The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1896-12-03
rIstFRMAN'S LUCK.
,,,aunt Of Life at MatlnlcuS.
.uuntine and Fish ing. ]

a. Islands lie twenty miles
t VI Rockland, Maine, at
upbscot bay, straight ont
m The very last land, the
stands. The Rock Lights
seen by outward bound
r Joint most anxiously
inward bound sailing craft
inside he islands is Matini-
qud->Wept, storm washed,
m5-~ af granite, a bald, bar
mtiu4 its dangerous bulk
tull sixty feet, capped
aud the various buildings
He keepers and their fami-
.-p pmping- off place; moth
the rolling waters of the
u sea birds circle and
.5 fapping their wings over
,tIs, their harsh and discord-
ne in solemn cadence among
Gp0W the roar of the surf is
.. lis it rolls and tumbles
ns
r1 nd bred in this section of
.45t there is an air of romance
,nrut these islands, which,
uH4f we may become with
wears away. They are so
attd. 1t is only under the
-onditions that small craft
Mlt and when once there
vein a constant state of I'M
rc safety of their boats, so
the harbors, being har-
puly-an alarm which is
re native fishermen with
Nid must be the storm and
nto which they will not
seem to know their way
weather 10y instinct, and
l boats with a skill and
marvellous.
men, Can | ever repay
-alitN? Many days have l
1mpany, cruising about
ming their hardships and
u4 their prosperity-hap-
m the care of the big,
-Hu forgotten. from which
lely separated that it
tlfted away, leaving us
Islands and the grand old
more eXhilarating than
li-eiug and gaze out upon
N' view unobstructed, the
under the bow in clouds
ads forward like Il race
Arlm who knows no fear,
XII. until the rushing wa
.iiGc streak in the deck:
at the fury of the gale,
perfect command of his
.~1. nicely how much it
N .u sends his boat through
IlUng roaring breakers,
tc the destruction of any
ver>ed i'll the manage
and having a thorough
locality.
r will a fisherman de
'u for another. There
an element Of chance
1 about the life which
The occupation is hard
mud many times their
~'tive danger: but to offset
he chance of an excep-
ajbut and mackerel may be
Jol of ground fish may be
aiu Hll their boats to over
.0u pots may be well filled
ud nets filled to the sinking
t, strike of herring. Under
Stances the work is profit
uA, there is a sense Of free
aQyudence to the life which
list in its seductive grasp.
o@ever, their lite is growing
fish gradually disappear.
three years fish have been
lie islands, although they
laappeared from the bay
~ruools of dogtish sweep our
lr, schools which constantly
nber and voracity, render
an impossibility to obtain
ring the month of August.
norther sends them south,
vgr they take complete pos
mackerel school is closely
Ieeu of seiners. who hover
Ike cloud of vultures,
45 schools, and rendering
,i scarce.
qIer, Of this year, every
II HAT mackerel We're com
Haine coast. Nearly every
." were taken in the weirs.
rs large, measuring Il and
The fishermen shook their
Too large" they said.
Nely until smaller fish mix
These old fellows know
axe Jig when by them
trle ones set them biting. .
H" rried for them off the rock
oasionally securing a few.
Truck in solid at Monhegan,
and we judged the report
de- We could make out a fleet
"riy seihers lowering about
Tie result was one of them
% lunning seine round the
ming hundreds OF barrels.
we're left Immediately disap-
/ from then till now not one
been seen about the islands.
school been undisturbed it
FINISHED good hand fishing
and next season they would
1sr returned more numerous
eonsider the ravages made by
uers, trawlers, and lobster
is not at all singular that food
water, are fast disappearing.
fail of '95 on Matinicus, paint
ing, equally dividing my time
este diversions. | had fished
cod, hake and haddock; had
Il dogtish than all else combin-
'rc scarce and fishing unprofit-
MI the professionals stand
. had found them sufficiently
% rhafe my hands to the bleed
Notwithstanding ! had persis-
r. hem in salt water and o:her-
them in every manner posi-
fi.cient degree of hardness tc
Badly friction of heavy wet
len with large fish, is a mat
Ism few weeks growth.
Nped that mackerel would