The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-12-02
NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERS.
FEATURES OF LIFE ON THE SHORES
OF THE ISLAND.
Get Their Living From the Sea-
Wrecks From the Viewpoint of the
Thrifty Native.

Wrecks From the Viewpoint of tn
| Thrifty Native.
The life of the average Newfoundland
fisherman Is not more toilsome perhaps
than that of the other laboring mil
lions of the world, but it is certainly
more uncertain and perilous, His life
has been described as -four months
hard work and eight months play
This, think, Is an eXaggeration of the
playtime, and If we say that half the
year he is fishing, and the other half
taking a spell" as he calls 1t, we shall
be nearer the mark
During the season the industrious
coast fisherman Is afloat in his boat al
rows, according as the wind is, to his
fishing ground. Unless the cod are I'M
commonly plentiful, the shore sees him
no more until nlghtfall. On his small
craft he possesses the means of making
fire, and there he cooks himself one
of the fish he has caught, brews a cup
of tea, and eats his doughboy His
consumption Of tea Is enormous, ana
that, with the leaden qualities of the
doughboy. which is nothing but q
round lump of cooked dough, no doubt
tends to produce the dyspepsia which is
so common among the population
Even during the season there are a
great many days when gales prevent
him from going to sea. 1t Is fortunate
If these are fair days, for then he can
busy himself helping the women to
make" tie fish If wet however,
there is nothing usually to be done but
sit around in ignoble inaction.
His fare is of the simplest kind. !
have more than once seen the prepare
ton of the evening meal of man wh)
had been away since dawn, and who
might be expected to have a rare appe-
tite against his return. The good wife
half filed small pan with flour, among
which she poured sufficient molasses to
knead it into dough. After rolling
this into two cakes she placed one on
plate and strewed a little of the pre-
serves of the wild raspberry on It, The
other "bannock" was placed on top,
and, after a judicious firing in the oven,
behold, a pie. And, oh, such pie!
Guiltless of yeast or rising of any sort
it was truly unleavened bread. / had
the opportunity of INDUCING In this sat
isfying fare subsequently. and my re-
spect for the Newfoundland man rose
as I considered how many generations
Re has endured this and yet RETAINED
from homicide This, however was but
a confection-the solid food consisted of
a generous share of turnips and pota-
toes mashed up together Pots and
pots of tea, sweetened with molasses
and milkless, and bread, without but
ter, completed the repast. It cannot be
said that the Newfoundland fisherman
keeps himself poor with riotous living. 7
When he is In a situation to earn
wages and board himself, his expendi-
!ures on housekeeping are of the most
description On Belle
Island the wage is ten cents an hour
md as in the long summer days the
hours are many, the earnings of the
nen are considered handsome. Their
antilles are not on the Island and the
vorkmen erect little bowels IN the
'eighboring woods where as many OF
hem sleep as can be packed under its
oof, The great concern Is to send as
much money back to the good wife AMI |
title ones as possible, so that there
nay be full larder or what they coa-
ider a full larder all winter when the |
york closes down. For this purpose
hese poor fellows live on about four
GLARS month. Indeed four dollars Is
onsldered the maximum There Is no
aker on the island, and they have. ac-
ordingly to enlist the services of the
esident fisherwomen to bake bread for
hem, the charge for this service being
en- cents stone On week days no
esh passes the lips of the great majoe-
" of them, but on Sunday it Is usual
, have feast-namely. pork and cab
age This Is considered banquet that
ven an American millionaire might
mink himself lucky in sharing.
Fishing Is VIGOROUSLY an uncertain
alling. The motions Of fish are past all
One season they will
isit every part of these shores and
lose of Labrador in their countless
1oals The next season certain bays
even whole shore will be almost de-
arted. The herring are especially fic-
lie and there are places that were
ice good herring grounds that have
,arcely seen herring for many years
II sorts of theories are advanced to ac-
,unt for this, some of them ridiculous
lough. But the fact remains, and
hen the fish fail to turn up in num-
,rs at the accustomed place, destitu-
On follows. From a very early period