The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-07-14

studies. some Of those In stone are equaiiy
outIandish. There are stone ero,eS4uoe
v.bose canals In strange and meaningless
b,deonsness can hardly be found eisewhere
On Eurone Seven represent mocking' Ieer-
inc faces OF men and beasts. Two are as
tending their mouths with their hngers
snd nrotruding their tongues. One Is
most horrible figure OF an ape, anu aho'Hsi
wears FOOLS cap OF the period.
The stranger will be impressed WIN the
.vtraordinary elevation OF the SOIL OF the
tinv churchyard When the place was
frst quite filled with the dead the buriai
Mace was covered over with several leee OIL
sand and interment went on anew. lnree
ti,oes this was done, when it was finally
fonnd that 20 have repeated the process
would have been to bury the church itset:
History. tradition and legend have carved
some grim pictures upon the DIM BACK
ground of the past in this old cornish
fisber town. One historical fact will be
sufficiently illustrative. In the Cornish
unrising OF 1919, its object being the restora-
ion of the Catholic religion, to which Cor
nubians remained greatly attached long
after the Reformation, John Payne, por-
trieye Of St. Ives, was one Of the inferior
leaders. After the defeat Of the Cornish
Sir Anthony Kingston, with royal com
mission. was seeking out and Furnishing
the rebels. He hung the mayor OF bodinin
before his own door. ST. Ives portrieVe
received Sir Anthony humbly, ana pre-
pared a great dinner in his honor az ,ne
venerable George and Dragon sui s'anu'
ing in Market square.
During the dinner the portrieve heard
the sound Of hammering outside, and De
ing disturbed was quieted by Sir Anthony
with the remark that they were only about
10 hang a rebel. Dinner over, history re-
lates. the commissioner invited the por-
trieve to inspect the gallows.
what say you, master portnevey'
ouoth Sir Anthony. as yon gibbet duly
furnished for the hanging Of a traitor"
"AlI seems ready, ant please you" was
the prompt rely
"Then." said the commissioner, turning
To n man.at-arms, secure Master Payne
and hang him straightway, for such Is the
protectors pleasure"
Master Payne was hanged straightway,
but the Cornish, who are Celts, like the
Celtic Irish and Celtic Welsh, unpleasantly
remember these little after dinner jests OF
English protectors and kings.
Great was the olden fame of st. Ives as
a metropolis of fish and fishermen. II is
still the most important of all Cornish
fishing ports. Five thousand folk live
here on what Is harvested from the deep.
For thousand years or more, from father
to son. from mother to daughter, the line
has remained unbroken, has steadily in
creased, and so narrow is the life horizon
of all these fishermen and families that
not a score Of them, il is said, ever see
other English land than the hills and
headlands of ST. Ives bay, save when at
sea in their own boats.
These boats are all two masted, lug
sailed. with round sterns, and range in
tonnage from twenty to thirty tons. With
complete outfits they cost from $500 to
$3.50. Between 600 and 700 men and youths
are employed the year round in fishing.
During the winter they engage in line fish
ing for conger, whiting and ling, also Sc
curing few cod. In March the spring
mackerel fishing begins; and the st. Ives
men are always found on their own
grounds. from thirty to fifty miles north
west OF st Ives in the Irish sea. Here
they remain until the last Of June, when
they set out for the east coast Scottish
herring fisheries, usually selecting grounds
in the North sea, opposite the Firth Of
Forth, or abreast of Coldingham and Der
wick
During August they will be found along
the east English coast in the neighborhood
of Whitby, Scarborough and the Var
mouth of Dickens "Peggotys," but are
always back to ST. Ives for the autumn ST.
Ives herring fishing, and large number Of
their fleet are home in time for possible
runs of pitchers (pilchards), the Fair
Maids of st. Ives" for which the ancient
seaport has been famous for half thou.
sand years.
As nearly as can be described the pill
chard is the sardine Of the Mediterranean
waters 1t makes its appearance at st.
Ives, when it comes at all, in tremendous
shoals during the months of September
and October. From daylight until sunset
of every day during these months watch
men called "huers" are stationed at look
outs on Carringgladen and PorthminsteT
hills and earn Crows island. Their prac-
ticed eyes never fail of discerning the ap-
proach Of shoal of these fish. They come
in such vast numbers that the surface OF
the bay changes its color and often is
broken into ripples and foam from the
movements of the dense masses OF fish.
On sighting a school of pilchards the
"huer' first blows terrific blast upon
his speaking trumpet. One blast is sun.
Gent. All st. Ives folk tumble from their
homes and rush wildly shouting "Heva
hevap' TO the shore. Meantime the great
seine boats. ready manned, have put out
and are guided wholly in surrounding the
shoal by the signaling of the "huer," which
is done with hoop on which white muslin
is stretched, TO which long, light handle
is attached 1t is called ''the bush" for in
olden times n bush was used instead.
Shooting the seines is so rapidly done at
St. Ives that often the entire shoal Of pill
chards will be literally impounded within
ten minutes time from the "huersn
trumpet signal Single catches Of pill
chards have exceeded 5000 hogsheads of
sailed and cured fish OF late years the St
Ives pilchard fishery has been uncertain
but M 1889 there were 5000 half casks of
pa pounds each taken. They are shipped
10 various Mediterranean ports for use in
the Lenten season, Italy being the largest
customer.
The st. Ives fisher folk are noted for
their simplicity and piety. They are near
ly all fervent Methodists, honest, super
stitious humble and good. They live in
as great comfort as the fisher folk of New
bovav In CcotIopS and tho - ,,,o-o