., 1891-03-15


ring taken along the aast of England
coast are marketed at Yarmouth, and are
either shipped fresh, in carload lots, to
the London fishmongers, or are trans
formed by sailing and smoking into
yarmouth bloaters," for shipment to all
parts of the world in the little pine boxes,
which from time immemorial have adorn-
ed grocery-store windows. Every boat
is furnished with about 100 nets, each of
which is u yards long, and about p feet
deep. These are fastened in length 10
"war-rope' by cords which the men call
seasons" each of which is is feet in
length. The nets are fioated by corl1s,
and the "war-ropes' by tubs, or buoys.
The trade affords the principal means of
subsistence TO about 1900 fishermen, 5000
braiders, beetsters, towers, rivers, ferry
men, carpenters, caulkers, etc., besides
the number of seamen employed in car
rying the fish to foreign markets, and the
commercial class engaged in conducting
the gigantic industry, as well as partial
support to fully 10000 people from the
North Countrie," and near provincial
districts, variously employed at odds and
ends of labor connected with the herring
fishing during the hight of its season.
A night with the Yarmouth herring
feet is replete with interest and often
with excitement. On more than one oc
casion have l been rocked in the cradle of
the North Sea in no gentle fashion aboard
these herring SmackS, but great storms
during the herring season are rare excep
tions. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon
the mass of smacks along the quays be-
Gin TO swarm with men, and half the city
folk, after an old custom, straggle up and
down the quays to witness the daily de-
parture of the fleet. You will find each
crew particularly busy Laying on'' the
nets, that Is, folding them i'll great level
pile in the hold. This is work of the
greatest nicely, so that when the nets are
"shot" or cast into the sea, they do not
become entangled. While being ''laid
on," the nets are jointed together by knot
ting the back-ropes of each net. The
buoyss are at the same time attached.
While three men are engaged in this
| folding, one attaches the sinks, and an
other is busted folding the back-rope.
This done, one by one the fleet, hundreds
upon hundreds of these smacks, drift
gently out of the Yare-mouth, and thence
across the Yarmouth Roads, into the
! open sea. AS the twilight falls the old
| city sinks from sight into its sand-dunes.
| What at first was a Semi-circle of bright
color from the thousands of pleasure
seekers along the beach, gradually merges
| into a line OF rose above another of white;
! these blend into ribbon of purple, and
then the city lights show like faint. far
stars lying across the horizon, beneath the
darkening puppies of the western sky, the
Yarmouth beacon-light blazing brightly
above, alongside st. Nicholas grim, square
tower. To the north and south, from the
eaSt-shore ports, it seems as though a
! thousand other sail had met us there, all
| floating between the dark waters and the
paler eastern horizon sky like a myriad
! sea-fowl resting gently upon vast ex-
! panSe of sea.
But all these thousand or more smacks
are moving, each gently tacking here and
there for suitable fishing ground. Here
and there sails are being furled, and
masts lowered, denoting that the business
of the night with the great fleet, manned
by, perhaps, 5000 0men, has already begun.
Soon it comes our turn. Net after net
flies over the side as we float with the
tide, trailing at least mile behind us,
| like majestic sea-serpent, the corks and
buoys dancing on the waters farther than
| the eve can reach. Then the cook calls
us below to the den" for supper. A
queer little place it is. One can hardly
stand upright in il. On either side are
| the sleeping lSerths fora crew OF eight
\ There is a good American stove, on which
the supper has been cooked, and a tiny
table, at which four of us can sit at one
\ time and eat. And how we do eat, Never
| before have ham and eggs, potatoes
1 fried in fish grease, pretty tough bread
and black coffee, tasted SO toothSome and
sweet. Then an hour or so on deck, spin
| ming yarns, watching the countless night
lights cleaning from the neighborins
| smacks, or tracing the train of smoke and
phosphorescence behind the great steam
ers passing and repassing as if to run Us
down, and all bat two or three of the
crew turn inp below.
About midnight we who remain or
watch try the nets. A half dozen Oh
Pinore are hauled in. Perhaps not a single
herring is found. The nets are cast out
again. Then it is drift, drift, drift, until
3 O'Clock in the morning, more than ,00t
silent smacils in company, trailing I,00t
miles ofnets. At this hopr all is commo.
ttion throughout the entire fleet. The
! daily drawing of the sea-lottery is al
hand. On each smack's stern is ma.
chine called the Iron Man," worked by
one man, which hauls in the back-ropt
over three pulleys, and is equal to abou
two and one-half mems strength. The re-
mainder of the crew are hauling in the
middle and foot of the nets, shaking the
wrlggllng, .Sllvery, squeaking fish from
the meshes into the hold as the nets come
over the gunwale; the 'scummer-b boy
! with his sscummer," like q salmon-land
ing net, eagerly scooping up every her
| ring which, by mischance, drops back
into the sea, from which service his entire
wages are secured. If few fish have been
taken, ii is weariSome task hauling in
iloES tlail st llstll uill6' > lGuItn OF drip
| ping nets. Ii three, or four, or half
dozen lasts are secured, as is OTTER
done, the men work under the creates
excitement and good feeling. Finally, a
perhaps the dawn is just breaking, tn,
entire fleet is heading towards yarmouth
before spanking breeze, the light-laden
unlucky craft out-speeding those deep
sunk with their precious freights. render
ing easy and CHEEKY the onerousness o
tagging behind.
Half 4 thousand crafts may already bt
berthed at the quays and dischargins
their fish when your own smack arrives
Ii so, you will find half hundred thou
sand Yarmouth folk and sight-seer.
swelling the motley throngs TO greet you
The herrings are disposed of in jiffy by
auction, carted to the fish-houses, Gov
cred with salt for twentyfour hours, ane
are then washed III watts by the curers
called towers" Then they are spittec
through the head upon spits, about fou,
feet long, by women, glib of tongue ant
dext0us OF fingers, locally known q!
I rivers From their hands they ar,
conveyed to the huge ''smoke-houses,' }
where they are hung in tiers in narrow
passages from forty to fifty feet high, anG
1 in these the process of smoking goes OF
in gentle smudgings, with frequent in
termissions, several weeks. They hav,
| then become the rich, juicy, toothsom,
| @ui i-Houtd piodteiS vi coiiiileEce. III
among the many legends of old Var
mouth town, and is set dawn as authenti,
history by its ancient chronicles, that thu
| Yarmouth mode of curing herring by
salting and smoking, which has resulted
in the greatest industry in the preparation
for use of a single fish at a single port il
the world, was the result of accident,
fisherman having hung some herrings VI
in his cabin, where, what with his fer.
ing and smoking or SmoEie-fierino ir
that his narrow lobby, his herrfnes
which We're as white as a whalebone wher
he hung them up, now lookt as red as {
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