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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