Evening star., 1911-08-26
WHERE GOD IS KING
About 10000 New EngIanders
Engaged in Fishing.
BOSTON GREATEST MARKET
Even Pacific Coast Looks to It for
Distribution.
LIFE FULL OF HARDSHIPS
Crews Of Vessels Are Paid According
to Size of Catch-Big Pack
ers at Gloucester.
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.

Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald
WOODS HOLE, August "a, 1911
About 40.Co0 persons are actively en-
gagged in fishing on the New England
coast. and about 100000 persons are de-
directly. More than half the total capi-
tai invested in the fishing business in
the United States, more than half the
vessels engaged and more than half Of
all the fishermen belong in New Eng
land.
More than 25 per cent of all fish sold
in the United States are taken by New
England vessels. Including whalers, and
Boston is the greatest fish market in the
country. handling at least 15O,c0O,O00
pounds of fish, worth about S6,00O.OOO in
cluding Holsters, oysters, CLAIMS and
other shellfish, to the wholesale dealers
More than 7O,O0OOOO pounds are discharg-
ed at the wharves of Boston from the
vessels in which they were caught. The
remainder is shipped in by rail, and part
OF 1t comes all the way from the Pacific
coast.
A fleet of steamers owned and manned
by Boston fishermen is engaged in catch
ing halibut on the coast of Alaska; an
other fleet from New Bedford is engaged
in whaling, and more than $3,0OO,0OO of
Boston capital is invested in the salmon
business in Alaska and along the Pacific
coast.
Sail North to Banks.
| Fifteen hundred vessels and 1900
than $17.JOo,G0O are engaged in deep
sea fishing along the banks of New
foundland. and most of their catch is
nc lrod nd taI Of he
latest census returns the total catch was
| 4so, Coz pounds. having value of
$14. 1SI, 206. These were chiefly cod, had
dock, hake and pollock.
The fishing feet leaves Gloucester for
the banks Of Newfoundland the latter
part of January and continues to go out
| through February, March and April.
Most of them are steam traWlerS, each
| manned by crew of eighteen to twenty
two men. who are not paid wages, but
work on shares. The boats are owned by
firms of packers twenty-five or thirty of
them having their headquarters at Glou-
cester, and they provide the entire equip
ment the provisions and everything else
that is necessary for fishing. What is
known as the half lay contract means
that the crew and the owners divide the
catch equally, the crew paying the cook 8
wages out of their share Under another
method called the quarter lay the crew
provide their own provisions, bait and
equipment, and receive thres-quarters of
the proceeds. This is usually done for
short voyages by men who are engaged in
fishing for the market instead of the
packing houses. If the proceeds of the
cruise amount to $4,000 the owners re-
ceive 5000 and the balance is divided
among the crew in proportions that have
prevailed since the seventeenth century
Sometimes the voyages to the Newfound-
land banks pay as high as $4,000. but
fishing is very hard work and the men
earn every penny they get.
Conditions Improved.
Conditions are very much more favor
able than they used to be. The vessels
are larger and more comfortable, better
equipment and food are provided, labor
saving machinery Is used for handling
the fish and steam trawlers are not de-
pendent upon the weather in coming and
going between the market and the banks.
AS soon as his boat is filled with fish the
captain can head for home without wait
ing for a fair wind. and time is money
with fishermen sas 1t Is with everybody
else.
ing grounds it is anchored and the men
go out in dories with hand lines baited
with clans and squibs. The lines are
generally fifty fathoms long, and every
hooks on each When they come in at
night the fish are passed from the dories
into the vessel with pitchforks, and split
and cleaned by gangs of three men each.
ters" and "spltters" Hhe throater seizes
the fish by the head. places its back on
the edge of the tub, and by means of a
sharp-pointed knife makes a cut across
| the throat just behind the gills and an
| other slit down the belly. He then breaks
off the head. which falls into the tub, and
passes the fish on to the gutter" who
opens the belly. removes the liver for
OIL drops 1t in bucket, tears out the
| viscera and drops that into another
bucket. The fish is then passed on to
the splitter" who with a quick, deft
| stroke divides it along the backbone and
throws 1t into tub of water.
After the fish are we'll washed they are
slipped down a canvas chute into the
hold. and there carefully laid on their
| backs with their tails alternating. and
covered with salt. 1t requires a bushel
and a half of salt for a thousand pounds
with salt at the beginning Of the cruise.
and as fast as one is empty of salt it is
filled with fish.
Fish for the market are packed in ice
instead of salt.
Pitchforked From Vessels.
Upon the. arrival Of the trawler at
Gloucester 1t is docked beside a packing
house, where the fish are shoveled by
pitchforks from the hold to the deck and
from the deck to the wharf. and rapidly
separated into three classes. known as
snappers. mediums and large, according
to their size. Those less than sixteen
inches long are snappers. those more than
twenty-five inches long are large and
those between are medium.
Before they are passed into the packing
houses each fish is thoroughly and care
fully inspected by men of experience and
those which are not perfectly fresh are
thrown into tanks of water, trimmed and
sent Immediately to the market The per-
feet fish are then carried into curing
house. where they are ''kenched" and ex-
posed to the air to dry. The quality Of
the fish depends upon the care in drying,
which Is accomplished by pressure and by
exposure to the air. The ''kench cure
is a combination of sailing and pressure.
The moisture which has not been alb
stracted by the action of the salt Is
forced out by uniform and heavy pres
sure. and then the fish is exposed to
the air and sun on "fakes.' which con-
sist OF lattice beds about eight feet wide,
thirty inches high and as long as the
area will permit The lattice Is made of
strips of wood one inch wide and three
inches apart. so as to give maximum cir
culation OF air about them. They are
usually located by the roadside. and are
exposed to more or less dust. Some Of the