People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-12-05
FISHING FOR HALlBUT,
Dangers and Dlscomforts Of the smackr
Crews.

The method Of catching halibut was
explained to a Tribune reporter re.
Gently by one of the oldest and best
known captains Of the fishing fleet at
Gloucester, the home of nearly all the
American halibut smaclls.
MY boat" he said, is schooner-rig-
ged, as all these vessels are, is one hun
dred tons register, one hundred and
five feet in length and twenty-six feet
six inches beam, and draws eleven feet
Of water.
For sails we have main and fore.
sail, main and foretopsails, two jibs
and main and foretopmast staysails.
We carry on deck forward ten dories-
nested. These we use for laying the
travis on which the fish are caught.
We also have three hundred fathoms
Of the best hemp cable, eight inches in
circumference, and two anchors. Our
crew consists of twenty fishermen
that is, two in each dory-a cook and
gour humble servant We have no
mates, but one of my crew is what we
;all first hand, and he acts in that
capacity.
u take usually about seventy-fve
cons of ice on leaving port; we some.
times are gone eight or nine weeks.
Again, we will make a trip in three
weeks, but this seldom happens. Our
imacks are built of the very best ma.
terials that money can buy; they are
safe in any sea. their lines being as
tine as almost any yachts and we seldom
meet with anything which can out.
sail us.
The travis of which speak are
about one thousand two hundred
fathoms in length; at spaces two
fathoms apart are attached lines seven
the fis5SSoI,s xsjca are fastened
is anchored; the other buoyed, must
tell you that these dories from which
we fish are fifteen feet in length,
three feet wide. have high stems and
Sterns, sloping sides, with fat bot
TOMS will stand heavy sea and are
weight carriers.
AT present we are fishing about
four hundred and fifty miles east-soutb
OF Cape Sable, which is the most south.
erly point OF Nova Scotia. You see
before getting on the grounds we have
to run in at some point on that coast
for bait. French herring suits about
as well as anything, but once upon
the banks we use cod and haddock, Of
which we catch what we need"
THE fishermen live pretty well
while at sea. We keep fresh meatand
vegetables in good condition for quite
long time, having so much ice on
board; then we have plenty of salt
beef and pork, as well as canned
goods, condensed milk, etc. But it is
cold and hard work out there in prac.
tical!y mid-Atlantic. Where we are
fishing the water is about one hundred
fathoms deep, and hobbling about at
the end OF one hundred and fifty
tathoms of cable isn't very pleasant.
las ! said. two men are sent with
each dory. Each boat has a compass,
for you must know that fog in one Of
DUR greatest dangers, fishermen often
losing their smacks while tending the
travis. They take with them also some
food, water or cold coffee, so that in
,ase they miss their smack they NAV
have something to sustain life until
they are picked up by some vessel.
Having anchored one end OF the trawl,
they see that the short lines are free
as they pay out, aDd bait the hooks.
The other end is buoyed. The line is
once set, they 90 over it twice a day,
freeing the fish and rebaiting the
hoOks-pleasant work with the Their
mometer about zero, eh? Understand
these fish weigh from forty TO two
hundred and fifty pounds each.
Many is the time the whole crew
have worked with the axes TO free the
ships bows from ice, fearful that the
great weight would sink US, the water
freezing as it struck the vessel. You
must also know that while we lay al
inchor-perhaps fifty other smack,
near us-one or more of these lying tc
windward may break loose. OF course
there is no time to hoist anchor; so WIG
:ut our cable, for if we were struck
we'd hardly have time to say a prayer
before we went down.
THE crews work on shares; they re
ceive no fixed amount Of pay. Some
times a trip will net each one of then
ten dollars. Again, they will make
two hundred dollars each. 1t make,
all the difference in the world to their
whether upon arriving home halibut /,
selling for two cents or for twenty
cents"
Some time ago concern at Seattle
on the Pacific coast, shipped to tbi,
market carload of these fish by way
Of experiment. The expense, freight
handling, etc, was seven hundred ant
seventy-fve dollars. The whole loat
when sold brought two hundred anc |