The Ordway new era., 1912-03-22


fascination for the inlander thai
takes him back year after year
And most interesting of all Is the
fisherman himself. am not certain
writes W. Lacey Amy In the Toronto
Globe. but 1t really seems to be his
supreme Indifference to everything
but the fish that makes him SO attract
i've.
! have wandered In and out among
them where they do not see visitor
In a month: have seen them empty
a boatload Of shiny cod that equaled
fortnight's ordinary catch: ! have
watched them lift a large horse into
tiny skin where nothing save prayer
reaching its destination; l have helped
them carry into the steamers hospital
men sick unto death. and have bade
good luck" to n patient returning
from the hospital legless and helpless
in life's fight: ! have handed out food
to the starving from the steamers
stores. and have heard them refuse to
accept we'll paid work until the cod
ran again. But l 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 q tiny clap OF thun-
der to keep him from the fishing
grounds. scarcely a week passes that
he Is not forced to meet the terrible
Vaccinations Of storm and wave to
compass his destruction. In his dig.
zily 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 a 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 treacherous Ice foes in
chase Of the seal. In May. while the
winds are still icy. he makes a few
extra cents in herring OF 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 is nothing
from July until the ice forms again
in October but cod. or. as they call it,.
fish" The Magdalener is n motley
flsherman-herring. cod. mackerel.
haddock-but the Labrador fisherman
lives. sleeps and smells of cod.
His home Is in Newfoundland. the
sending out almost all their men to
the north country just rs 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
a 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. inexorable ice, and
many a Newfoundland home is empty
from a losing risk But the seeming.
ly indolent. passive fisherman is vii.
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 shacks that are deemed suf.
fcient 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
to attend to the drying. with the result
that many Of them tempt the fate of
winter sail along an inhospitable.
deserted coast by remaining north
until the middle Of November. spend.
ing the last few weeks in carefully
utilizing every ray of sunshine to
make the best sale for their wares,
And then the fight back through the
ever thickening ice and increasing
storms is worse than the spring run,
Oddities of Fishing Villages.
A fishing village Is the quaintest.
raggedest spot on earth. City plan.
ming does not even reach the location
Of the house or the road rights In
the Magdalen islands. where the land
is more level and there Is soil enough
to make 1t consideration. the fish
houses are placed with some common
regard for a roadway. The bait and
tackle and other odoriferous material
are kept in the lower story. and the