The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-12-08
HOW COD ARE CAUGHT.

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I have just returned from a voyage
n pursuit of the live cod and hence.
,orth and forevermore there will be
,dded sweetness to the flavor of the
ish whenever it is my good fortune to
lave it placed before me as it should
% served, for the memory of the
orave and sturdy seamen who risk
heir lives in all sorts of weather
llong a section of the coast that is
,trewn with wrecks of their kind will
always remain with me.
No wind or weather daunts them;
hey face the freshening northeast
breeze in the full knowledge of the
message it may bring them, without a
remor, and battle with the storms
and waves with the fervor that brave
men display when their lives are at
stake. All this, along one of the most
,reacherous portions of the Atlantic
seabord, and, although at times they
come limping into port presenting
sorry evidences of the hurricanes fury
and reporting possibly the loss of a
man or two, they patch up speedily,
replacing spar here and breadth of
canvas there. and are off again almost
before you know it to make another
try at the catch. j.
It was almost sundown when the
6shing smack Kitty NJ, anchored close
to dock at Stapleton. Two OF the
crew put off in a dory and two more
followed them shortly. The first boat
returned in about half an hour with q
load of big sea clans, which were
stored forward. Each boat made sew
sral trips for the clans, which are used
as the bait for cod, and when enough
had been procured the boats were
hoisted on deck and the anchor
weighed. The lights were placed on
the mainmast shrouds, and just as the
Kitty NJ. swung around and pointed
her bow toward the Narrows the cook
gave the call for supper. .
After supper the mate and his crew
went to work, with very few words con-
serning what was to be done, although
they joked, laughed and chaffed each
other the while. Each man knew his
duty and performed it mechanically.
Baskets of clans were thrown up on
deck and two Of the men set to open
ing them. The CLAIMS went into pans
alongside of them; the shells over
board. The other men, under the eye
Of the mate, picked over yard after
yard stout line strung with number
less hooks, strengthening the line and
putting fresh hooks at various points.
To me the lines and hooks looked
hopelessly tangled, but under the
rough hands of the men they worked
out as smoothly as skein of yarn is
wound by skilful housewife. Then
the pans of CLAIMS were passed down
and the batting of the hooks began.
"You are not going to fish tonight"
[ said. .... ~.
"Oh, no." replied the mate. "We
are getting ready for the morning.
There's no time for this business
hen."
" As soon as one pan of CLAIMS was
smptied it was replaced by another
tull one, and as each hook was care
FULLY hidden the long line was coiled
50 there would be no possibility OF q
iangle when it was taken up. The
fishermen call this line ''trawl;" in
the South. it is known as the "trot
line." The hooks are attached to the
line by a long SMELL and are about four
teet apart. In all trawl line carries
from four to five hundred hooks, and,
IS the Kitty NJ. was provided with ten
lines, there was little loafng done in
;he fo'c'stle.
At eleven o'clock Captain Jack, the
skipper, walked forward and found
that six of the travis had been baited.
As the start had been made so late he
said that this would do for the night.
There was no time lost in turning
in," and speedily the crew slowed
themselves away for the night-all ex-
,ept the lookout and the man at the
wheel. At this hour the Kitty NJ. was
bearing rapidly down the coast, and
The lights of the towns on the north
ern shore twinkled far away in the dis
lance like row of stars that had
paused q moment on the horizon to
nod friendly "good night"
Long before the sun rose every ssul
aboard the Kitty M. was awake and
stirring. The Kitty NJ, rocking grace
fully on the gentle swell, was at an
chor about eli ght miles off Barnegat.
Two of the dories had already depart
ed, and the steady click of the oars
:gainst the locks sounded across the