Evening star., 1901-02-21
COMING FISHING SEASON
PREPARATION FOR SEEMING OPER-
ATOMS ON THE POTOMAC.
Uncertainty of the Business and De-
scrfptiOn of Its Practical
Sides.

AS soon as the ice leaves the river The
Star will contain items about as follows:
Capt. Haines left for the Middle rivel
! fishing shores yesterday on the Harry Ran
| DALI
| Capt Fisher put out his nets at Sandy
| Point shore last week"
| Small-looking news items these. They
| hardly catch the eye of the general reader
| but to the fisherman they mean much-the
| expenditure of large sums of money and ex-
posure to all kinds of weather and work
such no landsman ever dreamed of.
A fishing outfit, in modest way, say a
mile of gill nets and a trap net or two, with
two boats, shanty and the other neces-
sary paraphernalia will cost probably 81 800
before the nets are out. II fish are plentl-
ful and the market is good prohtS are fair.
III but few hSh are taken, or II many are
taken and the prices are low, the owner
of the plant loses money and loses 1T with
rush. for nets are peFtShabie and often
last but one season. If left in the water
after 1t becomes warm they rot and go to
pieces. If put out too soon and ice catches
them they are cut and ground to useless
pieces of string.
A fishing crew for nets such as described
above consists usually of the owner, who
is called captain" Every Potomac man
who owns boat which can boast of a
sail, however small, or which carries more
universal custom and matter of inde-
feasible right The writer spent week on
the Potomac some years ago. He met some
fishermen upon landing and was addressed
as mister That afternoon he bought a
batteau for s6 and paid twice it's value
but it had a sail as big as a dishrag. The
aforesaid fishermen promptly called him
'captin,' and captain it has been ever
since, although the boat which conferred
the title has long since passed to the ele-
mentS.
To return to the subject. In addition to
the captain there must be two boat crews
of four men each in charge of other cap
tains-remember the title once gained can
never be lost-and a cook. The crews are
commonly colored men and splendid speci-
mems of physical development. The cook is
any old or young runt of negro who can
fry fat back, boil water and make saddle
blankets, sometimes by way of courtesy
called pancakes. fapjacks or even bread.
The boats are round-bottomed. deep
waisted and capable, when manned by
strong, skIliful crew, of living in almost
any sea. They must float, for the nets must
be fshed at every tide, regardless OF wind
or weather and whether at 3 o'clock in the
morning or at high noon.
How the Fishermen Live.
These men live either in the boats or in
the shanty. The shanty is a box house
about 12x14 in size, made of rough boards,
furnished with a cooking stove. rough
table, benches and shelves along the wall
for hunks. There are also some tin dishes
and if the owner is luxurious a few stone
dishes for his individual use.
The benches along the walls have straw
and blankets for bedding, and whenever the
crews return from fishing trip they eat
and go to bed on a shelf. The captain
sleeps on his Shelf the same as the others.
For food they have plenty, "such 1t is
and good enough what there is Of it,
Blankets, made by mixing a mortar of
flour, water, salt and baking powder and
slowly drying successive circular fiat pr
top of each other when warm so as to in
sure their solidity: fat back, floating in Its
own Juice potatoes, eggs, fried in fat
back grease, and boiled catfish; for dessert
''nigger-heel' molasses and boiled or baked
beans. Gifted fnicky people might object
to this menu, but the writer can testify to
its appetizing effect and sustaining power.
It's good. 1t has to be good, else the men
could not work on it, and keep strong
and good-natured
If any one doubts the above statement
relative to the excellent quality of the food
let him disembark from a steamer at 2
O'Clock pm. about fifty miles down the
seek a shanty and ask for grub
He'll get it and eat it, but don't let him
offer to pay for it. Bear in mind that these
fishing captains are in good financial cir
that they are h 1spitabe and
that they are glad to entertain strangers
and don't fail to go out to fish net. The
writer with companion, went once, each
with a different crew. to fish gill nets one
and half miles long The black crews
with siXteen-foot oars, raced to the outer
ends of the nets, and a prettier race or
finer exhibition of rowing was rarely seen.
A gale was blowing, and the waves were
high, yet the surf boats cut through throw
ing spray high in the air and the land
lubbers hung on to the gunwale to keep
from being thrown off by the pitching The !
net was fshed by all four of the crew
standing on one edge of the boat and pulling
the net up, taking the fish out as they were
found. The writer and his companion sat
on the other edge Of the boats and when |
the crew stepped down into the bottom, in
cidentally sat in the water as the craft |
rolled.
These hardy men never take cold They
are never sick and apparently never get |
tired They sing al their work. and never |
srumble. From this it has been argued |
hat the occupation Is conducive to health. |
Let no mistake be made on this point only |
he strongest can stand the work: the ex- |
oosure, the irregular meals and broken |
sleep, and only the best-tempered will work |
n fishing crew or can work there A
;uriy man is promptly discharged. and a |
weak man just as quickly quits The sea- |
'nned. experienced men are known, and |
hey can always secure employment at good |
wages.
The above remarks apply only to those |
who operate in small way. The large op-
erators have thousands of dollars Invested
ana some of them use steam vessels in set
ing their nets and in transporting their