The Republican journal., 1905-09-14
Market sn"e any uay IN fulton

rourars AnG latter day Captains
Outrageous nv T are big, pompous business
nro,,o,t ney own whole blocks of CITY
RR,vpti'y ana are members of the Fish
fo .Ii.. mere Is only one real. old.
ars ',naoa sait' with fringe of whisk.
o On" I ho ms neck, in all Gloucester.
"ranh nc ~ - employed to sit for photo,
hTh6 pn ~, w ~ on souvenir postal cards.
ne sturdy Seafaring men of the maoa
zine writer's must be awav nm in r ahyo q
dor, or around the North Pole Thar
can't be found in Gloucester S:lonno:
ter sends about $4,000 men ont To esb
in the sea. They are ali good fsh msr'
men, brave men and sailors from their
boyhood, but they are not the kind Won
find in books. '' 'oo
THE LUXURY OF THE GLOUCFsTrR
FISHERMAN.
me Gloucester fishermen fishes in
luxury. lie lives as we'll on board ship
as tne guests fare at summer hotel.
he mas an ice chest in the forecastle
whicn' Dy the way, is as comfortable as
I4e staterooms on some ocean liners.
he doesn't know the taste of hard tack
The larder is supplied with the hest
food out of Boston market. what
sadder blow to romance could there he
than the sight of fishing schooner
leaving Gloucester with an abundant
supply of chickens, turkeys. ducks
fruits and vegetables, all for the table
OF the tishermen-the poor fellow we
always thought starved himself on
tough ships biscuit and salt cod?
You may strain your ewes ont of vonr
head and you won't find the wives and
daughters of the fishermen standing by
the trawl tubs, magazine-story fashion.
with frozen fingers, batting hooks or
mending nets for their husbands and
brothers who are going out to the
banks. When you find the women of
the family their fingers will wear dia-
mond rings and most likely they will be
thumplng the piano just like any city
girl. They wear silks and some of them
ride IN automobiles. Why shouldn't
they? Some years the fisherman makes
more money than bank presidents get
in salary.
There is not a hired fisherman in
Gloucester. A fisherman is entirely
too independent to be hired man. He
ships as partner, or not at all Usual
ly the owner OF the vessel gets one-fifth
of the catch, the captain gets from to
II per cent of the remainder, the cook
gets $40 month and then the rest is
divided share and share alike among
every man aboard, including the cap
tain and cook, who make more than
the Others
The old way of doing things does not
appeal to a Gloucester man. He is too
prosperous or too lazy to row across
the harbor, so he has motor boat He
is no longer content with sailing yes
sells. The Gloucester and Essex ship
yards are building big comfortable
schooners with auxiliary engines, burn
ing oil or gasoline 1t is too much
trouble, and then it's dangerous for
sailor to go out on the bowsprit and
handle lib, SO they have the ships
built without bowsprits. Think of that
Why, the cabin boys of oIden times
used to climb out on the bowsprits and
skin cats and do other athletic feats in
the teeth of a bowling gale. 1t is
troublesome to go aloft and furl the
topsail. Beside, a sailor might fall,
you know; therefore the new ships
have no topmasts and no topsails.
Gone, indeed, are the good old days
spiced with romance and danger.
An idea of the luxury and ease on
board modern fishing schooner may
be gained by looking over the Elizabeth
Silsbee, now fitting out in Gloucester
The Lizzie is beautiful schooner, not
long off the stocks. She has power
full auxiliary engine and can dispense
with sail power whenever the captain
is so disposed. She will carry crew of
more than twenty men, and will be
stocked with the best provisions that
the market affords. The work will be
light, for she is beam trawler, or
seiner. This schooner cost more than
S25, 600, but the owners wouldn't be
surprised to get back the cost i'll one
good catch.
There's tall, fat man in Gloucester
who made $4,000 on one trip to the
banks. Now he owns a large part of
the town. lie talks in big figures. He
had fish stall in Boston market that
melted profit Of 100000 in the few
years he kept it, and several fortunes
have been made out Of that same little
stall since he sold out. This man is a
fine type of the old time Gloucester
fisherman; honest, good natured and
full of tales of wonderful experiences
at sea. Gloucester is full of just such
men.
Gloucester can still lay claim to
ludi lltucSS. IL gives OllC CCCdolOllcl
surprises in fine houses hidden away i'll
isolated spots. The town is laid out in
higgledy- piggledy fashion. The streets
run wherever they please. A street
starts out bravely enough in the centre
of the town and then meanders in a
most aimless way all over Gloucester.
Down the harbor there are few old
hulks made into homes, like the one at
Yarmouth where Ham Peggotty and
Little Emily lived.
HOUSES BEAR IMPRESS OF SEA.
The houses in Gloucester bear the i'm
press of the sea. They seem to cry out
aloud that they were built and are own
ed by seafaring men. Shipshape is the
word that describes them all. Some Of
them are so ship-like in their general
aspect that one almost gets seasick sit
ting on the veranda. The wealthy, re-
tired fisherman takes an intense pride
in his home. He spends hours picking
over the grass in the lawn, lest one
blade get a fraction of an inch taller
than the others. His wife grows flow
ers that somehow suggest the soap box
geranums on board a canal boat. The
flowers all look as if they would be so
much happier somewhere else.
The city Of Gloucester can't help be-
ing prosperous. Nearly always it has
on hand fish worth $1,0O0,0O0. 1t has