Page 48 - Lobster Fishing with Johnny MacInnes

ISSUE : Issue 23

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1979/8/1

When the lobsters are brought to the shore, Johnny ties his crates together and leaves them in the water among other fishermen's crates, all awaiting the arrival of the buyer. When the truck comes, the crates are hauled up, weighed and sold. away if somebody set on another man's ter? ritory. I think it's a good rule. And the reason it was started was to avoid this wrangling and hauling each other's traps and growling about it, one fellow accusing the other. They used to have a superstition here, if you wore grey mitts • I never paid any at? tention to it • but they said something would happen to you before the season would be over • disaster of some nature. And they didn't like to see a woman coming to the shore. That's when I started fishing first. And white mitts were worn. But there isn't a word about that today. (And was there a superstition about sod?) Not a superstition. Some people can't urinate in a boat (over the side). But if they took a piece of sod and stood on it • they could. (I thought the piece of sod would protect you if you found a body at sea.) Oh, that was supposed to be terrible hard luck. I never heard anything about the sod, but it was supposed to be bad luck to find a body at sea. And there were stories of things that happened to people that found a body • they were dead themselves bedTore the year was over. I suppose they died through ner? vousness. They were supposed to die anyway. I know I used to hear my mother talk about that. She was from New Campbellton • there was somebody over there found a body and he died before the year was out. It was awful hard luck anyway. Different times fishing, I'd see something. I'd certainly take the body, if it was one, but I'm tel? ling you I was scared it was going to be one. Lots of things that looked an awful lot like a body • but when you'd come to it, it was something else. Edited & Published by Ronald Caplan with the help of Bonnie Thompson August 1979 Cape Breton's M A G A Z 1 N,E WRECK COVE . NOVA SCOTTIA NAME lFOROURSELF I Please send me Qthe First Collectors' {Edition ($4.00) and/or Qthe Second Col- .lectors' Edition ($4.50} and/or Q the ADDRESS Third Collectors' Edition ($5.50) J and/ovO a 6-issue subscription to Cape I Breton's Magazine. Begin with Number . • C2CAFE BRETON TAPE 1, $5.00 plus 500 postage ($5-50) IGrFf""! Vo: I Please send c7 the First Collectors' Edi- NAME . tion (4.00) and/or"fcy the Sec'd Collec- ADDRESS Edition (/1-.50) and/or' [collectors' Edition ($5.50) ' and/orC? a 6-issue subscription- to Cape I Breton's Magazine. Begin with Number . ??7CAPE BRETON TAPE 1, $5.00 plus 500 postage ($5-50) I Gift is from

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