Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-13
ON THE FISHING BANKS
A Month Spent in TRAVELLING FOR Cod, Haks
end Haddock.
Catch of 10000 Pounds Made the First
Day - How the Travis Are
Set and Hauled.


down To I wharf. Boston. one fine marniu4.
\ and found the Minnehaha there unloading
| She was to sail again the following week.
| and was so strongly urged by Capt
| Haughton 10 take a trip 10 the banks I
/ promised To be on hand. 1t was about :
O'Clock On a balmy afternoon that the crew
| lazily hoisted her big sails and slowly
| warped the staunch little boat out into tho
| harhor. BY dusk we had put many a ni,,,
between us and Boston town -Four DAYS "
| delightful weather brought us 10 the New
| fCGndlsnd banks, the wind blowing strong
1 and favorably all the time and We cast
| anchor early one afternoon on one Of our
| captains favorite fishing grounds All that
| morning We had been busy getting the
| travis out and batting them preparatory
to setting them as soon as We should arrive
on the grounds
Arrived at the place where We were TO
| begin operations. Capt. Haughtuu lost no
time IN getting down to business We rode.
at anchor perhaps half an hour, when.
nuch TO my surprise. the order was given
| to set the sails again. To my query as TO
1 what was now on hand. the captain replied
that We were to begin setting travis and
| that this was done while the schooner was
| under considerable Roadway. We carried 4
| crew of fourteen men beside the cook and
each man now stood by his dory, IN which
was loaded the two tubs containing his
| baited trawl which was curled round and
round to prevent snarling.
| one after the other the dories were lifted
over the stern bulwarks by the combined
| efforts OF skipper and cook. and held close
| astern till the fisherman who owned the
| boat could scramble down into the midst
of his tubs. Then the painter was cast of
and the dory was soon far behind. In 4
surprisingly short time all fourteen of the
| boats were launched, and the skipper cook
and myself were in sole possession Of the
schooner.
Each fisherman had his trawl curIed I'D
ill
Grasping the anchor. which was fastened
| to one end of the trawl, he paid the rope
| out until the weight struck bottom lie
now had one end of his gear safely in place.
His next move TO fasten one of his
| buoys to the line which he held in his hand
| and then he heaved buoy and line over
board. The same operation was repeated in
| the middle and at the other end of the
| trawl, the result being that the whole line
with its loo baited hooks was soon firm
| ly stretched along the sandy bottom. Cod
and haddock frequent rocky. sandy bot
toms, and are never found where weeds
and vegetation abound.
As soon as the last boat was well astnrn,
| the tiller was put about, and the Minnie
started to beat back to where we had left
the first dory Each man, as soon as lie
had set his trawl. began to row lazily back
toward the approaching schooner, and it
was only little over an hour befnrr wa
| had picked up the whole of our crew and
all the dories were again piled up on deck
An early supper was taken. and after both
anchors Were securely placed and our lights
carefully trimmed, all hands turned in, -
we Were to pull the travis at daybreak
Long before daylight We were all astir
aboard the schooner. and after a suhstan-
tial breakfast We We're ready to take to the
dorieS as soon as there aHas sufficient light
had decided to go out with bluff, old
fisherman. known as Tug our dory was
soon aitoat and as we rowed slowly away
from the schooner the sun soon broke
through the west, announcing a perfect
spring morning
The travis were three miles away but
Tug found them without the slightest Int
OF trouble, although he seemed to have. no
mark 10 go by. A hsherman'S bump of To-
cauon Is certainly large. for the men
scarcely ever lose their travis except when
forced TO abandon them by bad weather
Soon we were alongside thu. lirtla rcd
huoyS which marked cur traWl and Tugs
hrst move was to see that his tubs wera
an shipShape to receive the trawl as il WAS
pulled In Then he reached out and lifted
ne nearest buoy into the boat. taking care
that ii was one of the end huovs and nor
the one in the center of the trawl This
done. he united the buoy and stovad III
away under the stern thwart Then he
slowly began TO haul up the heavy lina ~
the efd OF which was the anchor and the
beginning of the trawl Eagerly 1 watched
the line come up. while il seemed an age
before saw the big chunk of iron loom m
which had served Tug for an anchor
AT last the anchor was aboard and slowed
away beside the buoy. while | Was str.iu
ing every power of my vision for n sight
OF a fish on the line. the end of which I
was firmly grasping. To let go thar bea,v
Inc meant that We should have to start
pun from the center. and many Of the
ilsh would probably escape. Tug was FUN
ling about for something and at last he
seemed TO have found it, for with erlIut
OF satisfaction he announced that the fun
would soon begin. He held in his hand
what at first sight l took to be an or,Ii
nary wooden mallet. Closer inspectinn
however, revealed that it was a big wooden
heel l.
gave II the carpenter-like look
Bending over TO the outside Of the boat
ne showed me a hole into which he stuck
the handle of the pulley wheel. This ar
rangement left the wheel projecting over
the side of the boat in such "A WAY as IN
allow the trawl to travel in over il thus
removing great strain from his hands
When for any reason the fisherman st,na
puIllfS the me in for moment a COMMA
OF turns taken around the wheel holds The
trawl securely in place. Slowly Tug began
10 pun. and at about the fifth hook there
was a terrific splash and :}0-pound cod
came tumbling into the boat. Tug stood IN
and gave the captive fish thump against
the side of the dory, thus unlocking him
II ne next ilsh came up ON hook number six
ana ne received the same treatment. only
ne turned out to be a big skate and the
thump was so administered that he faU
back into his native element
Cod hake and haddock now began IN
come up rapidly, averaging good size and
ABOUT every other hook holding a fish I
took my turn at pulling, and enjoyed the
sport immensely BY watching the water
closely We could see big fish some way
down on the line. thus lending spice to The
work. My greatest trouble was in getting
the fish off the hook
l absolutely failed to achieve Tugs way
-o1 unlocking, and thus lost a good deal Of
Iine. The haul turned out well. and. as
rug had predicted. we were Obliged 10 20
PACK TO the schooner and unload after we
had reached the center buoy Beside the
cod, hake and paddock We pulled in speci-
mems of catfish (salt water. dogfish and a
large assortment of other kinds whose
names l have forgotten.
BY o clock We were all back aboard the
schooner, and our first haul was soon
stored away on ice. The other boats had
been equally successful and all were well
pleased at the suspicious beginning OF our
trip. couple Of hours of hard work suf-
feed to get the travis baited UP again and
by noon We had them set a second time and
could enjoy an afternoon of idleness as we
would not pull them again till o'clock
The cook furnished us with fresh fish cook
ed to 4 turn. and after a hearty dinner we
disposed ourselves about the deck to smoke
and to listen to the yarns which none can