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THE PLACE OFTHE LABRADOR FISHERY IN TilE
FOLKLIFE OF A NEWFOUNDLA D COMMUNITY
Submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master ofArts
By Clara Joan Doyle Murphy Rutherford
Memorial University of Newfoundland
2009

I searched the Memorial Univcrsity Folklore and Languagc Archive (MUNFLA)
for student collections which deal with the Labrador fishery from the point ofvicw of
"noaten" and "stationers", Respectively. noaters and stationers were fishermen from
Newfoundland who prosecuted the fishery either by schooners or from rooms (fishing
premises) on the Labrador. To supplement the interviews done in Labrador, I also
searched the Them Days Archives and its publication. 71Iem Days MagtCine. a regional
oral history magazine. for the point ofview of Labradorians on the ey,foundland
fishermen.
The archival research revealed five areas ofdescriptions oftrips to the Labrador:
(I) '"going in collar'" (preparing for the trip), (2) '"on 'he passage'" (the lrip down), (3)
work on the Labrador. (4) sociability on the Labrador, and (5) the return to
Newfoundland. The narratives presented in the final section ofthis thesis concern the
cffect of the annual summer migration on the home community in Ncwfoundland.
iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
During my studies I was assisted financially by a bursary from the School of
Graduate ludics. a fellowship from the Institute ofSocial and Economic Research. and a
scholarship from the Women's Association afMemorial Uni\'crsiIY of cwfoundland.
Fieldwork was funded by the Institute ofSociaJ and Economic Rese3rch and the Institute
for Nonhcm Studies. Archive assistantships from the Department of Folklore and a
research assistantship from Dr. Gerald Pocius nol only assisted me financially but also
kept me constantly aware afhow the Labrador fishery affected all areas of
Newfoundland.
Dr. Wilfred Wareham supported and nurtured this project in its infant stage. Dr.
Larry Small provided the original idea and the incentive to stay with it Dr. Martin
Lovelace gave up his vacation time to encoumge me 10 keep writing. Dr. Diane Tyc took
up the battlc cry and helped me tie it alllogcther. Jamie Moreira, Melissa Ladenheim,
Philip Hiscock, Susan Hart, Lynn MacDonald, Eileen Condon, Barbara Rieti, Kathy
Kimiccik, Anita [Jest, Marie-Annick Desplanques. and isler Mary Theresa Doyle,
P.B.V.M, gave insightful comments and criticisms throughout the preparation of the
thesis. John Ryan provided pictures ofColliers which arc greatly appreciated.
Eric and I-lyra Skogland, Don and Una Saunders. and Richard and Marie Rich
provided living accommodations for me in Labrador. Tom Murphy, the Carey and Doyle
families, Lynn MacDonald, Susan Han. and Deanna Skinner provided home life and
companionship for my children when I was out in the field. Doris Saunders and Judy
McGrath greatly increased my knowledge ofthe Labrador. Family members. Mom,
iv

Theresa, Vince, John. (my sister) Lynn, Katrina. and Doug financed the writing stage of
my thesis. pxiaJ thanks are extended to my former employers. ewfoundland and
Labrador Council ofArchives and the Association of e\\foundland and Labrador
Archivists. for allowing me to take my annual leave so early into the contract to write the
thesis to meet the first deadline.
Many family members and friends supported me emotionally. physically, and
financially in sickness and hard times. through my fu II·time single parent graduate
student days. my subsequent days as a part-time graduate· a lifetime ofunderpaid
contract work. overpriced slum housing. broken leg. and all - and life after grad school.
My gratitude to them. my husband Doug and to my children, Katrina and Tom. and to my
grandson and soul mate Ryan James Douglas Murphy is heartfelt.
This thesis is dedicated to the men and women ofNewfoundland and Labrador
who lived the fishery and shared their memories with folklore students. and especially to
my father who taughlme that ajob is never finished until the work is done and to my
mother whose work is finally done.
Clara Joan Doyle Murphy Rutherford

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .
ACK OWLEDGEMENTS.
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER I .
History oflhe Labrador Fishery
Colliers .
Physical Description ofColliers .
Colliers: Community Life .
Songs .
. ii
. iv
.............. ix
. 2
.. 11
. .. .. IS
. 19
..20
. _ 23
Religious and Educationall-listory 24
Theoretical Approaches . _ 26
CHAPTER 2 36
Origins ofthe Study.. . 36
Fieldwork.. . 38
The Northern Run .. . 44
My Slay at TickeraJuck Poin! .. . 51
The Trip Home....
Fieldwork in Colliers .
Labrador Revisited .
Summary _..
vi
.........................................................55
..58
. 64
. 65

CHAPTER 3 .
Going in Collar: arrali\'es ofthe Voyage
Experiences of People from Colliers.
On the Passage .
Sex on lite Passage
eptune .
Summary .
CHAPTER 4
. 68
........68
. 80
. 84
............87
.................93
. 95
...................97
The Fishery in the Nineteenth Century . 98
The Fishery in the Twenticth Century . J()()
Work Rounds. . 102
Women's Role in the Folklifc ofthe Labrador Fishery 104
Occupational Hazards.. . 115
Conflict ..
Disruptive Tricks ..
Interview with James Doylc...
Cooperation ..
BlackOies & Mosquitoes .
Supernatural Beliefs .
Summary
.... 119
. 127
. 129
...... . 131
vii
. 134
. 136
. 139

CHAPTER 5 .
Harbour Days . __ .
Songs .
Dances ._ __ __ .
Gulching __ .
Pranks and Practical Jokes .
Stories ofStrength.
Games
Harbour Days: Summary ..
The Trip Home .
. 140
. 140
. 142
. 145
. 147
. 149
. 152
......................153
. 154
. 154
Narratives ofDeath and the Supernatural .158
CHAI'TER 6 165
Final Conlments 175
I3IBLIOGRAPHY..
AI'PENDIX A ..
APPENDIX 13 ...
Figures ...
viii
............................................. 178
. 189
. 191
. 194

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Map showing the areas covered in the fieldlrips of 1984 and 1986. as
well as key places not covered in Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 2. Map ofColliers.
Figure 3. Fishing Areas.
Figure 4. An illustration from Herman MolI's map of J710.
Figure 5. My grandfalher's house. the oldest one in Colliers, with Tom Doyle's
house in the background.
Figure 6. House located at TickcraJuck Island. Labrador. used for summer fishery.
;x

CHAl'TEIII
INTRODUCTION
The purpose ofthis thesis is twofold. First, it aims to document a significant item
in the history ofColliers. Conception Bay. a community whose hislOI')' has not received
extensive consideration in printed sources. The second objecti\c is to examine the
Labrador fishery from the perspective oflhc Colliers people \\00 participated in it on a
seasonal basis. The thesis has been written from the point of view ofa cullura! insider.
bUI one \\00 is remo\'ed from the community in bolh time and experience. I am from the
community ofColliers, but the local connection with the traditional L3brndor fishery
ended before I was born.
Essentially, the study explores the role of a small community within the larger
framework oflhc Labrador summer fishery, giving serious consideration 10 what aspects
offolk life were brought inlo the community by wny oCthe fishery 8S opposed 10 what
folklore was brought out ofthe community, ns in the case ofa study of the scallishing
voynges. 1 Generally, few scholars have discussed the Lnbrudor from a folkloristic
perspective, although the subject has been the focus of a few autobiographies as well as
popular and academic histories. The work most closely related to the present study is
I John R. Scott. "The Function of Folklore in the Interrelations oflhe Newfoundland Seal
Fishery DJld the Home Communities ofthe Sealers." M.A. Thesis. Memorial Uni\'ersit),
ofNewfoundland. 1975

CHAI'TER I
HIITRODUCfIO '
The purpose ofthis thesis is twofold. First, it aims 10 document a significant item
in the history crealJiers. Conception Bay. a community whose history has not received
extensive consideration in printed sources. The second objective is to examine the
Labrador fishery from the perspecti,·c oflhc Colliers people \\00 participated in it on a
seasonal basis. The thesis has been written from the point ofview ofa cultural insider.
but one who is removed from the community in both time and experience. I am from the
community ofColliers. but the local connection with the traditional Labrador fishery
ended before I was born.
Essentially, the study explores the role ofa small community within the larger
framework ofthe Labrador summer fishery, giving serious consideration to what aspects
of folk life ,>\'crc brought into the community by way of the fishery as opposed to what
folklore was brought out ofthe community, as in the case ofa study ofthe seal fishing
voyages. I Gcnerally, few scholars have discussed the Labrudor from a folkloristic
perspective. although the subject has becn the focus ofa few alltobiographies as well as
popular and academic histories. The work most closely related to the present study is
I John R. Scon, "The Function of Folklore in the Interrelations oCthe ewfoundland Seal
Fishery and the Home Communities ofthe Sealers." M.A. Thesis. Memorial University
ofNewfoundland. 1975

Grein (Lear) Hussey's Ollr Life on Lears Room. LlIbrador. 2 l3ecause Hussey's father had
a lillie store. she had higher status than most of Ihe people I have interviewed. icholas
Smith's Fifty Two }'ears al the Labrado,J provides information about the fishery at Cut
Throat Island. where many ofmy informants fished. from the point of\'iew ofa
successful captain. His autobiography does not provide as much detail on the work
routine as does Hussey's book.. and it occasionally summarizes scveral years in one
sentence. Frank Saunders. in Sailing Shipsfrom Carbom!OT,4 gi\'es more detail on work
than Smith and provides the perspective ofa principal town imolved in the Labrador
Fishery. Hilda Murray's More Than 5004 is an excellent study ofthe role ofwomen as
"",ork horse" in the traditional fishery in a Newfoundland outport. J Shannon Ryan. in
Fish 0111 ofWaler 6 examines the production and marketing aspects ofthe Labrador fishery
between 1814 and 1914. The Labrador fishery is also mentioned in the accounlS of
missionaries and olher travelers to the land. Rev. P. W. Browne's Where fhe Fishers Go:
The Sfory ofLlIbrlldor 'is Ihe best of these exoteric accounts as it gives eye-willless
2 Greta Hussey, Our Life 011 Lear's Room, Ltlbrador (St. John's: Robinson-Blackmore,
1981).
J Nicholas Smilh, Fifty Two }'ears af Ihe Labrador (London: Arthur I-I. Stockwell, 1936).
4 Frank Saunders, Sailing Vessels and Crews ofCarbonear: Slories oflhe Sea (St. John's:
Robinson-l3lackmore, 1981).
, Iliida Chaulk Murray. More Than 500A>: Woman's Life ;n a Newfowullanc/ Olltporf,
/900-1950 (51. John's: Breakwater, 1979). See especially, chapter 2. "Making a Living:
The Woman was more than 5()G/o.··
li hannon Ryan. Fish 0111 o/Water: The Newfoundland Sailfish Trade, 181.J-191.J,
Newfoundland History Series, no. 2 (SI. John's: Breakwater. 1986).
1 P. W. Bro\\l1e. Where Ihe Fishers Go: The Story OfLabrodor (New York: Cochrane:
lIaJifa.x, S: Te_ Allen; London: T. Wener Laurie. 1909).

eports. W. T. Grenfell's The Han-est a/the Sea' also gives an account ora fishcnnan's
life.
Apart from published accounts ofthe Labrador fishery, there is a wealth of
unpublished material on deposit in the Memorial University ofNewfoundland Folklore
and Language Archi\'e.' Much ofthe data arc in the fonn ofpersonal experience
narratives ofthe men. women. and children who wcnt to the Labrador. They prO\;de
many insights into the type ofperson \\ho could sur"i\'e the hardships and dangers ofthe
summer fishery. These narrati\'cs arc ofvarying degrees of usefulness, as some student
collectors did not go into sufficient depth \\lth their line ofqucstioning. The manuscripts
examined for this study cover the period 1893-1985, and although few go into delails
about the actuallexts ofthe folklore genres used. all of them describe social context and
give insight into the functions ofthe folklore.
The opening section ofthis chapter presents historical overviews orthe fishery,
and of Colliers and its summer fishing stations "on the Labrador," plus a description of
the rolklife ofColliers. Subsequent sections summarize the methodological approaches.
The folklife of the Labrndor fishery, as expressed in narratives, roodways, and folk
medicine; an examination and analysis ofconnie!. both potential and realized, between
migratory Newfoundland fishennen and Labradorians; and the conclusions ofthe
research will be dealt with in subsequent chapters.
• W. T. Grenfell. The Han'esl o/the Sea: A Tale 0/801h Sides o/Ihe Allantic (New York:
Fleming H. Re\'ell. 1905).
9 Hereinafter referred to as MUNFLA.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Figure 1. Map showing the areas covered in the fieldlrips of 1984 and 1986, as
well as key places nOI covered in Figures 2 and 3.
Key:
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
II.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Cape Chidley
ain
Davis Inlet
Hopedale
Makkovik
Postville
Cape Harrison
Rigoici
mthwest River
Happy Vallcy·Goosc Bay
Cartwright
Spotted Island
Baucau
Comfort Bight
Hawk Harbour
Battlc Harbour
Red Bay
51. Anthony
La Scic
Lewisportc
1. John's
Burin Peninsula
Comer Brook

FOLLOW] G PAGE
Figure 2. Map ofColliers.

FOLLOWI G PAGE
Figure 3. Fishing Areas.
KEY:
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
Little Holton
Dark Tickle
Emily Harbour
Captain Stephen John Kennedy's Room
Doyle's Room (Doyle from A,"andale, Room at Little Brig Island)
Green Island
Fairy Island
Long Point
plining Knife
Pig's Ere
Smokey Co'"e
maker Head
Trahey's Room
Dahon's Room
Doylc's Bawn
Bear's Gut
Cutthroat
Ship's Run
Entry Island
Five Islands
Run By Guess
Icc Tickles
Electric Splitter
Marks Island
Smokey
Mundy Island
Indian Harbour
Green Island
Big Island
Tinker Island
Double Island
North Duck Island
North Green Island
Brig Harbour Island
Little Brig Island

10
'=

History of the Labrador fishc'1,IO
Europeans began to establish seasonal fishing stations on the Labrador in the early
sixteenth century. Figure 4 provides a graphic description ofmany asJXCIS ofthe
eightccnth century fishery. Records from this period up until 1760 are full ofSlories of
"'guerrilla" raids from the Eskimos (lnuit) in search of iron anifaclS, and facilities "ere
often found wrecked when \"essels arri\"ed from Europe to begin a new season fishing or
\\haling. This began to change when Labrador came under Britain's rule in 1763. While
the French still had a series ofmonopoly grants of fishing stations. the English, under
Governor Hugh Palliser's rule in the late 17005, pushed the frontier ofexploration north
to River Charles. Here George Cart\.\Tight established a cod. scal, and salmon fishcr)'. a
fur trading business, as well as friendly and commercial relationships with the Inuit and
Indians (Innu).
Palliser recognized that the Europeans wcre responsible for much oftheir COnniCl
with the Inuit, and onc of his first acts was to issue strict guidelines for the conduct of
British subjects toward native residents. Palliser wrote nn ungry letter to the Governor of
Boston ubout the atrocities committed by New England whalers in Labrador. and he
encouraged Moravian evangelists to set up missions

Colliers (Figure 2) was chosen as a focus for the study ofthe Labrador fishery
because of its proximity to $1. John's, the traditional point oforigin for the Labrador run.
The location ofColliers in relation to me summer fishing st.ations on Cut Throat Island
gives the community a special status in me folk life ofme fishery. People from Colliers
were aboard the vessel for a longer period than were families from Carbonear and points
farther nonhwest and wesL 16 lbey would be settled into the routines ofthe journey even
before mosl other people boarded. Similarly. because the area they fished was in the
nonhem limits ofthe "stationers- fishery. Colliers's people would also be among the first
to board for the return passage. Thus, they had maximwn exposure to intergroup relations
going to and returning from the Labrador.
The people ofColliers fished primarily in the Smokey/Cut Throat/Indian Harbour
area (q. \'.. Figure 3). Although well-known among fishennen, it is not well documented
eanographically. For this reason, and because few of the names used by Colliers people
appear on Labrador maps, I asked my husband to draw a map and then asked Tom Doyle
to locate the various fishing stations and other topographical featurcs. The names ofthese
places had been givcnto mc by my father, Jim Doyle, before his dCllth. Doylc's Bawn
rcfcrs to thc location used by the Doyles when they hold surplus lish: room refers to
propeny owned by the fishermen. The earliest description ofa room al ul Throat
Jlarbour comes from Nicholas Smith's account ofpropcny he purchased from Matthew
Ryan in 1900.
16 Ryan.p.47.Map 3.
14

March 30. 1833, at the age ofsixty-thrce. The community is described in Lovell's 1871
Pro\'i"ce ofNewfoundland Direclory as a large fishing scnlemc.nt at the head of
Conception Bay. in the district ofHarbour Main, forty miles from St. John's and six
miles from Bngus by road. Its population of480 included sixt)'-seven farmers, two
planters (John Costigan and John Scanlan). and one schoolteacher (James Heam).20 Mary
Bernice Doyle. in her study ofthe history ofthe settlement oflhc head ofConceplion
Ba),:u found the first listed inhabitant to be James HeddcniOn in 1766. By 1803. there
\\ere twcnty-fivc people listed. including members ofthe Cole and Whelan families. who
resided thcre since 1778. These surnames and six more ofthe fourteen listed are still in
existence today in Colliers. Doylc found thc populalion ofCollicrs to be continually the
lo\\csi for all settlements at the head ofthe bay. Colliers had a population of301 in 1836.
and from 1860 until 1976 the population nuctuated between 400 and 840 with a
nineteenth century high of 706 in 1884.
In 1804, there were 49 farmers with 154 cuhivaled acres, and local production
yielded 2,609 barrels ofpotatoes, 300 cattle, 1,194 barrels of capclin, and 1,220 quintals
ofcured codfish. According 10 Doyle, in the earliest days of the eighteenth century the
people lived almost totally on herring and potatoes. The inhabitants were first fishermen
then funners. and as there was poor production in the fisheries from 1860 to 1890, most
men were famlcr-fishcrmen. Occupational pluralism characlerized the working life ofthe
20 Lowll's Pro\";nce ofNeufoundJand D;recloryfor 1871 (1871; London. ON:
Genealogical Research Library. 1984).
21 Mary Bcrnice Doyle. "The History ofthe Settlement oflhe Ilcad ofConception Ba)'.
M. A. Thesis (History) .Memorial Uni\"crsity of l ewfoundland. 1971.
16

community, similar 10 the circumstances ofThancl, England. described in an eighteenlh-
century document. The people ofThanct wcre, the rcpon said,
amphibious animals. who gel their living both by thc sea and land.
equally skilled in holding helm or plough, according to thc season ofthe
year. Thcy knit nets. catch coos. herrings. mackerel [sic]. elc., go on
\ oyagcs and expon merchant dyes. Thc vcry same persons dung the land.
plough. sow. reap. and carry in the com. They work hard and live hard and
nrc truly industrious. !2
Besidcs growing potaloes, the early settlers ofColliers kept sheep. s\\inc. goalS.
horses, milk cows and catlle. Tbey cut hay and fodder, a laic gro\\th ofhay produced by
seuing oats.
According 10 my older infonnants. the early inhabitants ofColliers sculed first in
James Cove, then Burke's CO\'c. then Colliers proper. The coves were doned with tiny
cottagcs and Colliers proper was considered "the COunlry.··ln \\;nlenime, they would
build tilts (small. single·roomed hUIs) in the country and clear the land. In summer during
the ninctcenth ccntury, stovcs would be stored a\.vay until fall and a fireplace would be
uscd for cooking.
Thc early scttlers wcrc self sufTicicnt. They produccd their own food, made their
own clothes, built their own homes, and accepted employment anywhere they could find
it. They fished the inshore. on the Grand Banks. on the Labrador, and elsewhere in
Ncwfoundland. From 1860 to 1890, as mentioned previously, thcre was poor production
in the fisheries and local emigration began as men len to find work. Many men and
\\omen who left did not come back except for visits. The mcn wcnt to work in mines in
12 Paul Thompson ('.1 ai.. Liring Ihe Fishing (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1980) p. 13.
17

with a "God save you kindly". 'ow the Highroad which encircles Colliers mounts up lhe
hill and passes the school. From here the view over the valley and harbour ofColliers is
exhilarating. 26
Ewart Young. in his Album ofA\"olon. includes a picture ofColliers. Its caption
describes lhc area as "a very scenic section ofConception Bay and the settlement of
Colliers itselfis spread ovcr a wide area.·· 11
Colliers: Community Lift
Thc work routine was balanced by infonnal gatherings and socializing \\ith
family and friends. Pad Cole. a lifelong resident. givcs an overvicw ofthe local way of
life in Colliers in the follo\\ing passage:
...everyone was happy. 0 money. but happy - plenty to eat: vegetablcs.
most people kept a pig, some kept two. In the fall ofthe year they'll kill a
pig. We used to have three or four heads ofcanle, horses. cows, small
bull. Sometimes father killed one ofthem. All you wanted was a bit ofsalt
beefand nour. You had the rest: the cabbage. potatocs, turnips, carrots,
beets, all thaI. Some [people] we used to grow onions too. Strong but
good. Everyone seemed to be happy. Used 10 live well, never had much
mOlley. If you had a couple of hundred (dollars) ill the fall, you was haifa
millionaire or you think you was. Used to get a lot offish but the
merchants usen't pay them very much for the lish, three or four dollars a
quintal. Today if they gOl the fish they used to then, they would make 11
fortune. Some years they only broke even. Had to get a berth, trap boat,
rubber boots, or clothes, whatever they wanted. The fella they went with
had to bring all the grub and lhey had to pay so mueh for that. Sometimes
when they came home in the fall, they wouldn't have a thing coming to
them. Sometimes $200 or $300, that's the most. Ann Grace [would get]
between $50 - $70 but had to cut throats too. Yes. they worked hard. Make
the fish besides the cooking. spread it on the bawn. Sometimes. ifthey
26 Browne. W.J. "In Praise orOur Land:' Section IV, "The Old Dislriet ofl·larbour
Main:' Ne\lfollndland Quarferly 34:4 (April 1935). II.
21 Ewart Young. Alburn ofAm/on(n.p. Gllardia.1952).
20

a family gathering that has changed in Fred's and Jim's lifctimc but still somchow
remains thc same because the children are still gathering close to listcn.
Jim Do)'le Sr.·s house (Figure 5),t.he oldest one in Colliers, was a frequent
gathering place for songs. The kitchen was the common gathering are3, for like the
lumber camps and fishing rooms. bedroom areas were onl)' used for sleeping. A house
from Labrador, l0C3ted at TickeraJuck Island. is shown in Figure 6.
Jim and Fred said they would be I)'ing in their beds and listening to their fathers
and the men who came to drink the shine sing, and they picked up the songs. As Fred
said. "I learned (songs) before I learned me prayers:' All Fred's family could sing, and
his brother Frank knew mice as many songs, having picked up some in Argentia at the
American naval basc.];!
Religious and Educational Histo'1'
Although no history of Colliers has been wrincn. much of its religious and
educational history is contained in Our People.. Our Church: Sts. Peter and Paul Parish
Ilarbom Main, Newfoundland 1857-1982.]] Colliers was served by the clergy of Harbour
Gruee until the Brigus Parish was established in 1833. The church at Harbour Main was
erected in 1857 to serve from Turk's Gut (Marysvale) to the south side of Holyrood.
Despitc the establishment ofchurches and eventually pnrishes at Salmon Cove
(Avondale) Cat's Cove (Conception Harbour) and Holyrood. the large area of the
"Clara J. Murphy. "Fred McGrath and lhe Songs orlhe Old Folks orColliers;' (1980).
MUNFLA. ms., 81-166.
]] Our People..Our Church: SIS. Peter and Paul Parish Ilarbour Main. e\\foundland
1857-1982 (Harbour Main. F: published privalely. 1983).
24

tmditional parish of Harbour Main was adminislcrcd from Ilarbour Main between 1868
and 1906.
Colliers people tmditionally attended mass at Ilarbour Main and Conception
Ilarbour. and even after the cemetery was opened in Conception Ilarbour, some Colliers
people insisted on being buried in Harbour Main.J.& At least one Ilarbour Main priest,
Father P.W. Browne. served as chaplain on the Labrador. I-lis book Where The Fishers
Go contains infonnation gathered while he lived at Ilarbour Main and served as chaplain
on the Labrador. J !
ignificant political conflicts within the community have been few, although
people from Colliers were involved in the famous political march during the election of
1861:
The whole situation appears to have grown out ofthe understanding in the
areas ofCat's Cove, Colliers, and Bacon Cove that Father Kyran Walsh
and his political hcnchman, Charles Furey, had been involved in
manipulating the relief funds granted to thc district to thc detrimcnt of
these three communities which did not get their proportion of the relief
funds. Moreover, the winter before the election the yards ofThomas Sl.
John's brig had been eut while she wintered.1t Furey's \.vharC 36
"MUNFLA 86-013, C8702.
J! Byrnc, allr People, Our Church, p. 47. Father Brownc was a Carbonear man, ordained
there December 29. 1887. He was later a professor of History at the University ofOuawa
from 1911 to 1914. !-Ic also taught at the Catholic University of America. where he died
in 1932-
16 "The Nc\\foundlander:' St. John's. 1864. published in Cyril J. Byrne. "The Church in
the Ilisiory ofthe Parish of Harbour Main" in Ollr People..Ollr Chllrch, p. 46. Only one
ofmy infonTlaOts mentioned this incident.
25

The march resulted in the death ofa Harbour Main man, the closure ofthe church
in Cat's Cove (Conception Harbour) for one year. and strained relationships between
people and communities at the head ofthe bay lasting up untilthc prescnt time.
Thrortlical Approaches
The annuallrip from e\\foundland to the Labrador embodies many elements
that contemporary geographers would regard as I)'pieal ofmigration, a process thcy
define broadly as a permanent or semi-permanent change ofresidence that can be
voluntary or involunlar)', over a soon distance or a long distance." Migration theory was
summarized by Ravcnstcin in 1885 and reaffirmed in 1889. Few additional
generalizations have been advanced since. Ravenstcin found that gcncrally people
proceed only a shon distance when migrating. and that the move is done in stages. in
streams (and consequently countcrstreams). mostly by rural people in response to
technological or economic demands. Ravcnslcin also noted the significa", role playcd by
womcn in shon distance moves. JI
Essentially, economy and tcchnology arc the dominant factors in migration, which
thcn follows certain pallcrns for the distancc and lbc type of people moving. From the
economic perspective, theorists hold that a basic rcquircmellt for any industry, be it
agriculture, mining, fishing, or factory is to havc a rescrvc anny of skilled workers. This
anny has to be recruited, transponed, worked, paid, and retumed or disperscd when the
)7 Everett S. Lee. ··A Theory ofMigration:' Popllialion Geography: A Reader (Ncw
York: McGraw-Hili, 1970),p .29.
JI For an ovcrview. see Lee. pp. 288·89.
26

job is done. Seldom in the history oflabour has the army been given preferential
treatment. J9 Good examples ofstudies focusing on the treatment of migrant workers are
two works by Carey McWilliams. Faelories in Ihe Field: Tlte SlOry 0/Migralory Farm
Lobor in Calijornia¥1 and its companion study, III Fares lite Lond: Migroms and
Migratory Lobor in Calijornia: u McWilliams, a historian and activist for Mexican-
American rights. traces the history ofCalifomia's first industry -agriculture - and ilS
workers from 1870 to 1939. She states: ··It is in many respxts a melodramatic history of
theft. fraud. violence and exploitation.--:!
According to McWilliams. there are two requisites for scasonallabourcrs: first
they must have the ability to mO\'e about quickly \\;thout incurring much transportation
expense. and second, the)' must have the ability to hibernate. that is, to disappear when
the crops are harvested untillheir scrvices arc again required.") Thesc characteristics
demonstrate why healthy, young, unattached males are the ··aristocrats··... ofagribusiness.
White labourers with families were liabilities. because they could nOllllOVC about as
J9 Exceptions arc professional and white collar workers. Ilowcvcr, the migration of the
elite is morc ora circulation than a migration. Sec F. Musgrove, 111t! MigrarOlY Elite
(London: Ilcinemnnn Educational Books, 1963). The recessions of 1982-84 and 1989 to
the present with their subsequentlay-offs of surplus management workers, demonstrate
tl1atno class of worker is safe from forced migration.
40 Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Fann Labor in
California (Boston: Brown. Little & Co.. 1939).
"I Carey McWilliams. 111 Fares the Land: Migrants and Migratory Labor in California
(Boston: Brown, Little & Co., 1942).
4:! McWilliams, III Fares lite Land. p_ 4.
4) McWilliams. Faelories in Ihe Field. p. 107.
.... The tenn "aristocrats" comes from Moore. The Slares We Relit (New York: Random
Ilouse, I965).p. 42_ See also McWilliams. Faelories in the Field. p. 131.
27

Technological innuences on migration include such factors as thc restructuring of
resource industrics or the overuse of lhe resources themselvcs. Ilaul Thompson. in liVing
Ihe Fishing. demonstrates how the development ofthe beam trawl and its subsequent
adaplation to stcam trawlers changed the nature ofthc English fishing industry. resulting
not only in a dependence on shore capital to produce vessels, but also in the ability to
tra\e1to foreign fishing groundS. 41 Fishennen \\;th advanced technological equipment
also deplete the supply and must therefore wander far from traditional grounds. 4
Similarly. fanners are forced offtheir land to make way for agribusiness. and home
industries arc replaced by factories forcing rural people to migrate to urban centers for
employment or to follow the harvest.
Again. the situation in Ne\\foundland ditTers in thai the pallcm offishing on the
Labrador in summer was identical to what the Newfoundlanders who remained at home
would experience. Also, when industrialization hit the Newfoundland fishery. the
advances within the Labrador fishery werc idcnticnlto those in Newfoundland. Indeed,
the Lnbmdor fishery as prosecuted by the Newfoundlanders hos been aptly called an
inshore fishery at a distance.
In attempting to approach the Labrador fishery from a folkloristic point of view,
onc should bear in mind that the majority orthe literalurc on migrntion has been written
from the point of vicw ofofficials: historians, economists, cultural geographers, social
41 Thompson, et al.. pp. 10·18.
41 For examples. sec Thompson. et al.; William W. Warner, Distanl IValer: The Fate 0/
the North Atlantic Fishermen. (Middlesex. UK: Penguin. 1984) and Joseph Zulaika
Terra No\'o. The £Ihos and Luck ofDeep Sea Fishermen (St. John's: Memorial
University. Institute for Social and Economic Research. 1981).
29

workers, union organizers. or various government officers. Migration is usually
considered by them in relation to abslract pushes and pulls operating in a geographic
space. While they do make an attempt to show the impact ofmigration on the migrants.
their insightful observations and excerpts from convers:nionslinterviews with migrants
500\\ a concern for socioeconomic issues: the substandard means of recruitment.
transportation. working conditions. li\Oing arrangements. health and educational facilities.
wagcs. etc. By contrasL a strikingly different emphasis surfaced in a preliminary
examination oftwcnty-eight manuscripts relating to the Labrador in M FLA. which I
conducted at the outset ofmy research. Whereas the etic perspective stresses the work
rounds and the appalling condjtions under which the Labrador fishennen lived and
worked, the fishennen themselves recount these as normalaspccts ofa fisherman's life
and place more emphasis on the interpersonal aspects. The contrast between the oral and
the official sources reveals a wide gulf between the etie and cmic views of the Labrador
fishery and suggests a need for an eclectic approach to the study ofmigrants.
From the insider's point ofview. going on the Labrador is, in some respects,
analogous to moving the family to the summer c,lbill by the lake, although there are. of
course. important differences in the two activities. Rosenow and Pulsipher, in Tourism:
71,e Good. rhe Btul (lnd the Ugly. list lhe reasons people give for taking vacalion trips.
fcw of which correspond to the factors that sent people to the Labrador:
getting away from job pressures, spending time with the children.
providing an opportunity for thefamily to be together. cxpandingfamily
30

education. reliving American history. and enjoying other areas Oflhc
country (emphasis minet'
Their assessment ofthe benefits oftrnvcl. however. docs apply to the Labrador
experience. They state. for example. that "one ofthe greatest values oftra\'e1 is self
renewal" and that travel
prO\;des educational experiences which can be gained in no other way. It
can sU'Cngthcn marilOl andfamily ties by providing important shared
experiences which today's increasingly fmgmcntcdfamilie.r often lack.
And a change in scene can often improvc our mcntal and emotional wcll
being (emphasis mine).so
Ifone substitutes the word "group" (i.e.. the Labrador fishcnnen) for the
underlined words in the preceding quotations and by keeping the quotations in mind
whilc reading the accounts from members ofthe group. the parallels \\ ill become clear.
The annual migration. however. ofthousands of Newfoundlanders. which went on
until the mid-twentieth century. was more than a working summer vacation. Rather. it
was, in Van Gennep's term, a rite ofpassage. 51 This is perhaps not surprising given that
migration appears to be a central part ofvarious important stages of the lifc cycle:
beginning or cessation ofeducation, entrance into or retircment from the labour force,
marriage or dissolution ofmarriage, either through divorcc or the death of a spouse. As J.
Wolpert stales:
49 John E. Rosenow and Gerreld L. Pulsipher, Tourism: 71,e Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(Lincoln. E: Century Three. 1979), p. 3.
SO Ibid.
51 Arnold Van Gennep, The Rites ofPassage (1908; rpt. Chicago: University ofChicago
Press. 1960).
31

Van Gennep stales that the second stage. transition. is charactcrized by a quality of
"Iiminality," that is, a temporary displacement from evcryday community nomls. S4 As the
subsequcnt chapters will reveal. the Labrador did constitute a "liminal" experience for the
people ofColliers: the community's sense ofgroup was reshaped as peoplc came
together with residents ofother settlements and "bays" to fonn temporary group
affiliations at the fishing stations. Within these groups religious differences were put
aside. some nativc practices were adopted to make a difficult environment more bearable.
and in somc cases, even basic social relationships were altered \\hen p;:oplc adopted new
partners during their time on the Labrador.
To reconstruct and describe the important features ofthis rite of passage from the
point ofview of my infonnants. I have relied heavily on oral historical approaches. using
autobiographies. biographies. and interviews with cultural insiders. Also considered were
the narratives. music. songs, sayings, beliefs and customs they shared with each other
whenever they had the opportunity. In my opinion. much can be learned about migratory
workers by examining lhe processes ofsocialization into the occupation and the genres
used to distinguish themselves from their bosses. ss
S4 Van Gcnnep, p. II; see also. Victor Turner, "Betwixt and Between: The Liminal
Period in Ritcs de !Jassage," The Foresl o/Symbols, ed. Victor Turner (New York: Basic.
1964) and The Rilllal Process: Slrllcwre and AlIfi-Slructure (Ithaca: Cornell University
Press, 1969) pp. 95-96.
ss For an excellent example ofsocialization into work. sec O. Lofgren. "The Making ofa
Fisherman: The Social Context ofSocialization in a Swedish Fishing Community." The
Fishing Clliture o/t/le World: Sludies in Elhnology. Cultllral Ecology WId Folklore. 2
\'ols. cd. Bela Gonda. (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado. 1984). pp. 281·97.
33

Essentiality. the thesis hopes to document the "folk history" ofone community's
involvement in the Labrador fishery. According to Dorson. folk history is oral traditional
history which seeks out the topics and themes \\hich the people wish to talk about the
personal and immediate history with which the) are concerned.56 A key aspect oforal
folk history is that more than one "folk" exists and each folk group regards events and
personalities ofthe past through its own particular lens. 51 cholarly disciplines have
endlessly debated the trustworthiness of folk hislory. Ho\\cvcr, folk memory is reliable.
particularity when the following conditions have been mel:
continuity of residence in the area ofthe lradilion
reinforcement oflhe traditions with reference to surrounding landmarks
the training, fonnal or informal. oforal chroniclers within the society.
What the folk historian wishes to record is not just the plain unvarnished fact but
all the motions, biases, and reactions aroused by the supposcd fact. for in them lay the
historical perspectives."
A good example of this approach is John W. Blassingamc's 71,c Slal'c
COllllllunity: Planll/tioll Life in the Antebellllm SO/lth. I Ie uses lIutobiogmphics ofsJavcs
as his prime source and provides a critical essny on all his sources. Ilis chapter on culture
56 Richard Dorson, "The Oral Historian and the Folklorist," quoted by Larry Danielson in
"The Folklorist. the Oral Historian, and Local History:' in David K. Dunaway and Willa
K. Baum, Oral History: An Inlerdisciplinary Anthology (Nashville, TN: American
Association for Stale and Local History. 1984) p. 179.
51 Richard Dorsan. "The Oral Historian and the Folklorist:' in David K. Dunaway and
Willa K. Baum. Oral HislOry: An Imerdisciplinary Anthology (Nashville. TN: American
Association for State and Local HiSlory. 1984) p. 299.
n Ibid.
34

is nn important one for folklorists, for it demonstrates the importance ofexpressive
behaviours for coping with the harsh realities orplantation life. lie writcs:
Ho\\cver oppressive or dehumanizing the plantation was, struggle for
sun'ival was not se\'ere enough to crush all of the slave's creative
instincts. Among the elements ofslave cullure were: an emotional
religion, folk songs and tales. dances, and superstitions. Much ofthe
slave's culture, language. customs. beliefs, and ceremonies· set him apart
from his master. His thoughts. values, ideals and behaviour were all
greatly innuenced by these processes. The more his cullura! forms differed
from those ofhis master and the more they were immune from the control
of\\ hites, the more the slaves gained in personal autonomy and positive
self-concepts.SO}
iy examination ofsimilar sources. my oral inten'iews with former migratOC)'
fishennen of e\\ found land. and my brief sojourn into their experience show that they lived
11 rich cultural life despite the hardships ofmigrant life: hardships associaloo with tra\-el.
accommod.uions, working conditions, health. education. wages, power. and status.
SO} John W. Blassingame. The S/m'e Community: P/amation Life in the Antebellum South
(NC\\ York: Oxford University Press. 19n),pp. 41- 42.
35

CHAI'rEll2
FIELDWORK
This chapter presents an account ofmy fieldwork experiences while collecting the
life history namui\'es of men and women \\ho had fished on the Labrador. My fieldwork
consisted ofthree main parts: 1) archival preparation. 2) field trips on the Labrador. and
3) fieldwork in the communities ofColliers and Conception Ilarbour. To set the scene for
the in-depth description ofeach component ofthe experience ofgoing on the Labrador.
my first field trip to the Labrador is given as a personal experience narrative. The various
locations visited are shown on the map in Figure 1. The route followed staned by
Canadian National (eN) bus at St. John's (q.\'.. Figure I, 21).thcn proceeded by boat
from Lewisponc (q.v.. Figure I. 20). and continued as far north as Nain (q.v.. Figure 1,
2).
Origins oflhe Study
While nn undergraduate student in Folklore at Memorial University or
Newlolll1dlnnd, [ wrote several tcrm papers bascd 011 fieldwork in my home community
or Colliers. Through that rcsearch, I became interested in the rolk history or Colliers to
the point where I decided to do a community study. and I was encouraged by the faculty
to do this as 3 Master's thesis. Although J was living and working in $1. John's as an
undergrodu3te, I spent my free time at home observing the folklore ofmy family and
interviewing some of the older people in Colliers,
36

Until I became interested in the Labrador fishery, I was planning a study similar
10 Linda Dcgh's Four !ires in the Tobacco BeJt,6G but focusing on the history ofColliers.
With Scan O'Sullivan's Handbook o/Irish Folklori l as a guide, my olher ambilion was
to collect everything from anyone who would tell me anything aboul Colliers. My
professors quickly set me straight and told me to narrow my focus. Thus, the topic
became the Labrador fishery.
1bc original concept for the thesis emerged from an undergraduatc class in
Folklore.1be professor. Dr. Larry Small. spoke ofan intervie\\ ";Ih a man \\ho talked
about the Labrador fishery in \'ery glo";ng tcons; it had been the best experience ofhis
life and he wished he could go back and start it over. Whcn Dr. Smalliatcr spoke to the
man's wife, who was present during the interview, she said thal il was the most honible
expericnce ofher life and she never wanted to go back to it again. Dr. mall went on to
say that thc Labrador fishery was a topic needing study because it was a recent happening
and fresh in the minds of the people, and the older people who rcmembered it wcre dying.
I remember filing lhis away as a topic for a paper which might be done laler.
As a graduate studenl, I worked part-time us an archival assistant at Memorial
University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive. My task there was to
survey the archive holdings pertaining lO the Labrador lishery in preparation for Dr. Neil
Rosenberg's "Orall-lislory ofthe Labrador Fishery" course. While conducting this
60 Linda Degh. Four !ires in the Tobacco Bell, Mercur)' Series, o. 13 (Ottawa: National
Museum ofCanada. Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies, 1975).
61 Scan O'Sullivan. Handbook ofIrish Folklore (I 942: rpl. Ilatboro. PA: Folklore
Associates. 1963).
37

survey. I became interested in the material, reading it on my own timc and using it as the
basis ofa paper. The natural culmination ofthis activity W35 my participation in the
course.
Throughout my years as a full-time student in the Folklore Dcpanment. 1983-
1985, all ofthe archi\1l1 assistants at M lFLA knew my area of interest and ga\'C me
references to any relevant manuscripts they encountered. Meanwhile. J left m) position as
archival assistanlto work as assistant 10 Dr. Gerald Pocius indexing newspapers. where J
discovcred a wealth ofmaterial relating to the Labrador fishcry for the years 1828 to
1928. linter used some ofthis material to compile n newspaper index ofthe Labrador
traits fishery.
It had never occurred to me to do fieldwork on the Labrador. My plan was to
intervicw people who had gone on the Labrador and ask them aboutlheir experiences.
My supervisor, Dr. WilfWareham. suggcsted that I reI race the route takcn to the
Lnbrador by the people from Colliers. Very quickly. I put togethcr n proposal with the
help of Philip Iliscoek, who had done somc survey work in Labrador. It was approved
and fundcd by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and I set 00' for
Labrador in the sUlllmer of 1984.
Fieldwork
During the month ofJuly J984, I was able to participate in a shortened version of
the annual migration. I went "in collar·>62 with ISER funding. Preparations were difficult
62 "Going in collar" is the expression c"foundlanders usc to refer to thc process of
signing on and making preparations for the trip to Labrador.
38

an adult, had been told that my "friendly face and warm smile could get me more than I
bargained for:'
At this point my built in fatalism· that I could only go (die) when my time came •
kicked in. It was perhaps the loneljest time ofmy life. I was going too late in the season
and. therefore, no fishcnnen were on hand for inten'iews. Indeed the timing was
completely \\TOng for inter....iewing working fishenncn. Interviews had to be caught on
the run because people came on board. disappeared into cabins and/or social groups.
appeared briefly \\hen we dropped anchor for thirty minutes or so. and disappeared again.
The tourists and a medical student on the way to do frontier medicine became my
companions. and I essentially became one ofa class apart from the people I wished to
interview. I quickly realized that knocking on cabin doors would not be welcomed and.
instead. I used the opponunities ofmeal times and the occasional moments when a
fisherman or a fisherman's family would join our social group to explain to them what I
was doing. I also spent a lot oftime on the deck observing the passengers and crcw at
places of embarkatioll andlor debarkation. This was especially intriguing whcn we
stopped just off the lund, as in the old days.
My journey began on July 5, 1984 whcnl took a Cunadiall Nmional (eN) bus
front $1. John's (q.v., Figure 1,21) to Lewispone (If.V.. Figure 1.20) and discovered my
boat was not leaving until the next morning. From July 6 to July II. I journeyed aboard
the TlI\wner. to Goose Bay (q.v. Figure I 10) This trip takes in approximately thiny·
three stops depending upon the needs oflhc Labradorians andlor ewfoundland fishing
families. lien Goose Bay on the BonOl';S!a, another CN boat, on July 1210 lravel
40

oundlrip to Nain in order to see where the Colliers people had lishcd (Figures 1 and 3)
and also \\here the floater fishermen had gone. The floater lishemlcn sometimes went as
far north as Cape Chidley (q.v_. Figure I. 1), but the coastal boots ended their trips in
Nain. icc and weather permitting. The stationers rarely went farther north than the Cut
Throa moke)' area.
The field trip to Labrador was supposed to be in the eompany ofmy father. one of
the last ofthe Labrador fishermen from Colliers. Unfortunately. he didn't think that I was
serious when I asked him to come along \\;th me and I e\'entuall)' made the trip alone.
I think that my experience was \'cry similar to those I had read about in archi\·al
accounts, Early in the voyage. I recall being in the bow ofthc ship, heading into the
evening, feeling very much on my own and realizing that my head was full ofstories of
the Labrador that I'd heard at home during fieldwork and read in the archival accounts. I
was excited and frightened at the same time. probably fceling the smne way that other
people felt when Ihey weO! on the Labrador for the firsl time.
llook what is called "Ihe slow boat" from Lewisl>orle 10 llappy Valley-Goose
Bny. Once I became accuslomed to the boal and re

From Happy Valley.) did not have a single room. This workcd to Illy advantage
and allowcd me to collect a few more storics ofwhere people camc from in
Newfoundland. where thcy were going to on the Labrador, and \\ hy they were on this
trip.
Whcn ) boarded the coastal boat. Tm'erner. in Lewisporte. I thought that I could
just go door to door with tape recorder and collect marvellous interviews. Of course. this
is not the way things usually work out. Some passengers sufTered from motion sickness
and didn't want to talk to anyone for the entire lrip. Other passengers were tourists who
could ofTer little infonnation. It was late in the season and all the fishermen were already
on the Labrador. Some passengers were wivcs joining their husbands. but, for the most
pan, the passengers were people returning home or tourists visiting Labrador for thc first
time.
The ercw was vcry uncooperative at first, whieh I put down to the fact that they
were busy gelling under way. Some crew members said they would talk to me later,
others said they wouldn't. I was teased by the crew. espccially the steward, Jerry, about
not getting interviews. On the return trip a crew member explained to mc that the crew
mcmhcrs all the two Tm'erner trips thought that [ was il spy for CN 6S and they did not
want to talk to me for fear of losing their jobs.
I did eventually conduct two interviews with crew members, based upon a
questionnaire (Appendix A) devised by a fellow student. Jill Thompson, who not only
" Marine Atlantic Ltd:s fonner parent company, Canadian ational Marine.
42

took the oml history course on the Labrador fisher)' with me but had also taken a trip on a
Labrador coastal boat"
Other clements ofthe trip did not come ofT quite as expected. I had made
arrangements to travel to the Labrador traits area to go out on a long liner. Unfamiliar
\\;th travel on the Labrador, I soon disco\ered that it would be impossible to \'isit both
the Smokey/Cut Throat area and the Labrador traits area without nying from Happy
Valley to Blanc Sablon. 67 Unfortunately. my budget would not pennit this. though there
was a measure ofrelief in avoiding the St.raits. as it was reportedly the worst year there
for black nies and mosquitoes in fony )ears. 61
On arriving in Cartwright. I got ofT the boat \\hile it sailed on a side trip to
Paradisc. When I met the woman with whom I was supposed to stay, she expressed
reluctance to host me: in the summertime. she wanted to be out fishing and did not want
to look after anyone. I explained that. though I was from the university. I had grown up in
Colliers without plumbing and electricity for part of my life, and with a wood stove still
in the kitchcn, so I was capable of fending for myself in her homc. I added thm if
necessary I cOllld probably stay with friends in Rigole!.
She wcnt on to say that there would hardly be £lnyonc in Cartwright for me to
intcrview but that I could hitch a ride to Smokey, CUI Throat. and Splitting Knife, areas
66 Jill Thompson. "The Role ofthe Coastal Boat in the Labrador Fishery:' MUNFLA.
ms.• 84-186.
67 cc Figure I.
61 The issue of insects and the problems they posc for people \\orking on the Labrador is
described in Chapter 4.
43

on the coast wherc the Colliers peoplc had fishcd. 69 We tried to make phonc calls 10
Rigolet to find a boarding house there for me. Ho\\cver. everyone was out at the summcr
stations.
The woman and I decided to Ica\'c open the choice ofstaying in Cartwright or
Rigolel. "Ifl came. I came. Ifnol it was fine:' As it turned out. most ofthe fisherpeople
said it was better to do interviews in the \\;ntcnime, because in the summer people were
too busy making a living. Wimenime was the lime for talk.
The 'orthern Run
I continued on 10 Happy Valley-Goose Bay after the Taverner returned from
Paradise. On the way, we stopped at Rigolet and I ran into onc ofmy university friends.
Jean, a schoolteacher from ewfoundland. She said she would mention to another
university friend and teacher. Marie. that I was on Lhc coast and have her keep an eye out
for me. I stayed overnight in Happy Valley and was lucky enough to cut expenses by
sharing a hotel suite Wilh two tourists from Onlario. The next morning, I wcnt down to
join Ihe IJonav;sUl, a larger vessel wiLh an atmosphere different from thaL orthe Tfll'erne,.
but similar to the coastal boats on which the Colliers pcoplc hud Lmvcllcd.
A fricnd who had come down to see me off was telling mc (l story ora mutual
acquaintance from a coaslal community that I would be visiLing who had killed his
parents and then himself. When he moved away from me for a momenL to recover from
this emotional disclosure. one ofa group ofcrew members who had been watching us
and obviously talking about us. camc over. After learning that 1was travclling alone. he
69 See Figure I. II and Figure 3.
44

said, "This boat is nicknamed the Love Boat and I can show you why:' I was still in
shock from hearing of the tragedy and I think there must havc been something in the look
I gave him that lold him to back away. This advance. following so closely upon lerrible
news, really upset and frightened me. Many a ewfoundland girl had come home
pregnant from the Labrador and I felt thaI I was confronted \\;th the possibility ofbeing
forcibly seduced by this ugly crew member.
However. this part ofthe trip was not as lonely or as frighlening as it first
appeared. A fanner Sl John's la..xi driver named Tom. \\;th \\hom I had been well
acquainted while I worked as a group home coordinator. was a crew member on this trip.
evcral people from the university. including Anne Han - the mother ofone ofmy
classmates· and ancy Grem"iIIe from the Centre for Newfoundland Sludies. were on
this trip and provided a much·necded link with my life oock home.
Fieldworkers situated alone often feel private panic at being stranded in the
oceanic vastness ofa forcign peoplc. One's concept of selfdisintegrates because
the accustomed responses have disappeared; one seeks restoration through leiters
from home, addressed to the remembered personality. 111ere arc loneliness.
uprooting, fears. true and marked physical hardships, disellses, lack ofdiversions
to relieve tensions·all of these nurture melancholies and spiritual fatigue. 70
I had already experienced these feelings and continued to do so while travelling
on the IJOlIlll'i.\·fa. The feelings intensified as the coaslal boat moved farther north beyond
the traditional fishing areas of the people ofColliers. The Bonllvisw was older and dirtier
70 Ruth Landes. "A Woman Anthropologist in Brazil:· in Wome" in the Field:
Anthropological Experiences. ed. Peggy Golde (Chicago: Aldinc I'ublishing Company,
1970).123.
45

than the To\'erner, but Ihere were compensations beside Ihe presence ofthree familiar
faces.
I shared a four-berth cabin \\;Ih IWO ewfoundland women going to Indian
Ilarbour and a Labradorian returning to Ilopedale from England for Ihc summer.
ccdlcss to say. as we approached Smokey, J was vcr)' exciled and \v1shed that I could go
oul to Cut Throat Island where my father had been fishing. I was speaking these thoughts
oUlloOO to my cabin mate that morning when a fishcnnan \\00 was unloading to go to
CUi Throat said ..It's too bad. TIle weather's nol so good this morning or ),ou could go
\\;th me. I have 10 drop offsome supplies and come back for the rest:' , very quickly said
that I had rain gear. He dubiously ans\\ered. "Ifyou dress warm:" ran down to my
cabin, piled on ever)' bit ofclothes that I had. including my rain gear. and ran back up to
the deck. By this point. he had loaded his small boat with halfofthe supplies he needed
for his summer's fishing at Splitting Knife and was ready to go. For a momen!. it looked
as ifhe had forgotten aboul me. Then he turned, saw me, and signl.llled. "00 you want to
go?" I nodded and ran down the steps and hopped into his boal to the total amazement of
some orlhe crew and passcngers who knew [was scheduled to go to Nain and had 1101
realized (Imt I had mudc arrangemcnts to go with the fishennan. It wns vcry foggy and
extremely cold. We were skirting the ice and traps, literally disappearing into the fog.
Fortunately. we reached Splitting Knife on Cut Throat Island with no problems.
lie said. "Hop OUI. We'll be here about tcn minutes. Walk around a bit" eedless 10 say.
there was no one up thai early in the morning. I did nol want to go too far and thus delay
him. When he was ready to go, he asked. -Arc you ready?" lie then suggested that he
46

take a piclUre ofme on the beach where, more than likely. my father and other family
members had unloaded their summer supplies, so thm I could bring it back as a souvenir
to my father. He reached down and picked up a small beach rock and gave it to me for
my father. We returned to the "esseL I was grinning from car to ear even though I was
fro7..en. I probably entered into the folklore ofthat voyage for some of my fellow tra\'elen;
because ofthat little ad"cmute so early on a cold, foggy morning.
When we arri,'ed at O3,;s lnleltherc was at tir.>t the usual moming's peaceful
quietness. and suddenly. there was a babble ofnoisc as many Labradorians and Innu
came aboard and excitedly talked to acquaintances among the passenger.> and crew. It
seemed that the whole community came on board and stayed with us for the twD-day trip
to Nain and back (round trippers). The boat litcrally sank a foot in the watcr undcr the
weight of the crowd aboard. Because ofthe number ofpeople on the vessel. we very
quickly ran into problems with blockcd toilets and the odour in the accommodations area
on thc lowcr dcck was soon unbearable. For n whilc. the 5

I did as I had done on the first lap ofthe voyage. I talked infonnally to people and
asked some basic questions. Are the Newfoundlandcrs still fishing herc? Where are they
fishing? Where had they fished? Did you get along with thcm in the past and now?
This stage ofthe trip proved lrUe some stories I had heard about the crew's
lrCatmcnt ofcertain passengers. examples of\\hich will be gi\'cn in the ncxt chapler. One
c,·cning. I went 10 supper early. I found myselfstanding with some Labradorians and
looking in through the glass ofa lockcd door at 'lhe crowd from the univcrsity.- who
\\cre having a pri"ate dinner. They must have started halfan hour before thc cafeteria
officially opened. One oflhe ""nmen from Labrador passed the comment that, "Here we
arc again. The rich on the inside and the poor on the outside." She looked al me and
smiled. he had included me as one ofher group. I usually sat with the Labradorians and
had onen observcd the reluctance with which the crew dealt with the Innu and Inuit,
especially when Ihey spoke in their own language. My supper companion said Ihey often
spoke IllUklitut to spite the crew members who did nOllike thcm. 71
Unlike Ihe lower deck accommodalions, the upper class cabins had their own
showers, and I must confess that I did take up my friends' offer to go up there and take a
showcr when it became impossible to do so downstairs. I once went up there just 10 get
away from the noise and have a few moments to myself. Eventually. Ihe crew re-opened
the salon. which made the ship seem less crowded. and. as on Ihe previous trip on the
Ttl\'erner. I would go there to socialize with passengers. Ilowevcr, Ihe men always
seemcd to be involved in a poker game and the younger people preferred to "hang out"
71 Field notebook I. July 14. 1984.
48

down in the cabins. Most of my interactions were with a Newfoundland craflswoman. a
ova Scotian anist. and several Labrador women.
At one point. I ovcrheard Tom· the crew member I knew - and Anne Han having
a conversation about a tent we had secn on an cxposed hcadland. Tom said that it was
crazy for people to be camping on this headland and cenainly crazy for someone to be
tra\clling alone. especially a "girl." Then he looked at me as ifto say "You're crazy to be
here on your own."
The pattern on this trip was similar to that ofthc one in southern Labrador. We
would call into a community long enough to ornood or take on cargo or passengers and
we wcre quickly gonc again. We were delayed in ain all morning. As is the custom in
Labrador, e\'eryone camc down to the \"harfto sec ifthey kncw anyone on the boat and
to break lhe monotony of living in an isolated community.
The pleasure ofsuch occasions was sometimes hampered by danger. and on this
panicular morning the customary visit was nearly marred with tragedy. A young girl,
nbout sixteen ycnrs old and obviously dnmk, W,IS sitting all onc of thc piles on the dock.
Tom, who had COlllC ovcr to talk to me as I wns leaning over thc sidc. told me 10 move
away as she was going to fall over the wharf. No sooner had we movcd away than she did
so. Crew mcmbers were not allowed to rescue her as they arc not allowed to do anything
on shore. None of the Inuit made a move 10 rescue her. Two local white men dived into
the waler and, using a rope: provided by the CTCW. got her Ollt. did mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation. and brought her around. It was an alarming experience and could h3\'e been
tragic.
49

Tales ofaccidenlal drowning figure prominently in narratives ofthe Labrador.
and the potential for such tragedy is always present. One evening \\hen wc wcre
returning dowTlthe coast. we SlOPped engines 10 pick up a man \,ho was returning from
his summcr station to his permanent \\;ntcr community. and thc couple who had brought
him came on board \\;th him to conduct a bit ofbusiness, When I looked dO\\llal their
boaL I saw that it was beingjoslled by choppy wavcs and in it were two little boys,
\\ithout life jackets and dressed total I)' in dark clothes. Thcre was thc onc light from the
boat shining dO\\1l on them but evcf)1hing else was pitch black. I feared that if I turned
awny. the) would dro\\ll and no one would know that they \\crc gonc. One reason why I
was quitc ovcrwhelmed by tbis experiencc was that my fonncr cabin mates. two
Newfoundland women on their way to Indian Harbour. had laid me about two young
boys from Harbour Grace who had drowned al Petty Ilarbour on the Labrador, and how
Iheir mother slill returned in the summertime because, when she wns in Lnbmdor. she felt
close 10 them. 72 Also, having two children of my own. I felt a sense ofresponsibilily for
Ihese children. I felt thaI they would not drown as long ,IS I watched lhem. If lhe boat
overturned I would alleast be able 10 CDIt for help. Fortllnately. nothing happelled 10
them. Their parents returned to Ihe boal and they len.
1attempted to interview one Labradorian who disliked Newfoundlanders, and
who found Newfoundland women particularly annoying, because "they didn't have the
coumge 10 Iivc on the Labrador year round:' At this point, I mentioned Ihat, based upon
my research. this was not true. ewfoundland women as well as Newfoundland men
72 Field notebook I. July 11. 198-1.
50

married into the Labrador and senled there. That appearcd to change her attitude
somewhat and she agreed to an imcrview. 73
At the instigation ofa fellow traveler. we visited the \\ hcelhouse. which was off·
limits 10 passengers. and we were caught in the act by the Captain. I quickly explained to
him that I was researching the traditional e\\ foundland fishery at Cut Throat Island and
wondered \\hat the island looked like on a navigational chan. lie invited me to return at a
more opponune time to vlew maps ofCut Throat Island and mokey and to see the
islands as we approached them.
'I)' lay al Ticker.t.luck Poinl
When we reached Rigole!. I had to connect wilh the boat coming from Goose Bay
to return to Cartwright. It turned out that Jean's husband. Charlie. was there and
introduced me to Marie's husband. Richard. who telephoned Maric to come down for a
visit with mc. When I told her what I was researching, she asked. "Why don't you stay
here? My mOlher·in·law used to work for the Newfoundland lishemlen."' In my readings
and interviews I had not found any references to Labrodor women working for the
Newfoundland fishermen. The Newfoundland fishermen had either brought down their
wives or hired girls to cook on their schooners or one of the mcn had to double as a cook.
Ijumped at thc opportunity. took all my things olTthc boat. and spent the night in Rigolet
at her house. Next morning. Marie. her husband Richard. her mother and father·in·law.
Susan and George. and her three children motor-boated fiOeen miles to Tickeraluck
7J MU FLA. 86-013. C8673.
5\

Point. their summer salmon fishing station. The baby, who was less than a year old,
travelled in a plastic fish box to protect her from the spray and from falling overboard.
When we am\ed. I assumed the role ofmother's helper. one ofthe positions
filled by )-oung girls going on me Labrador. Marie and Susan shared the cooking at the
latters house (Figure 6). which was a shan distancc from Maric·s. lbc two womcn
appeared to be tcrritorial about the kitchen and cooking, so I did not help with either.
Ilowc\cr, I did help the ),oung girls \\;m clcaning the dishes and looking after the baby. I
did not do any inlervie\\;ng on my first night there because I was tired by the excitement
and stress. I think that they were a bit surprised when I returned \\;th Marie to her house.
Ilowcvcr, I was on a strange island and had not brought along a flashlight. One problem
that I experienced during my three day stay on the island was that I was allergic to fish
and the women were very concerned that I would ··starvc" on my suggested diel of
potatocs. bread, and tca. They scrounged around to sec what they could find for me and
substituted eggs and canned corned becf for fish whencvcr it was served.
I went out (0 the salmon net once with Richard. Thcrc was only olle salmon, a
"peel." 74 White we were out on the water, we visited the residcllts on Tiekcmluck Ishmd.
We spent one evening spreading capclin on the "bawn"" to dry for their winter food.
This was my one and only experience with fish on the Labrndor. Because the nics were
so thick. it was just as well to close our eyes whilc laying out the capelin because we
H Marie told me ··peel" was the name given 10 a salmon weighing less Ihan 5 pounds.
1$ In this case. "bawn" refers not to rocks that thc fishcnncn put togelher for drying fish.
but to the blnckbell)' bushes which supposedly gave flavour to the capelin. The word
comes from Gaelic and means ··white:· the colour the salt stained the rocks. The French
tcnn is "grove.·'
52

could not see anything anyway. The traditional way ofdealing with nics on the Labrador
was 10 endure them. Marie brought out "fly dopc" which we quickly put on and did not
wash ofT any more than we had to for the duration ofour stay on the island. To get flies
oul ofthe house, people burnt blackberry bushes on the doorstep. whieh was amazingly
efTectivc. When \\e arrived. the house was covcred insidc and outside with nies. After the
wind ble\\ the smoke around the house, the nics disappeared.
The women were occupied mainly with cooking. washing clothes. and laying out
thc capelin. Thc year 1984 was not a good year for either salmon or cod. Because the
Tid:craluck Point men were involved with the salmon rather than the cod fishery. there
was none ofthe kind ofwork being done that had been performed by the traditional
Newfoundland fishermen out on the eoast." Still. the day passed quickly. The women
sc\\ed gross; I took pictures and interviewed them about the process. 11
As had been traditional in Newfoundland homes, people more or less went to bed
with the sun and got up with the sun. We stayed up later than that. In the evening, wc
would go ovcr 10 Gcorge's and Susan's cabin and have a talk. We boiled thc kettle and
made toast on the woodstovc.
Marie, hcr baby Rochelle, and I returned by boal with Richard on his salmon run
to Rigolcl wherc we spenl the night. Maric's housc did not have nll1ning watcr or scwer
76 1984 commercial salmon fishing practice required the extra work ofdelivcring the ice·
packcd salmon 10 Rigolet every few days. Fishermen who livc farther out had their
salmon picked up by collector boats from the fish plant in Rigolcl. Sometimes the money
paid to Richard for the salmon he brought to thc fish plant was less than the cost ofgas to
delivcr it.
11 See Chapter 4 for a description.
53

so doing things like washing clothes was labour intensive. One had to carry and heat the
water. It was the same v.;th washing hair. One could do il on onc's own. but it was easier
as a two-person operation. We spent most ofthai nighljust gclting washed up.
Marie. Rochelle and I went to the post office to make arrangements to ny in to
Ilappy Valley-Goose Bay the next moming. Sometimes. Labrador Airway picked up the
passengers early in the morning and took them to v.hcre\er lhe plane was going up the
coast before going to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The pilots decided not to pick us up on
the way because the) had too many passengers; because there \\ere no bathroom facilities
on board. I was quite happy to be on the shorter trip.
Thc following day's trip by small plane from Rigolet to Ilappy Valley-Goose Bay
was spectacular. We new over Hamilton Inlet where the coastal boat had taken me the
previous weck. It was also a bil scary. I could look into the cockpit and sec cvcry movc
the pilots made. It somctimes seemed as if thc engines had failed. Thc cargo, 10 my mind.
was not stl1lppcd down very well, and the cabin was Full of nics. When I gOI out of the
plane, [ looked as iFsol1lebody had cui my throal; the nies had comc across Illy neck in
one straight line and it was full ofbtood. By then,l was lIscd to Ihe nics and had not paid
attcntion to the bites, but Marie got quite a Fright and screnmed when she first saw my
throat.
We arrived in !lappy Valley-Goose Bay and were met by Marie's Friends. The
Skoglunds. at whose house I was to stay, weren't around. so the fomlcr took me to their
house until I could make arrangements to go to the Skoglunds' house. The man who was
supposed to Slay there \\;lh me decided to leave Labrador so I ended up having the house
54

10 mysclffor a week. This was a Saturday night. and I decidcd 10 take Sunday ofTlo go to
churth. do my laundry. call home. and generally relax. It lurned out thai I had to take
more than Sunday ofT. as I had a case ofwhat is called locally "coaslal stomach"
(diarrhoea) While recuperating. I visited the office of Them Days, Siories ofEarly
Lobroclor. a quanerly magazine which deals \\ith the ami history of Labradorians.
Although they had an archive. it wasn't open to the public at the time. Doris Saunders.
the editor. said that much ofwhat was in the archi\e was published in the magazine. so I
bought a complete set of Them Days.
While still confined to the house. J read and indexed the magazines for references
to ewfoundlanders. fishing. and interchanges between thc ewfoundlandcrs and
Labradorians. I also visited the Labrador Institute for Northern Studies. where I received
a copy ofBounlY ofthe Borrell CooSI. and spent some lime socializing with a friend from
Ihe B01111l'islll. To round out my visit to modem Labrndor, I visitcd thc Royal Air Force
club called "The Bulldog."
The Trip I-lome
The return trip from Happy Valley to Lewisporlc was by the Taverner, but with a
different crew. There was a mix·up with my accoillmodalions, and I ended up gClling a
nicer cabin thai I was able to keep all the way back, and this time did not share it with
anyone. Again. the procedure on this trip was similar to the first Iwo legs of the voyage. I
spent most ofmy waking time on deck talking to crew members and fellow passengers.
asking where Newfoundlanders had fished. where they were still fishing, and ifthere
were conflicts between them. What is significant about this trip is that it was finally
55

crew member was apprehensive aooUi my interest in the vessel. The chiefcngineer gave
me a complcte tour ofthe crew's facilities. including the engine rooms. and allowed me
to interview him. The \'isit to the wheelhouse and interview with the engineer gave me a
brief glimpse into the uip to the Labrador from the perspective orthe crew and the
dangers they had to face from icebergs. submerged rocks, and fatigue.
I was summoned up to the caplain's qtmr1ers on the last morning of m) trip after
he had been infonned that I had figured out what was happening. lie thought it was quite
a joke. He had known from the beginning that the crew thought I was a spy and he played
along with it because. according to him. I was doing him a fa\ our by keeping them in
line. I was vcry upset by this and lold him that I was here to do fieldwork on the Labrador
fishery and felt that this trick ofhis had deprived me ofopportunities to speak to people
who had valuable infonnation. He agreed. apologized, and asked if there was anything he
could do 10 make up for it. I made two requests: first. Ihat I be allowcd 10 go down inlo
the hold oftile vcssel as the fishernlen had done up untillhc 1970s: and second, that I be
givcn a list of the peoplc who had gonc on the Labrador 10 fish that ycar, who they were,
where they Cilme from, and where they had gone Ihal year. lie gladly complied wilh Ihis.
In order to compensate for the stress generated by the misunderstanding, Ihe first
mate allowed onc of the crew some time ofT to drive me to the hOlel whcrc I would catch
a bus back to 1. 10hn's. By chance. I met a fricnd there and returned to SI. 10hn's in the
comfort ofa car rather than by bus. but I still felt very stifled being inside a car after
having been practically three weeks outdoors. mostly on the water.
57

names, bUI he also took it upon hjmselfto visit some ofthese people and lei them know
thai I would be coming to talk to them about the Labrador fishery. More than once. 1
turned up on someone's doorstep to hear, "Your father said you were coming. Whal took
lOU so 10ngT' At the time, I no longer had my own "ehicle, m) children and I had moved
to 51. John's, and I was still doingcourscs in 5L John's.
The interviews in Colliers were done mainly in t\\O one-week segments. Again. I
follo\\OO the fieldwork techniques I had learned as an undergraduate: I slapped at the
I)ost Office. a place \\here p:ople still gathered to talk and pass on news. 10 ask for names
ofpeople who could give me stones and songs ofthe Labrador. II jusl so happened that
one of my fonner high school classmates was there as a substitute postmistress and
menlioned that her father. Bill Foley. used to start singing a song about Ihe Labrador
, ...hen she was on her way to church on Sundays, and would still be singing it when she
returned home.
I immediately went out to his house and he sang for me what hc could rcmember
of the song. He told me to go to Pad Calc, because he also used to sing the song. I went to
Pad for that song, and the interview pattern continued that way, one lead following afler
another. I also interviewed the retired postmistress, the retired schoolteacher, the two
oldest women in Colliers. the local historian, and as many crew members as I could. I
tried to have at least one representative from eaeh area ofthe cOllllllunity and as many
women as possible. Because the crew slructure spanncd between Colliers and Conception
Ilarbour. I inlcrviewed people from Bacon Cove and Kitehuscs in Conceplion Harbour as
59

well. and in the Old Age Home in Iiolyrood I interviewed a fonner reside", of
Conception Ilarbour.
For the most pan. there was no difficulty in conducting the interviews. These
people were known to have fished on the Labrador or had held status in the community as
postmistress or the oldest resident. lbey were all very familiar with my family and J soon
leamed that my father. Jim Doyle. and his cousin. Tom Doyle. were considered to be the
last ofthe Labrador fishennen in Colliers. 1 was continuously being reminded ofthis and
asked. "Why arc you intcrvie".ing me? They're the real Labrador fishennen:'
Because my topic was the place ofthe Labrador fishery in the folklifc ofa
Nc\\foundland community. I also collected infonnation about the communit)· ofColliers
itself. I devised a questionnaire (Appendix B) in my first semester in the graduate
program covcring aspects ofthe Labrador fishery. At first. when I conducted interviews
in the community. I did not nonnaJly call ahead, panicularly whcn visiting people I
knew. I would tum up on their doorstep. Even ifthcy did not know me. thcy knew my
father. [was told marc than once that I was thc "spinin' imagc" of my fathcr; my face
provcd to be my passport il110 their kitchcns. On onc occnsion. however. my fathcr called
olle of his fricnds from the Kyle to arrange for us to visit. but he was unable to hear the
responsc orthe woman who answered the phone. He passed thc phonc to me, and atler
explaining the purpose orthe call, I was told the man had been buried that morning. After
this. I first checked with my parents to be sure the person was still alive and thcn called
the house to make sure he or she was well enough to receive a visitor. As in the old days
orvisiting. the first ten minutes or so would be taken up with exchanging news about
60

families and my activities. I would explain to thcm the purpose of my visit because, in
some cases, I was not sure iflhey could write and sign the archival contracts, and I did
not want to embarrass any oflhem by asking them to do something they could not do.
I would explain that I was collecting infonnation about the Labrador fishery for
my thesis, and later a book on the Labrador fishery and that. with their pcnnission. I
would like to deposit the taped interviews in the folklore archive (MU FLA) for the use
ofother scholars. I also explained that I preferred to use the tape recorder. because my
memory was not the best and I probably could not write fast enough to take down the
stories that they would tell mc. I said thaI I was looking for their life stories.
onnully, I began by asking them when and where they werc born. what it was
like to grow up in Colliers. and then I would progress toward a discussion ofthe fishery.
For the most part, thcy answercd questions SO fully and rcadily thaI vcry fcw additional
questions were necessary. Once or twice, I tried 10 go back and interview people again,
but I found that usually thcy said that they had told me ullthey could in 3n hour and that
was it. Most were quite pleased to sec me, while a few refused to be interviewed but
contributed commenls about what had been said by relatives. There was only onc
occasion where I ran into trouble. I was interviewing two bachelors, one of whom
became quite takcn with my "beautiful while teeth" and started to make advances toward
me. I had to return a second time to intervicw him. and even though my father was
present he still made passes at me. For the mosl part, the intcn'iews were no different
from visiting except that the topic ofcOl1\'ersation was more focused and directed.
61

I made sure that people did not take for granted that I knew everything about the
Labmdor fishery. e\'cn though I am the daughter and granddaughter of Labrador
fishcnnen. My father had retired from the Labrodor fishery three years before I was born.
and for the sixteen years I lived at home he was usually away working. We wcre a typical
Nc\\ foundland "single" family. being raised b) the mother and grandmother. 1O while the
father worked in various places around the island and in Labrador. From my father's
point ofview. it was unacceptable to be receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits if
there was any work to be had anywhere in Nc\\foundland or Labrador.
Even ifmy father had been at home. he \\ould havc been more likely to talk to my
brothers than to me. a girl. I simply knew, grO\\ing up. that my fathcr had fished on the
Labmdor. I knew that my grandmother had been there. because she once mentioned that
the Eskimos loved the colour red. That was the only statement I remember her making
about being on the Labrador. but my mother and aunt rcculted that she oOen spoke about
the Labrador. It seems strange to have comc from a Iishing family and to know little of
that life. HI Men I interviewed also commented Ihat Ihey wished thaI they had paid more
attention to what was being said when they were growing up. We were too busy with our
own expericnces to spend time studying the livcs ofthosc around us.
10 My father had moved in with my mother and her parents aOcr they married in 1943.
My grandfather died in 1951. As mentioned in the introduction, mcn oOen worked away
from home. Therefore, despite having two parents. the children were usually raised by the
mother and grandmother.
I. For similar observations from the daughter ofa miner. sec Gail Weir, n,e Wabana Iron
Orr A!b,ers ofBell Island. Conception Bo)'. Newfoundland' Their Occupational Folklife
and Oral Folk History. M.A. thesis. MUN 1986. Many ofthe Labrador fishennen worked
at the mines in the fall and winter.
62

very posilivc cxperience for everyone. Just as my trip is still fresh in my mind today. their
first lrip to Labrador or the first summer they spent with the Ncwfoundland fishing
families stays in Iheir minds also.
The foregoing details ofmy field experiences were recorded on tape as personal
experience narraLi\'c told, cffectively. by myselfas participant 10 myselfas observer. The
tcxt was revised only when questioned by fricnds who read the chapter. It records only a
small portion ofme events I experienced on me Labrador and in Newfoundland. It does
not describe 00\\ my nearly six yean ofexperience as a participant observer in the
folUifc ofa group home taught me to be always alluned 10 m)' surroundings and to watch
body language and listen for rising voice inflections as a sign of polentiaI danger. It does
not describe completely the racism ofthe crew towards Ihe Innu and Inuit passengers.
or docs it record the harassment I endured from a 10uriSt from 51. John's, who went so
far as 10 make a dcrogatory remark to a Labrador man I was intcrviewing, much 10 the
mortification ofmyselfand Ihree nearby passcngcrs und 10 Ihe embarrassmcnl of the
Labradorian. "I-Ie's all right in small doses," cxplained a medical student travelling with
the 81. John's man. Even his wife made a point oftclling me nollo mind him.
SUllllllllr)'
Looking back at my experience ofgoing on thc Labrador and indeed, ofdoing
archival research fieldwork in the relative safcty of my home community. what this
author/ficldworker can best offer to future female ficldworkers in lernts of advice is to
warn them to proceed with caution. I lived for a short time the experience many female
ficld\\orkcrs as well as women in the Labrador fishery have also experienced. but
65

experiences about which few participants. even lrained researchers, have spoken or
written. Even my mother and my aunt. her sister. ell, brieny referred 10 but would not
expand upon their sister. Angela being "chased after" by a man on the Labrador whom
she was not interesled in as she favoured another man. 'had )cars ofbeing a trained
observer before I venlured into folklore but.. \\;Ihin my shon lime on the Labrador.lhe
dark side of fieldwork was \'cry much in e\·idencc. I was ridiculed. Ihreatened wilh
seduction and loss of life. hampered in my research because ofmy pcrcei\"oo role as a spy
for Canadian ational Marine (eN) and rejected morc lhan oncc because ofmy
uni\ersily education. I was warned in advance thai the \\TOng luggage would turn people
against me and that nics could kill mc. But more damaging was \\-hal years of uni\'ersity
had done 10 my native dialect. While some eN slaffsaw me as a tcacher following in the
footsteps ofmy peoplc who had fished on the Labrador. as indeed I was. other eN staff
thought ofme as a spy because .., did not have my native Colliers dialect, I asked too
many qucstions and I watched everything."
Idenlly, the trip on the Labrador should have been taken with my father and
recorded on videotape. The project was put together too quickly and with too small a
budget to allow me 10 have him as my travelling companion and protector. Still, his
presence during fieldwork in Conception Ilarbour did not prevent the ullwelcome
advances of the infonnalll who. as he said, ··was madly in love with my face and,
especially. my white leeth:' He asked me to be "his housekecper with bedroom
privileges:· While he was. perhaps. not polentiall)' hannful. he was very persistent and he
66

CHAPTEllJ
GOING IN COLLAR A D ON TilE PASSAGE
Chapler Two presented the description of:1 modem-day uip to the Labrador to set
the frnmcwork for description ofeach component afme trip. This chapter presents two of
these components: "going in collar" (preparing for the trip) and "on the passage" (lhe trip
down to the Labrador). The fonner component marks the beginning ofthe separation
from home, family, and communit), life. and the start ofthe incorporation into the crew
with whom the next four months WQuid be spent. Time "on the passage" allowed the
group formation to solidify while providing the opponunilY to rest between work periods.
This rest period. the last block offree time until the fish was shipped. was also the last
opportunity for large group interaction until the relum passage in the fall. The traditions
surrounding "going in collar" and time "on the passage" can be viewed as an extcnded
process of separation.
Coing ill Collar: N:\rnltivcs of the Voyage
Ira fisherman did not own a schooner (noater) or a room (fishing premise) on the
Labrador, he would seek a position (berth) either us a crew member on a schooner or as
shareman with II stationer (a fishennan who owned a room).1J The Newfoundland
fishennen refer to this acquiring ofa position and either preparations for the trip as
IJ Floater referred both to the schooner and to the fishenncn who fished from it. A
shareman received a share ofthe fish. usuaJl)' ten quintals out ofone hundred quintals.
Quintal meant one hundredweight (112 pounds). Explanations ofthe vernacular terms
used here are given in Story, et al. For "going in collar:' see collar.
68

"going in collar," which marks the beginning ofthe process ofseparation from home,
family, and community life. The length oftime away from home in the fishery varied
from place to place and year to year. Depending on weather and ice conditions. the
fishery could begin in May and end in 10vember. with the average voyage lasting from
early June to late September. In the following section I will anempt to build a composite
account of"going in collar" and the voyage to Labrador from 1867 to 19-t7 as given in
archival and published accounts. and in my own fieldwork. To distinguish my field
research from other archival accounts. I ha\'e used abbreviations to replace names in
interviews other than mine.
Saunders gives a good account ofthe work necessary 10 maintain the schooners
for thc Labrador:
... quite a lot of work was involvcd in general repairs: sails to be made and scwn;
rigging to be replaced and repaired; geneml repairs to the hull such as rc·placing planks
or bulwark: painting and caulking. 84
This work would lasl from April to May. Then thc ships would be loaded with salt
!lnd general curgo.
In the mcantimc, stationers would be making their nrrangemcnts. Hussey gives a
similar account of preparations necessary for lhe stationers.
During the winter, at home, we would spin wool and knit milts for the men who
worked on thc fishing stage. We hooked mats to replace the ones that we took on
Ithel Labrador with us and help mcsh some ofthe twine for Pop. Pop would either
have repaired or made his two cod traps and barked them by boiling them in water
to whieh euteh and pitch had been added to preservc the ncuing. Late in May he
I-l aunders, pp. 127.128.
69

The second stanza was taunting the women \\ho would miss them. 17
The USC ofthe \'erb 'launting" suggests that there was a status in going on the
Labrador. Not c\"crybody could go: some had to stay home to look after the land and
kitchen gardens; some people were too old or too feeble to go; some could not take lhe
\o)'age itself: others wanted to go but could not get a berth because lhcy were not
considered good or skilled enough.
Mrs. D. spoke ofthe status oflhe role ofcook on the Labrador. On board the
schooner. she would be the only female lreatcd with "deferencc" by the crew. -They look
after the cook:' Ifthe cook went up on deck to take a spclllrcst], people passing by
\\ould call "IIi. Cook:' Mrs. D. also said that "she had more timc to herself on board"
and that ··there was excitement in going on a long voyage to see new places and
pcople."u Iler description reads like an advertisemellt for a luxury liner cruise. Indeed
some of the people I mct on the passage referred to going on the Labrador as if they were
going 10 their summer cabins for a vacation. The trip 10 the Labrador, however, did not
full into the c.ltcgory ofa luxury cruise as the following passage proves:
Men, women. and children would be nccommodatcd in each hold ofthe ship
below the main deck. Sleeping quarters for eilch family would be provided by
spreading canvas on the salt [used in curing fish I and separating each family by
nailing canvas to the deck beams; making rooms to suit cach individual family.
Most of the cooking for these families was done on deck. Ifthe ships struck fair
11 MU FLA. ms.• 81-483, pp. 12-13.
a MU FLA. ms.. 81 --l83. p. 9.
71

Some of the reasons why people were willing to endurc thc discomforts ofthe
\oyage to the Labrador arc given in the following summarics. Mrs. R. ofSouth River.
Conception Bay, was eleven years old in 1913 \\hen she first went on the Labrador. Her
father had died and she secured the position ofbabysilter and assistant cook for one crew
at a wage often dollars. while her mother went as cook for another crew. According to
the following passage. Mrs. R. was young compared to some ofthe girls hired out to
\\ork.
Few skippers would take girls as cooks unless they had some experience. cook
reasonably well and do household chores. girls of fifteen or sixteen yean would
be hired. Younger girls went as cooks for their 0\\11 families. A position could be
obtained through inquiry among friends. relatives or people known to engage in
the Labrador fishery. The girl would go to sec him. Occasionally a skipper would
eome to sec a girl he had heard about in this manner. The girl would spend a week
or so immediately prior to the trip with the family ofher employers learning his
likes and dislikes and her duties [types ofmeals to cookj.9\
Mrs. R. said the trip down look anywhere from four to five days to two weeks and
there was lillie to do on the trip but sit around and talk or go out on deck if you weren't
too seasick. 92
Accounts have been given of young boys pcstering Iheir rclatives 10 take them 10
the Labrador. However, not all boys wanted 10 go. Somc did not wanl to go at all and at
least onc boy refused to go until hc was assured a wage. An accoum from Brigus said
some boys cried because they had to leave school to go on the Labrndor. 9J No account is
" M FLA. ms.• 78-188. pp. 2-5.
92 Ibid.. p. 6.
OJ M FLA. ms., 79-618. p. 17.
73

Mr. C. ofSpaniard's Bay was born April 23, 1893 and made his first trip to the
Labrador June I ofthe same year on his fathers schooner. Captain Gosse of the schooner
Rose meed Mr. Co's father down to the Labrador to secure a choice berth and had made a
cradle out ofa nour barrel for the baby Mr. C. before they am\·ed. The construction of
the cradle shows that the competition for prime berths docs not preclude neighbourly
acts. The following year. 1894. Captain Gosse lost his schooner when she struck a skirt of
ice in \\hat Mr. C. refers to as -The Rose Disaster". adding:
the fishermen ofNewfoundland arc definitely the salt ofthc earth. 11lose were
hard. hard. anxious times. It was a ease ofmen must work and women must weep.
though storms be sudden and waters deep. lOG
In 1895. Mr. C:s father lost his schooner when a gale came on in the harbour and
the ship went ashore. They went home in another schooner and in 1896 went down to the
Labrador on a brig. a ship with yards on both the foremast and the mainmast. lol
Voyages lend to be remembered by evcnts rathcr than by years, and the hardships
faccd on the passnges nrc commcmorated in song as well as in personal experience
narrative. The following song tells not only ofbeingjammcd in ice in Icc Tickles (q.v.
Figure 3, 22), but also records the names of those aboard on this particular trip. I
collected the song initially from Bill Folcy of Colliers, though at lirsl he was reluctant to
sing it because he could not remember all the words, but he agreed to sing what he could
remember. lie then sent me to his neighbour, I)ad Cole, who also used to sing the song. I
recorded and transcribed both songs onto a single sheet and returned 10 both men with the
100 M FLA. InS.. 74-189. p. 21.
101 Ibid.. pp. 21-22.
75

transcribed songs and a better recordcr. Bill did not agree with some orthe wording used
b) Pad. lie said that he had not remembered any more vcrses but \\ hen he did sing it. he
added in a few lines.
The Big Three·Masted Schooner: Bill Foley' vcr.;ion
(I) It being on the sixth ofJune my boys as you may understand
Along \\;th Captain Healey in Ice Tickles wc got jammed
ow to tell lOU ofour troubles now I must ncver fear
And our big three master was on the bum to steer
(2) Oh thc boom fell on the booby and it made a lot ofnoise
Some ofus did not mind it but J mean the common boys
lberc was Tom Cole from the cabin he got an awful fright
I looked behind the pump box and his gills wcre turning \\hilC
(3) Now it is ofJohanna Ratchford I have no more to 5.1)'
(see Pad Colc's version for additionallineJ
lie cripplcd Johnny Boonet [Skanes)
I'm sorry to rclate
I Ic says 1'lItcH my Daddy when thc grey box I do I

Saying, '"Come down Davey Kenncy )'our traps arc all nno..1t"
(6) ow my song is ended I have no morc to say
To go home in the big three master I'd give my summer pay
We're certain ofa ripping time and I won't say anymore
And r II nc\'er forgcl my last lrip dO\\l1 on Ihe Labrador
(underlined words spoken).I02
I'ad's version is \"ery similar to Bilrs \'crsion but has somc word changes and an
additional verse (J.t). Changes ha\C been underlined for ease ofcomparison.
1be Big Three Masted Schooner: Pad Colc's version
(I) It being on thc sixth ofJune my boys as )'OU may undcrstand
Going down with Caplain Healey in Icc Tickles we gal jammed
Now 10 tell you ofour troublcs the wind was ncvcr fair
And Ollr Q!Q three master was on Ihc bum to Sleer
(2) Oh Ihe boom fell on the booby nnd il made [l tOI of noise
Some of us did nOI mind il but I mean Ihe common boys
There wns Tom Cole from the cabin he gal lin awful f'riglll
When he looked behind the pump box and his gills were turning while
(3) Now il is ofJohanna Ralchford I have no morc 10 say
I'eg Nowlan caught her by the leg and could not makc her stay
There was Neddie Sinjon [SI. Johnrs hero, I'eg Nowlan's onlv son
Twas like the summer's showers whcn the goats began to run
102 MUNFLA 86-013, C8685, C8695.
77

(3.1) When the water came in the hole surc Paddy Walsh was first
JIe jumped up in the booby saying Kale tum ofTthc lighl
He crippled Johnny Boonet (Skanes}
rm sorry to relate
I-Ie says 1"11 tell my Daddy \\hen the grey box I do take
(,,0 'ow the fellows who lhre\\ the water down I mean to tell you plain
It was Spindle Shanks from Avondale.. George Mason was his name
And when he strUck our cod traps sure I thought I would burst
And when he struck our cod traps \\hy Paddy Walsh was first
(5) ow cd Trabey stood in the booby and I know he had it bad
To sec the face ofJoey Puckett \\auld make your heart feel sad
And up jumps Dickie Foley and swore a ripping oalh
Saying, '·Come down Davey Kenney your traps are all afloat"
(6) Now my song is ended I have no more 10 say
To go home in the big three master I'd give my summer pay
We're ccrtain ofa ripping time and I won't say anymorc
And l'lInevcr rorgct my lasltrip down on thc Labrador
(underlined words spoken).103
This mishap took place c. 1904. Kate Foley who had spent sixtecn summers on
the Labrador composed the song after having been shipwrecked. Jose Mason, ·'an old
lady who livcd somewhere down the harbour;' and several other people helped Kate to
compose the song. Kate also helped compose '·Channing Katie Flynn:' which shall be
10) MUNFLA 86-013. C8686.
78

on previous journeys and [he same type ofstories told 10 the sludcnt collectors. a fair
sampling ofwhich has been given here. From these stories. thc ncweomcrs would be
receiving advice in narrative form of\\hat to expect for the next few months from the
wcalher. the land. the Inuit and the "huskies" (dogs) : foreign fishermen: supernatural
forces. etc. From these stories the no\'1ce Labrador fishermen could learn appropriate
responses to common problem situations. while the experienced fishermen built up status
and justified their continual participation in the Labrador fishery. Inherent also in the
stories is the feeling that "e\"erybody was in this together:'
As will be shown in lhe next chapter. there \\cre no formal apprenticeships in the
Labmdor fishery. Children learned correct procedures infomlally, observing and
imilating as [hey worked alongside the more experienced adults. Parents often filled the
role oftcacher. initiating their children into the fishery way of life and instructing them in
the necessary skills. Unfortunately, for some children [heir education was CUI short when
their fathers died, forcing them early on [0 assume adult roles. 101
Experiences of Ileople from Colliers
The previous section describes various archivl.ll and published accounts of going
in collar. The following seclion, based on my own research. profiles the Labrador fishery
experiences ofColliers' men.
101 For example. a nine·year-old boy on his first voyagc lost his father: see Chapler 4.
"Belief' section. An eleven year old girl \\hose father had died was bab)'sitler and
assislanl cook for one family while her mother cooked for another (M FLA. ms.. 79·
400. p. 10).
80

Tom Doyle was born in Colliers in 1908 and went to the Labrador for Ihe first
lime at lhe age of twelve. I-Ie went \\;th his father. I'ad Doylc. and uncle. Jim Doyle (my
grandfather). There were usually five men and a eook in the crew. The cook would
somctimcs be one ofhis sisters. Alice or Bess. or other girls. After his father died. he
went fishing on the Labrador for himself. and hired Bob O'Toolc's wife. Kit. as a cook..
lie went on the Labrador because ··thal·s \\here we spent our life time, my father
before me too. Wc went e\'cry year.- l He docs not recall his father telling any stories
about the Labrador. He only remembered that his father was going and that he wanted to
go also. Hc went down between the middle of May and lhe first ofJune. They would
usually leave from Conception Harbour. although somc ) cars thcy would Icavc from
Bngus on one ofJ.W. Hiscock's schooners or on thc Sleamcr Kyle. The men slept
wherever they could get in to rest.
Tom nlso went 10 the ice, hunting seals for fifteen summers. Ilc would return from
Ihe iee in Ihe latter part ofApril and get Ihe ground ready for planting and then go to
Lubmdor. There would be eight barrels ofseed set out for his mother to lend. She would
hire whomever she eould 10 cut the hay. His mother bad cows, a horse, and sheep to look
afler while Ihey were gone.
Tom's mother was a Skanes who lived nenr Ghaney's Bridge. They onen sold
POlatocs. Iambs and cattle 10 the Soulh Shore (now Conccption Bay Soulh) mcn before
Ihc butcher shop opencd in Colliers. The butchcrs in thc area were Tom Ghaney in
Colliers. Bob Kennedy in Conception Harbour and Morris Kennedy in Avondale.
101 1 'FLA 89-013. C8678.
8\

George Cole ofColliers first wenl on the Labrador in 1936 at Ihe age oflwcnlY-
six ycars with fred Wade from Conception Ilarbour. They fished with traps in Cut Throat
out to fivc Island. George had 250 quintals of fish bUI, because fish was only S1.50 a
quintal. hc ended up 19.00 in the hole. He made his ncxltrip in 19-42 or 1943 from May
10 October \\;th James Doyle Jr. and Sr. (my father and grandfather). I-Ie did "Pretty
good, ovcr 300 quintals." The next summer he wcnt \\;th the Doyles again, and with fish
al 3.50 a quintal. he made some money.
Labrador.
In thc follo\\;ng quotc. George talks aboul his \\ork life, as well as his time on the
LO\ed Ihc Labrador. Loved fishing. Summcr wouldn'l be long enough. Wouldn't
know where the time wenl. although we'd gct up at 4:30. go to Ihe traps 3 trips a
day. Ifwe had any fish may be al il until 11 or 12:00. Enjoyed being with old
Jimmy Doyle.
When they bring home the fish they share it - 3 quintals - share - wintcr fish.
Generally I sold I or 2 quintals and keep onc for mesclf. Girl- cook - Alicc
Doyle. Alice Burke was her name. Next summer Rache Gushue. BOlh preny
good. Only youngsters aboul 16 years old. Bess was down with her brolher Tom ­
down for hisself. When Uncle Pad died he wenl for hisself. Firsl summer 1and
Tom Cole from Kitehuses, Sam Lewis, father and grandmother. Next summer
Manic Gushue, Tom Cole, same fella, me, your futher, unci grandfnther. [I had]
bad nerves so I went to the Labrador 10 see if I would get all right. Never had it
since. Went back to iron work. Worked nil over. The IAmerican.l bases in '41 in
Argcntia. Goose Bay couple summers. Slcphenville - '62 - retired. Worked at
Fort Pepperell. Pay good for thai time. 75 cenls an hour. 25 cents around here.
Americans got three times as much (government policy). Knew Ihat but had 10 go
to work. Made $35 or $40 a week -101 ofmoney. \Vent 10 Ihe Siaies - iron work at
18; wenl with me brolhers. Jim Cole had a good job in Ihe union lalcr. Two
brothers Pad and Bill - still in Brooklyn. Sisler in Philndc1phia. Sistcr Angela in
Florida. Mother 91 when she died. Katherine Ilearn. mc siSler. 82 when she died.
Brother died lasl rear. Mother had 13 children: 7 lived.
Left on the K)'le from Conceplion Harbour. Generally call inlo Bngus, Harbour
Grace. Carbonear. St. Anthony, Battle Harbour. as far as Nain sometimes.
82

Genernlly take 8-10 days. On her one time coming up Indian Tickle in a stann.
there whcn thcre was no good anchorage land we were) two or three days in a
raging wind stann 100 miles.
Chris Cullum got 10st[drowTled] pUlling stutT aboard. Ilimscifand Joey Walsh. [I]
wasn't on the Labrador then. September in the 1930s. l ll'Il
Jim Doyle. who is profiled in the follo\\ing chapter. told a string ofnarratives that
illustrntc that going on the Labrador was a rite ofpassage into manhood. The first account
describes the custom ofa having a meal and a drink in a public house in Conception
Ilarbour before boarding the vessel and leaving for the Labrador. The second story takes
place in Labrador and tells ofhim trying to pass as a man by acting like one and shaving
with a straight-edged razor. The final account illustrates Jim's acceptance as a man \\hen.
undcr age. he succeeds in the task ofbuying liquor in SI. John's for Ihe men.
There was one spring when we were going to the Labrador, the Kyle came up in
Conception. All the crews got taken to the Church and that's where she hcaded.
We wcnt up 10 Mickey Doyle's. He had what you call a public housc. two rooms.
You could gCI a lunch there. You go in and get a lunch. probably a sandwich and
forty cents for a bottle of beer... I-Ic had a lable license. You had to go in and get
your meal and you would get a drink with it. And we put our stufT aboard firsl and
mesclfand me falher and Uncle Pad and I don't know but Tom and Malt (was
Ihere 100) and] wenlup. I don't know but I was only sixteen or seventeen and I
don't kllow how I gOI in with them. We all got abourd loaded [drunk] ... They
didn't have the gear half stored aboard then. Took 'em all day and all night and I
c1on't k.now but the next day to load her... I gOI in. When I got the beer.] was
loaded drinking. I was only {supposed to bel cllling lunch and I was drinking
bottle for bottle, forty cents a boule. Had to be twenty-one to drink. I was big
cnough to be twenty-one. Even had a beard. I was about sixteen.
I used to stcalthc old man's razor and go down on the stage and shave when I was
cleven or twelve on the Labrador. Straight razor. Take the razor and go on dO\\ll
the stage and have a shave. Wipe ofT the razor and bring her bad: and put her
\\here she was at. '0 soap. '0 water. No nOlhin". No mirror. Wonder I didn't cut
,.. M NFLA 86-013. C8689.
83

mc throat. Shavcd so they could sec mc with the ra7.or. [J.W. "Suppose the way it
was then. ifyou didn·t have a beard on. you wcre only a boy:') Evcrylxxiy was
calling you a child then. I was only small \\hen I was thincen years old. I was
about sixtccn before I started to stretch out. Wcnt to the Labrador one spring I was
(only small]. I come back in thc fall. thc shin was up to that [points halfway up his
ann). I grcw about a fOOl in the summer. I was sixtccn thai fall. I had a whiskcr
thcn.
I went to town ( t. John's) when I was sevcnteen. meselfand Jack White (from
Bacon CO"e) 10 get a [liquor] book to gCI a bottle ofrum. I was out in 10\\11. He
was there lhen and he was after getting onc. You could only get one bottle on a
book. lie gave me the money and said. ··Go in now and get a book_·· Fifty cents 10
get a book and dollar fifty for a bottle ofscreech. He gavc me two dollars. I wenl
in, had an overcoal on. I hauled him up. I was dark with the beard on. Went in.
GOI the book and came down and lhe fella tending the bar gi\'ing out the liquor
looked at me said"As long as he gave )'ou the liquor book. I'll givc you the bottle
ofrum:' He knowed I wasn't twenty-onc. rllc was) Tom Mahoney from
Conceplion. He knowed me.
Leaving home to go on lhe Labrador was the beginning ofJim·s initiation into
manhood. In the shaving story he is a child pretending to be a man. The excessive
drinking narrative demonstrates his transition into the group through panicipalion in the
customs ofmcn cxperienced in going on the Labrador. In the final story, hc is sent by the
men to do a man'sjob, signifying his incorporation into and his acceptance as an adult.
On lite I)assllge
Travelling accommodations on the schooners wcre not ideal. as has been shown.
and in ndvcrsc winds and weather they would worsen considerably. The patience and
stamina ofthe passengers would be sorcly tried ifthe vessel was dclayed for days or
\\ccks by being stuck in ice. Even althe best oftimes tempers could be worn thin by the
antics of inconsiderate fellow travellers.
84

One lime. I remember. we were travelling to thc coast on the scaler. the SS
Ungom. As usual. the young men \\erc down around the girls' beds like flies
around a molasses keg. Some were singing songs and another had a concertina.
There was very little opportunity to get a good nap. Aunt Emily Taylor, of
Cupids. put up \\;th it as long as she could. Then she got up and grabbing a bed
lath, took ofT after the boys and chased them up the companionway to the deck
above. IIO
o mention is made in the archival accounts J read and inlerviews I conducted of
fights on the passage but there are references to tricks and pranks being played for
enjoyment
When they were lr3\'elling on the schooners. the mcn had 10 do all the cooking for
their families. The men created their own galley on deck by "rigging up" a fireplace made
from rocks placed in a puncheon. Some men used the occasion ofbringing food to the
women as an cnticement to share the sleeping accommodations. as Ihc following quote
illuslrates:
All the girls had bunks. All the rest ofthe girls gct sick. Incvcr. Ten days in the
hold--not allowed up. Father cooked. Jack Mahoney from North River. He was a
devil. I-Ie used to crawl into bed with mc. I said don't gct into bed with me or me
falher will kill ya. Jack used to cook big dinncrs to bring in to me. Used to throw
suit into their eyes and everything. Anastasia Walsh from Bacon Cove was crack
ubout lhe old man. I uscd to throw salt al her. lll
Ann Gracc recalls that the girls used to have ""a grand timc" even Ihough many of
thcm wcrc strangers to cach other. On the schooners they uscd to sleep on the pilcs of
fishing twine. They had bunks in the stcamer and had to dress for bed despite the frequent
110 Ilussey. p. 7.
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C8634.
85

visits from the men. "All the girls were sick. It was rough and evcl)1hing. Thcy used to
drive (the men) out. Paddy Skanes had a sistcr in C\cry bunk:· ll2
Accommodations for the men aboard ship were substandard. but thc conditions
under \\hich thcy were forced 10 prepare their food wcre equally poor and sometimes led
to petty thefts. 11J
Wc'd spend a good bil ofour lime lined up to the gallcy, trying to get a
kettle boiled. You had to take your tum in on thc galley 510\'e. '0 way to
make a fire. Ifyou wanled three meals a day, it took all day. There were so
many men. t\\enty crews. over one hundred men. The cook'd be as mad as
hell ifyou spilled anything on the stove or ifyou did nn)1hing wrong. II)
got in trouble one day. mysclfand Pad Whelan walking nlong by the
galley. It was between meals. The cook was making some kind ofcookies.
Ilhink it may have been fish cakcs. lie had a pile ofthose on the slove on
a plate. It was very tempting for us, so we watched our chance. and he
turned his back. He went out to go along the deck for something. We
nipped in and stuck IWO or three ofthese cakes in our pockets. and went
on. As soon as he carne in. he missed the cakes. lie started the uproar. I-Ie
came out cursing and swearing. We hid. I-Ie didn'l catch us. I don't think
he ever found OUl, although he gave us some black looks. I think he had
his suspicions who it was. They had a saloon for a few people. This is
where the fancy stuff was made up for the merchants. priests, doctors.
crew. but not the fishermen. Fancy mcals. The fishing crews had to forage
for themselves. They had to gct out and boil thc kettlc they had their own
grub, and slept down in the hold. 114
"' MUNFLA 86·013. C8684.
II) For a discussion ofpetty theft as a form ofdiversion in the seal fishery sec John R.
SCOlt. "Pmctical Jokes of the ewfoundland Seal Fishery;' SOlllllern Folk/ore Quarterly
38 (1974). p. 279.
1104 MUNFLA 86-013. C8700. Eileen Condon informs me that her father told her a story
about American World War II navy men expressing similar food-related resentments by
stealing and tossing overboard a coveted ice-eream makcr \vhich officcrs refused to
share.l)ersonal communication. 1991.
86

Sex on the Passage
Somctimes when I was interviewing, people gavc vcry intimatc dctails from their
li\'cs nnd \\hen I asked if I should erase these from the tape. they made statements such
as. "No. That's our life as it was and that's 00\\ it shouJd stay:' The intimate details they
\\cre reluctant to have tr.lced back to them dealt \\ ith sexual bcha\'iour. Sometimes. they
would start to say something and then hesitate. When I reminded them that I was older
than I appeared and the mother oftwo teenagers at thc time. they would somelimes rela.x.
feeling that I could relate to their experiences.
Some ofthe narratives told under requirement ofanon)'mity wcre tricks that they
would play in the darkened holds ofthe vessels. The accommodations in steerage \\ere
segregatcd evcn for married couples. One story is of il courting couplc who wcrc
sepamtcd by a canvas sail. There was a hole in the sail that the man would put his finger
through for the woman to stroke. After a whilc. he decided to put his penis in instead and
she stroked it. Because one ofthe panicipants was still living, no one wanted to name
who thcy wcrc. Thcy did get quitc a kick out oftclling the slory to mc.
Dcspite the rcgulations and the lack of privacy. sexual uctivity W

We were eight brave heroes [six jolly sailor boys) all in our youth ofbloom
And we sailed away from Salmon Covel now Avondale) on the eightccnth day of
June.
3. We had some lady passengers whom our crew did adore,
Some from Conception Harbour going [toJ on the Labrador;
(To) You'd hear these girls in our ship's hold - so merrily they would sing!
And one among their nwnbers was [Miss] channing Katie Flynn.
4,(Sure I being) I was young, and in my prime. as )ou may undcrstand
I fL'(cd my eye on that fair maid (girl) before we left the land:
I fixed my eye on that fair maid before we left thc shore,
Dctcnnincd for to coun her while [going) on the Labrador.
5. [NoJ I did not fall in love with her, 'twas only for a lurk.
I did not mind her beauty (in our ship's hold ·twas dark)
Until onc night I was betrayed in our ship's hold below:
IMny n1 My curse attend that false young man that provcd my overthrow!
6. Likewise to any false young man his shipmatc ltol did betray,
Likewise to any false young girl throwing her first love mvay,
ITo bclieve'l Liberties in false pcrsuadings her first lovc to givc o'cr,
And slights ther] the loyal companion going on the Labrador.
7. [Cole omilled verse seven except for two false Sti:lrts, "Now going in."' and "Oh
yes they said". 1
I went in our ship's hold one night myself for to cnjoy.
The girls they aJllaughed at me. they said "You'rc Icft poor boy!"
Up went the cry: "You're left, poor boy! I told you that beforc,
Don't dcpend on any female kind going on thc Labrador
8, I will not fail to tell the tale or yct this fair maid's name.
89

ller name it is Miss Katie Flynn. she livcs (in) ncar Harbour Main:
Othcrwise up on the ridge I can [can·t] remind it still
[But if I'm not mistaken] Othef\\;se upon the ridge she livcs ncar Heartbreak Hill
9. Wc sailed away for the Labrador with a S\\cct and pleasant gale.
[The \\;00 came in your favour] Each day came in my favour just as I told lhe
lale.
The eighth day [that] we were at sea our anchors we let run:
In a pleasant harbour in a place called Smokcy Run.
10, So now my song is ended I havc no more 10 say.
Our freight thcre is all landed and our anchors wc must weigh!
Wc'lI hoist up our big mainsail and it's down the shore \\c'lI run.
May the heavens smile on [those] all thc girls we left. in mokcy Run. lt7
Pad Cole learned his version from his grandmothcr Kenny, It was composed by
three or four people on thc way to Labrador. including Kate Foley.
In contrast to the preceding lighted·hearted story and song. there arc stories of
skippers fiercely protecting the women who came on the Lnbrudor with them and of
women being fearful of men on the passage and on the Labrador who were "after them",
My fnthcr Jim Doyle claimed that the main reason men made overtures to women was
tlUit this gave them opportunity to share their berths; "That's all thnt it actually was, a
ploce to lay your head,.. 118 Songs and slories documenting these shipboard romances
117 MUNFLA 86-013. C8686, For information on composers. sec "The Big Three­
Mastcd Schooner" earlier in this chapter,
III See MUNFLA. ms" 8-1--220. The father-daughtcr relationship may ha\'c innuenced
his denial ofsexual activity. However, he did tell me that he had girlfricnds on the
90

contradict this claim. alLhough it may have been true in some cases as women did have
the more comfortable places to sleep. relatively speaking. In my own cxperience during
fieldwork I was equally in danger from unwanted male attention in the presencc ofa
protective male on two occasions on land and on my 0\\11 for both the \'oyage down to
and back from the Labrador
On a more serious note. in at least one legal case. the courting \\hich took place
on the passage and in Labrador was considered a major contributing factor to murder.
Patrick Gcchan and Joannah Hamilton, who was o\er six months pregnant. were found
guilty ofthe murder ofPatrick's brother-in-law. Garrell Scars.
Illicit intercourse rendered it necessary to get rid of Mrs. Gcchan and her brother
as the only obstacle to their criminal conduct. The evidence consisted ofcertain
expressions dropped by Hamilton at Labrador the prcvious summer. We refer to
the promiscuous mingling ofthe sexes on the Labrador coast during the summer
fishery. We have animadvcrted upon this beforc. bUI as usual. without effect. The
evil commences in the vessels which convcy the fishennen 10 their destinations.
The vessels have no proper accommodations for females. Men and women are
huddled together in small vessels; whaL wonder thc latter gct corrupted - and the
corruption commenced on the vessel is continued on land. where the huts arc
scarcely fit for thc habitation of human beings. We only refer to the miltler at
prescnt because we believe that every mflllllcr orcommon scnse will obscrvc that
this diabolicill murder is one of the natural conscquences of the state ofthings on
[he Labrador coast, and because wc believe thaI such fin Hwful calamity will lead
to something being done by the Government or thc mcrchants [0 rcmove this stain
upon our civilization." 9
Typically. whenever I mentioned I was studying the folklore of the Labrador
migratory fishery. acquaintances and strangers would have a story or two to tell me. For
Labrador whilc courting my futurc mothcr. Likcwise. my mother assured me she dated
oLhcr mcn in lhe summcr limc.
II' £"ening Telegram. 7 June 1872.
91

y bal1cning down the hatches for long periods in stormy weathcr. In onc case, a baby
was supposed to havc been taken to a community in Conccption Bay and it was only
whcn thc mothers get home that they rcalized that they didn't havc their 0\\11 children. By
the time they got back together again on the Labrador. thcy wcre so attached to the
children that they didn't want to give them up. Regardless of\\hethcr this story is true or
a modcm urban legend. it emphasizes the dark. crowded ship's hold llJld the complete
separation for some until the next fishing season.
'cplunt
Several ofthe informants mentioned briefly thc custom of"King cptunc"
coming aboard to mark the crossing ofthe straits for the first time. Ilussey givcs the
following account ofthis particular version ofa "crossing thc linc·· 124 ceremony:
Any young man who was travelling across the Strait of Bellc Islc for the first time
was in for much teasing that Neptune, god ofthe seas, was supposed to come on
board from the depths ofthe ocean and shave the newcomer or so the oldtimers
were uscd to saying. Many a young man believed this and was a bit apprehensive
whilc crossing thc straits. Once or twicc, "Neptunc" camc up cver the side with
oilskins dripping and a mop in his hand. The nCWCOlllcrs rcally thought that they
werc in for a shaving butlhey soon learned that it was only lllcmH as a bit of
harmlcss fun. 125
124 For a discussion of Father Neptune and Ncwfoundland scalcrs sec John R. Scott. "The
Function of Folklore in the Interrelationship ofthc Newfoundland Seal Fishery and the
llomc Communities ofthe Sealers." MA Thesis. Mcmorial Univcrsity of lewfoundland.
1974. pp. 161-163. For a survey ofthe international tradition. see Ilorace Beck. Folklore
oflhe Sea. American Maritime Library. No.6 (Middleto\\l1. C : Weslyan UP. 1973). pp.
116-119.
Izj Hussey. p. 8.
93

A crew member aboard the Ta\'erner recalled that a similar cuslom was used in
recenl yean 10 cntcnain passengers travclling to the Labrador.
Years ago on lhe old CObol Simi' and those and the Nonia and thc Bar Hawn and
the Springdale· old type, we used to havc Ncptune crossing thc Slrail of Belle
Isle. From Newfoundland to Labrador we used to have Ncptune. And it was a
tradition. We used to have a saloon. a dining area. so we would have all the
peoplc in there aJllocked in behind the doors. Then the Captain generally comes
in. And we would ha"e coming from the gallery doors \\e would have 'eptune
and two helpers all dressed in oilskins. rags. \\hatc\'cr they could find.
They would come on in. And the people an: qui Ie shocked. Thcy don't know what
was going on. They would think they were down for somc son ofship meeting.
And when the)' see three guys running out with oilskins. face all buried in. they
get quite panicky until they realize that it's all onc big joke. And then they go
along with iL They get painted with chocolate. You get onc or two who don't
want to take part. You take the majority of passengers all want to lake. Chocolate.
(C.M. Some people have it done with shoe polish.) I never heard tell ofthat. Crew
members that telllhat. It never happened when I was on the boal. We always did
it with chocolate something that easy 10 wash or comc away. (C.M. Was it done 10
you?) Oh, yes. It was done to me every time we do this eptune bit. (C.M. Why?)
Basically wc like to get one ofthe crew members involved that was serving
passengcrs. Thai way the passengers knew what's going on and it's all fun. So
Ihen thcy don't mind getting it done. Then Ihey practically beg to gct it done.
They want to have pictures ofthe wives gelling painted and the husbands getting
paintcd. Thc wivcs taking piclures whcn it's all done. Somcthing to remember
something Ihm they enjoyed. We try 10 makc the trip quite pleasant for
everybody. (C.M. So this is not done on a night when it is rough crossing the
strait?) No, it's only on calm weather. (C.M. Do yOll wait until yOll arc out a
certain distance?) We wait until night bec

Summary
thcn they would get the going-over. (C.M. What other kind of tricks did ),ou play
on crew members?) Basically that was about it. (C.M. Are ),OU sure? I've been
given a hint there were other things.) Probably there is but I wouldn' t want to go
into itlwith a girl] Just practicaljokcs--nothing that would hurt an)'body. A ship
is no place to frolic... Frenched their beds a lot.,. Apple pic... Somebody new
comes aboard we send 'em down for a bucket ofsteam for the hot water.
Sometimes the)' fall for it or they get halfway down the engine room and realize
it was a joke played on ·em... eggs in the bottom ofthc bcd. lillie bit ofgrease.
odds and ends so they slide in easier. Make beds really tight Someone ),OU \ ..ere
assigned to. ),ou would tight up the bed so \\hen they gel in at night, they would
have a job and a half- tucking in really tight. Don't play any trick on the captain
because he can play one trick on ),ou [fire )'OU).I26
This chapter has built a composite account ofgoing in collar and the passage to
the Labrador. The preparations for the trip marked the beginning ofthe process of
separation from home, family, and community life. The voyagc itselfconstituted the act
ofseparation. Thc "freightcrs" (passengers) fanned new groups for the duration ofthe
lrip which provided opportunities for initiating newcomers and for developing thcir own
sense ofgroup identity through the exchange ofsongs and stories. and for justifying their
continual participation ill lhe Labrador fishery. The voyage was lhe last opportunity for
large grollp interaction until the fishing stopped in mid-August. The lore nnd traditions of
the passage \0 Labrador are analogous to the processcs of scparation and displacement of
normal community structure. In hazardous situations and in close quarters, people - who
under nonnal circumstances might be scpamtcd by religion. class. and gender· had to
pull together for the good ofall. A common theme was that "we were all in this together"
and therefore. "freighters" had to be living insurance for each other against natural and
'26 1 FLA 86-013. C8672.
95

man-made disasters aboard ship. These social net\\orks eonlinued on the Labrador
despite rurther changes in group structure. The next chapter documents the work aspect
orthe Labrador fishery and Chapter Five \\;11 document the social activities or leisure
time on the Labrador.
96

CllAI'TEIl4
o TilE LABRADOR
Oflhc three to four months spent on the Labrador. the cod fishing season was a
highly labour-intensive period which lasted a brief four to six weeks. 1bc rest oflhc time
was spent preparing the fish for markel. This chapter deals with the activities involved
dircclly with the fishery and the subsequent occupational interactions between groups
that shared work space. A composite picture of folk life in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries in the Labrador Straits area. the oldest fishing grounds of cwfoundlanders. is
given to provide II framework for the interaction between cwfoundlanders and
Labradorians. Information about the Labrador Straits is available from published sources.
newspaper accounts. and oral history tapes in the Them Days Labrador Archive (TDLA).
MUNFLA. the Maritime History Archive (MI-IA). and the Provincinl Archives of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The fonnal hislOry ofthe Labrador Straits has been documented in publishcd sources:
lhc Encydopedia qfNewfolllldlalld and Labrador. Volume I, Lawrence Jackson's !Jounty
afa Barren Com,.t; Resource Harvesl and Selflell/elll ill Sail/hem Labrador Phase One
(1982). Albert S. Whiteley's A Cemurya/ BOfllle Esperance: The Saga offlle Whiteley
Family, and Brownc's Where The Fishers Go; 11,e Storyoffhe Labrador Fishery.
The Newfoundland newspapers ofthe 1800s contain a wealth ofinfonnation
about the Labrador fishery. Articles, usually headlined "From the Stmits:' deah with the
fishery and with life in general in the area. A chronological listing ofthesc accounts has
97

away the servants and fishermen. and for ignoring the local method ofdisposing ofgurry
(fish ofTal) and dumping it where it suited them_ A letter from Lieutenant 1.1-1. Morrison
to Vice Admiral Gower dated 13 September 1804 stated that the English fishermen at
L'Anse au Loup had placed four guns at the entranec ofthc bay to keep the Americans
out in consequence oftheir ha\;ng set fire to the woods and Olhcl"\\;se having annoyed
the English fishery.12l
The following rear. Captain Nonhey stated that the British themselves \\ere often
the aggressors and this he firmly belie,-ed "to proceed from the jealous)' ofthe Americans
\\ ho are certainly much more expert and indefatigable than the British:· 1lJ Northey
contended that the fire. like a similar one in e\\foundland. was caused by the extreme
heat ofthe atmosphere. He also stated that the Americans had tcn to fifteen times as
many boats on the fishing grounds and thatthc)' fished on Sunday. contrary to English
practice. More importantly. the letter stated that Northey had. in more than onc instance,
been requested by the British to "refrain from intcrrering and using threatening language
to thc Amcric.Il1S." giving for reasons '·we arc all good friends'" "And. no doubt;- wrote
Northey, "but they understand eaeh other,'·12Q
The prevniling complaint was that oflhrowing the gurry (oITal) overboard. The
newspaper and archival accounts demonstrate the lishennen's interest in conserving the
fishing grounds. With regards to having more boats and fishing on Sundays. while that
127 Letlers pertaining to the Labrador 1773-1820. Admiralty in leiters. Admiralty 1/470­
1/475. MilA. 15-D-8-9. pholocopies.
u'lbid.
129 Ibid.
99

might have expedited the harvesting of fish, it also depleted the stock quickly and
exhausted the fishermen. An 1867 account from Indian Ilarbour lJO shows thal the
observance ofSunday as a day ofworship was, and is. a time·honoured custom.
Tht Fishery in Iht Twtnticlh CtDIUr)'
I)ersonal experience rumati\'es published in Them Days magazines contain similar
information to the above official accounts. in that the) both show a concern for wages.
quotas, prices, and the number and nationality of\csscls on the fishing ground. I·Jerc. as
in Nc\\ foundland, it becomes clear that many mcn began their fishing carecrs between
the ages ofnine and twel\'c. Jim Linstead, born in 1895. began fishing at age five "for a
scattcr day.··IJI Preston Fowler. \\ho began fishing at age t\\cl\e, recalls the schooners
coming from the west coast ofNe\\foundland. lie remembers that "not many married
along the shore" and that "the fish was sold at Schooner Cove to a feller named Sharpe
from Ilant's Ilarbour.··132 Narratives of fishennen of the present century document the
technologicaltmnsition to gasoline boats and long liners, giving the bad and the good
points. For the most part, costs, the nuctuating prices of fish and wages, and diminishing
cod stocks arc the central subjects. In 1888, John Normore shipped to Job Brothers' room
at L'Ansc all Loup for $92.00, minus fifty ccnts towards n mcdicinc chest, but including
an allowance per week of scvcn pounds ofbrcad, lhrcc ofnour. four of pork, one pound
130 Commander W. Chimmo. Journal 0/a Voyage 10 ulbmdor in II.AlS. Gannel. 1867,
pp. 33·34 (Centre for ewfoundland Studies) OMF-40.
IJI Them Oo)'s6:1 (1980), pp. 52-53.
'" Them Doys 6: I (1980). p. 53.
100

lines. But, as it would happen, the shareman got his qUOin in first. "Ah ha. Mr. Fowler:'
said the shareman. "Don't take too much to make a man talk, do it. They thcn shared a
meal from the same pot as was the custom \\hile out fishing. The best food was on Lhe
shareml1Jl's side. Mr. Fowler didn't want to ask for somc. In the ruse ofadmiring the pot.
for \\hich he hOO paid S2.00, he turned the pot around to himself. 1bc sharcml1Jl quickly
turned it back saying: ..It was worth cvcr')' pcnny of it!.. IJ9
Work Rounds
In a Icngthy interview. Captain Matt Whelan ofCollicrs provides an overvicw of
the work involved in fishing on the Labrador. His comments illustrate the activity during
the fishing season.
(I was] seventeen when I first went to the Labrador. 1934 or 1935. Only went two
years. 0 money to be made anyway; it was thc Dcprcssion ycars. Labrador
trapping crew - fivc men. First year - good summcr. Last ycar fish was cured on
the Labrador. Aftcr Lhal it was sold out of salt bulk. Crcw cleared 14.50 each.
That's a small cheque for the wholc summer's work. 111C skipper wanted to curse
but he had a word he used to say. Skipper said "'My jcepcrs, you shouldn't
complain. You have two quintals ofwinter fish. 52.50 a quintal. Enough to keep a
family going all winter in fish." IThat wasl skipper Mati Whelan, Frankie's
father. By the wharf. The next year we sold it suit bulk. Wc had a fair catch but
prices was worse, price SIO,SO lor 150 lbs. Ilad to give 150 Ib quintal. Only paid
our accounts but made nothing. Same skipper but differcnt crew. Pad Whelan,
Mllster Lar's nephew, went to the States. Two or three dilTcrellt crew members,
all frolll Colliers, Labrador fishery was interesting. [ liked it. I didn't give it up
because I didn't like the job. I used to likc spending the Slimmer on thc Labrador.
The wcather was nice, Put in a lot of timc but the work wasn't hard. Spare time ­
bad weathcr.
Went down on the Kyle. Worked in stage head, Secured everything for the
___'? 25 or 30 crews. Everything was loaded aboard. all the supplies for the
summer, Ten days on the way dO"l1 picking up crews from Conception.
'39 Them Da)'s 6:\ (\980). p. 63.
102

Bonavista, Trinity Bay. then drop ofT crews on the Labrador. The first thing we
had to do when we got down there, and that was 10 open up the bunkhouse and to
put the stage head out. After selling up fishing gear, first thing we had to do was
get a load of wood. There was no wood out around the islands \\here the
fishemlen set up. You had to go up in a place called Potties Bay. That was a day's
\\ork. Then you'd go and get a load ofsah. Get the fishing gear in the waler. Get
trap out. Evcrything was go then as hard as you could go for about 6 weeks until
the trap season was o\·er. Store fish away c\cn ifit \\crc midnight. It would spoil
ifyou Icft it all night. The girl would help.
After six weeks, lrapping season was done. Had to wash the fish, lake it out and
salt bulk or wash out in tubs on the stage. The water drawn up in buckets over
stagc head - a man's job to draw water. Wash fish, carry fish in. sail it. bring back
lhc barrow again, keep going back and forth. Drawing watcr, washing fish. carry
it in the sun. When the fish was all washed out. it was bulked on the stage. Leave
it there for a week or two - two weeks. The same as it had been in salt bulk. They
c311ed that water horse. Let it sct, then start to dry it. It was spread out on the
hawn. Each b3tch of fish took a couplc ofdays, two to three days ifyou gct the
right weather. It was made up. There was really a science to curing fish on the
Labrador that the older people knew but we didn't know now because we weren't
there long enough to learn it. The older people had it down fine. Even when it was
being cured on the bawn...They could take the fish up and look at it and tell ifit
wcre finished, ifit had to be spread again or pressed for another night. When the
fish was all cured, start to ship it. Usually a steamer come down. Ifthere was no
steamer down you could carry it to the merchant and store it in his warehouse
there. Merchant in that area was Hiscock in Smokey. Jerrets was there too but
gave up. Whcn the steamer was there you wenl alongside and took your tum, slow
work. Threc to four thousand tonne. She was light and empty, ship high up. The
Iirsttime we wenl there to load, there was two scaffolds on the ship's sidc. You'd
yarne the fish [load your arms with fishl and throw it up to the mcn on thc tirst
scaffold. I-Ie throw it to the man on another scaffold and thcn it was thrown up to
the man on deck ..."ho'd throw it in the holc. There would bc not onc fish left. That
took a fair bit oftime to leam. Had to practice thut before you could do it right.
Then when all the fish were loaded. cverything cleared out. gct ready for home.
You may have to wait a week, two weeks for a mail boal to come round again.
There were still a few bankers there in the thirties. Ifwe had any spare time we'd
go up there or up around the high hill on thc island. You could sec them (the
bankers) on the outside going up and down. They had no power - all salls. l40
,.. MUNFLA 86-013, C8700.
103

hooked rugs for the Grenfell mission, picked berries. made clothes and snowshoes, look
care ofthe sick and dealt with great personallragedies.
Collien women on the Labrador. like Ihese down in the Straits and elsewhere in
e\\foundland, played important roles in the fishing stations. ot only were they
responsible for cooking and household chores. but they also took an active role in
processing lhc fish from a young age. as is recalled by two of my informants.
Kiny (phillips) McCarthy. a petite woman. who was born in 1897 and first went
to the Labrador in 1912. described the routine ofher first year on lhc Labrador as
follows:
I was fifteen and they came for me to go to the Labrador and Aunt Fannie she said
"You can go. You can take her." (I had) three bosses and still I could have neither
onc. I had a lovely time. I loved the Labrador. (The) passage going down and
coming home was wonderful. We had the whole length ofthe big vessel and there
they was with all the girls, bunks along the whole length ofher. They was singing
and we was all singing. We had a hell ofa time, boy. Got down on the Labrador.
down on the rocks. Oh, boy, what a place. It was some good, boy. They put me
salting, tending the table. The first year was putting the fish through the
puncheons up on the table for the men 10 open up the fish to split. Not spliuin' the
fish. We had two spliners. Here, beggar. 1 was all right. There was nothing wrong.
I was lovely. Come home. Next year. Went down Ihe next year. They put me
saltin' the fish. Now that was a big puncheon orsalt. I used to have to dip the little
shovel down into the salt and put it up on the fin of Ihe lish. I had a big ladder to
get up on to get up on the bulk ofthe fish. It was the whole length orthe stage.
We had 10 put the salt upon the yen (fin) orthc fish. dip down again, and put it up
and that's how I salted the fish. I was first ratc that summer. That was all right. l '
Ann Grace was born in Colliers in 1904 and went to Labrador with Barry Trahey
at first. and then with Pad Wade for two or three years. She worked out of Splitting Knife
and the Run. Cut Throat Island. She had forgonen how old she was when she fint went
," MU FLA 86-013, C8631.
106

and most names ofthe crew she had worked with, but she did remember the work she
did.
We had to bring bed clothes and our own c1othcs, enough for the summer and
wash it before you go back. Ifyou didn't. when you get back [to Newfoundland].
you had to go O\'er to your boss's place and wash it. The skifpcr brought the food.
I used to love to be on the stage with them cutting throats. 15
Aliee (Doyle) Kenny first went on the Labrador in 1920 with her father, brother.
and uncle. She never liked lite boat trip. -J get sick from the time I'd go until I get back
(on land) Despite the seasickness she went for fifteen years between 1930 and 1945.
Sunday momin§. Cook pot ofbre\\is. Cook Sunday dinner. Sunday evening, cook
linJe rounders u salted in the night time. Fish used to be nice. 1·lad to carry
cvcrything: fat back. flour (three to four barrels), not like it is now, hard bread.
butter. Jfthey got short, they'd go to Hiscocks (in Smokey) and get it. a cows,
no fresh milk, no canned milk then. They'rcjust the same as here now. It would
be black tea. Sometimes bring down a bag ofpotatoes when you had them left at
homc. There was loIS offish. One time (it was) a dollar fifty for a quintal of fish.
Don't know the year. Me father was down there. You'd want to get a lot offish.
Now it's a dollar fifty a pound. Not as good as it used to be because ofthe stuff
(pollution) in the water. Used to be lots ofsalmon too... That's the place the
bakeapples used to be at Splitting Knife on the hill. Little crock now eight dollars.
Most everyday I had to make bread. You kncw the kind ofyeast that was going
then. Get up in the morning and mix it (bread). You'd havc to go make (the
yeast),mix it,put it in the bowl before going to bed. T'was slow yeast. Fourto
five barrels ofnour, two hundred pound barrels. Jim (your futher) knows all about
the barrels. Bake nine to ten loaves 10 eat coming homc on the boat. (The men)
cut the wood. I wasn't cutting it. Water was handy. (You'd) see the lads from the
schooners coming in to get theirs. Lots ofcompany. I liked it there. NOlllluch
difTerenee in the work (from that at home). You'd have to gel (the) washing
board, scrubbing board to go washing (the clothes)... No knitting.
'" MUNFLA 86-013, C8684.
In A small cod fish gutted. headed. salted and dried \vilhout being split.
107

gCI it:' he says. I went and brought it out and put it on the tablc. Hc said, "lfJ had
a girl:' old ick said. "Iike that, I'd fire her in the waler." ..1t wasn't her fault," I
said, ··Mr. Ghaney··. It was [though] 10 cook (that]. She ought to know better
[than] to get the fish that was brought in and headed Friday evening to cook on
Sunday evening or Monday evening and that's the truth as you're thcre. rm
telling no lies. "WelL" he said. "ifyou done that what would you doT "You
needn't worry,Mr. Ghaney. I ['m] not going to do any such thing:' Poor! There
were some bad girls on the Labrador, bad cooks. Milke the bre:ld. You'd see Mary
Ellen going right up on the hill \\ith a bag ofstufT flinging it away. hea\Cing it
away. [They'd] waste an 3\\fullot ofgrub.
My maternal grandmother. Elizabeth (Ryan) Griffin. was born in Colliers and
went to Splitting Knife on Cut Throat Island in 1883 at the age often. She went as cook
for eight men, including her uncles John. Mike, and Paddy Ryan. When I asked my
mother, Catherine (Griffin) Doyle, and aunt. ell (Griffin) Stoyles, 10 lell me what she
had lold them about going down on the Labrador, they told me the following story
intcrspersed with other memories ofgrowing up in the Griffin houschold:
N.S.: She was splitting fish on the stage one night and the bone wenl through
her hand. Anyway, she showed me the mark. 1remember her.
C.D.: he told us how she had to cook and bakc bread with hangers. I seen thaI
sure up in Toronto. [Black Creek Pioneer Village]
N.S.: Wire racks, you mean?
C.D.: She uscd to get the coals and put the coals IIp around her bread. The
boilers used to have a machine, a wirc, a piece ofstccl to hang 'cm. Alice and
them [James Doyle's sister] used to have n fireplace like that years ago.
N.S.: This was built up on an iron rod. No SIOVC. Shc worked hard. They had a
place to sleep, lhat's all. I remember Mom telling me how she used to work hard.
She had to work. That's alii remember.
C.D.: Wash for alilhe men. bake. go in on the stagc.
N.S.: Se\'enteen when she got married. No. twcnty-scvcn and Dad was twentysix.
Married in 1900 and she was twenty-scven. Aftcr Dad came home from the
tates.
109

C,D,: Had 10 be married before that because he wouldn't go out to the gold
mines out west [Yukon] with Johnny '·Iearn. [Johnny) made a fortune. Dick [our
brother], did he go with Greg Doyle?
.: [I-Ie went wiLh] Tom Doyle in Avondale, that's (also) who (our sister]
Angela went with. He was looking for a girl all over. This day he was talking to
Uncle ickie Ghaney, Alice Phillips' father, and he said he was after being all
over finding a girl to go to the Labrador. [Uncle ickie Ghaney) said, "I'll tell
you where to get a girL" Go in to Liz Griffin's, Liz they called her, and when they
came in, she was milking the cow. I don't know ifit was out there or there. And
Angela was up on the fence watching her milking the cow. He told [Mom] \\hat
he was looking for. -Yes.,·' Angela said. ...-, 0 way," •[Mom] said, "she's too
young ,Angela went two years [\\ith Tom Doyle] and then she went \\ith Bill
Wade for a year. [She was] only fourteen....Shc told lots ofSlories but I can't
remember them. 1ST
lbey went on to talk about an uncle who supposedly had married a Labrador
woman and settled in Labrador. This narrative is important in that it shows how the
community and the family together preserve the family history. Greal Uncle Richard was
married in White Bay and one ofhis daughters was a nun. according to a neighbour.lSI
C.D.: Uncle Richard, Dad's brother, was on the Labrador.
N.S.: He came home after being on the Labrador. lIe crucificd mc poor mother
cleaning the dirt. She used to have to gel the scrubbing brush to clean the dirt and
the oil off his clothes. Then he left and went lip to Tommy Philips and said
everything about me Dad and her. And the needle going right Ihrough her hand.
She had to get the pliers to get it out.
.0.: She was scrubbing clothes on the board and he had needles and thread in
his pocket.
N.S.: Went fishing on the Labrador and married a Labrador woman. [Uncle
Richardl had children because the son sent a letter to say how he went back and
,>7 MUNFLA 86-013, C8683.
'" MUNFLA 86-013, C8689.
110

how good Wop] was to him. Poor Pop boug.ht ncw clothes and cverything to him.
Before [hc] wcnt 10 the Labrador. lS9
Both Ncll and Catherine went on to discuss why neithcr had gone on the
Labrador. Catherine Doyle confinned that neither had been asked but she could have
gone with her husband ifshe had not been sick in 1944. Her reference 10 her "one
chance" and her beliefthaL although she was a g.ood cook, she couldn't cook well
enough to go on the Labrador suggests that there was 11 status to such a position which
was lacking at home.
1supposed no one asked me (to go to the Labrador).
C.D.: I had one chance to go to lhc Labrador. That was the year 1got married
but I wasn't so well then. Labrador was a bad place to go ifyou had rhewnausm
or anything. But I didn't think I could cook good enough. Couldn't get a girl
anywhere and they took Unclc Fred McGrath. Uncle Fred got sick. Boils or
something. Good cook but if I had to go, he (Jim) would have showed mc.
Nobody asked me or Nell. .Not the year I got married, the next year (1944). They
always had Alice and Bess Doyle. Alice (McGrath) down one summer with Ned
Trahey. he split her side open wilh Ihe washing tub coming in through Ihe door
and had to come home. l60
A major role of women within the fishery was cooking, but in fishing families, the
enre ofchildren would also be part of their duties. As seen in Chapter 3, some children
were either laken 10 the Labrador or born there. Mrs. R. had been hired at the age of
elcvcn as baby-siller and assistant cook for one crew al a wage ofSIO.OO, while hcr
IS' M FLA 86-013, C8683.
160 Ibid.
III

at Salmon Bay and Bonne Bay until she married again in 1920 and started to raise a
second family:·16s Martha MacDonald described her life as a widow with a daughter to
support. She \\'ent out as a servanl girl for S5.00 per month 10 support her daughter and
herself after her husband died in 1941. Two years later she received a welfare allowance
ofSIS.OO e\'cry three months. Later she \\ent 10 \\ork in Blanc ahlon for SI5.00 a month.
he was in service rest ofher life. travelling as far as Hopedale to augment her income. l66
Cooking. children. laundry. and helping with Ihe fish would be the main activities
during the summer fisher)'. Howc\"cr. there was also time for household chores that
nonnally took place during the \\inter but could also conlribute to the family economy.
Mrs. B. ofCarbonear. Conception Bay. born in 1897. spent h\Cnty-se\cn
summers on the Labrador at Square Island. Shc spent winters at home doing the family
chores and knilting nelS. In the summer on the Labrador. she would hook mats when she
was freed from other dutics.
Many timcs thcy would reccive news that thc fish was bettcr "up thc shorc" so
fishcrmcn would go away for several days at a time leaving the families in Square
Island. On nights that the men were gone the womcn would get togethcr for a mat
hooking bce. Usually two or three women would gather together uOer the children
werc put to bed and work on thc samc mat. Whcn a Illat was finished they would
start on another and in the end sharc up the mats. 167
One wintcr, Mrs. B. exchanged cleven mats for clcven pairs of nlbbcr bootS. 161
16S Them Days 2:3 (J 977), pp. 8-10.
'66 Them Do)'s. 2:3 (1977): 7.
167 MU FLA. illS. 80-091. p. 12.
161 Ibid.
113

Allhough I did not find any archival accounts of Newfoundland women sewing
grass I did observe the process during 01) stay at Tickeraluck Point with the two Rich
families. Susan Rich. a Labradorian. was teaching the proccss to her daughter·in-Iaw
Marie and her daughters from a pre\rlous marriage all ofwhom were originally from
Ne\\ foundland. The follo\\ing description ofthe process comcs from lane.
11lc seawater grass. which is found along the landwash. i picked and dried using
a wire screen to hang it up indoors for about two to three days. Then it has to be
kept in a cool dry place. Before using. the grass is dipped in water and rolled in a
coil until it can be folded \\ithout being cracked. orne people washed it in soapy
water (hard cake Sunlight soap) and greased it with butter or lard or any kind of
grease (bacon fat) to keep the grass soft. Take three or four strands ofgrass and
run it through your mouth to soften it. thcn lie it in a knot. pi it the grass for
sewing. Then tie it in a knot. Thread the needle with the split grass. bend it back.
and sew in a coil [fonn a coil around the knot and carry on sewing in a circular
motionJ Start with a coil: three or four strands ofgrass tied in a knot. The grass
has to be licked before it is cut or the sharp edges (splinters) will cut the lips. The
grass inside is called poke because it is poked in. When the grass stans to get thin.
il is pokcd in. You start with an o\'al beginning. poke it through. then go around
and around. l69
Susan used to teach a six·week life skills progmnl 011 sewing grass to the children
in grades four and five in Rigolet. Thc techniquc is believed to have been brought from
Alaska by an old Inuit woman.
Grasswork was being sold in 1984 by thc inch, a dollar ,m inch, up to twelve
inches. Allcr twelvc inches it is two dollars an inch. George Rich, Susan's husband. had
made a doll's cradle ofgrass. Janice, Maric's daughter. had made a tea cup and, unlike
most of usan's students, she liked to scw in the summer. Susan has made three baskets
and George made a gun bag which was part ofan international exhibit in spring of 1985.
". MU FLA 86-013. C8674.
114

The gun bag, which was sold for one hundred fifty dollars, was resold in ew York for
one thousand dollars. George told me that
back in thc old days. the [Grenfell) mission would send in empty barrels
and people would sew grass to fill the barrels. In exchange they received a
barrel full ofsecond·hand clothes which hardly e\'cr fit untilthcy were cut
o\er or cut down. l70
Occupationall-lazards
Elilabcth Ryan was not the onl)' Colliers woman to be injured because ofthe
Labrador. Alice (Doyle) McGrath. despite her father's objcctions. went on the Labrador
for one summer as cool.. One Saturday night in Septcmber. \\hile carrying in the
washtub. shc ··torc up her sidc" and had to be sent home on the Kyle. Shc was paid sixty
dollars and gi\'en a new plaid coat for her summcr's work. 171 Occasionally. cvcn minor
injuries. ifnot treated properly. could lead to scrious complications. Kilty McCarthy
recallcd the following incident that occurred during her third and last summer on the
Labrador.
They put me headin', you knew what that is putting your hands down in the fish
and tcaring the heads off 'em. Pull it right off. [drovc a bonc in it. My God! I
never put in such a time in me life. Used to have puncheons for putting the livers
in. Beggar, lbey took that up and put it on me linger. That was all right. I used to
be up. I was two weeks with the linger going around the place all night long. I
couldn't sleep. It turned blood poison. Here. beggar, they went to work and he put
it down and poisoned the linger altogether. The next thing they had to do was take
me up to Injun (Indian) Harbour Ilospit31. Only one doctor and onc nurse. There
was nativcs of Labrador. Huskimos (Eskimos). whole lot there in the one hospital.
110 MUNFLA 86·013. C8674. Sarah Baikic of Rigolcl. Labrador, demonslrated lhe grass
sc\\ ing tcchnique al the Fifteenth Annual ewfoundland llnd Labrador Folk Festival.
August 1991. She and I prepared a poster display. "Grass Sewing in Rigolct. Labrador:'
to accompany the demonstration.
111 MU FLA 86-013. C8634.
115

That's where they all had to go. The nurse usen'l havc time for an)1hing. My
sister was down with another man, Flynn from Conceplion Harbour, and I went
up and get in bed with her and,just as I gctlo sleep, two o'clock in the morning.
up they comes and tells me to get up and come down. They was going 10 Ihe
traps. I gct up. I had to go dO\\ll to thc house, few sleps away.
Pain. Mc finger was swelled up as big as a waler glass. All swelled up. AlrighL
beggar. he said. go up to the hospital. I went up and thcy operated and took it off
(part ofthc finger) in the morning. I had wonderful nesh to heal. Whatever he
opened up in the morning be'll ncstercd up. Ilc had to dri\c the pliers in through
and open it up again. l1li.s morning he said to me, "Look, if)ou don't stay still.
1"11 open it up and I'll dress it up again and undress it again:' "Look here. Doctor
Paddon:' I knew his name as well as it was )csterday. "Look here, Doctor
Paddon. That's nothing \\TOng with this hand. If you cver go to work to undress
that again That hand I'll give il to you night in thc two eyes. That's what 1"11 do
to )'ou:' Hc said. "You wouldn't do that:' "Oh, indeed I would:'lbat passed all
right. I-Ic didn't open it.
urse came in....the day I had il ofT. I didn't know ifit was Ihc little finger on the
one next to it I had aLT. There was more pain in the littlc one. I said to the nur.;e J
couldn'l sleep. Shc undressed it and showed me which onc was gone.
I stayed homc that wimer. Go here and there Iin service]. Come for mc again Ihe
next spring. That was the fourth summer. Bcggur, mc falher wouldn'llelmc go
and I cried. He said, "You can ery bUI you'rc not going with Ihat nrm. If you goes,
you can lose your ann along wilh Ihe finger."
I used to have to head for Jack Ghaney and old Mick and Ben. I had three bosses.
Whcn I gCI home, Ihey were saying, they all wcnl around saying they wasn't
going to give me any wages. Told me not to worry. They couldn't keep your
wngcs from you. 172
The loss ofa finger might nOI have becn the only reason Killy (Phillips)
McCarthy was nOI allowed to return to Labrador. The following is a narralive ofhow she
'" M FLA 86-013_ C8631.
116

was unfairly chastised by Dr. Paddon and may evcn have becn barred from returning to
Ihe Labrador:
I had a wonderful time one time on the Labrador. Down on the back ofme
hospital. ow my molher was an Anmony from Nonh River - there was three
sislcrs and 3 brolher. Aunt)' Sarah Hall, me fathcr's sister. lived in Nonh River.
a\\" my sister and I walked down there to Nonh Ri\er and stayed all nighl and
walked back in the mom. No cars.
This fella' came along on a wrecked ship - shipwrecked in Injun Harbour. He was
there all night. I didn't know him. He get up on the bench - big bench on the back
oflhal. The two ofus got up there talking, We got up mere 13lking and he was
telling mc about me songs he kne\\ and I was tclling him about the songs I knew.
This little friggin' InjW1 come along and told the doctor and he camc out and
drovc us in. No\" he was my first cousin. He was Aunt Emma's son. Frost he
was,
"We was doing no harm or nothing," hc said to the doctor, lie [the Doctor} said,
"Get in:' and he ne\'er let me out after. [We) weren'l allowed alone with men, None
oflhem.
Louisa. a Labradorian, was prcgnant from anothcr man. She had to leave. He
IDoctor Paddon] was afraid ofthe people. IIc asked me, "Whal's your priesl's
namc homcT "Monsignor Veilch is my priest." lie even scnt home and told the
priesilthati was with a man}. Whcn I came home poor Ellen O'Toole, Aunt
BClh's daughtcr, she must have bccn over 10 confession over somewhere. Anyway
he told her to tell me to go over. lie wanted to see me. "I knows," I said, "what he
wanls to see me aboul and I have nothing to lell." Thai'S what I donc wrong. Why
thCIl, I hud a right 10 go but I had nothing to tell him only [that I wasltalking to
me first cousin that I never seed before. That's alii hud 10 tell. "All right, beggar,"
she said, "you'd better go over,"l said, "All right, I'll munage all that. Don't
worry," And she never stopped tonnenting about going over to the priest and he
was going 10 come over. I hope he will! I pray he will come over! lie didn't come
though and 1didn't go over like a fool. I had a right to go and tell him the whole
ins and outs of it. That was what I had a right to do. m
I1J Ibid. For a history ofme Indian Harbour hospital from 1894 to 1929, see Judy
McGrath, "Feature: Indian Harbour Hospital." Them Days 4. 1 (1978),4-41.
117

Conniet
This seclion contains narratives which cxamine the kinds ofconflici encountered
b) fishennen prosecuting the annual migratory fishery. An examinalion of manuscripts
on deposil in the M FLA revealed only scattered references to areas ofconnict It
seemed rather amazing that upwards of20.000 fishcrfolk could converge on the Labrador
coastline to compete for cod for four months and nOI be involved in more cases of
conflict. I)erhaps the fishennen had nollaJked ofconflict because they had net been
properly qucstioned, on maybe mel' glossed evcr the confliclS because Ihey were
constantly being exposed to dangers. Thc gcncral impression givcn in the archival
records is that "evc!) body was in this together:' Therefore. differences ofreligion and
ethnic backgrounds were left on the Newfoundland side of the Strait of Belle Isle. Given
thai the four months on the Labrador meant thc difference betwccn survival and
starvation for thc winter. this seems to be a reasonable assumption to makc.
Ilowcver. there was some conflict on the Labrador. TIle personal experience
narrutives in Chaptcr Three show that dangcrs could be expected from the weather, the
land, thc Inuit, the huskies, foreign fishermell, supernatllral sources and other fishernlcll.
Accounts ofconflict have becn notcd in Reverend P. W.l3rowne's Where 'he Fisher.5
Go: 71w S'ory ojLllbrador, Greta Hussey's Dill' Lift 011 Lear's Room, and Nicholas
Smith's Fifiy·TlI'o Years on fhe Labrador. Entries in the record book and diary of
Magistrate E. J. Womell confinn that there were conflicts which ranged from lhe petty to
119

the dcadly.177 This section summarizes the types and causes ofconnict given in
secondary sources and will then examine the cxtCnl to which they were presenl in the
expericnccs ofJim Doyle. a man who spent seventeen summcrs on the Labrador.
One ofthe first things to be done on thc Labrador was to mark the trap
berth. Sometimes men came up early to mark the berths but usually they
waited until the whole crew arrived. Once claimed. the benh was
comparativcly safe:
I o-one else would touch that lTap berth \\;thin the harbour. E\'cryone. it
""'as a custom. a harbour rule. no one intcrfered with lour berth. The only
one that would. that could (.... hich he ncYcrdid) was a.likc a newcomer.
lie could lake a bcnh anywhere. But that's the way it was. You marked
)'our berth rou had the rear before and the next man in the harbour...he
marked his. o-one bothered anrbody... I7I
The berths wcre generally allocated on a first

too close together. III Warnell also had to deal with disputes over stolcn goods and
breaches ofthe game laws and hold inquiries into such matters as wrecked boats:
ass::lults: accidental deaths and epidemics.III
Alcohol also provided the medium for a source ofconflict. For example. the Inuit
\\ere not allowoo by law to purchase liquor in the early years ofthis century nor were
the) 3110\\00 to recei\e a gift ofliquor. lu Doctor Grenfell had recognized the dangers of
drinking among the Inuit and fishermen. In 1907, he started raids against shebeens (illicit
liquor saloons) He also confiscated any supply of liquor he found. As magistrate he
refused to gi\'e out any liquor licenses. It was his beliefthat more fishermen had been lost
to drink than to Arctic storms. at all victims were fishermen:
I buried in a lonely grave on a projecting promontory. far down the coast
of Labrador, a young girl ofeighteen. She was someone's daughter and
someonc's sister. I had taken her aboard our little hospital ship for thc last
week of her life. She should havc been alivc today, but she had no desirc
to livc. All that could possibly make her life worth living for her was
robbed from her through the means ofalcohol. and she could not face the
homc-going again. 1M
Igl Ibid, August 20,1919.
1112 While Warnell was travelling up and down the Labrador cmlst hearing court cases, the
SS Wren was providing the residents of Labrador with some other valuable services.
Freight. mail, and passengers were dropped oIT or collected up and down the coast.
Weights were checked by a sergeant on board the Wren. Siek people wcre either treated
all board or transfcrred to the SS Sagona or one of Grcnfell's hospitals. A record was
being kept of the location ofvessels, the amount of fish they had and where they had
obtained it. and fishermen came aboard to hear this news. No mcntion is made of the
sergeant having dealings with the foreign vessels. I-Iowever. an informant who served as
custom officer on the SS Sagona from 1920 to 1929 had to "clear foreign going vessels
with loads ofdry fish for foreign markets:' Most of his work was preventing the
smuggling of liquor and other goods from Canada [1 FLA, ms, 75-257. p. 22·23].
II) Jamcs Johnston, Grenfell on 'he Labrador (London: S. W. !)3I1ridge. n.d.). p. I·H.
Il,! Johnston. p. 146.
121

It is unclear if the girl was impregnated by a drunk or was hersclfnn alcoholic.
Ilowcvcr, Mr. R.,a fishennan from Upper Island Cove. confinns that girls werc exposed
to sueh danger by saying that drinking on foreign vessels oftcn "led to disagreements on
c'cn worse. Girls accompanying their families \\ere usually locked in n room when
drinking was going OO:·IIS Dr. Grenfell was opposed to women going on the Labrador
with the men. Illicit romance on the Labrador lead to at least one murder trial as recorded
io the prc\'ious chapter.
In another drink-related accident. one ofMr. R.'s crew members was accused of
stcaling n walch while visiting 00 a foreign vcssel. The sailors could not speak English.
and for a \\hile, a serious confrontation was anticipated: Mr. R.'s wife even believed she
would never see them alive again. Fortunately, the watch was found and apologies \\ere
made.
Mr. R. S

By contrast some Labradorians were used as scapegoats by e\\ found landers.
George. a Labradorian. tells this story from his grandfather's time about a schooner
anchored in Black Island TickJe. The cre\\, followed later by the caplain.lefi the
schooner in the morning and rowed away to the tmp.
So the crew came back before the skipper did and they found the cook
lashed (tied] to the mast. They asked her what happened ::md she said there
was a Labrador man came down the Tickle and came aboard. I don't know
what he done with her but he lashed her to the mast he said. They used to
have Justices of the Peace then who could have court but it was the
magistrate they got for this case. Indian I{arbour. which is about fony
miles from this place. well that was \\here they were going to hold coun to
about this girl that was lashed. The) went to all the places. They picked up
the men. the magistrate did. and they came to Rocky Cove and there was
quite a long (sand] bar there. The)' landed on the bar and was walking in.
My grandfather Anhur went to the woodpile and get a stick and met them
and drove them back. Wouldn't let them lake any ofhis sons. So that's
alright. Thcy \\ent again and e\'cl)one that was around fishing they lined
them aU up. They told the girl to pick out the one that lashed her. And
there was one man there he could hardly get out a word for stuttering and I
don't think he was too bright by \\ hal I heard. )'OU know. lie was one of
these I don't know \\hm you'd call it. lie used 10 stutter a let. And she
pointed to him. "This man! That's the man there ifhc's on eanh!" Now
this old man, he was quite an elderly man from whal I hear. he took
crying. lie said, '"No miss. Miss. I never seen the sky over you before...
He tried to sny something else bUI before he gel il oul the magistrale made
him shut up. That was enough. They took him oul anyway. Took him olll
to St. John·s. lIe was gone to 51. John's. lie was gone 10 51. John's. BUI In
the end she confessed the skipper did il himsclfarter the crew lert. 1K7
George went on to say that the Labrador lllan never brought any charges against
the girl and nevcr reccived any compensation for lost work time. George had a few of
these negati\'e stories about Nc\\foundlanders and the Newfoundland govcrnmcnt in his
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C862L
123

epertoire but mostly he and other Labradorians stressed the positive side. the caring and
sharing.
Potential sources ofconflict existed in merchant-fishcnnen relations. The life of
the fishe:nnen usually included bad summers and poor voyages. Eben Bult described the
selling offish in Red Bay and the setting up ofaccounlS ",;th the merchant. Ifrne
fishcnncn lost money. the merchant would say "Came up and get a cup oftea and we'lI
see \\-hat can be donc about it:' After talking about it, the merchant \.. ould tell the
fishennen to take "hat they wanted on change and pay for it when they could. Ifthey gct
a raise on thc price of fish they could pay right then. but otherwise the change might have
to go on until the next summer. Mr. Butt concluded that the mcrchant was"a good man to
the fishcnnen:· 1U In 1928 and 1929, howcvcr.the mcrchants refused to oUlfit fishermen
for the summer voyage because ofthe poor markct prices the previous years.
William Tracy recalls taking a man's part at fishing at agc 12. In his time the
price of fish went from $1.25 quintal to $4.00, and oncc. in 1919. to an all time high of
$8.00, He sold his fish to a Captain Reed from Nova Scotia. who wOllld go as far as Fox
Ilarbollr to buy salmon, The year the war was on, Reed advised William's father (0 buy
all the goods he had on board because the war would drive the prices up in the Fall. 1lI9
Whilc most infonnants made little reference 10 the merchants. somc feclings of
resentment havc been recorded. One fishemmn lost nine hllndred dollars. Whcn he settled
IU Them Da)'s 3:4 (1978), p. 41.
119 Them Da}'S 11:1 (1985),pp, 45-16,
124

Smith, go as many men as you like and Job Brothers are behind you for
one thousand dollars or five. I have never forgotten those words of
encouragcment from the Han. W. C. Job, and I made a serious promise
that I would be truthful and honest with such a man, and Ihank God I have
kcpt my promise, for after thirty years' dealings we arc still the beSI of
friends. On two on three occasions I recci\ed from Job Bros. four or five
thousand dollars" worth of fishing supplies. and when J gal too old to do
an) more fishing, and thought it was time 10 stay at home, I did nol owe
lhe old firm the \'alue ofthe Dally News. I received liberal accounts. and
always paid them \\ith pleasure. l 9-t
A repon from Conception Harbour states that a thiny percent markup was the rale
for charging supplies, but that fishermen could go to lhe merchant oftheir choice. l9S For
this markup, lhe merchants took on the responsibility ofoutfitting the fishennan.
transporting them and their gear, and collecting the fish in the fall.
Examples ofareas where conflict could ha\'c arisen but did not may be seen. One
Siory, told by George Rich ofRigolet. relates the reaction to a Labradorian stealing from
a Newfoundland fishcrman's cod trap.l96
IMy father] used to fish oul oftheir Iraps 100 sometimes, hc lold me. Get
alit early in the morning, you know.llc'djig his boatload, punt hcad of
fish out orone orthe Newfoundland lraps and get ashore again before the
boats would come. Wcnt out early one morning. I leurd the boat coming.
Starled to pullout his jigger and got his jigger hooked in the bOllom orlhe
Irap. lie cut his line but the jigger was still in the bottom or the trap. He
went 10 one side then. YOLI cOllldfish anywhere so lotlg (U yOIl didn'tfish
0111 o/the trap (emphasis added] And when they gctthejigger, the motor
boal, they run ever to him and they said: "Wc found your jigger. I guess
Ihis [is] yours. It wasn't here yesterday in the bottom ofthc trap." The old
man told him '·yes" The Newfoundlander said, "you're nOI careful! You
didn't jig out ofas many lraps as I jigged out of," Ilc said. "You put your
1901 milh, pp. 107-108.
19j M FLA. ms.. 73-128. p. 7.
1961bis is sometimes referred to as ..trimming" a trap or net.
126

So Uncle Nick went up the next day. "Ila ha me chaps, who owns that net
that's up there in me berthT Pad says, '"I don't know:'lle INickl says.
"Well look. you're a son ofa bitch. You're a sly son ofa bitch, you is:'
That's what he done. Cut his Ifather's] net in two hal\'cs and put his 10\\11]
there. True as the cursed god. Hard case Pad Gushue was.
Pad Gushue used a costly mistake he made to his own ad\'antage. Howe\'er. he
was nol the only man to interfere \\ith his father's fishing. The following story was told
to James Walsh by my father in my presence about a trick he played on his father:
I \....on·l tell whal we done \..ith the beer mcselfand Sandy. We get four
doses of [Epsom] salt mixed up and put down in it (home brew). He (his
father] stirred it up. He bought me out a couple of beers. Ilhrew the beer
out. The last thing the old man did was got the spoon and gOI the yeast that
was in the bottom [ofthe crock]. The next day he was out in the boat. he
was down in the stem and sat on thc bucket all day (sufTerin, from
diarrhca] That was OUI game, doing something like thal. 19
lie made no mention ofany repercussions.
In another ofTom Walsh's stories, he recounted how Nick Gushue had accused
him ofdestroying Nick's lifeboat. Tom leO the sehooncr until Nick was forccd by the
crew to upologize. Tom was shocked that Nick would think he would destroy something
that could be needed to save a life, maybe even his OWI1. 199
Another story is told ofavoidance of work on Lady Day IAugust 15.]200 It was
customary on this day fOf the Catholic fishermen to give the day's fish to thc chufch. One
'" MUNFLA 86-013, C8697.
199 Ibid.
200 l.3dy Day refers to the Feast oCthe Assumption ofOur Lady into 1·lea\,en. August 15.
On this day the Catholic fishermen gave all the fish they caught to the church in their
community.
128

of the fishcnnen shook up the weatherglass and said, "the glass is crazy, we better not go
out Ifishing)today.·.201
Interview with James Doyle
On April I, 1984. I used a questionnaire to intervicw my father. Jim Doyle. in his
homc in Colliers. I believe the taping would havc been more successful ifit \\ere done in
the kitchen "here Jim is used to talking. Thc interview ilSClf was rather difficult to
conduct because ofthe need to ask sensitive questions. Jim madc it clear thaL in his
experience, there was no connict on the Labrador, just people doing their work. I
interspersed my morc sensitive questions with ordinary questions abouttr3vel
arrangements and work rounds and followed up the intcrview with some \\Tiuen
questions and a telcphone convcrsation. Unfortunately the tapc and the pcn cannot
capture the way Jim's face lit up when he remembered tricks he played on the Labrador.
It seems thut the light moments are what he chose to remember.
Jim was born in Colliers in 1913, the second child ofJamcs Doyle and Mary
O'Brien. Jim's fathcr had lived with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Mag. Their only child, Mary
Ann, died and therefore, Jim's father inhcritcd thc house when his uncle died, and Aunt
Mag ruiscd Jim and his sister when their mother died in 1915. Mag died in 1926,und Jim
continued to live there with his father and sister unti11943. when he married and moved
to Riverhead in Colliers.
Jim's father, Uncle Jimmy Doyle, was a fishcnnan whose house was a gathering
place where as many as twenty men came to court his daughtcr, havc a drink. sing a few
'" M FLA 86-013_ C8692.
129

songs. or tell a few stories. Such was the life Jim was used to and he did not want to be
left out ofit in the summer time. He pestered his father for three )cars to take him on the
Labrador. In 1925. at the age ofelevcn. he took his first trip on a schooner hired by J.W.
Iliscock from Brigus and skippered by Stephen John Kennedy. They left Conception
I'arbour with about fifty to sixty people aboard from Colliers and Conception Harbour.
Jim was sea sick before they sailed out ofthe harbour. They spent that summer at
Splilting Knifc.
Sometimes a man or two would go ahead to mark the berths. but usually the crews
traveled together and took whatever berths were left. According to Jim. thcre was no
competition as every one hundred fathoms was a berth. The schooners did not comc until
later and could not fish in too close to the land. Although thc landsmen got the choice
berths. the schooncrs get more fish. But even though twcnty·two schooners fished there
one summer, everyone get a load of fish. No one stole a berth to Jim's knowledge.
No one stayed at the fishing premises over the winter. Somctimes the natives
(Iivyers) would stay in the cabins while trapping, blltthey left everything as they saw it
and wOllld sometimes visit the I1shermen during the summer; lishcrmen in other locutions
were not so lucky with their neighbours. At Splitting Knife, there were no Inuit. and
therefore no huskies around these islands to pose a threat to children. lillie contact was
had with foreign snilors. even though they sometimes loaded their fish on the foreign
vessels for Iliscock. The sailors helped with the loading, but there was no socializing. No
one ever look seriously ill. Jim mentioned that a doctor camc on the mail boat every two
weeks. lbcrc was a hospital at nearby Indian Ilarbour.
130

Jim certainly cnjoyed his summers on the Labmdor despitc ycarly stonns and
potcntiallack of fish or good prices. "More went in the hole than came out on lOP:' he
said. but he. himself. lost money only once and Ihat was the last year he wenL Fishing
\"here they did seemed to keep them isolated from conflicts other fishermen experienced.
lie heard no mention ofthe cases Warnell handled. But then, as he said, "Labrador is a
big place:'
Besides the "scattered" fight. there were some accounts ofconflicts \\;th nature.
One August. hailstones as big as camphor balls fell. frightening the girls. Pieces of ice
fell in Indian Ilarbour and broke out the \\;ndows in the hospital. Jim said he was caught
out in storms a few times but always managed to get 10 land. lie was also caught in
storms on Ihe passage. When asked what was his \\orst summer, he said it was the year
he took nineteen days to get home on the K)'le. 202
Coopcrulion
Ncwfoundland stories record the Labrndor people awaiting their arrival in the
spring, coming Ollt in their boats to the schooner or stcamcr to mcet thcm and to carry
them to their hOllses. Friendships developed bascd on sharcd respect for fishing ability
and on comlllon interests in singing, dancing, yarning, and in cruising (visiting). In 1894.
Lydia Campbell, the daughter ofan Englishman (lnd (Ill Inuit woman wrote:
202 See Chapter fi\c for further details.
131

II was and is a Labrador custom to give anyone. dark or white. something 10 cat
while they were at our house and bedding so the Indians was always kind to US. lOJ
This custom is still carried on by Labrador and cwfoundland fishennen today,
The story is told ofa Newfoundland floater erew in the early 1900s cooking a
meal ofseal meat given to them by an Inuk Iinuit man] Another Inuk \\ho happened
along at mealtime was given some seal. After chewing on it 3\\hile. he asked ifthe seal
had been taken that morning, When asked why. his repl) was "ll"s still warm:' E\'identl),
he did not havc 3 tradition ofcooking.seal meal. Although ewfoundlanders and
Labradorians cnjoyed and shared the same food. it was not always prepared in the same
\\uy.
Other evidence orthe dilTerences in Inuit roadways is presented by Kitty
(Phillips) McCarthy in this story of two culturcs cooperating. despitc language barriers.
Thcrc was one old Huskimo. I supposed he was fivc or six hundred
pounds. I-Ie was big and he was as yell cr. I was going around. I didn't get
in bed. Go out into the kitchen when the cook was. I washed the dishes
with onc hand and she'd wipe 'cm. 1 was up to thc window this day and hc
pointed for mc to come down. He couldn't understand mc and I couldn't
undcrstand him. Down I comes. I was upstairs, down I camc to thc back
door, nnd he was pointin' to this and thaI. Used to shake his head he didn't
wanl il when I put my hand on something. I wcnt ever to a big pile of
chick weeds four or five feet high with nlllhc stuff (food wastc) that was
hCl.lvcd on it. He shook himself that was what he wanted. lIe started ealing
it. I stood by the door [watching him] enting il.l3eggar. I was tumed 10
come in and he called me again. I had to pick another annful. J-1uskimos
nevcr cooks food. They eats raw fish, guts and all. All kinds ofdirt. 104
203 Lydia Campbell. Skefches ofLabrador Lift (1894: tpt. Ilappy VaJlcy·Goo.se Bay:
Them Do}'s, 1980), p. 32.
,.. I FLA 86-013. C863 I.
132

Flies were really bad. One chap from Conception Ilarhour. Dave Wade,
with us. Younger than me, Only a little bit ofa hoy. Almost dcvoured him,
cycs closed up. I-lad to carry him aboard thc boat. When we canlC dO\\1l
they had to lead him from the stage head, T\\o on thn.--c days and couldn't
work. lie was eaten so much that his cycs closed up - out around the
headlands. Out around the fishing areas they \\cren't that bad. Up in the
ba)' they were a scourgc. No fly oi1. 2lG
! had been tempted to bury my facc while spreading caplin on Tickcraluck Island.
Despite warnings! had received in narrative form I found it impossible to bclie\e how
dangerous the flies could be:
In Ma)'·Junc 1976, I went to Postville, Labrador, working as an
"archaeological field assistant" for thc e\\foundland Museum at a Dorset
Eskimo site there which was about to be ploughed under by new
construction.! spent a total ofthree and a halfwecks in Postville, boarding
\\;th a local family, While there I heard many stories about lmnsponation
on the Labrador coast. In panicular, scarc slories aboul Lab Airways were
common, But I also heard the following story about a $1. John's
businessman carrying on his business on the Coast. I can't rememhcr who
told it to me but il went like this. The businessman arrived one morning in
a community {I don'( remember ifit was named) and did his business
before nOOIl. He was to meet someone al a pan oflhe communily a lillie
dislance inland in Ihe afternoon, but since hc had some timc to spare. hc
thoughI hc would walk. There were 2 ways: by road and over a marsh. Hc
thoughI he'd go over the marsh. lie wcnt alonc. lie never showcd up at his
appointmcnt and he ncvcr returned to the boat in thc hurbom. A search
party WCllt out ancr dark but thcy ncvcr found himlillncXI morning. It
had been 11 warm day with plenty of nies whcn he set out. lie was found
wilh his face clawed 10 strips with his own nails, scratching llt I1r bitcs. I-Ic
had apparently gone crazy wilh Ihe nies and died on the marsh. 2 I
'" MU "LA 86-013. C87()().
211 This story was told 10 me by Philip lIiscock in Junc of 1984 while wc were talking
about my travel arrangements to the Labrador. We spoke of il again over coffee in the
studenl centre ofMemorial University, January 28. 1986 and Philip wrote out the text of
the SlOT) for me. Post\'ille is on Figure I. 6,
135

When I told this story to the people on Tickernluck Island as a possible tall tale.
thc) accepted it as possibly being a true story. They infonned mc thaI the husky puppy
owned b) the children was the only one in the litter to sun1vc attacks from flies.
No lall tales \\ere recorded during my inten'iews in Colliers: however. some
reference to the flies from Labrador are described in the abo\'c personal narrativcs. Their
intensity has earned them a place in the folklife of Labrador. as reflected in the foJlo\\;ng
archival account.
Labrador mosquitoes are credited with being the biggest and most fierce in
lhe world. They do not carT)' malaria. It always secmed 10 mc. lhe furthcr
nonh I wenl. the thicker. bigger. and more fierce the)' were. loe crew ofa
schooner, sailing along the coast. in a lighl breeze. saw \\hat Ihey lhought
was a hard \\1nd squall gathering nonh ofthem. They began to prepare for
the squall \\hen il would strike and accordingly broiled Iheir gafflopsail.
hauled down their topmast staysail and flying jib. Ilaving done that much.
Ihey discovered it was nol a squall. but a cloud ofmosquitoes (nippers).
The mosquitoes hit the schooner's mainsail and took it clean away. Next
year in the same vicinily. they met the same cloud of mosquitoes and
believe it or not, each one was wearing a white canvasjacket. 212
SUllcrnalunl1 Beliefs
Among the most prevalent folk beliefs associuted with the Labrador are these
connected with death. and especially omens or death (lnd "forerunners." Although the
Labrador did have a mail service (twice a season delivery) and a wireless service, news
usuully arrived via word ofmouth and/or the next boal home. Sometimes news ofdeath
spread much more quickly. A nine-ycar-old boy who losl his father on his first voyage
recalled that his molher knew ofhis father's death before the body rclumed home.
m Ralph Barrett Collection. IDLA.
136

lie snid she had a very bad night sleeping the night he died and awoke tclling the
othcrs who rcmained with her the news of his death. Days later \\ hen the minister visited
bringing the news ofher husband's death 10 her. she was already prepared and was
making arrangements for the burial ofhis body.2.)
In this S10T)'. Ihe head ofthe family had been struck down and the other members
continued on with life. The sons packed the corpse in salt for the trip home and returned
to their fishing. The mother prepared herselfand the rest ofthe family and made
arrangemcnts for the burial ofthe body. In the fall \\hen the summer's fishcT)' was over
and the family reunited. the events would be re-enacted in family narratives and lold
again for neighbours and years later for the researcher. life and the fishcT)' would
continue despite this and other drownings.
There is a story told ofa Newfoundland man rowing to shore in a stonny nighl to
see his girlfriend. The girl's father passed him on the stairs and thought il strange because
he could not understand why the man would be going up thc stuirs. Thc father soon heard
at lhe wharf tbm thc boat had swamped and lhe Newfoundlandcr had ncvcr made it
oshore. Ilc rcasoncd thm when the man drowned, his mind was on gelling ashore to see
his girlfriend and his spirit just kepi on going. 214 N'Irr

eturned to ask that the deck boards he stole be returned to their ri&htful owner. 215
Somctimes ghosts arc seen but no contact is made. as this narrative from Colliers
demonstrates.
Lots ofthose things. old wrinkles. There was one time me father was
coming from Cut Throat one night. He heard somebody throw down a turn
of lumber over the bank and there's no one li\'ing within a half mile ofiL
lie heard it right plain when they throwed a lurn of lumber down over the
bank. Could be a sign ofsomething.
I heard ed Trahey say. even in the Run ofT Shell Island "here they lived.
they saw a woman on the island. There was no one on the island in the
meantime but they saw a woman.!16
Despite these sightings. Tom was nol worried about ghosts. lie and Uncle Jimmy
Doyle had an unusual pastime for Catholic men.
We used 10 be going around digging up graves down thercol11)'sclfand
Uncle Jimmy. Pirates's graves. Me and Jimmy with a piece. over in the
Run there was graves. Kind ofreddish hair - was just as fresh as the day it
was buried - all that was therc except for the box. 111e box. the board was
still good in Ihe bog. 217
Olher beliefs include Ihose associated wilh vessels and lucky and unlucky days.
Greta Ilusscy's falher would never launch a boal on Friday but always on a Saturday ifhc
'" MUNl'LA. ms.. 76-335. p. 38.
". MUNFLA 86-013. C8678.
217 Ibid.
138

could for it was said. "Saturday's sail would never fall.··;m This was believed in Rigolet
a1so. 219
SUmm31')'
The fishermen who went down to lhc Labrador went to fish either from the land
or from boats. They were subject to connict with man and with natun:. torms and
wrecks \\ere normal aspects offishermen's lives \\hcrc\er the) fished I have
concentrated on other areas. such as trap disputes. because these had to be sorted out
among the fishermen with support from travelling officials rather than the more
permanent structure available in the home communities. I interviewed one fisherman to
sec \\hich. ifany, ofthese conflicts had been experienced by hint. and in \\hat manner
they had been resolved. His testimony reinforced the view lhal each group has its own
view ofhistory. The experiences of people in Splilling Knife \\hile similarto the Siraits
area undo closer to home, Indian Harbour, yet lhey were also unique lO their particular
place on the Labrador. The following chDpter presenls a sampling of the narratives of
entertainment at the Labrador fishery.
211 Ilusscy. p. II.
219 Field notebook 1.
139

CHAPTERS
E DI G TilE SEASON: HARBO R DA YS A DTilE TRIP HOME
The lime spent on the Labrador was comprised ofwork. sleep. and play. During
the peak orlhe fishing season. ifthe weather was good and the fish were running. there
was little time for sociabilit)' until the season ended in mid·Augus1. The tasks ofwashing
out and drying the fish on the bawn were also aCli"ities for good weather days. The main
times ofsocializing were during stormy weather when fishcnncn neither went on the
water nor cured lhe catch. on Sundays which were kept as a day ofrest. and in the
c\cnings. The Icnn "harbour days" is used 10 denote socializing activities which took
place on the Labrador.
lIarbour D:1)'s
Mrs. R. South River, C. B" described "shack time" (non-fishing time) as follows:
On stann)' days, "harbour days," the crew usually gathered in the
skipper's house to talk and "yam;' maybe even sing some songs.
Occasionally on a Saturday night mcmbers of sevcral crcws may gel
togethcr nnd with Ihe aid ofall accordion they would hnve n dnnce ifit
could be called that or maybe they would just sit flround und ynm. There
may even be a visitor or t\Vo from u nearby harbour to help pass the
lime. 220
She also spoke about visiting on Sundays from harbour 10 harbour:
They would find some ofthe happenings of the previous week or ifthe
mail boal had been in there might be some news from home. This was
about the only recreation they had. lll
210 M FLA. ms. 78-188. p. II.
2lI lbid.
140

Songs
Life was not all work and no play for thc fishcnnen. It was customary for the
'ewfoundlanders to come ashore on Saturday nights for danccs and stay for church
services on Sunday. The Straits area is renowned among folksong scholars for its song
traditions, The singers. song makers and times (social gatherings) ofthe Labrador Straits
ha\C been the subjcct ofmany student projects. and also a Quebcc·Labrador Foundation
ficldwon.::cr did some collecting there in 1976. Ilussc) mentions several songs, including
-The Little Mohcc," "Little Dickie Melvin:' "l\1y Hanny l30y is Young But I-Ie's
Growing.·· "John Dooley's Punt" "Down in Grady Ilarbour I Went One Time:"'Paul
Jones:' "Young Bungan:' "Be Dad Then Says I. I Don't Care If I Do:' "The Kaiser's
Dream:' My Old Ragadoo:' "1'11 Forgi\'e but I'll ever Forget:' some old spirituals from
the old ankey song book. "Where is my Wandering !loy Tonight" and "Pull ror the
Shore Sailor," and irthere were no children present. "The ountryman's Lassic" or "The
Old Ccllar Door.,,226 A major regional collcction oronc hundred nnd Ihirty·eight songs
was published in the early 19605 by MacEdwnrd Lcach. 227
or thesc song traditions on the Labrador, Bcn Lctlo suys:
T'WtlS all songs in them days. in our days, I mean. You'd gel in and one
would sing a song, then another would sing a song. They nil had slories.
these songs. There were lots orgood songs about murders aboard ship and
all this kind of things. That's all you do thcn to pass the lime. eh. sing
songs and lell stories and it went from one to the other. What I didn't
know. somcone else knowed. T'was lots ofsongs made up then. just
m Ibid., pp. 75-76.
227 MeEdward Leach. Folk Ballads andSongs o[the Lower Labrador Coost (Ottawa:
ational Museum ofCanada.. 1965).
142

common folks around would make up a song. I was vcry young then
when thcm songs was sung. and I never took no attention to it. like. but
them old fellers used to know some songs. 221
Similarly. John M. Earle said ofone ofthe Labrador singers:
Ellis (Lie) Tracey. a local singer. really helped to brc3k up the monotony ofmany
long winter nights and brought many giggles to those around him. Lie sang whether he
felt lile it or not. at only did he compose and sing his own songs he also did imitations
of\'arious radio characters on programmes like the Dolle Ncws complete with steamer
reports and personal messages using an empty tin can for the microphone cfTect.2.."'9
The interaction between 'ewfoundlandcrs and Labradorians resuhed. at times. in
intcr·group rivalry. There is at least one account ofthis rivalry finding an outlct in song.
Apparently. some Newfoundlandcrs took exception to a song composed here and wrote
an answering song. The local composer immediately came back with an answer to the
answer song, and thus had the final word. Do
Around 1940 the baltery radio camc to Labrudor. Aficr the Gerald S. Doyle
l3ullctin on Saturday night, the Jackie Walsh program came all and somconc would step
d,IIlCC ir'·the Irish toc tapping music came on.,,231
m Them Days 3:3 (1978)
229 Them Days 10:3 (1985), pp. 54-55. One of Lie's songs. "Across the Straits:' is
published herc as well.
230 MUNFLA. ms.. 77-356. Similarly Barter Wareham's song titlcd ··Rubber Boot Song"
was answered by "Tom" in Baxter's song.
Ul Ilusscy. pp. 77-78. For more on the Gerald S. Doylc Bulletin. see Philip Hiscock.
"Folklore and Popular Culture in Early ewfoundland Broadcasting: An Analysis of
Occupational arrative. Oral History and Song Repenoirc.·· M.A. Thesis (Folklore).
143

In the fall Labradorians moved inland to live on thcir trapping grounds in Iiule
communities ofone or two families. It was the custom for Ihe scattered "inter
communitics to gather in one place. usually the Iludson Bay Company post. for
Christmas. These gatherings became the occasion for fcasting. dancing. and the singing
ofsongs. Clarice Hopkins. a Labradorian 00\\ li\'ing in Goosc Bay. spoke in great detail
about songs she and other members ofhcr famil) had composed. Al age fifteen. she
composed a song. about her sistcrs and their boyfriends from e\\ found land. The song. a
moniker, was thinY·lwo \'erses long and included c\cf)onc at thc gathcring in addition to
the Newfoundland crowd.
I'd compose [songs) around Christmas and forgct them unless somebody
\\TOte them down. I think the one about Cupids was copied and was in
Cupids. That's where I did pick up a lot ofvcrscs I had forgotten because
they had taken it back there and kept it alive for awhile. lJ2
laricc went on to say that the younger people mentioned in thc song had kept on
singing it because it was about them. She reiterated dun songs wcre composcd for special
occasions, sung, and then forgotten unlcss somCOllC wrote thcm down or kept all singing
it. To her. a song was "really a record or tile things we were doing." While hcrs were
always romantic songs about boys and girls teasing each othcr. her brother and other
fishermen composed songs about fishing or about working 3t the nearby whaling factory.
One song composed by her brother (another moniker song) listed all the bankers (fishing
Memorial Univcrsity of cwfoundland (1986) and "Folk Programming Versus Elitc
Infonnation: The Doyle Blilletin and the Pllblic Dispatch:' Cllllllre &Trlldition 12 (1988).
pp.41-59.
232 M FLA 86.Q13. C8629. See also Bollntyolo Barren Coast.
144

Jack Conway recalls dances he altended while \\orking in the whale factory in
Grcady Ilarbour:
Some Sunday nights Mauricc I-lair from Harbour Gracc, \\he was looking
after the whalc factory,loaned us thc house. (Wc would) have the big
dance, break 'cn do\\n. till about 12 o·clock. Thcn comc home and get an
hour or two's rest and then stan thc fishing:,m
The only description I collected ofdancing \\ith the n3tivcs and Inuit comes from
Paddy (Fly) McGrath:
The n3tive houses were the real place for dances, square dances. swinging.
They had anolher way to do it. They was nice. All they want was dance,
dancc, could sing in lheir own languagc. You wouldn't nevcr know \\hal it
would be. ever used to wash. Happy, hcalthy. Couldn't go ncar for the
smell ofthe clothes. Girls put hands around you, couldn·t be rude. had to
gct another way to make them knock it ofT. Wc was rottcn ourselvcs but
thcy was too as roued. AJI thcy wanted was the fcllas and thc beer, thc
girls. Oh boy. How could you do it? Lots ofmoonshinc, lots ofdances.
The girls on the Labrador never covered up, only a skirt on, that's all.
nothing under. ever cut a hair. When they sit down 10 dance Ihcy cut
[cocked] up their legs. Get halfdnmk. I could tell you hundreds ofslories
aboutlhe Labrador and the roughery. The SlomlS force you in and you gel
in contact wilh them people. The way lthc natives) talk "youse and I:' say
"I and he for the night'"I was a perfect dancer, get the girls out dancing.
They want you to take them home. Only footpaths and rocks (?). They go
to kiss you, there must have been an inch of blubber on thelll. All they
w

watcr the next day. The beds they had, no mattresses as such, roll
themsclves. We used to go cver there for the fun of it. 236
By contrast, when McGrath spokc ofgoing to dances at home. he said he always
dressed up in good clothes. silk shil1S, I-Ie was kno\\1l as a "wild onc:' He said he lost his
reputation \\ hen accused of fathering a child in ewfoundland.
Gulching
The Diclionaryofl\'e"foundland English defines -gulch" as '10 frequent a
shcltered hollow for sexual intimacy.·.lJl lbe earliest description comes from thc Journal
ofAmericmr Follclore 8 (29) in 1895:
McGrath:
(Gulch) has come. on the Labrador coast, to have a meaning peculiar to
that region and to these who frequent it. In summer. men, women. and
children from Ncwfoundland spend some weeks thcre at the fishing, living
in a vcry promiscuous way. As there is no tree for shelter for hundreds of
miles of islands and shores, parties resort to the hallows for secrct
indulgence, lienee gulching has, among them, became a synonym for
living a wanton life.
Gulching was a continuation of pursuing the girls on lhe boat.
"Gulching. 11131"S what they called it on the Labmdor. gutehing on the
long grass." When asked if it was a great pastime, Tom Doylc answered,
"Oh boy, it'll never came baek any more. "lie went on to say that "the
girls back home wouldn't know about it. nobody told on anybody,2JlI
The most complete account [ have of gulching wus given by Paddy (Fly)
Therc was onc time we went even to Canwrightlo get a girl. Went up with
o real old dark one. lay down on the gross. Eight or nine big old Labrador
dogs. They had like 10 eat me. She was all nighl, gulching. I wasn' I long
ll6 MUNFLA 86-013. C8693.
2J1 G. M. Slory." 0/.. p. 230.
m M FLA 86-013. C8678.
147

gulching when the dogs were after me. ever had lime 10 look al her.
They were right crazy about the "hite Imen).!J9
While the female informants ne\er made any referenccs to gulching. Alice
(Do) Ie) McGrath did recall that Jack Mahoney from orth Ri\'cr "ould crawl in bed with
her on the passage despite her protests that her father would kill her. The girls used to
throw salt in thc eycs ofthe boys who tried to gel in bed with them. Similarly. Alice
thre\\ salt at a woman who was ··crad:ed·.2-1O after her father. calling the \\oman an old
fool for going after a man too old for her. Alice did get invol\cd with a man from Bacon
Covc while she was on the Labrador. despite having a boyfriend at homc.
Kathy Kimiecik. in her study ofcourtship panems in modem day Newfoundland.
conccntrated on short-term encounters. or relationships that arc not characterized by a
slrong sense ofcommitment by either party involved. as opposed to marriage-oriented
dating. 241 Clearly bolh types ofcourtship wcrc carried oul during Ihe season on the
Labrador. For the most part. however. the emphasis seems to hove been on short·tenn
relationships, for according 10 Jim Doylc. Illost men went Ollt with difTerent girls back
home in Conception Bay during the winter. When uskeel ifquarrels ever developed over
girls, Jim replied that there were some lights, but these were disagrecments over nothing.
US it was only u pastime to be going with girls down therc.
2J9 MUNFLA 86013. C8693.
240 Infmuated with.
241 Kathryn Kimiccik. "Aspects ofContemporaf)' Courtship in a Rural Newfoundland
ommunity," M.A. thesis. Memorial University of c\\foundland, 1987, p. 6: sec also
Karen zala, "Clean Women and Quiet Men: Courtship and Marriage in a Nc\\foundland
Fishing Village:' M.A. thesis. M ,1979.
148

You was only dO\\1l Lhere to make a living. You wasn't going down there
looking for girls. 242
Fighting was not a serious issue. because there wasn't much liquor "on the go:'
Sometimes they made moonshine. On one occasion. there was a big fight \\hen everyone
was drunk. Jim said he had a fight with a door and hurt three knuckles.
Pranks and Practical Jokes
John R. Scon in his study ofpractical jokes ofthe 'ewfoundland seal fishel)
found that pranks and practical jokes served several funclions: general entertainment.
releasing hostility. and controlling behaviour while at the same time maintaining the all-
important and basic social rule ofisolation occupations - avoid direct confrontation. 2H
On the Labrador. men entertained themselves by playing tricks. testing their strength. or
sitting around tclling lics about their big catches of fish and where they caught them. All
the mcn worked hard to gCI fish. "Ifyou didn't get the fish. you didn't get the mane)',"
But they found timc for fun. Jim relatcd two ofhis tricks.
J.D. Thcre was one year we was down there. Uscd to go ovcr to what we
called The Run where Tim Trahey and Ned was at. There was a erowd of
us in the camp and they had a lamp upon the shelf. And I had a toolh gone
and was sal righl down under the lamp. And I'd give a Iitlle blow like Ihis
lblowing Oul ofthe side of his mot/th] and blew the lamp oul. Tim'd eomc
over and light the lamp and just as he'd go over, I'd blow the lamp out
again. And he said, "What's wrong with that lamp tonight.'·l said, "I don't
know:' And, just as he'd light it again. I'd give another blow and the wind
hit his hand and he caught me.
C.M. (laughing) And he caught you?
'" MUNFLA. ms. 84-220.
14j John R. Scott. "Practical Jokes ofthe ewfoundland Seal Fishery." Southern FolkJore
Quancrly 38 (1974). pp. 275-283.
149

J.D. Always playing tricks.
C.M. Did you get any tricks played on you?
J.D. Ah. No. Had to lake offso he wouldn't catch me. That was in the 30s.
Another popular trick was puning a sod on the chimney (referred to locally as the
"funnel") 10 smoke out the cabin.
Alice (Do)'le) McGrath said she was the \iClim oftricks pla)cd by ed Trahe)':
ed Trahcy made homebrew on the old man and he rigged a broom up
like a man and put domes on it. lay it in bed and co\crcd it up. When I
wcnt 10 bed here was the man covcred up in me bed. 110\\ much did I
curse on him. 2 4&
hc laler said she had never told her brother Jim about cd Trahcy. "who used to
do c\erything with me because I never get mad with them. cd was a nice man. Ilikcd
him:' In contrast. she described another man who had filled her bed with fish slime as "3
rcaltyrant:,2-lS
Tricks werc also played on a deaf-mute man and another man who did not knew
the deaf-mule (manual) alphabet.
lIad II game one Lady Day (q.v., Chapter 4). Mall Whelan. the old man,
Charlie McGrath all down with Mati. Charlie, Sandy. Captain Malt. and
Joe Cole, Jim Cole and Tommy Costigan and Mike were out all the point.
Had a big brew for Lady's Day. I wasn't drinking or Sandy wasn't
drinking. They were all drinking Up and they got drunk and poor Mall
Doyle the dummy. Joe Cole was telling Mall the dummy to ask Mati
Whelan is you foolin' me? Joe said to Malt Whelan suy yes. Man said yes.
Ilad to hold IMatt the dummy] on. (J.W. Some tough too.) Joe said to
Matt Whelan you said you'd fight him. 2 -4 6
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C8634.
2u 1bid .
". MUNFLA 86-013. C8697.
150

ock there. I think it was two fellows lifted it. And Joby goes over and
catches fast to her and lifts her up and he throws him down and he hit edge
on and that's where he stopped at. I-Ie said "lie's a kind ofpctty but a bit
heavy". .1 used to hear my father talk about it and all the old fellows.
That's when they used to be going back and forth on the schooners. lll
When Captain Matt was asked ifhe knew the story about Joby Phillips. the strong
man. he responded:
Games
Phillips used to go '\"ith the \Vhelans. One ofthe crew but didn't go that
year (1857) Only sllr\;"or. Two Phillips brothers. George and Joby. Built
that boat on the North Side. Two Phillips brothers were supposed (0 carry
all the heavy lumber that went into making the boat. Keel· heavy. I used
to hear the older people talking about the Phillips bringing out the timber
for the boats. Very strong men. Rock in Bancau that Joby was supposed to
lift, I don't kno\\ how heavy it was. There was supposed to be two or three
schooners moored onto the rock. Probably exaggerated a bit. 1l2
Paddy (Fly) McGrath said the rock was four by four or fivc by fivc. lll
"Catching thc Thirds" was a chasing game played on the Labrador. 1912-1916:
We used to have a place way up [on Cut Throat Island and] there was a lot
ofgirls there from Brigus, North River, Cupids, girls and men. I)oor Mary
Skanes was with the Sinjons (St John's). Aunt Beth'S daughter, Mary. We
used to go up there catching the thirds. A wonderful game, no mistake. Put
thrce there, two there, three there (pointing out a square). Now, where the
three was at [they] used to run and go where thc two wus HI. Thcn the
three would go where the two was al. Thcre was a big ring of us, I suppose
sixty or seventy in the ring. Poor old Ben [GhnneyI uscd to be with us.
"Phillips:' he'd say. "hurry up and find the screws and wc'd go and
catches the thirds." We used to have some fun. m
Another game played was "Rounders:'
251 MUNFLA. ms.. 84-220.
m MUNFLA 86-013. C8700.
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C8693.
". MU FLA 86-013. C863 I.
153

Harbour Oa)'s: Summar)'
Entertainment was ofcourse thc primary function ofharbour days: the fishennen
nceded to escape. in fantasy at least. from their austere cm'ironment and their limited
means for dealing \\;th it. The stories point out the dangers the fishcrmen wcre cxposed
to: death. the supernatural. loneliness. foreigncrs, stonns and dogs. They also show me
jO)S of living on the Labrador: going to new placcs, meeting nc\\ peoplc. acquiring
unusual gifts and a wealth ofstories for the peoplc back home.
The Trip lIome
The separation. transition. and incorporntion procedures ofthc trip dO\,"l1 wcre
repeated in revcrse on the trip back. Bakeapplcs and sou\'cnirs of native handiwork \\ere
packed into thc Labrador box to bring to those at home. "Evcrybody would be expecting
us and they'd be glad to see us because wc'd be sure and havc somc little thing. bit of
salmon, somc souvenir from a Labrador resident,',2SS The trip back would be rough
because of the time ofyear and the weight ofthe fish. Stonns would necessil

Shc'd be coming up the arm, winged out full offish. Iler sails would be
opened and the boat would be low in the water from the weight ofthc
fish. H1
From this description it is easy to sec how thc o\'erloaded boats could capsize in a
storm. I recorded. howe\'er, only one instance ofa Colliers vcssel being lost:
The last schooner my grcat·gr.mdfather had was lost in 1857 on the
Labrador. Small \'essels there but last the Whelans had. (7) Lost with all
hands - e!c\-en - ofT La Scic (q. l·. , Figure I. 19). My great·grnndfather had
a crippled leg and didn't go that rear. Burke from Colliers was skipper.
ot a CTC\\ of II but some people up there wanted a passage home. Ran
into somc bad weather offLa Scie· Horse Islands, bad reefs. Two bodies
washed ashore. Buried in La Scic, Skipper Burke and another. Very littlc
known about what happened. 0 survivors. Old man Whelan ncver went
but his sons went and built bunkhouses. Established themselves around
Smokey until our time. We were the last to go up.
Flynn. One ofthe girls. I believe two girls. Burke. Ileam. O'Brien from
down the harbour. ed Doyle· relation ofthe Whelan's. Great·
grandfather's wife was a Doyle.
I remember hearing a lot oftalk about accidents and people gelling lost,
vcssels being lost. Two or three people lost from Conception Ilarbour
down around Kitchuses. Number ofvcsscls lost. Vessels lost every ycar.
Storm. Bad weather. No enforcement ofregulation. Might have punt
aboard. Even so, very lillie chance of gcning ashore. No power. Only
sails. When their canvas was lost they couldn't steer. She was at the mercy
ofthc weather tben. 2S8
Several ofmy infomlants were familiar with this 1857 tragedy, bUI a more recent
one, published in the 1899 newspaper. was unknown:
"Two Corpses on Board': Skipper Matthew Whclan arrives al oUiers,
.0. from Labrador, With This Melancholy Freight."
U1 MUNFLA, ms.. 81-483. p. 33.
m MUNFLA 86-01 J. C8700.
155

'arr:tlivcs or Dealh and the Supernalural
ot surprisingly, Ihe supernatural figures prominently in tales ofthe return
\o)agc or of men recently returned from the Labrador. T\\o Colliers mcn who were
returning from Labrador landed in Conception Ilarbour and had to walk home past the
graveyard. despite a bcliefin Colliers that onc should llC\er. ifone could possibly avoid
it. pass the graveyard at night One man. Paddy (Do) Ie). was vcr) nen-oos. As he passed
the gnl\"erard. he tried to reassure himself by saying that -a 1m ofgood men lay there.- to
\\hich his companion replied: ··Yes. and a lot ofbad men too:' This story. first lold 10 me
in 1978. was retold to me at my father's wake in December 1985. 261
The supernatural also figures in one informant"s account of the abovc-mentioned
drowning ofChris Cullen and Joey Walsh. To obtain a fuller version ofthis incident. I
wcnt to speak with the sons ofthe two men, Chris Cullen Jr. and James Walsh. Chris
could not remember the exact year but Jamcs immcdiately said OClobcr 1932 and
proceedcd to tcll thc following account.
The time my fathcr got drowncd (in 1932) wc wcrc all down thcrc, the
fivc of us oul ofone house. The whole fumily clear of my mother and
sistcr. We didn't go down until late. The second ofJuly wc were down
therc. My father was with onc man and I was wilh another. Wc had two
differcnt boats and two difTerent skippers. Feller by Ihe name of Dick
Hayes I was with. (He was) from Briglls but living (here) in Bacon Cove.
My father was with Chris Cullen. thc fcllcr Ihat gal drowncd. Anyway. we
had 10 build a slage. Took a week. Had two small bonts. Very small. Took
fivc barrels each. We used [0 go out wilh thc handlinc and the jigger. We
had, me father and Ihey had 140 (quintals) and we had 130. Ilad it all
made and shipped. And beggar. anyway. we had our boat loaded wilh
luggage and we had her oul in the Tickle. Out in the stream. Ilauled ofT.
261 Clara Joan Murphy. "Wakes and Funeral Customs ofColliers. Conception Bay.
Nc"roundland:' (1978), M FLA, ms., 79-328.
158

him in_ About seven or eight feet. say fiftccn or eighteen feet up from thaI
they stnned trawling and hooked me father.
I don't know whether they blowed out the candle or the candle went out.
They were talking about it. I don't know \\hich but there was something
about the candle. [Here Mr. Walsh paused for a moment seemingly
remembering that night.]
Uncle Jim Doyle, your grandfather. was in the boat too looking for the
bodies. lie was out once or twice. I heard him talking about that.
Definitely they were all there. There must hl1\'c been h\enty-fi\-e or thiny
\\hen they was dressing up the bodies in the shoal. I don't kno\\ ho\\
many they were. I don-t know just who lhcy were. The) was an a\\ful
mess anyhow. But everybody knew them I suppose that was stllying there.
Just the same as you go to a wake now, eh Jake?
Yes. my dear child, I guarantee it was a hard nighl though. Very hard
night. That was October (1932).
lie concluded the story by asking about my father's version ofthe story." ow
was it close 10 what I'm telling youT he askoo. 2 6-1
In this narrative told 53 years after the event look place, Mr. Walsh scts the scene.
then follows the process from the drowning on the L.1brador to thc burial in
Newfoundland. J had litcrally walked in ofT the road 10 ask him about his experiences on
the Lnbrador. I had been talking 10 Chris Cullen's son who cOllldn't rcmember what year
the drowning took place. Mr. Walsh scI the time in October of 1932 and went on to tell
me about being on the Labrador. When I asked ifhe had been down on the Labrador the
year his father's boat swamped, he proceeded to tell me the story knowing Ihat I had
heard it told in pan or in whole by four other people. I asked only one question
throughout the narrative: I-lad the bodies been found immediately? The question sparked
"" MU FLA 86-013. C8635.
161

otTthe description ofjigging for the bodies. My presencc there reminded him that my
grandfathcr had been one ofthe men jigging for thc body. In his narrative he had
mentioned only the Conception Harbour men.
The narrativc shows how the nonnal network ofsupport available in the home
communities came into playas soon as death occurred. Immediately thc ··neighbours"
staned the search for the bodies. The customary ··sorry for your troubles" was extended
to Ir. Walsh \\hen it became apparent that hc was one ofthe bcrca\'ed. The beliefsystem
pro\idcd a mechanism for locating the body apart from the practical methods ofdragging
with a tra\\ I and jigging \\;th a jigger. Anothcr infonnant also described the use ofthe
candlc but credited Mike Gushue with finding the body. According to another infonnant.
it wus Mike Gushue \\ ho cut up a candle and said a praycr and the candle stopped O\·cr
the body.2u The fishcnnen also followed the customary practice of inviting the souls of
the drowned fishennen to come aboard for the trip home to Newfoundland. Seemingly. in
this case, the souls stayed in their boat until they wcre invited aboard. In another case, the
invitation to come l:lboard was answered by the stern of the boat being pushed down
momentarily as ifsomcone had actually stepped into the boal. 2b1i
Once the bodies were recovered the nOnllal practice ofcovering the body until it
could be washed and dressed was followed. Meanwhile n bo:< was made or obtained.
Because the trip home could take three days or three weeks, snit was used to preserve the
'" M FLA. 86-013. C8682
,.. MU FLA 86-013. C8688.
162

ody for the Iinal voyage. 267 The body was kept on deck and stories arc told ofusing the
makeshift coffin as a card table on the return voyage. Its presence supposedly did not
completely darken the mood ofthose returning home aner 3 good summer.
No song was composed to commemorate the drowning ofthcse two men. perhaps
becausc they had been foolish to go out on a rough sca in an o\erloaded boat. Similarly,
to my kno\\lcdge, no song exists to mark the loss ofa vcsscl and ninc livcs from Colliers
in 1857, pfCviously mentioned. Only the direct descendants oflhe owner ofthe \"essel
have preserved the story. The incident was seldom mentioned \\;thin the family, probably
becausc as one member speculated:
"1 suppose he felt bad about the eleven lives lost:' Although two, ifnOlthree, of
my ancestors perished on that vessel. there is no mention of it in family tradition.
Sometimes tragedy could be averted by the sharing bet\\ccn Labradorians and
Newfoundlanders of psychic experiences. George narrated a story his father had told him
about seeing one Sunday evening a phantom schooner thaI no one clse had scen.
So anyway he was sat down in the window the next Sunduy evening and
he seen the samc schooner coming through the Tickle. lie went out to
Uncle Albert and laid him, "There's the schooner now I seen last Sunday
coming though the Ticklc." The schooner came in .md anchored. The
skipl>cr and two or three more of them came ashore. And my father said to
them: "Did you pass lhrough the Icc Tickles here Inst Sunday?" The
skipper snid, "No, I never came lhrough here. I came on lip now", My
futher laid him, "j saw your schooner come through here Inst Sunday
evening handy about the same time:' "Well:' he said. "I dare say you did.
The night before I left home, my mother saw me stood up to her bedside
Wilh my oilcloths on. So for the reason that you saw l11e cOllle through last
Sunday and my mother saw me before -I was intcnding to go home
straight. I'm going to tum to shore. I'm not going to leave Isight oflandj
'" MUNFLA. ms.• 84-218.
16J

and whcn I gcts homc - if I get home. you'l\ hcar from me'-' So anyway,
that Fall on the last boat come down my father had a barrel ofclothes
Idelivcred to him]. He had a Ictter from the man saying that his schooner
had sprung a leak and he had lost everything hc had. But there wasn't any
livcs lost. So the ewfoundland skipper thanked him and said that
between him. my father. and his mother that was \\hat saved his life and
his crew. ow thaCs the stol)' my falher was telling me, )'ou know. It was
a warning I suppose eh. you kno\\.261
Thus it was that a ewfoundland fishennan. by heeding the precognitivc
warnings ofhis mother and the Labrador man. exercised caution and made the trip safely
home. It should be noted here that the clothing was scarce on the Labrador and therefore
used as payment or for baner.
On the schooners that made lhe trip safely. the women would knit and the men
would tell stories and drink berT)·-hackie. 3 hot drink made from a gallon ofbcrrics and
sugar boiled in a kettle and straincd. 269 Upon safc arrival home, families and friends
would be reunited. the fish sold. accounts senled, the wintcr's diet (provisions)
purchased. and normal life resumed. The arrival back \V3S not without tradition:
IL was customary at Brigus for people who did not go to the Labrador to
shake hunds with us and welcome us home. We went through separation
from fricnds and relatives and neighbours and afier four mOllths we were
glad to be incorporated into thc schcmc of things onec morc. 270
Thlls thc L'lbrndor fishermen disbanded and regrollped in other groups lllltil the
following year whcn they would again make preparations to prosecute the Labrador
fishery.
26. MUNFLA 86-013, C8675.
269 MUNFLA. ms.. 79-400. p. 30. There is no mention made ofthis drink in Colliers but
the Colliers men did make moonshine.
27ft M FLA. ms.. 71-103. pg. 19. Tom Doyle mentioned that people would gather in
Conception Ilarbour to meet the boat.
164

CllAl'TElt 6
CO CLUSIO S
This study represents the attempt to fill 3 void in Newfoundland folkJorc studies
b) documenting the effects ofthe Labrador fisher) on the fandife of3 Newfoundland
community_ It has It\l;cn a step towards recording some ofthc orn) folk hislol')' that relates
to thai community and lIlc Labrador fishery in general. What has been collected here. in
summaJ). are brief life stories ofmen and women involved in the Labrador fishery and
the common denominators afme experience ofgoing on the Labrndor: going in collar.
the passage dO\'1l. work activities "hile fishing. social activities on the l.3bmdor. and the
return passage. Each of these common denominators is worthy of further study as are
olher aspects the thesis describes. such as the role of\\omcn in the folklifc ofthe fishery.
sexuality. pranks and tricks. connic!. and cooperation.
This report contains a portion ofthe material gathered regarding participation of
Colliers people in the migratory fishery. This amount of information alone suggests that
the Labrador fishery played an important role in the folklife of the community or
Colliers, despite the fact that the fishery was carried out away from the geographical
setting of the community itself.
The narratives ofthcsc Labrador fishenncn touch upon concerns which affect all
migrant workers: recruitment. transportation. working conditions. food and
accommodations. power and status. Time is not measured by the calendar but by events.
165

such as the passagc down and the actual fishing scason itself. The cmic importance ofthe
cvenls Ihemselves is reinforced by the seasonal relurn 10 the samc setting to fish yearly.
"me reminiscences build up a picture of life in Colliers and life on thc Labrador.
The stories ofthe Labrador are lold in small.scttings usually among family members and
visiting members ofthe group. IntCfV;ewing Ihe people was similar 10 a family galhering
\\ here most ofthe informants remembered some points but others could add little bits
long forgoncn or not known by another pany. "1emorics arc often rek.indled by the deaths
oflhc panicipants and by the continual panicipation ofsomc families. the Coles and the
Whelans. in the fishery.
An example may be seen in the following narrative. It illustrates how the
La radar had a major innuence on some families in Colliers. My grandmother had been
conceivcd out of wedlock on the Labrador in a relationship with a married man. Only two
ofhcr five daughlcrs (my mother. C.O. and aunt, N.S.) knew aboul it and they had heard
the story from othcr people. In my aunt's case, it was told to hcr by her brother-in-law, a
l3elllsland man who had heard it from a man living in the Ridge .. rca orColliers.
C,D.: Mom was born in 1873. The next year her mother wenlto the
Labrador und she never came back. Got married in the year (to somcone
from) Brent's Cove. He was down on the Labrador.
They came up afier.l-lerselfand her daughter and poor Mom went down
the harbour (to visit with them) Maude was hcr rmme, her sister. She
didn't want nonc ofthe family to know. Pcople told me. She was married
then.
N.S.: Do you think I should telljmy daughtcr! Bride? Angela didn't know
or Clara (Nell's sisters).
C.O.: Gen Oinn told me.
166

.S.: Clara (Griffin] asked Kitty McCarthy but she \\ouldn't tell her. Mike
Whelan in around the road told (my brother-in-lawJ Tom Stoyles about
Mom land he taunted me with the infonnationl. 21l
The true nature ofmy grandmother's conception would havc been known to the
Collicrs people fishing on the Labrador in 1872, but the infonnation was not generally
known in Colliers, even among her closest relali\cs. At least one Colliers woman is
nckno\\ledgcd as having had a baby delivered on the Labrador.
Because ofthe young starting age ofthe participants in the fishery. many ofthe
narratives center on pranks and interaction \\;th the opposite sex. Their narratives identif)
the principal families who participated in the Labrador fishery and those that went with
them. The important characteristics ofa Labrador "fishemlan" and "girl" come out in the
stories. Men must be strong, agile, dependable. good at fishing. and good sports. Women
must be good cooks. capable to help at fishing when neccssary. and good sports.
The process of remembering Colliers' particip3tiol1 in thc Labrador fishery is best
dcscribed by Tamara I-Iareven's tenn "generational memory":
By comparison to other cultures, for most Amcricans gCl1CTUlional
mcmory spans n relativcly brief period. Thc term gcncmtionalmcmory is
cmploycd here broadly to encompass the mcmories which individuals
have oflheir own families' history, as wcll as more general collective
mcmories about the past. Most people do not cvcn remember, or never
knew, their grandfathers' occupation or placc of birth. For a small
proportion of the American population mcmory reaches baek 10 the
Amcrican Revolution. or to pre-Mayflower England or Europe. For
descendants of later immigrations, memory extends mostly to lhe lirst
generation in America, or, in fewer instances, to the last generalion in the
"old country." A sense of history docs not depend on the depth of
211 f\.tU FLA 86-013, C8683. This is also an example of prohibitive zones in families.
Sec Itarc"an. p. 255. "Poor" is used to denote people \\ho arc dead.
167

generational memory, but identity and consciousness do. beeause they rest
on the linkage ofthe individual's lire history and family history with
specific historical moments. 272
Ilareven anal)'zcs the recent use oforal history for the purpose of firing a
collectiYC historical consciousness lhrough the discovery ofa common past. 27J In this
case. the common past (i.e.. participating in the Labrador fishery) fired collective
consciousness ofhow livcs were intert\\;ned historically through participating in the
fishery. The generational memory could stretch back 0\er 130 ) ears in some cases.
Such an expansive generational memory rna)' be due to continuity ofoccupation
in fishing families and the socialization im·olved. Or"ar Lofgren listed the stages through
\\hich the Swedish boys drifted into the occupational role of fishermen from helping their
parents at an early age to prepare equipment, to young bo)'s messing around in boats and
listening for hours to the small talk that nowed between fishcnnen in their free time. 174
This paltcm of maritime socialization based upon observation and imitation over long
periods of time rather than actual instruction and formal teaching was as typical in
Newfollndland and Labrador as in European fishing communities. I'cre also, play was
strongly integrated in the leaming ofm3ritime skills as children jigged fish olTlhe wharf
and learned to row the boats in shallow waters close to the shore. While it is true thm
some aspects of technology in the fishery have changcd, many ofthc tcchniqlles orthe
272 Tamara lIarevcn, "The Search for Generational Memory:' in Ora/ I/istory: An
lmerdisciplinory Amh%g}'. ed. David K. Dunaway and Willa K. Baum (Nashville. TN:
American Association for State and Local History. 1984). p. 249.
:m Ilarcvcn. p. 253.
2:74 Lofgren. p. 284.
168

occupation and the hazards and work conditions havc not. Such similarities make the
applications of personal narratives ofone generation easily appreciable by the next
generation.
For example, Theodore Cole. \\ho fished on Ihe Labmdor in the 19705. told how
his brother nearly drowned. This 5101)' was told in the presence of his \,ife. \\hose
grandfather, Chris Cullen.did drown on the Labf3dor (q \'., Chapler 5). Theodore himself
had gone astmy in the fog in Labrador.: m
The narralives also seem to sene the purpose ofrecruiting new workers for the
fishery. There arc three main groups in Colliers who went 10 the Labrador: those who
applied to go. Ihese who were recruited from outside the family, and these who went
along with their families. The people \\ho asked 10 go appear to have been exposed to
others talking oftheir experiences on the Labrador. My father told me he had pestered his
father for three years to take him on the Labrador until he was finally taken at age cleven.
Ilis cousin Tom also told me he wantcd to go becausc his father went. Ilis sistcr Aliee
cxprcssed it best ofall:
Jim llsed to be telling me about the Labrador, Falher didn't wanlmc 10 go
to the Labrador but I wanted to see it. Thcy couldn't gct cither girl so I
said I would go. Hc wanted mc to Slay homc. Jim und Fnther would
always be talking about the Labrador. My brothcr only ninc or tcn when
he went to the Labrador. You heard him talking about it sure. I stayed here
until I gct up to be seventecn or eighteen, then I went down to the
Labmdor.!76
27S MUNFLA 86-013. C8696. The story of Mrs. Cole's grandfather is found on
MUNFLA 86-013. C8635.
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C8634.
169

and my father demonstrated that the Labrador fishery was a familiar topic ofconversation
for them. 271
Tom also recommended that I visit a man he had fished with. Pad Gushue, a
noatcr fishcnnan from Bacon Cove 00\\ living in Iiolyrood. To save time and to help
locate the correct address. I took Dad with me to visit Mr. Gushuc. One story they told
bch\CCn them \\"35 ofa man who was convicted ofstealing a \csscl to come home. It was
the judge's phrase"he should have gotten a medal instead oflhin) days for coming from
the Labrador without a compass" and the fisherman's response of"That's right. your
hackeC \\hich keep the story alive for them. 279 In the third and final interview done in
Bacon Covc at the lowcr cnd ofConception Harbour in the presence ofmy father. he
confirmed for me thai going on the Labrador was a rite ofpassage for him the same as his
first shavc, his first drunk, and passing for a man to buy liquor. The proximity ofthe
departure poinl and (he presence ofanother particip.1nt stirred the memories and the
resulting string of narratives confinned that it was nn experience Ihal was siored in his
inactive repertoire. 28o
The sense of group identity mentioncd abovc is also present with lhe womell. I
worked for a short lime in my sister's club in Collicrs. Onc Snlllrday night a woman from
Conception Ilarbour who kncw I was studying the Labrador fishery said "I bel you don't
know everything about what your father was up to on the LnbradorT' "Probably noC. I
271 MU
219 M
210 M
FLA 86-013. C8691.
FLA86-013.C8632.
FLA 86-013. C8697.
171

suid. "and I always looking for new stories but ifyou mean do I knew he was seeing
other women besides my molher. he told me he did:' he was vcry impressed that I had
been gi\en that information. usually reserved for the actual participants in the fisher).
Ann Grace recalled how my father, who had grown up on thc Labrador. ne\er missed an
opportunity to point out that they had been on the Labrador togcther.
UTe he Slicks up [beside me) when I'm down to Father TCTT)'s or (any
place) and gets me o\"er on side ofhim [to show tX)\i, much taller he is
tban me and he would say] "She was a \\ell grO\\ed \\oman and I was a
lillie fella (\\hen we \\ere on the Labrador). I said.··Yes.and many's a time
I had a smack at you. too:.,2I1
The "group" also consisted ofa large proportion ofthe community. Master Lar
Whelan. a retired schoolteacher. recalls:
Practically all our people went. (Thel principal families Doyles. Whelans.
Burkes [went] to mostly around Smokey. Splitting Knife. and Cut Throat.
[The) Doyles - James. Patrick and Ned - went in the early days.
MacDonalds had a little schooner. Nearly four fifths of the population
would be gone. Average family between seven and ten,m
To explain the expression "everyone went on the Labrador." my father slated that
for every Colliers family llame in the telephone directory at least one 10 three family
members went on the Labrador at some timc or another.
Why did the fishcry have such extensive cultural encets on the community? A
major reason may have been that the fishery played an important part within the
21' M FLA 86-013. C8684.
'" M NFLA 86-013. C8688.

community cconomy. Migration has been seen as a response to cconomic demands m and
thc economic aspects have had to the expression orthc fishery in the rolklife ofthe
community despite low earnings and frequcnt Ican ycans.
Considering that more than one quarter of thc year was spent prosecuting lhe
Labrador fishery. thc direct cash benefits were quite small and at some times. there were
no cash earnings after expenses were paid. Paddy (Fly) McGrath left the fishcr')' due to
the 10\\ wages. z ,", But. olher economic advantages were available through the fishel). as
secn in the story ofCaptain Man Whelan. \\here although the cre\\ earned onl)' 51.4.50
each for thc summer. they each secured two quintals of fish. "enough to keep a family
going all winter. zlS George Cole referred to getting a share oflhree quintals. raising cash
through thc salc ofone or two quintals and keeping onc for himsclf. z16 Women's wages
from cmplo)'ment, while low. funher contribUlcd to family income.
It should be considered that. during the time period in question. the community
economy was not extensivcly cash based. Subsistence fanning contributed to family
income by direct means of growing food, rathcr than thc eash purchase of foodstulTs.
Bakenpples and smoked salmon. along with the winter fish brought back from the
Labrador, increased the family's winter food stocks. Therefore. while direct cash income
incentive from the Labrador fishery may have been low. the incentive ofaugmenting feed
sources through the harvesting of fish and other resources was quite high, whether or not
21) Lee. p. 288-89.
,.. MUNFLA 86-013. C8693. Sec Chapter 5.
'" MUNFLA 86-013. C8700.
"" M FLA 86-013. C8689. Sec Chapter 3.
173

this was perceived in this manner by members ofthe community. This may have been
made evcn morc attractive by the absence ofany other seasonal activity during this time:
There was nothin' else to do. only fish. I mean. that's all there was to do. Twas a
matter ofsur\'i\'ing. You had to go to the fishery and that was combined \\;th
gardeninfiand logging in the \\;nter and that \\ould supplement lour earnings for
the year. 1
In this way. the annual migration to Labrador to fish can tx: secn as an important
component in the economic matrix. This importance was transferred to the social aspcclS
ofthc culture making itselfevident within the folldife ofthe community ofColliers
through song. story. and group identification.
Another factor which contributed to Ihe importance oflhe Labrador fishery in rich
cultural expression was the participation ofboth men and \\omen. The men outnumbered
Ihe \\omen fivc to one. Because Ihe men traditionally started 31 around age twelve and the
women at age elevcn to fifteen depending on whelher or not they were cooking for their
own families. Ihey Iilcrally grew up on the Labrador. as is nOled in my falher's narratives
in Ihc previous chapters.
As summarized by Ravenstcin (sec Chnplcr I). those who pnrtieipn(ed in the
Labrador fishery procceded a short dislance in response to an economic demand for fish.
Thcre was a significant role played by women. While there was a demand for fish and
fish to supply Ihe demand. there was also a reservc anny of skilled workers who learned
(heir trode by living the fishing and the related tasks which basically had not changed
'" MU FLA. ms., 79-256, p. 8.
174

much during the period ofmy study and is captured in Ilcmlan MoWs illustration (Figure
4).
"Skill"" was learned traditionall) from generation to gencration through
observation and imitation. It was reinforced through songs. stories. practical jokes and
practice. practice. practicc. As stated in Chaptcr I. economy and tcchnology are the
dominant factors in migration. which then folio" certain pauems for the distance and the
type ofpeople mo\·ing. Seldom.. indeed. in the history of labour has the reserve army of
skilled or unskilled \\orkers been given preferential treatment. This is as true in 2009 as it
wus in the time ofmy father's trips to the Labrador and evcn ofm) own on the northern
end of my trip when the vessel was overcrowded. llowever. ewfoundland migrant
fishermen and families were unlike perpetual migrants for one main reason; they moved
as a pan of living. not as a means of living. Because of the folklore being constantly
brought home to the community and shared on Ihe voyage down. newcomers were
prepared for the initiation into the rites ofpassage that made the transition from outsider
to insider. You can read about the Labrador fishery. even lake u cruise on the Labrador
Sen. but unless yOll have spcnt time living the life, youlmvc 110t been "on the Labrador,"
as have the people whose experienccs I have recorded here in parI.
Fin:II Comment's
This is by no means a finished projcct. The experienec of living in the community
for sixteen ycars and following the fishcry for three wecks opened my cyes to the
richness ofthe matcrial but left me with more questions than ans\\crs. Thc majority of
narratives in MUNFLA comes from Conception Ba), the capital ofthe stationer fishery as
175

can be evidenced in the Stationers Festival held in Cnrboncar since 1987 and the Price of
Fish Exhibit put together by four Conception Bay communities in 1991. 288 The Labrador
fishery from the floaters' point of view has yet to be compiled.
The L

IlIULJOGRAI'IIY
Bascom, William. "Four Functions of Folklore:' 1954: The SlIIdy ofFolklore. Ed. Alan
Dundes. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice Hall. 1965.279-298.
Beck. lIorace. Folklore a/the Sea. American 1arilimc Libra!). '0.6. Middletown. eN:
Weslyan P.1973.
Blassingame. John W. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum Souib.
Now York: Oxford UP. 19n.
Brandes. taoley II. Migration. Kinship, and Community: Traditions and Transition in a
Spanish Village. Now York: Academic. 1975.
Britain. Gerald. ·'Migration. Ecology and Choice: Social Process on a 1 c\\foundland
Island:- Unpublished ms. S1. John"s: Memorial U. Centre for Newfoundland
Studies. 1972.
Browne, P. W. Where the Fishers Go: The Slory oIUlbrat/or. Now York: Cochrane;
Iialifax, NS: T.e. Allen; London: T. Wener Lauric, 1909.
Brownc. W. J. "In Praisc of Our Land." Section [V. "The Old District of Harbour Main."
Nell:folll1dltllld Quarterly 34:4 (April 1935): II.
Brunvand. Jan I-Iarold. The StlldyofAmerican Folklore: All Imrodllct;Oll. 2nd cd. Now
York: Norton, 1978.
Buckle. George. "Everything is Changed:' Them Days 10:4 (1985), p. 47.
Buckle. Jack. "A Hundred Quintals for Two (Dollars a Quintal). 11,em Days 2: 4 (1977).
pp.6-7.
Butt. Eben. "We GOI Our Grub on Charge:' Them Days 3:4 (1978). p. 41.
178

Butt, Isabelle, "We Were Happy;' 11,em Days I: 3 (1976), PI'. 52-53.
Byrne, Cyril J. "The Church in the History ofthe Parish of I-I arbour Main." Ollr People.
.Our Church: SIS. Peter (lnd Paul Parish Harbour Main. Newfollndland 1857­
/982. Harbour Main, NF: J Glavinc. 1983, pp. 39-53.
Campbell, Lydia. Sketches ofLabrador Life. 1894; rpl. Ilappy Valley-Goose Bay: Them
Do)'s.1980.
"Central District Coun;' £\'ening Telegram. 21 Deeemhcr 1888.
Chimmo, William. Journal ofa Voyage 10 Labrador in HM.S Gannet. /867. Center for
Newfoundland Studies. OMF-40.
Danielson, Larry. 'The Folklorist, (he Ora1l-1istorian, and Locall-listory:' Oraillislory:
An/tlferdiscip/inary Amhology, Eds. David K. Dunaway and Willa K. Baum.
Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History, 1984.
Davis, Margaret. "Sandwich Bay Nurse:' Them Days, 2:4 (1977), p. 44.
Dcgh, Linda. Four Lives in rhe Tobacco /Jelt. Mercury Series, No. 13. Ottawa: National
Museum of Canada, Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies, 1975.
Dorson. Richard. "The Oral Historian and the Folklorist." Oral/'lis/DlY All
11I/erdisc:iplillwy An/hology. Eds. David K. Dunaway and Willa K. l3aum.
Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Localilistory, 1984, PI'. 291-
299.
Doyle, Mary Bernice. "The History ofthe Seulement ofthe Head of Conception Bay:'
MA Thesis. Memorial University of Newfoundland. 1971.
Earle. John M.. "Sing a Song Me Son:' Them Days 10; 3 (1985), PI'. 54-55.
179

Iliscock. Phillip. "Folklore and Popular Culturc in Early cwfoundland Broadcasting: An
Analysis of Occupational arrati\'c. Oraillistory and Song Rcpertoire:' M.A.
Thcsis. Memorial U of ewfoundland. 1986.
- "Folk Programming Versus Elite Information: The Doyle Bulletin and the Public
Dispatch. .. Culture and Tradition 12 (1988). pp. 41·59.
Ilussc). Greta (Lear). Our Life on uar's Room Labrador. Ed. Susan Shiner. 51. John·s.
F: Robmson·B1ackmorc. 1981.
Jackson. Lawrence. BOllnt)' ofa Barren Coas,. ResOllrCf! 1I0n'est and&"Ieme", in
Southern Labrador. Phase One. 51. John's: Memorial ni\'crsity. Labrador
Institute for orthem Studies, 1982.
Johnston, James. Grf!nJell on the Labrador. London: . W. Partridge. n.d.
Jones. Many Jane, "My Labrador,"' Them Days, 1:3 (1976). pp. 54·55. 5
Kimiecik, Kathryn. "Aspects ofContemporary Courtship in a Rural Newfoundland
Community." MA thesis, Memorial U of Newfollndland. 1987.
Landes, Ruth. "A Woman Anthropologist in Brazi1." WOII/all in file Field:
Anfhropological Experiences. Ed. Peggy Golde. Chicago: Aldinc Publishing
Company. 1970.
Leach, MacEdward. Folk Ballads and Songs oJrlle Lower Lahrador Coast. National
Museum ofCanada Bulletin No. 201. Anthropological Series No. 68, Onawa:
Queen's Printer. 1965.
Lee. Evcrctt S."A Theory ofMigration." Population Geography: A Reader. Ed. George
J. Demko. et al. Now York: McGra\\·I-lill. 1970. pp. 288·298.
181

Murray, Alcxander. Geological Sun'cy ofNcwfoundland: Repon of Progress for the
Year 1881. 51. John's: le. Withers. 1882.
Murray. Ililda Chaulk. More Than 5001a: Woman's Life in a c"foundland Outport.
1900-1950. St. John's: Breakwatcr. 1979.
Musgro\·c. F. The Migrator)' £Iile. London: Heinemann Educational Books. 1963.
O·Brien. Pat. "Whale Factory at Schooner Co\e:' Them Days 7:1 (1981). p. 50.
O·Sullivan. Scan. Ilandbook ofIrish Folklore. 19-12: rpt. Ilatboro, PA: Folklore
Associates. 1963.
OppersdorfT. Tony. Coastal Labrador: A Northern Odyssey. Halifa.x: limbus. 1991.
Our People..Our Church: SIS. Peter and Paul Parish Ilarbour Main. Newfoundland 1857·
1982.llarbour Main. NF: published privately, 1983.
P"blic Ledger. March 27.1838.
Rosenow. John E. and Gerreld L. Pulsipher. Tourism: The Good. the Badand the Ugly.
Lincoln. NE: Century Three, 1979.
Ryan. M. P. Ryall's Favorites: Old Songs ofNellfoundllllld. Colliers, NF: published
privately, 1957.
Rynn, Shannon. Fish out ofWaleI'; The Ne\11ol/ndltmd Saltji.\·" 1)·ade. 181 .J·I 91.J.
Newfoundland History Series. no. 2. $1. John's: Breakwater. 1986.
Ryland. Anhur. "Trapping. Trawling and Jigging," Them Days 3:4 (1978). pp. 6-7.
Saunders, Doris (cd.). "Special Issue on the Kyle," Them Days 9:4 (1984).
Saunders. Frank. Sailing Vessels and Crews ofCarbonear: Stories a/the Sea. 51. John·s.
NF: Robmson·B1ackmorc. 1981.
183

MUNFLA illS 84·220 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8621/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8629/86-0iJ (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8631/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8634/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8635/86-0I3 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8671186·0i3 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8672/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8673/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8674/86-0I3 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8675/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8678/86·013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8682/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8683/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8684/86·0I3 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8686/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8689186·013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8692/86·013 (Collcctor: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8693/86·013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8696/86·0I3 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8697/86·013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MUNFLA tape C8700/86·013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
187

MUNFLA lapc C8701/86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
MU FLA lapc C8702l86-013 (Collector: Clara J. Murphy)
PA L P4J16. Magistrate E. J. Warnell Collection.
PA L. G.. 1 A. #253. 49(1904)
IDLA. T057.
TDLA 487 Is. p. 3.
TDLA Ralph Barrett Collection
188

Jill's Questionnaire for the Coastal Boats
h. Ilow long ha\c you worked on the coastal boats?
2. Who owned and operated the Kyle in the J9405? Ilow many crew? What was its
run? What timc ofrear did thc Kyle operate?
3. Ilow many othcr ships were operating on thc Labrador coast? 110\\ keen were
crews to gct assigned to this run?
4. An) changes to its operation \\hen C took cvcr? Wcre there any Olhcr scn'ice
\csscls operating the coast run from the J940's on? Freight vessels. hospital vessels. mail
boat?
5. When was the boat most crowded? Was it slack mid-season or was it busy with
freight? Ifthe boat was crowded. did they pick people up or did they hu\'e to wait until
the next trip?
6, Did the boat deal mainly with stationers or with nouters as well? Bankers? What
wns the cost oftickcts? Could people book ahead for slecping accommodations or was it
"first come, first served"? Where did the most slcep? Ilow did they deal with bodies? Did
the prol>Ortion oferews travelling on the coastal boats change in the 1940s? (i.e.. did
more people travel on the CN boats and less on private schooners?) Was thc role ofthe
coastal boat increasingly important?
7. What wcre the trnditions ofthe Labrador Schooncrs and coastal ships? Did the
conditions ofthe passagc to Labrador improvc? Wcre thcre any ceremonics for crossing
thc Strait of Belle Islc among either the crew on the passengers?
189

8. In thc I940s, were fishcnnen still allowed to sleep in the hold? Did the fishennen
take cvcrything they nceded at the beginning ofthe season on did thcy have things sent
up during thc season? What sent ofthingslgear were taken up? Did many families
accompany the men? Skippers' familics or crew's families? Did stationers comc mostly
from Conception Bay or were there other ccntn.-s? Did)ou notice any changcs in the type
ofpeople fishing on the Labrador or in their gear or location? Did people take their boats
up and down? What were the prices for freight?
9. Do the merchants still play an important role? What is the latcst crews sl.ared on
thc Labrador? Did you notice any division or conflict between thc ewfoundlanders and
the local people? Ilow is fish taken from the coast?
10. Ilow important was the coastal boat to local communities? What was the main
servicc provided to them?
11. What sort of problems were encountered? Since 1950 on, what changes? Do you
see uny recent changes on the Labrador coast compared to years ago? Is it going to
change in the future?
12. Where do Newfoundlanders go to fish no\'/l
190

Questionnaire
API'ENllIX II
1. When did ),ou first go to the Labrador? Why?
2. Ilow many trips did rou make?
3. Where did you go on me Labrador?
4. Who was there fishing? As merchants?
5. Who went from your community?
6. What preparations did ),Oll make?
7. Who looked after your property and family?
8. Where did ),ou lea\'e from?
9. What kind ofsend ofT did you get?
10. What were conditions like on the vessel?
Ih. What did you do to pass the time? (e.g., King NCplllllC. List 011 songs. games,
stories, sayings, giving as much detail as possible.)
12. Did you have a particular name for the trip down?
13. Did yOli have a particular nallle for the boxes you used to pack your gcar?
14. Did you have a particular name for the people who went on the Labrador:
landsmen. planters. stationers. Labrador fishcmlcl1. floatcrs. sharemcn. servants. girl?
15. Did you run into any difficulties on the trip down?
16. Describe the house where you lived on the Labrador.
17. Describe what you did on arrival.
18. Describe the day's work for a man. cook. children.
J9J

19. Did you have any spare time? Did you have any name for your spare time
fishennen's holiday? I-Iarbour days?
20. What did you do in you spare time?
2 I, What kinds ofstories. dances. songs. recitations were done and by whom? (Give
as mueh detail as possible.)
22. Did you learn any new songs. dances, etc.• while on the Labrndor?
23. Would you perfonn these songs. dances. etc., \\hen you gct back home?
24. Ifso, \\hat \\ere people's reactions to them?
25. Who visited the place where you lived (e.g., doctors. missionaries. Inuit
(Eskimos). Innu (Indians). livyers. foreign sailors?)
26. Ilow did you look after people \\ho suffcred illness. accidcnts. death?
27. lIow did you know ifa stonn \\'as coming in?
28. What preparations were madc?
29. Arc there any stories ofshipwreck? lfso, please give as much detail as possible.
30. What preparations did you make for the return trip?
31. Did yOll bring back any gifts of bakcapples. native hundicraOs? If so. to whom
and how often?
32. Describe the trip back.
33. What happened to you as soon as you arrivcd home?
34. What work awaited you?
35. What did you tell your family/friends about the Labrador?
36. Did you talk about the Labrador over thc winter months? To \\hom. \\hy?
192

37. Did you look forward (0 going on tne Labrador again? Why?
38. What did you like mosl aboul the Labrador lishery?
39. What did you like least about the Labrador lishcry?
40. What would you tell your grandchildren aboul your experiences on Ihe Labrador?
41. Did you make up any songs aboutlhe Labrador?
42. \Vho named Ihe communities on the Labrador?
43. Amounl and method of payment.
193

Figure 4. Following Page.
Figures
An illustration from Ilcmlan Moll's map of 1710.
194

195
J

Figure 5. Following Page.
My grandfalhcr's housc. Ihe oldest one in Colliers. with Tom Doylc's house in lhe
background.
1%

197

Figure 6. Following Page.
Iiousc located al Tickeraluck Island. Labrador, used for summcr fishcry.
198

199