CANOEING--FISH OF THE PLACE--THE ORMER AND LIMPET--A CURIOUS
FISHING ADVENTURE--QUEER CAPTURES FROM THE SEA--ROCK
FISH--CONSTRUCT A FISH-POND AND WATER-MILL.
When the warm days and calm seas of May came I turned my thoughts to the
sea, of which I am passionately fond, and of which one never seemed to
tire, as one does of tame river water. Unfortunately my only vessel was
a canoe about fourteen feet long by three feet beam, and for sea work,
such as one gets round the shores of these islands, quite unfitted; but
there it was, and I had simply Hobson's choice--that or none.
On a calm sea, with a tide running only one way, such as one gets on the
English coast, the canoe was all very well and fairly safe; but here,
through the Percée, as the channel is called between Herm and Jethou,
the tide at times runs with great speed, and meeting with the resistance
of the Ferriers and other huge rocks, whirls, and turns, and foams in
all directions, so that a frail craft like a canoe would be a death-trap
to anyone foolhardy enough to venture out in it. That being the case, I
could only follow my canoeing hobby when the sea was calm, but even then
did not venture far from land.
I had several narrow escapes from upsetting, and at last, whilst lying
sleeplessly in bed (where, by-the-bye, most of my thinking and scheming
is done), the idea of making alterations in my canoe came under my
consideration, and before I went to sleep that night I had made up my
mind to improve her stability in several ways. I would make her fore and
aft compartments air-tight, so that if she turned turtle she would act
as a life preserver, and moreover, why not add an outrigger, such as the
natives of the Pacific have to theirs, making them almost impossible to
upset?
The second day saw my plans an accomplished fact. I put in bulkheads
fore and aft, and pitched the canoe inside and out, making her heavier,
but thoroughly water-tight--the end compartments being even air-tight. I
raised the combing of the well to six inches in height, put on a deeper
keel, shortened my mast, and added an outrigger. What more _could_ I do?
The outrigger I made of a bundle of bamboos lashed firmly together, like
the pictures one sees of the old Roman Fascines, or Rods of Authority,
and this I fastened about five feet from the side by means of a couple
of stout ash saplings. I found these improvements so admirable, that I
was not afraid in light winds (having gained a knowledge of the tides
and currents) of venturing anywhere either around Jethou or Herm.
Immense quantities of fish are found all round Jethou, the principal
being lobsters, crabs, crayfish, spider crabs, plaice, John Dorey,
soles, ormers, pollock, bass, gurnard, skate, cod, long-nose, rock fish,
turbot, brill, whiting, and conger.
Several of the fish I had never seen before, as they are rarely if ever
caught off the Norfolk coast; thus John Dorey, spiders, ormers, rock
fish, and pollock were all new to me, and gave me great enjoyment in
their capture, beside which I was greatly taken with the flavour of both
the Dorey and pollock, scores of which I caught in the Percée.
The ormer, rarely seen in England, is, I believe, sometimes called the
Sea Ear. It is somewhat the shape and size of a half cocoa nut (divided
lengthwise). The outside of the shell is of a rough texture, and of a
dull red colour, while the inside is beautifully coloured with an
iridescent mother o' pearl coating. (Why do we never hear anything of
the father o' pearl?) The ormer adheres to the rocks like the limpet
tribe, but is seldom seen above _low_ water-mark, like the limpet, who
loves to be exposed to the sun and air twice a day.
The flesh of the ormer, when grilled, is something like a veal cutlet
cooked in a fishy frying-pan, and I cannot say I was greatly enraptured
with the uncommon univalve.
My first meeting with the ormer was by accident. I was having an _al
fresco_ lunch of bread and raw limpets which I was detaching from the
rocks, eating them with a seasoning of vinegar and pepper which I had
brought with me when, being close down to the water among some outlying
rocks (as it was a very low neap tide), I saw something just under the
surface of a pool, of a dull red colour, which I perceived to be a
shell-fish of some kind. Stooping down, with a rapid blow of my knife I
detached it, and ere it sank into the unknown depths of the pool,
plunged in my left hand and secured it. It was an ormer--at least, so I
supposed, and on this supposition took it home and compared it with a
book on shells I had, and being satisfied with my researches, cooked and
ate the mollusc, although in some doubt. Next day, feeling much as the
first man who ever swallowed an oyster did--alive and hearty--I went at
dead low tide and gathered some more and ate also, but finally came to
the conclusion that one good sole was worth a sack of ormers. Still,
there is no accounting for taste. Some of the islanders are very fond of
ormers; but what is one man's meat is another's "_poisson_."
Although at neap tide on many occasions I gathered many more, it was
more for the beauty of the shells than the flavour of the fish inside
them.
For one with artistic tastes and love of colour like myself, the
interior of an ormer shell is a veritable fairy grotto. One discovery I
made regarding them and that is, that they form a dainty dish for the
huge conger eels which abound among the rocks, and about this bait I
must presently tell a little more.
The granite rocks below high water-mark are simply spotted all over with
myriads of limpets, some of them of enormous size. Many of the shells in
my collection are over three inches across, and the fish when cooked
make two ample mouthfuls. My manner of dressing them was to place them
in a tub of sea water for a night, and then to lay them on a gridiron,
point downward, over a bright fire, and grill them. When cooked they
would drop out of their shells when turned upside down over a plate
containing vinegar and pepper, and I considered them very nice. A friend
of mine who has tasted them in Cornwall says they would make any
well-bred dog sick. Thus, I say again, tastes vary!
I must allow, however, that the leathery limpet is as far behind the
delicious sole or turbot in flavour, as a turnip is inferior to an
apple; but still a change is desirable, and for the matter of change I
think I had a turn at everything eatable on the island or in the sea
surrounding it, and still live to tell the tale.
Well, now, let me tell an adventure that befell me while conger fishing
off the Creviçhon one calm evening just after dark. First let me point
out a device I had to adopt because my canoe had not sufficient space to
hold or carry all the fish I sometimes caught. I had to have recourse to
a floating fish carrier, and this I contrived out of an old dry goods
box, which I bored full of holes, so as to allow a current of water to
flow through and keep my fish alive. To give floating power to this
_fish-pound_, I fastened large bungs all round the outside, and to each
of the four corners I attached an inflated bladder, so that I could
easily store in it from thirty to forty pounds of fish, as it must be
observed, that whilst _in_ the water the fish will swim, and thus add
but little weight to their floating prison. This box I attached to the
outrigger by a stout lanyard, and fended it off with the paddle, if the
eddy brought it in too close proximity to my craft.
Well, to my fish story. I had been anchored for about two hours near
Rocher Rouge fishing for conger, of which I had caught three small ones,
beside several rock fish and whiting, when I thought I would try another
kind of bait, so I armed my hook with a small ormer, which being of a
gristly texture, held on the barb well. Over the side went the gear,
attached to a strong line of thick water-cord, and although it was down
a considerable time no warning tug gave hope of sport to follow, so I
busied myself with the other two lines I had down, with a fair amount of
success. At length getting tired of taking nothing on my big line, I
thought I would coil it up and examine the bait, but when I had got the
line straight up and down it refused to leave the bottom, tug as I
would. I pulled till my canoe danced and bobbed about in an alarming
manner, in fact, till the coaming was in danger of going under the
gently heaving sea, but to no purpose; it would not budge, so tripping
anchor I paid out line and paddled fifty yards, thinking that if my hook
had fouled a rock I might by a side pull clear it. I hauled in gently,
and to my surprise found the line come in with a curious vibrating
motion, in little jerks, till it got straight up and down again, and
then I had a hard pull to get it from the bottom; but still I did get it
up little by little, and was now positive that it was a fish of some
kind, and of great weight. Foot after foot of line came in very
spasmodically, and with great reluctance, till at last a great, ugly,
slimy head, with yellow-green eyes, came above the surface, and so large
did it appear, that it quite took me aback. In my surprise I let go
several coils of the line before I knew what I was about. The head was
enormous and _ex pede Hercules_. I knew the body must be of gigantic
proportions too. That I had hooked one of Neptune's fiends seemed
certain, and I was some time before I hauled up again to see really what
I had captured. In came the line again, foot by foot, with great
difficulty, till at length up came the terrible head again. But this
time I was prepared, and setting my teeth, held on. It was a huge
conger, such as I had never seen before, and which came very near being
the last I might gaze upon, for suddenly it brought its tail up over the
outrigger, and before I could counterbalance my craft, seemed to swamp
the canoe by its dead weight and the power of its fins. I was in the
water in a second, but never loosened my hold of the line. Letting go
the loose coils I struck out for Rocher Rouge, only some fifty yards
away, and, landing at the foot of the great granite throne, commenced to
haul in my line. To my joy the canoe, which still floated with its
coamings out of water, although the well was full, followed my line. I
afterwards ascertained that in falling overboard I had dropped between
the canoe and outrigger, and had thus drawn the line through the
intervening space after me. To this fact I owed the recovery of my
craft, which would otherwise have floated away, as I should have been
afraid to follow it, although an excellent swimmer, as the currents are
here so strong that I should probably never have got back again.
[Illustration: "I WAS SWAMPED IN A MOMENT."]
The canoe came slowly in till it was within reach, when I seized it, and
with a mighty effort dragged it ashore undamaged. The lines I also drew
in and coiled tidily away, leaving the long one till the last, which, to
my great surprise, when I hauled in, still had the monstrous eel in tow.
I quite thought he had freed himself when he swamped me, but such was
evidently not the case. Having a firm footing I hauled in my line with
more confidence, and at length got my lord close to the rocks, and in
the clear water could see his huge length and thickness. He was a
terrible fellow, and if he had got my legs in his embrace might have
easily drowned me; but I did not give him a chance to use either his
tail or teeth, but getting his head close to the rocks I took a turn of
the line round a projecting crag, and proceeded to slaughter the monster
with my only weapon, the paddle. He took a lot of assassinating, but
gave up the ghost at last, after I had nearly pounded his head to a
jelly.
Old "Begum," I must mention, witnessed my sudden departure from my
canoe, and the dear old fellow arrived at Rocher Rouge at the same
moment that I landed, so that we faced each other dripping wet in a most
comical manner. I sent "Begum" to fetch "Eddy," and in the meantime
emptied the canoe and put all straight, so that when the two animals
appeared on the cliff, standing out in bold relief against the clear
sky, I was in my canoe and on the way to the Cotills. They followed me
till I landed, and came and stood by me like two old comrades. I had
dragged the conger after me through the sea with a cord through his
gills, and this cord I attached to "Eddy," who dragged him home in
triumph, while I sat on his back, _à la conqueror_, as I rode into my
domain, tired and wet, and as hungry as the proverbial hunter.
A cheerful blaze of wood soon caused the kettle to boil, and over my
tea-supper I congratulated myself over my lucky adventure, for to lose
neither fish, canoe, nor self, was indeed a large slice of luck.
Next day I improvised a pair of scales with the help of a half
hundredweight and a seven-pound weight which I possessed, and found to
my surprise that the monster weighed one hundred and three pounds. This
was not only the largest eel I ever caught, but the largest I ever saw.
In Guernsey market the heaviest conger I saw was one of sixty-seven
pounds--a baby in comparison to mine!
The weights I used in weighing the monster were stones adjusted to the
proper iron weights, which I used as standards, and then by selecting
various sized stones obtained after great toil a whole set, from one
pound up to ten pounds, and thus could weigh anything.
I had many other fishing adventures, but I think the above was about the
most exciting. I had many good takes of whiting and pollock, but was not
so fortunate among the soles, and plaice, and such-like ground game, as
my net was a very ramshackle affair of my own construction.
I had also some remarkable miscellaneous captures at different times.
Once in the winter I had laid a long line for codling, and brought up,
firmly hooked, a very nice red tablecloth, beautifully worked round the
edge by some skilled hand in an Oriental pattern. I used it on gala
days as a flag, and I dare say passers by in the various vessels
wondered to what nationality it belonged, as the centre was ornamented
with a golden elephant with very curly tusks worked in white beads.
Another day I fished up a copper oil can, such as engineers use to oil
machinery with; and yet another time a bag of gravel which had
apparently once formed part of a yacht's ballast.
When I found time heavy on my hands I would often take my canoe about
fifty yards south of La Fauconnaire, and with two or three lines fish
for rock fish, and never, on a single occasion, returned empty-handed.
The worst part of this performance was digging the bait of lugworms on
the little beach of Creviçhon. It was terribly hard work lifting the
rocks and boulders aside to find a place to dig, and then it was harder
work in digging the nasty worms from the granite grit in which they
resided, dwelt, or had their horrid being. Probably these hairy, oozy
creatures have their joys and pleasures, and their woes, just as every
other of God's creatures, but of what their happiness consists who can
tell? Anyway they are good for bait, and so have use if not beauty to
commend them.
Crabs and lobsters I could trap at any time by putting down "pots"
anywhere round the island; but after a few weeks I got quite tired of
them for the table, but would occasionally put down a couple of "pots"
to see what of a curious nature I could catch. The crayfish,
spider-crabs, and hermit crabs, gave me infinite amusement, as they are
so different in their manners and customs to the ordinary crabs, and are
very bellicose, going for each other tooth and nail, or rather legs and
claws, in a most terrible manner. The way these little crustaceans
maimed each other put me in mind of the scene in Scott's "Fair Maid of
Perth," where the rival clans hew each others' limbs off with
double-handed swords, so that a truce has to be called for the purpose
of clearing the battle-ground of human _debris_. The crabs have the
advantage over the human species, insomuch that they can reproduce a
lost limb.
Finding I could catch a large quantity of fish of all kinds, especially
rock fish, which, being new to me, I greatly admired, I set about
constructing a fish pond near the house.
These rock fish are a curiosity in the way of fish. They run from about
six inches to two feet in length; weigh from a few ounces to a dozen
pounds, and no two that I have ever caught are alike, either in colour
or disposition of spots. They are spotty and speckly all over. Some have
copper-coloured spots, some yellow, some brown, some green, some red,
and some an assortment of colours, so that one never knows what colour
is coming up next. Persons who are fond, when playing cards, of betting
upon the colour of the trump to be turned up--black or red--would find
the pastime of "backing their colour" infinitely varied, if they tried
to guess the colour of the fish which would next appear.
My first fish pond, ten feet by five feet, was a failure, as it was
leaky; but not to be beaten I commenced another and much larger one,
sixteen feet by ten feet. I selected a site close above high water-mark,
and commenced digging, and in fact worked a whole day at it, intending
to line it with a mixture of sand and lime, of which I had several tubs
for making mortar for repairing the brickwork of my homestead; but that
very evening I discovered a natural fish pond, or rather a pool, that
could be turned into one by a little outlay of labour.
A cleft between two large rocks, separating them by about six feet,
allowed the sea at high tide to flow into a pool at the foot of an
amphitheatre of rocks, which gave a basin of water, at high tide, about
twenty feet across. Here was a grand, natural fish pool, and I soon
turned it into a comfortable home for my finny captures.
First at low tide I cleared the bottom of this pool, and made it deeper.
Then, having previously made a huge batch of mortar, I set to work and
built a wall of rock across the cleft, until I had raised it six feet
high, taking great care to make it perfectly water-tight. This I
strengthened by laboriously placing blocks of stone on each side, so as
to prevent the sea from toppling my mortar-built wall over. As a pond it
was a perfect success, except in one particular, and that was that the
water in time would evaporate, or become stale; so I put my wits
together and constructed a curious kind of mill pump, which worked with
four wooden buckets upon an endless rope. It was jerky, but effective;
that is it was effective at high water, when the tide came up to my
sea-wall. At this time the mill, being placed right for the wind, would
commence to work, and the buckets to ascend and descend, and each shoot
its gallon of water into the pond, till sometimes it was full to the
brim, and even running over. Thus I could change the water at will. I
was simply delighted, and fished from morning till night to stock my
pool, and in a fortnight had specimens of all kinds, colours, and sizes.
Eels, soles, whiting, dorey, pollock, long-nose, crabs, lobsters were
all there, but to my mind the big blubber-lipped rock fish were the
peacocks of my pool.
I was so fond of lingering by this pool to read, and smoke, and watch
the fish, that I built myself a rock summer-house, and roofed it in with
wood, upon which I placed a layer of mortar, and then thatched it with
pine branches and braken. It was a picturesque little house, in a
picturesque spot, and if I tell the truth, I believe I made a
picturesque Crusoe.
My dress consisted, in summer, of white duck trousers, canvas shoes,
coloured flannel shirt, a blue jean jacket, and broad-brimmed hat. Round
my waist I always wore a long red sash; it was four yards long,
consequently, would encircle my waist three times and still leave some
of the two ends to hang down at my side. This sash I found very useful,
for I used it as a wallet or hold-all. Nothing came amiss to
it--tobacco, pipes, cartridges, biscuits, fruit, fishing tackle, all
were tucked away in it at different or the same time, as they were so
easy to get at, and left the hands free.
Now let us leave fish and fishing, and see in what other ways I enjoyed
my solitary life.
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