The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-11


stances a coarse velvet bodice. They rarely
wear any foot covering aud only such mead
covering as is supplied by the folds OF tne
upper skirt.
Altho1e Oh the coast wise Italian hshermen
differ from the Venetian lagoon nsueT'' WIZ
are a hereditarily distract Glass, n lI
their living by shell-hshlng ana "aalIk Ia
| the mud for crebs and other shell fish. in
being invariably deep sea hshers' sun tney
are never fond of loug voyages and rarely
pass more than three or four nights on the
| water assp trip. They are fond like the
Chioggian fishers Of forming small heets OF
five or six craft for fishing IN one locanty,
and keeping one Of their "bragozzi Wltn its
crew, plying back aud forth Win the
''catchesY either directly 10 marKet towns
| with fresh fish or TO thelr OWN nonle ports
with fishfo curing.
Their craft are wholly different from the
lagoon fishers. being especially broad and
| fiat, and large and Important OF ruuoer,
| upon which indeed depends almost the en-
! tire management of the little vessel. Ihls
| being within the control or one man, or TWO
| at most, the crew. whe.her large or small,
are left free-handad forthe nets, the method
of Showing" 'payiug ut - and setting and
| hauling of which closely resemble those Of
| both British and American coast fishers.
The women do not shrink from even the
toughest labor on the SEA; and 1t Is no IN
| common, sight to see Vite and daughters
handling ropes, nets aud sails, cleaning or
sorting fish on deck or vigorously engaged
in any necessary labor II the boat. Indeed,
so far as my observation goes, the fisher
| mems wives are the pr polling, active, in>
domitabie force Of their lives and livelihood.
Their movements are vigorous and even
virile, while the men are phlegmatic and
SLOW At the tiller, in lnfurling or reefing
the sales, paying out or hauling in the
nets, slowing a way the fish, transferring
them from their craft to the market
oragozzo, in hauling the boats
upon the beach, in spreading
and drying the nets, in fact, in
every possible manner in which they labor
beside or in advance Of heir husbands, they
lay hold Of their toll with vigor and mus
cuIar vim exhibiting tremendous energy
and force. Their r ach Of arm and stride
of leg are remarkable, aud the muscles of
their shoulders and breast show extraordi-
nary development. Studying them as |
have often, done when they were uncon-
sclous OF observation, their strange, gruff
voices, their brawny frames, their Immense
brute strength, and above all, their savage
energy Of action, has prom pied the thought
that If any future Masaniello were to leap
from among the fisher folk with the dread
shout Of Morte al NAL gorernow the re>
sistless liberator would pA owe an Italian
tisherwoman rather than an Italian fisher
man. ..
The superstltions Of these Italian fisher
men are siugularlv fewer than those Of
almost any others OF his class. and most of
those which they possess are of a painfully
pious sort. They are deeply devout peo-
pie. Theyare also densely ignorant. They
positively know nothing else in their dull
lives but their rude fishing and how to eat
and sleep. They are animal as much as I
have ever found raen, although their ami
NAL dullness and sod1enness is Of the gentle
rather than the Vicious sort. They there
fore do not possess the quick and creative
fancy Of their brethren Of the Scotch and
Irish coasts, who as one of the latter once
said to me, "catoh more bugaboos than
fish,"
This lethargic quality is illustrated by
their inordinate capacity Tor food and sleep
and especially the latter. The moment the
fisher arrives on shore bis labors-which, IL
his quests have not been far aid dangerous
have already been performed largely by
women aboard his Drag zzo-are at an end
His banchetto or Homecoming feast is al
ways ready, and b betakes himself TO this,
while his wife care for boat, gear and fish,
with the rRpaoity OF half famished dog
l have often seen q single fisherman thus
eat at one sitting more than quart of stufa
or hodgepodge stew Of shredded fish and
est OF all delicac1ss to, an Italian fisherman,
polenta, or cheitnut flour pudding bigger
than his shaggy head with a goat's~milk
cheese as large IS his fist.
This done he Aings himself on bis belly
upon the floor 4 his hut or beside his hab-
itation IN the warm sand Of the shoreside
street, and instantly becomes oblivious to
all worldly conterns in sleep; and he will
sleep from twelve to twenty hours without
n YAa hau I
Into these little fishing villages and, while
all was busth and activity among the
women, foundh score of men thus disposed
In doorways OF half burrowed in the sand,
until it seemedias though these sea-roving
slugRards were all lying in a helpless
drunken stupor or were merely the bodies
of dead fisherI1en cast up from the deep,
Several odd objects are carried by the
Italian fsherde en- as necessary to good luck
in general. tiny paddle fashioned from
a chestnut tree that ,fhaso been struck by
lightning hastunusuHt power for good al
though | nevet could secure the reason for
their faith. The figure Of little hump
backed man called gobbo, a globe sur
mounted BY across and q cock with a star
in its beak ara frequently painted upon the
sails. All Of these possess fortuitous in
fluences. aa1 Another favorite good
luck token is a little brass orcia or cruet of
oil. 1t Is kept carefully sealed and bur-
nished, and a few drops ARE cast upon the
" aters il the fish are not sufficiently pleuti-
full, or If a STORM threatens the interruption
of their work But most. essential Of all
things to these Uoilers of the sea is muscino,
or kitten. No braRozzo can put out from
land without this, and IL such mischance
should happen, all on board would surely
be lost
The blind faith OF these folk In the
efficacy Of blessed and holy relics to APP
pease the wrath of the sea is indeed pa
thetie. Many keep themselves in a state OF
utter :mpovershment in providing neces-
sary Amulets aud charms Not only Is the
fisnerman's person covered with these, but
his boat must also possess all possible saw
ing power Though these religious appli-
ances. Should some great storm arise
and genuinei danger come, one by one
these appeasidve objects are cast upon the
waves with faith that is positively sub
lime. Meantime his wife ashore, possessed
of the same implicit and pious confider ce,
gives her most precious relics to the sea
that her husband may come safe to land.
And have no doubt th AZ when fatal disas-
ter comes as it always does, this man sinks
into the silence beneath the tempest with
his last spark OF vital consciousness an IN
dimmed fame oftrust and faith.
.....ri-s. EDGAR l. WAKRMAN.
He Wasn't Penurious
The economical vein which runs through
some meni is positively funny, says the Bos-
ton JourndL man aceidently dropped
a 81 i