Fishing With Our Hand Lines At Dawn example essay topic

The initial population of the island of Nfld came as a result of the fishery. Organized attempts to populate the island but a few scattered souls remained each year and eventually the island's population grew. Migratory Fisherman I leave England on the journey to Newfoundland in early March, and in some years in the middle of April. This is due to the weather which must be just right for the often dangerous crossing of the Atlantic. We land on the northern or eastern areas of the island four weeks later, although some years it has taken us up to six weeks to make the crossing. The ship is crewed by other poor laborers like myself who have made the trip several times before, but also among the crew are young teenage boys on their first trip to the island.

They will mainly stay ashore and cure the fish we catch. Before we can go fishing, however, we must find a safe harbour close to the fishing grounds, where there is also sufficient forest from which we can get the material to build our flakes and stages, along with every other structure we need, such as the cookhouse. We must also make sure that there is enough flat land where we can cure our fish, if not we will have to clear some. This work can usually take 6 or 8 weeks to do before we can go fishing. When we finally are ready to fish we are placed in smaller boats, maybe 16 to 20 feet in length, along with 2 or 3 other men. We begin fishing with our hand-lines at dawn and continue until our boats are full or just before the sun sets.

We then land our catch and the shore crew, usually the same number as those aboard the boats split and clean the fish and lightly salt it, then pack it away until the morning when it has to be placed on the flakes to dry. We grab our supper and go to bed so that we can rest and repeat the same thing tomorrow. Only 3 more months of this and we will be heading home. Planter I leave England on the journey to Newfound land in early March, and in some years in the middle of April. Unlike the others aboard I am not a hired hand, but rather my own boss.

I have paid for myself and my small crew's (2 or 3 other men) voyage across and already have my boat and supplies there, awaiting my arrival. I hope no damage has come to it or else I'll have to spend the first month repairing it. Quite often the Indians or those pesky settlers have destroyed my gear. Once we get to the island there will be some preparation for us to do before we begin fishing. We must rebuild our flakes, and at times even our stages, as well as do repair on the shack which will be our home for the next five months. I will sell our catch to the trade ships that come up from the Mediterranean or from jolly old England.

My boat is about 20 feet in length, and along with my crew I will begin hand lining at dawn and continue until our boat is full or until just before the sun sets. We clean up, grab our supper and go to bed so that we can rest and repeat the same thing tomorrow. Settler I worried a few years ago when I moved my family to this rugged place. Back then I thought that I could make a decent living and return my family back to jolly old England before I died. Now I don't know if that is possible. I figured I would at least do better then when I use to come here and fish on those migratory boats.

At least I own a fair sized piece of land, but it is awfully lonely here, especially during the long winter months, when there are only a few other families here. I own my own boat and trade the fish I catch to the trading ships that come from England and the American colonies. But this fishing is hard work and the wife and family has got to be helping me at it all day long, they don't get much rest. In the winter we survives on the fish I manages to catch and the few vegetable we have left from our small garden.

I go into the woods and cut all the firewood I need and I also cut some other logs in hopes that the migratory fishermen will trade me for them next spring. I also does a bit of hunting to supplement our diet of fish, which can lose its taste after you eat it all year round. The migratory fishermen aren't too bad, since they trades me a great deal of goods that I can use each year, but they think they owns the land. So while they are gone back to England I am going to move my stage and flakes closer to the shoreline. There's sure to be a fuss about this, because it happens every year, between us few that stays here and them. I can't wait until I goes back home, but I guess now that this is only a dream and I'll never see my homeland again.