Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-24

"As that was the only time it hap
pened and was the only thing that
was the least bit unpleasant on the
cruise, I always tell it first and then
go on to the charming and unusual
incidents.
To begin with. the boat we were in
was both commodious and comfort
able. When it was recommended to
my husband by merchant he told US
that unless we could go in a good new
boat we might find the odor of the
.spongcs rather unpleasant before we
finished the trip. We didn't, not be-
cause there weren't enough sponges
taken, but because we gradually be-
came accustomed to the odor.
The actual fishing is done by two
or sometimes three persons in a skiff.
on our boat the wife and each of the
girls had a skiff. During the second
week Il skilf was assigned to me. and
can truthfully say | never enjoyed
any possession more thoroughly. All
We women did was to scull while the
man who accompanied us did the
fishing. This man was supplied with
a waterglass and sponge hook.
This waterglass is nothing more
than a wooden bucket with glass
bottom. The sponge hook Is attach
ed to 30foot wooden pole and is
placed across the gunwales Of the
skiT. where ii is within reach Of the
fishers hand, when by looking
through his glass he finds a sponge ON
the bottom of the bay.
1T is one of the oldest sights tn see
these sponge fishers being seulled
about with their heads in these wood
en- buckets. which are thrust almost
rim deep in the water The fisher
mans hand goes back. reaching for
the sponge hook, the sculler stops the
boat until the hook is adjusted about
the roots of the sponge. and it is
pulled up and into the skiff.
Looking through the waterglass at
the sponges growing on the bottom Of
the bays and rivers some of them are
like fairy trees in a fairy forest. 1t
almost seems pity IT, tear them UP.
once they are out of the water much
of their beauty disappears. although
they are not a bit more unsightly than
seaweed. The odor that SO many
people object to is produced by the
decomposition of the gelatinous mat
ter.
SO far as the cost of such a trip is
concerned it can be made to pay for
itself. We paid our way. although my
husband had not planned that we
should. We We're taken on the
sponger by the owner for a stipulated
price. not very much to our Northern
ears. but when one considers the
cheapness of all food supplies and the
simplicity of our accommodations 1t
was doubtless quite ample to the boat
owner and his thrifty wife.
There was the understanding that
we were to have all the sponges we
took. AS | have been accustomed to
handling a canoe and r3wboat all my
life, it was not long before could
manage to scull my husband around
in our skiff. On two occasions we
brought in more sponges than any of
the other skiffs. and YOU may be sure
We We're praised for our work.
The skiffs always return to the
large boat for dinner and to sleep.
The three meals a day are bountiful
and in our boat one would not have
found better cooking in any first class
restaurant-that is, of the articles we
had. Fish we had in an almost un-
limited variety. Fruit was as ahun-
dant as fish, and vegetables We're
usually served for dinner.
One old sponge fisher was one of
the attractions of our experience. He
could remember the KEYS as they
were in the days before the govern
ment built lighthouses, and when the
wreckers reigned supreme. He had
any number of yarns about the eX
ploits of these outlaws. One was the
way they would tie a lantern to the
horns of COW and chase her back
and forth over some dangerous key
during storm. When we showed too
much horror he would usually end his
story with the assertion that such
things only happened occasionally and
when there hadn't been a wreck for
good long time New York Sun.