The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-03-09
AT THE UNITED CHURCH.
RET. 4. J. HAYNES SPEAKS ON THE GLOUCESTER FISHERMAN.

l Vocation-Some of the Speakers Per- sOnal Experiences and Impressions ! Received During His Apprenticeship 1 Before the Mast-Addressi in Substance. | Rev. Artemas J. Haynes, pastor of ] United church, some ten years ago, be- 1 fore entering the ministry, shipped on one of the regular schooners of the l regular fleet that sails out every year 1 to the fishing banks. He gave a most i interesting address on this subject be-
 fore the Mems club of the United
 church last evening.
 In substance his remarks were as fol- lows:
 1 There are few occupations that pos
 sess the varied interest and danger that surrounds the life of a Gloucester fish erman. The schooners are small, fitted 1 specially for the hazardous occupation. The crew consists of some seven or eight men. The men are hardy. well
 knit fellows. inured from long experi-
 ence to the many perils that surround 1 their profession. These perils are
 many. There is the fog, the storms and
 the dangers of breaking away and be- ] ing blown down on the shoals. The fog is one of the worst menaces.
 The banks lie directly in the path of i the sWift-going ocean steamers. Though
 there is law forbidding full speed in 1 this locality, it is disregarded and many
 is the ship that has gone down with
 all on board under the sharp prov of
 a liner.
 I remember one night a liner just
 cleared our bowsprit. Had she hit us
 the jar would not have even awakened
 her passengers. but we would have 1 drowned, every man os us. before we
 could have awakened. Boats are al- ways kept ready to answer a call for 1 help, when those so terribly sudden ac-
 cidents occur.
 The fog has another evil that is dread
 ed by the fishermen. The fog comes | down in a grey pail that suffocates in
 its soft and deadly menace. Every year boats go out in the morning and
 it's occupants never come back. The sea swallows them up forever. 1 I remember one day which came up-
 on us with its dead grey fog and which l juggled directions with it's shifting winds so that when we turned toward ! the ship we found that though we were
 rowing across the wind, that it had changed-and then we knew we were 1 lost. A storm was coming on us with l dangerous rapidity. At this dangerous juncture we heard the faint sound of
 gun. It was directly to windward. It 1 lacked two hours of night If we could
 make the ship in that time we were
 safe: we settled to our work. The wind rose; the seas were heavy. An experi-
 ence such as we had is difficult to re-
 count. One loses the sense of fatigue. l One becomes a thing apart from the 1 body. l felt possessed with a dogged rage, a sense of exhilaration. The sea i became a monster, grasping and snatching at the little lives that were i struggling against it. Fear leaves one.
 The terrible work os the muscles for
 bids fear. The sound of the guns came
 to my ears from time to time-as to one in a dream. I felt only the seeth-
 ing tide of foam-fiicked jaws that
 swept past indefinitely, interminably. I heard the shouts of the crew in the distance, then louder, as the ropes grappled the boat and we were hoisted
 aboard. Ii was only next morning
 when I awoke in my bunk that real-
 iZed that I was alive and saved. i There are great mountain ranges un-
 derlining the sea. The various peaks ] lie very close to the surface in places.
 These shadows in times of storm be-
 come perfect maelstroms. Sad indeed
 is the fate of the unlucky ship that
 lying to windward breaks her cable.
 Her crew will have just time to say
 their prayers.
 But this life is not all tragedy. The
 spirit of practical joking and bon com
 aradie is strong among the men. The
 green hands are legitimate prey to the wiles Of the older men. A favorite
 trick is to inform the greenhorn that ] his task is to tread the oil out of the
 cod's liver, and the spectacle of sober
 visaged youth wading earnestly around
 in tub of liver is fraught with some l humor.
 The members of these crews are for
 the most part of a sincerely religious 1 disposition and every Sunday will see
 an earnest group gathered in the cabin, singing some old hymn, some favorite | first learned in the little home on the
 far off coast.
 Men almost hate one another towards 1 the end of these tedious, soul-harrow- i ing voyages. Is it any wonder they are glad to get back? Home has wonder ! ful charm to them.
 i Must there not be something strong in the faith that enables men to un- falteringly face such a career, some- thing sublime in it's strength? POSSIBLY 4 DOUBLE TRAGEDY.
 Manehester Man Attacks His Wife Then Takes Poison.
 Manchester March S.-What may prove to be a double tragedy occurred here last tonight, when William Smith slashed his wife three times with ra- zor and then took dose of laudanum and left the house. He has not been