The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-01-15
DEEP-SEA - IL.G.
How Halibut, Haddocl<, Cod and
Herring Are Caught.
Largo Vessels That Travel Hundreds OF
Miles in Order to Catch the Scaly
Creatures-The Food of the Col.
Onists-A Great Industry.

cod. the banks, hundreds of miles out to sea,
are sought by the vessels of from ninety to
twice that many tons burden, which spend
there as many months as are necessary to
secure load or "fare," as it is technically
called. The system of angling pursued by
these spot hunters" would scarcely obtain
the approval of lovers of sport, says the
Chicago Ncws. Lines mile or so in length,
with hooks attached at six feet intervals are
anchored in the shadows over the banks.
with buoys Of wood or cork to mark them.
These ''trawls'rfor so they are desig-
nated-are set at night, and in the morning,
every hook. freshly baited with scrap OF
fish, and~fwice in twenty-four hours they
are hauled up, hand over hand, by men in
dories who detach such victims as are
caught, and renew the free lunch offered to
the scalv FOUNDERS Of the ocean. AS fast as
they are taken, the cod or halibut are dried
in the sun and sailed down in the vessels
holds, whence the former are shoveed out
many weeks later, in the leather-ike condi-
lion one buys them in the corner grocery.
The fresh !halibut and cod one buys III the
market are caught near the shore by
smacks, which make two trips week
to the less distant grounds. In this
way are taken nearly all the paddock, which
are sold unSalted for the most part, owing
to the comparatively small number found.
Hallbut is by far the most profitable game
for the fisherman A fair-sized one at 5
cents pound IS worth several dollars, and
1T is not unusual to find them weighing three
hundred weight piece Such big fellows.
at $40 or SIS each, soon make up satisfacto.
ny cargo But, as has been said, the "Tig"
for catching them IS more expensive Lines
as big as your little finger are required to
hold them, and other tackle of proportionate
strength and size. A simple cod rig costs
S25 per man for each of the dozen or so of
stout sailor boys who make up the crew of
afirst-class going fishing boat The ar
rangement usually made is, that the skip
per who employs the men pays all the ex-
penses of voyage from the sum he receives
for his cargo. Onc-ffth of what remains
''goes to the boat or. in other words. is
the captains share The balance is divided
equally among the crew, each of whom is
thus made partner in the venture-an
arrangement well calculated to stimulate
activity in the pursuit CT edibles that swim.
And this Is Wher& !; h swlftness of the YES
sci Is useful, n casing the schools and in
making trips olt AL home again as short az
may be. A great pest Of the deep-sea fish
ermen IS the :rE9Jnd-shark, but now and
then one Is cangtt IS big as dory-say,
twelve feet lonS--2nd its liver will fill
Twelve buckets, Il $50 Il bucket, for oil
Even the checks and tongues of the cod,
winch III old times were thrown away, are
now turned INTO money. Many people like
to eat them fried, and one dealer told the
writer that he himself had sold S5O.OOO
worth of them in the last eight years The
entralls Of al the fish arc disposed of for
fertilizing purposes
The harvesting of the scaly crop each
year is an industry of gigantic proportions.
employing the services Of MANY Thousand
able seamen and multitude of vessels.
both big and small. These vessels are the
nnest OF their kind TO be found anywhere.
not few of them veing in the expensive.
ness OF their construction and the elaborate.
ness OF their equipment with first-class
yacnts. Speed, next to safety, is the chief
ulsldefaCum IN the modern fishng-boat. and
even Mr.. Burgess, the celebrated designer
Oh pleasure craft that beat the world. has
not dlsdaned to build sloops and schooners
Wnlch contend with frantic emulation from
season 10 season for the proud distinction
OF " high-linc Of the fieet.''
The fishing grounds off the New England
shores are the most valuable known. To
the lnterestfelt by rival nations in secur-
ing possession of them history mainly of.
tributes the colonization Of North America
Inc reports of early explorers touchino the !
wealth OF the Western seas-cominp at a
period when Roman Catholic Eurone CON.
sumed an incalculahlc amount of fish in
umes OF religious fastng-gave rise to tho
most intense excitement and set on foot
business speculatlons which were destined
IN the course Of years, to coniure IN the
specter OF grim-visagad war For two cent
urles the french and English fought over
tne prohtaoie waters, which even at the
present DAY are a subject OF International |
olspute. Inc early Colonists earned their
oreao ana butter chiefly with hook and line. |
anu IN tnose days the salary of the minis.
eoi' the oeot oCc the merchant, and in fact
tnost pecunlary obligations, were Maid in
'ue STAPLE commonly, fish. And in this
P,oSeu. year OF grace. 1883, the population
1lons tne North Aoialds shore subsist to
ereat extent on a h1h aiet, and is supported
uua!niy oy the SAFE OF the great oceans fin
ny inhabitants, fresh and salted
OF O0o.001pounds of fish cantnrad ornr
ally the bulk consists of cod had6ocI1 ~
hallbut On the great sshanks', or sboI1o.,,s
which extend for hundreds of miles in +ho
nlost OF the deep ocean, far from land
lnese ogers OF the sea gather by mvriads in
me spring time. coming up from fathomlese
waters, whittier they have retreated to 40.
ape the winters cold, to feast unon ~. !
'oun1iess shoals Of smaller fry that sra
'reo 1or the sole purpose, seemino,,, -
,roViolng food for their bigger cousins AZ
NC warm weather approaches the herr,nc
ioM"eS ana otner such fashionable f;sbnS
= rive from the southern watering nlacee
'noie tney nave been spending the cola |
aontns' SO uncomfortable, you know. in tb;s
oonlinaole climate Those slippery ens-
omers' the cells, too, come wrigglinc ao,,-r
rom the little creeks and estuaries 1911 SSn
ley nave found comfortable beds of 49,
arm m''d TO hibernate in. In brief. II -
10 Joyous season in the briny dent,
on the dry earth II as Wen J
AS rule vessel gOe-
tion with some Pc on fishing exrIe.
lew. A ''cod'' ..,icular sort of pre- y in
,ck, but rig will also serve fer had,
- for hallbut stronger tackle and |
..er hooks are needed, wnlle mackerel. I
and herring must be taken IN nets. Thus it |
is that boats usually sail from port equipped |
suitably for capturing single kind Of fish, |
to the netting Oh hooking of which each craft |
deyotes its exclusive attention.
Canary Bird Culture.
The breeding OF canary birds is a COM |
mon occupation among the Hartz Mount |
aims, and ready market is found for them |
in the city of Goslar, an aristocratic place of |
$1,000 inhabitants where some OF the de- |
ceased rulers of Prussia lie buried The
birds generally sell at prices ranging from
u few dollars to $50: but there is one varie-
ty, exceptionally fine singers, which fire.
quently bring $780, This bird serves the
- ol,o
matter of singing, and is therefore eagerly
srhf after. Rocoa,flx- in,