Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-28
FISHERMEN OF ST. PIERRE
BRAVE. STURDY LOT WHOSE
WEAKNESS rs DRINK.
Such a Cherries Little Village It Is
With Its Miserable Huts.
Many Widows.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Living off the southern coast OF New
foundIand, and so small as to be scarce
ly more than a mere dot on the map, is
the group of bleak and rocky islands of
ST. Pierre Miquelon. all that is now left
to France of her one time vast and valu-
able possessions in North America. While
so small. barren and apparently insiS-
nificant, these islands are the center of
an extensive fishing industry. which year
~ produces nearly seventy million pounds
of Goldfish and furnishes employment TO
10000 men.
A small French steamer, the Pro Patria.
sailing once in two weeks, is the only one
that touches regularly at the islands. and,
although less than days journey from
Sidney. the passage thither is attended
not only by great discomfort and incon-
veniences, but frequently by actual dan
ger.
After having repeatedly lost one and
anot her of her possessions in North Amerl-
of islands. on condition that she should
never fortify them. but use them only to
develop her fisheries. The population Of
the island of st. Pierre is about 1000.
months by 5000 fishing folk, who come
from France to remain during the summer
season.
Early in the spring the schooners and
different vessels arrive, and the harbor
becomes a forest Of maSts. there being
hundreds of vessels gathered at one time.
AS soon as equipped with provisions and
men. a large number of them depart for
the banks of Newfoundland, where they
remain during the entire fishing season Of
six or eight months.
The life of the ordinary bank fisher
man is a most wild and dangerous one.
Many Of them have left their families i'll
some village in France, others in ST.
b,rf hath In,
Pierre it is the same cruel story of the
sea.
Compelled, as he is, 20 fish from his
small dory, at the mercy of the wind, the
wave, the storm, liable at any moment in
the heavy fogs to be crashed into by u
large transatlantic steamer. the bank fish
erman very frequently never returns to
his home and family. Each year the sea
claims hundreds as its victims.
''Such a Lot of Widows"
There's such an awful lot of widows
in ST. Pierre" said a sad little woman
one day, whose pinched and careworn
face and rusty crepe were more eloquent
than words. there's such an awful lot of
sailors as goes out each year and never
comes back
If the season is good and the catch
large these bank fishermen net about
1920 or 600 francs for their long summer
of hard work. danger, exposure and abb
soute isolation from home and family. To
the average fisherman. however, $40
francs Is a large sum to receive at one
time. To him it means the supplying of
his family In France with the necessities
of life, at least, during the long, cold win
ter months-provided he can hold on to it
until he gets back; but there is the fatal
interim Of a few days before his steamer
sails. The cafes, the cabarets of st.
Pierre on every corner are SO warm and
co tnr of hi
exile. The cheap wines go to his head,
and 1t is no uncommon thing to see some
poor fellow lying face downward in the
street In a drunken stupor.
The love of drink Is their one weakness,
for they are a brave and sturdy lot,
warm-hearted and generous. jolly, good
natured crowd. singing at their work
many rOllicking song of the sea, their
bodies swaying backward and forward.
keeping time to the rhythm of the music.
Such cherries little village II is, with
Its miserable huts, some indeed having
the luxury of two rooms. others consist
ing OF only one room, about Sx1O. with
beds arranged like hunks on shipboard,
and still others built out on the rocks,
where the surf beats SO hard that zone
cannot sleep for the sound of it,.
Making the Fish.
Even after the fish are caught, it is a
long and tedious process before they are
ready for market. There is the cleaning
and packing in salt. and later the drying
and curing. For this purpose are used
large open areas foored with small
broken stone
On any bright day in a good season,
one may see men, women and children
spreading the fish to dry, or piling them
up in huge piles, which resemble great
stacks of cordwood. The fish, which are
brought from the banks are so saturated
with salt that 1t is necessary TO thorough
iy wash and even scrub them before they
are spread to dry. They are unloaded
from the schooners with great pitchforks,
and thrown into crates which are par
tally sunk In the water of the harbor. The
sailors stamp around among them with
their heavy leather boots, then scrub them
with coarse scrubbing brush and toss
them on the wharf, whence they are taken
TO the drying places. Several days. and
sometimes weeks. are necessary before
they are thoroughly cured. They are
then packed and shipped to different parts
of the world. The entire process is known
as making the fish,
One of the most curious sights at ST.
Pierre is the method of transportation.
Only rarely will you see any kind of a
vehicle drawn by horse. Then it's ap-
proach Is announced by a janglins of
bells, the bells no doubt being to warn
chance pedestrians of the dangerous ap-
proach of so swift an equpage. For the
heavier work they employ the huge ugly
OK carts, drawn by great Normandy oxen
in Normandy or Brittany. For the lighter
traff1c the little dog carts. to which are
attached one. two, three and sometimes
Ave great Newfoundland dogs