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Yankee Folk
PORTUGUESE FISHERMAN
"I wouldn't never be happy without X had a boat under me."
deeset I come near lose my boat. I just fix her up nice new paint,
clean her up, everything. Then I was going put in whole new engine. Well,
I need some tar, so I get her in a bucket, heat upAfire, see? First thing
I know, she catches goes right up! My boy he shout. I grab the 'sting-
uisher and let her have it, but tar she burns terrible. I see I'm going lose
eyboat. I holler at the boy and the men. They won't go down. You can't
blame tem. The flamei she's coming up. But she's my boat. She's all I got,
so what could I do? I go down. I grab the tar bucket, throw her overboard,
throw over some parts the engine, take blankets, stamp out the fire. Any -ways,
I save my boat. If she went, all my work gone everything.
My hands she hurt preety bad, but I don't think she'll leave no scars.
I been out fishing few days ago, but I wasn't no good. My hands she swole
all up. Drive me crazy! Was a big catch and I couldn't do nothing. But I
was glad get out in the boat again. I'll be out in Inother week.
The boy's good fisherman. Portuguese boys, they do more like the old
man. Some of 'em get these ideas to high school. Don't do them no good, 's
I can see, but don't do them no harmleither. Lots these Americana they tell
me their boys is in the city. Got jobs here, got jobs there. Me, I like have
the boy on my boat. Teach him. Then I know where he is, what he's doing.
The boat she'll be his. It's good for him know how to handle her.
I used to go out with my old man when I wasn't bigger than Jo. The old
country, we was all fishermen, me and my brothers. My father fish, too. And
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his father. Some dragging, but mostly with books. That's about all they do
back there. Fish, and maybe marketing and like that. I could work most as
good as a man time I was fourteen. I come over here when I was nineteen. The
way I cone, we had folks over here. They write to my father, tell him was
good money over here. My old man come over and my mother and us four boys.
Then we send for other people. That's how we all come.
On land the Portuguese and inericans don't always get on so good. But we
fish together all right. It's different out in the boats. Thereto the same
rules for everyone. The rules for a captain and crew are the same everywhere,
and we all want the same things a good catch and a good market. We get on
good on the sea.
They find out we're good fishermen. Anybody' 1]. tell you they ain't no
men can fish better than the Portuguese. We can always get jobs on the boats.
I wouldn't want work on land all the time. Lots of the men do when they get
older, but not me. I wouldn't never be happy without I had a boat under me.
I'm a good fisherman. Maybe I wouldn't do so good with a regular land job.
The Yankees they fish to get money enough to go ashore, run shops maybe,
or do business. The Portuguese he don't like that. He fishes because he wants
to. Because he don't want no boss. One time I try stay ashore couple years.
had a good job on a yacht. Good pay, the best of everything, but I didn't
like it. Rather be independent. Not say this "yes sir" and ono sir" all the
time. The Yankees they don't mind. They run stores, they work for bosses,
and they don't care. But the Portuguese, he always a kind of a independent
feller.
Of course the skippers are like bosses kinda, but it's not the same. And
then you work you can be skipper yourself. I been captain now for a long time.
My son, he'll be captain some day too.
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I fish always on trawlers. It's hard work, but I don't never get
tired. Makes a man hard, that kind of work. The trap boats, they get the
bait. That ain't no work. Ain't fast enough for me. I like to fight. Fight
wind and cold and weather. I don't feel the cold no more.
A while ago I tome in from firming. I come up on thedbdk, and Jeezet
I was dirty. Stand all night clean fish and it was dirty weather the whole
trip after first day. Well, up on the dock the wind 1501e was blowing like
sixty. I take off my shirt, fill a bucket of water, and I give myself a good
wash. Feels good! But they's some city folks come down on the dock and they
couldn't get over it, how I stood there wash myself with no shirt and the
mind blowing. Say, the wind's my friend 7- and the water. I feel at home.
In a house I'm like a big bull. Jeezet if I can't feel a boat under me, I
want to die.
The Portuguese is great for giving nicknames to every one. More'n the
Americans, I guess. The man over at cold storage, that's Bennie Regular.
That ain't his name. That's his nickname. They call him that 'cause he's
a regular fellow. They call him that since he was little. He's regular.
They call me "Pulaski& That means peppy, full of life, full of fun. Then
they was a whole family in town. We used call them the "Baub144, Means dumb,
kind of foolish. And they's Joe Portygee. That means he's all Portuguese.
Just like in the old country.
Then they's my boy. They call him Mak I." I dunno what that means.
And young Morrie over there, he's "Fonda* on account of this Captain Fonda,
told such big stories, and "Jorra," that means fox. Zorra's family got that
name long time ago, like my family got 'Captive." Zorra's family was awful
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good fishermen, so where they live they call 'em "Fox of the sea."
Then they's a whole family they call 'ea "Goddaneil Jackie Goddam,
Mamie Goddam, and like that. ThatIsleause the old lady she couldn't speak
English so good and she'd call the children when they was little, "You
come here, goddam." "Don't you do that, goddam." So they call 'em the
"Goddams."
Then they's lots ain't so nice. The Portuguese they make loOrs of jokes
and they'll name a man because he acts this way or that way, goes this place
*at, and sometimes the names they ain't so polite. They's one family,
they used to call 'em the "Dirties." I guess the old woman she ain't such
a good housekeeper or something. Anyways, that's what they call tem. You
ask, "Do you know Frankie, or Manuel, or Tony/0 and they'll say, "You mean
one of the 'Dirties'?"
They's names, too, for places. The Lisbons, we call 'em "Quail."4
That means rabbits. They's a real Portuguese family name, too, "Quail."
But Lisbons is always called "Quail." And the people that comes from St.
Michael's Island, we call 'ea Mikes."
Lots old country people changes their names over here. Say old country
names is too hard to say. I ti'* that's foolish. Anybody can learn say
"Silva" or Captive:" or "Cabral." Jeezel They ain't so hard. Some the
Perrys was Perrera, I guess. And here's these two brothers and they change
the lame, and now one's called Smith and the other Carter. That don't make
no sense. Some the loses was Rosario, But you wouldn't get me to change my
name, Captiva. I guess notl
My great-grandfather he was Spanish, and he was took prisoner by the
Moors. After two, three months he Beeson, Be comes to Portugal amd settle
dowt, in little village near Liaban. Ile was young fellow, very handsome, geed
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fieihorman. He had scars from Moomplh prison. He was brave and also he tad
big stories, how he escape and kill Moors and everything. So everybody they
call him *Captive.* That means *prisoner.* So that's the name we had since
then. People say the Captives got to be brave because of my great-grandfather.
Iheni tell the children first, they won't believe me. But now they do.
First they laugh and say, *Some more storiest* The old country she's far away.
And they think they know more than their old man.
It's the schools does it. They used to keep sending word home have so
much milk, so much orangeuice. Must brush teeth. I never brush my teeth in
the old country. Nobody did. And I got fine teeth. I send to the
teacher once. I says, *Tell len I know them kids when they was little. Their
fathers was fishermen just like me. They never had no orange juice and no
quarts of milk.* But they laugh. Say times is change. I guess so.
The schools is better over here. They wannit no public schools !here I
come from. You pay fifty cents a month each child to a teacher and the one man
he teach everything. The young people over here, they have a good tine. Back
home the old folhewas strict. Too strict. Young people was all the time run-
ning away. My ki4ds they bring their friends home. That youngest girl of mine,
she's always after me dance with her, go out places. Kids ain't afraid of the
old folks no more. I think that's a good thing.
Look at the Fisherman's Ball. It's for the families. My wife was there
and my girls. My girl, the youngest one, she likes make me dance with her. She
says, *Don't be behind the times, pa." She's a great kid.
It's nice when the whole family goes out that way. That's the may in Port-
ugal. The families make what we call fiesta together. It's not ;Ice here, the
women out all day, the men out all night. Unless once in a while like Saturday
nights the men they go out have a few drinks. Plenty people say the Portuguese
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don't care for their wives, 'cause they don't make much fuss. They care all
right. Sure, they care. Only with us the man's the boss. Everything is for
the man. Makes him feel big, I guess. If a woman she's a good wife, has
children, keeps the house nice, she's all right. All the same, with us it's
like with all the other countries. The woman she's boss in the house. She
runs the house the way she wants just so she has the meals right and takes
care the children.
I think the Portuguese take more interest like in the children. Maybe
it's only fishermen, they don't see them so often. The Americans they talk
about the kids, but they don't stay around them so mach. Sometimes Americans
they'll say, "I shouldn't never have married. Just a worry." But the Port-
uguese he likes a good family.
III
This is a good season for fish. It's warm, that's why. When it comes
cold and they's ice in the bay and like that, the fish they make for warmer
waters. Have to chase them all over the place. But now they most jump into
the boat.
It's dredging I do. We drag with big nets along the bottom. I don't
go out nights much no more, but I got accomodations on my boat sols eight
men can sleep on board. Eight men. She's a sloop. That's one mast. But
they ain't no sailing now. Ay sew engine she's beautiful. Raises my profit.
Used to cost ten, twelve dollara a day to take the boat out. Now costs only
two, three. Much better engine.
I got a good crew, too. Me, Its captain. Then I got engineer, and a
cook. And my boy, he fishes. But we only stay out a day or two. Used to
go to Banks every year. It's just a habit some fishermen's got. They got
to go to the Banks every year. That trip to the Banks, it was awful. Stay
away six months, work night and day, and then after that youAms made three,
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four hundred dollars, 'Tain't worth it. They's just as good fish near home,
and not so hard work.
Of course, scalloping, that's different. That's terrible work, too.
Out weeks and dragging with big heavy steel nets. But there's big money to
it. Big money. But it's awful work. Have to be strong like a horse to stood
it.
I don't never get scared. I don't know nothing else, only fishing and
0
the sea. I never think about drompg any more "n you think about danger in
the streets. Sure, the women worries, I guess. They used to get down on the
beach and yell and pray when
boats was late outcthere was storms
the womens always worrying about something, anyways.
My wife now, she worries sometimes about the boy. I tell her he's better
off to sea than running around with all these wild crowds. Ain't drowned yet,
nor I ain't drowned yet. She wouldn't really want me to come ashore. Her
people was fishing folks too. She knows I wouldn't be no good on land.
My boat can hold twenty-five thousand pound. 14 don't often get that
much. Sometimes we do, though. One tine we went out seven thirty, eight
o'clock at night. Nine o'clock we come back in full. Twenty-five thousand
pound this silver perch. a thousand dollar that one night. We fish on
shares. I get most because the boat she's mine, all the men takes their share.
We go out nights when we hear the fish she's running good. That's a
funny thing. We don't have no regular plan, where we go, but no boat never
goes alone. We start out, try all the places where we know fish comes some-
times. Then when we cone back, one boat comes up. The Cap says, "You hail good
catch?" If I say, ",Yes," then likely he'll say, sjeezetv, I didn't get nothing.
I'm coming with you to -morrow." Or if I didn't do so good, next day I go out
with a crowd's got a good catch.
We start about three, four in the morning. It's darkiand boys! is it
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coldl Welly/and then we got outside the harbor, not far couple hours,
maybe and start fishing. It's get light then and they's coffee on the
stove. Everybody feels good. I got a beautiful stove on my boat. We cook
chowder, oyster stew, make coffee everything. And plenty of room.
We don't get so tired unless by night we've worked hard. Then maybe we
'ant stretch ourselves, have 4ittle fun. But we don't thind getting up
early. People don't need so mush sleep Is they bink. Look at me. Been fish-
ing thirty years. Sometimes up two, three nights. I always start early morn-
ings. -But when I get home, I don't want to go to bed. Maybe have a little nap,
then work around the house, or go out and see my AllsIsnds. Have a little drink
maybe down to Mee, have some friends in for supper and a glass of ale. Once
I'm off the boat, I want a change.
If I couldn't fry filth and make chowder, I'd have starved plenty of times.
The Tankees they generally puts salt pork in it. But we use the olive oil.
Roll the fish up in flour. Then put your oil in the pan. Let it get real hot,
smoking. And don't keep turning the fish, Leave it cook one side till she's
brown's a pork chop. We make galvanised pork, like this. Take a good pork
roast or chops and all day you dip 'em in sauce made with vinegar and garlic
and real hot peppers, then you cook 'em like always. Fried fish and galvan-
ised pork that's real Pbrtuguese.
We made the Cape. We built it U. We're the Portuguese pilgrims. Us
and the'Americah fisherman. We make Gloucester too. I was up there a couple
years. fished all over, out of Chatham, out of Gloucester, everywhere.
When first come here there wasn't nothing, but sand and a few houses and
docks and boats. We used dry the codfish out on the Dunes. They'd be pretty
near miles of it spread out. The whole place stua.
They was fishermen all up and down the Cape. The old whall.ers went out
then. Captain Avila down here, he found a chunk of ambergris once. And fish-
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rid
ing off the Grant Banks was a gold mina. You'd get so much you couldn't load
it all. Times you'd be up two, three nights cleaning, up to your knees in it
and half frozen.
Then the artists they come down. They must have painted a hundred miles
of nets and boats and docks. And then the writers heard about it, and the
gunner people. But we started it. Even now they'll ask you to take them out
in the boats and they ask questions. Fishing she seems exciting to them.
Iv
It's a good life. You got be strong, and there used be big money in it.
Not no more, though. Now the middleman he gets everything and they don't pay
the prices anyhow. Sometimes you might as well throw away the catch. It,
dontt keep forever. Give it away or throw it away if you can't sell it. I
think it's like this, the government don't know the conditions of fishing. We
make a beg lot money some seasons, then for a long time we're broke. We got
get good prices. Then they's credit. We used get credit eight months, a year
maybe. Now it's tough to get three months. Money's scarce, they say, but
I don't know. They's plenty for mortgage houses, for projects, for new play-
ground. People don't appreciate the fisherman.
You won't find many nowadays got mach of anything saved. We most of us
belong to one of these burial insurance societies. But the widows of most of
us wouldn't have mach if we went. That's why a man's foolish not to buy a
house if he can, even if he has to have a pretty big mortgalte. And that's
why it's good to own your boat. The Portuguese aren't as good for business
as the Yankee fisherman.
Pretty soon we got to go down the Cape settle some business. The draggers
and the seiners, they're in together like. Now the cold storage's got worried.
They use the weirs like traps and they trawl. And they don't want us in
shore get the silver perch. Last time we have a fight about this, they Agree
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we go three miles out summers. But winters we fith everywheres. The -VS
Why they don't like. There's no reason we should go outside winters. The
weirs ain't out winters. Sammie* different.
But we won't have no trouble. We'll all go up to Boston. Whole bunch
of us. They got to have silver perch. Perch's about the only fish they can
make money on. It costs three cents a pound freeze the fish, and maybe it's
cheap fish, gets only one, two cents a pound. Like that they don't make no
money. But they's plenty of fish. They claims we take all the fish. But
that ain't so. They just 'ant it all. And it don't make sense we should go
outside winters when they ain't fishing.
We don't mind going up to Boston. I guess not. Last time we hired us
two buses. Sing all the way, stop have a little drink now and then. Had a
ELIA. time. And we win, so coming back we felt fine. Was a nice trip. I
guess we'll have lk00% one this time.