Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-04-12

.--<lr-sm9 luoluerenco 10 everything
but the fish that makes him so at
tractive.
| / have wandered In and out among
them where they do not see visitor
In month; have seen them empty
boatload Of shiny cod that euualed
fortnight's ordinary catch; have
watched them lift a large horse into
tiny skin where nothing save prayer
appeared to offer any hope Of its
reaching its destination; have helped
them carry into the steamers hospital
men sick unto death. and have babe
good luck" to patient returning
from the hospital legless and helpless
In LIES fight; have handed out food
to the starving from the steamers
stores. and have heard them refuse to
accept well paid work until the cod
ran again. But have never seen a
cod fisherman excited.
The nature Of the fisherman's life is
strenuous enough to relieve him Of
the necessity Of overexertion to pre-
vent falling asleep at inopportune mo-
ments. Although 1t requires but a
small cloud and a tiny clap Of thun-
der to keep him from the hshing
grounds. scarcely q week passes that
he is not forced to meet the terrible
Vaccinations of storm and wave to
compass his destruction In his diz-
lilly bobbing little boat he fights the
sea. the most apathetic Of men against
the most relentless Of natures forces
Open Waters In June.
The fact that he cannot, swim seems
not to throw into his struggle any
sign Of fear; so long as n plank holds
between him and water he can wealth
er anything that blows. In the early
spring. long before the cod begin to
run, he risks his life thousand times
across the treachcerous ice foes in
chase Of the seal In May, while the
winds are still icy. he makes q few
extra cents In herring on the Magda-
lens. A month later the Labrador
fisherman may succeed In catching a
few salmon II the ice Is open. But
when the cod run there is nothing
but cod. except Of late years, when the
Magdaleners have taken a liking for
mackerel, however scarce they be.
Around the Magdalen islands and at
Gaspe there is an interval Of lobster
catching that means money. but along
the Labrador coast there IL nothing
from July until the ice forms again
in October but cod. or, as they call 1t.
FISH," The Magdalener Is a motley
MISUNDERSTANDING. cod, mackerel,
haddock-but the Labrador fisherman
lives, sleeps and smells Of cod.
His home is in Newfoundland, the
many quaint towns of the east coast
sending out almost all Of their men to
the north country just as soon as the
ice opens a little. In June. Early In
that month the fishing schooners start
on their long run down the coast, !
lodging through the ice fields, run
ming into port in face Of a storm or
q threatening ice foe. and trusting
more to Providence than to aught else
for their safety.
1t is a fearsome run. that first trek |
northward. stalking wooden bottom
against grinding. memorable ice, and |
many a Newfoundland home is empty |
from q losing risk. But the seeming
ly indolent, passive fisherman is viii |
ling to take the chances to secure an |
early choice Of fishing ground. All |
summer through he spends his days
on the water. his evenings splitting
the days catch, and his nights in the
makeshift shscks that are deemed suf-
licient covering for the three or four
months season in that northland.
As few women now venture north, |
The fishermen must perform all their
own work in the treatment Of the fish.
They are unable to leave the fishing
% attend to the drying. with the result
hat many Of them tempt the fate Of
! winter sail along an inhospitable,
coast by remaining north i
Until the middle of November, spend
ng the last few weeks in carefully
every ray of sunshine to
make the best sale for their wares.
And then the fight back through the
'ver thickening Ice and increasing
storms is worse than the spring run.
Oddities Of Fishing Villages.
A fishing village is the quaintest,
spot on earth. City plan
ling does not even reach the location
4 the house or the road rights. In
he Magdalen islands, where the land
5 more level and there is soil enough
o make 1t consideration, the fish
Iouses are placed with some common
egard for roadway. The bait and
ackle and other odoriferous material
re kept in the lower story, and the
amily sleeps, dimes and sits In the
ingle room above.
In Labrador there is no such thing
s road to consider There has
lever been a horse nor an or to use
/. nor has traveller attempted to
make one settlement from another
y any other method of transportation
han boat. There is practically no
oil. the bare. uneven. mountainous
ock sinking abruptly into deep water.
he fish houses are built wherever
edge Of rock offers foothoId, and
tagging of rough poles projects from q