Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-05-25
GOLD HOARDED BY FISHER FOLK.



New ann Hand Coast villages.
1t is estimated that fully S2.OOO.0 900
in American gold is boarded up in
Placcntia and Fortune bays on the
south coast of Ncwfoun land This
money has been saved by the iiShc!
folk and is hidden in the most unlike
ly places.
Except the very poor. there are few
among the inhabitants of the little
hamlctS who have not II nest egg of
bright, yellow American coins set asidr
! for some emergency. Before the dis
astrolls bank failures in the colony in
! the autumn Of 1894 many of the coasters
! lodged their savings in the three banks
| in the city, when they made their semi
annual visits to St Johns in the
spring and fan; hut 80 heavy were tle
| losses by The collapse, and so bitter
was the lesson ta'.ght. that since then
wild horses could not drag them to
bank. Every man into whose posses
sion a bank note. check or government
order comes hurries at once to cX-
change it for a Yankee eagle, and TINS
is as huriedly put away into the
secret hoard which in some eases
amounts to thousands of dollars.
In Placentia bay most of this mon
cry is obtained through the frozen
| herring fishery. which is prosecuted
during January, February and March.
In Il good season. with the herring
abundant and the weather frosty
enough for congeaIing purposes about
SO schooners from New England will
load with the frozen fish. 100 barrels
being an average load and from 81
to $3.50 a barrel being paid therefor.
In bad year like that which has just
ended, when the herring are scarce
and the weather mild, the price runs
up to S. some times. Every American
captain brings from $4,000 to $4,000 III
gold with him when he comes after
frozen herring.
OF all this stream of gold compare
lively little finds its way out of the
district. The herring fishery in mid
winter has only been in existence in
that bay for 10 years. Prior to that
the people were idle during these
months and they now regard this ven
ture as a personal and private one, not
to be cOnfounded with their regular
vocation rs cod catchers or their deal
ings with the st. Johns merchants,
by whom they are fitted out for the
latter enterprise. Accordingly. all the
gold gained in the herring fishery "a
set aside and the wedding doWerieS
of the girls of the district are almost
invariably furnished out of these
boards. In many cases, too, men,
seemingly but ill-supplied with the
worlds goods, have been known to
produce $4,000 and $4,000 for the pur-
chase of schooner or fishing prop
erty, paying down the money in every
instance in United States coins
In Fortune bay the gold is obtained
by the sale of herring for bait during
the summer months. All the Ameri
can vessels frcquenting the Grand
Banks in quest of cod have to coms
into the shore for this bait, without
which it is impossible to secure the
cod. Herring and ice in which to keep
it fresh are chief items of outlay by
the fishing vessels, and probably
100000 is spent in this way during the
summer.
This batting business forms the main.
stay of hundreds of the coasters, and
the prices sometimes run to an eX
travagant figure, when the herring are
scarce and many vessels have to be
supplied. For half century the
American vessels have been taking
this herring bait, and all this time
their gold has been piling up in For
tune bay one generation otter another
availing itself of the profits of the in
dustry and having a goodly proportion
thereOf-NeW York Sun.