The San Francisco call. [volume], March 10, 1912, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
The SAN FRANCISCO
SUNDAY CALL
Marion Pearson
A DRIZZLING rain dripped from
the caves of the little wood en
church at Grant avenue and Fn<
bert street. Inside a group of
men and 'women were kneelingpray*
lngr and -weeping. At the hlgrh altar thm
flickering? candles sent a melancholy
light Into the gray: gloom. The voie«
of the priest saying: mass rose and feh
and finally died away in the long drawn
cadence of a chant for the repose of
the soul of Gaspare Giovanni. Gaspar*
had been one of the fishermen of th*
little colony at the foot of Mason
street, and his funeral services were
being conducted with much pomp and
dignity.
Just in front of the chancel kneeling 1
with bowed heads about the coffln were
hia comrades of the sea—all who were
ashore at the time. They wore th«
uniform of La Eociete—dark blue flan
nel thlrt. black trousers, high boots
and red sash. Their broad black, »tlfl!
brimmed hats lay beside them on the
floor.
When mass was over the funeral pro
oeesion passed down the street below
where, in spite of the rain and boi»
terous wind, a group of women and
children had gathered to see the hears*
drive away and to look with sympathy
upon Gaspare's widow, who held in her
arms a tiny bambino.
At the same hour out at sea a llttl*
fishing; boat was being tossed and
pitched by a furious wind. Its two
occupants were straining every nerv«
and muscle to reach Tomales bay. For
24 hours there had been for these men
no sky, no stars, no sun, nothing but
heavy, low hanging clouds and a wild
sea—no sound save the shriek of the
■wind and the cry of the sea birds.
y Until this trip the boat had been
panned by three and their triangular
efforts had always won for it an easy
right of way despite the angriest mood
of the elements. But six days before
Gaspare Giovanni, one of the trio, had
lain very 111 at home, and these fellow
craftsmen of his, true to the spirit that
binds together these toilers of the sea,
had taken upon themselves his share
of the work so that the little fishing
smack might go out as usual and earn
a living for the three.
Everything- had g-one well with the
men until a sudden onslaught of wind
and rain had taken them unawares, and
now, bareheaded and drenched by sea
and rain, they were throwing' their ef
forts into reaching the bay that would
shelter them until a break in the
clouds promised them a safe trip home-
All of that afternoon they were beaten
and buffeted by the waves. Just be
fore the darkness of night set in there
was a lull in the storm, th« wln<3
shifted and grew steady, and the little
boat went bowling along into the
smooth waters of Tomales bay, where
they were greeted heartily by the lusty
voices of other fishermen who had al
ready put in there to escape the fury
of the tempest.
There is a bond among the fishermen
at Fisherman's wharf, the like of which
can not be found the world over. It is
the bond of the sea plus something that
Is born of necessity to these homesick
people in a strange and faroff land—
something that dwells in the blood and
■hines in the eyes and keeps alive in
«ach heart the responsibility for all.
Death only cements and makes this
tie stronger. When one of their num
ber dies his widow and children be
come the sacred charge of his com
rades, and they look to it that always
his boat takes its accustomed place in
the straggling 1 procession that every
Monday cuts its way across the fiat
bay and through the Golden gate.
Each of the boats of the little fish
ing colony has a crew of at least three,
who share alike in its earnings. If
death takes one of them, the remain-
Ing two do his work and when the
boat returns laden down with the shin
ing fish, the widow receives the same
amount of i)« proceeds that would
have been her husband's had he lived
to go to sea himself. This is the un
written law of La. Societe.
La Societe sei Pescatori is a sort of
union. The fishermen look to it and
obey It as their chief, and in return
It fights their fights for them against
any oppression, protects and saves
t them when they fall into the clutches
of what it considers to be an unjust
law, and when they die it sees that
they are laid out in state and buried
with much ceremony.
The society's stror T arras reach from
ihe most northern fisheries in Alaska to
Uae most southern in Califojy?£% It tias
Ma^^zine Section
,mr,t i^^m&weh: xo .least
a membership of over 4,000 and a bank
balance of $25,000.
Its ranks are kept full by recruits
from the "old country." Despite the
love these fishermen have for the sea,
not one of them wishes to have any
son of his follow it for a living. When
a boy is born the father begins to plan,
for the child's future—a future la
which the hard, rough work and the
perils of his own life must have no
part It !s his wish and ambition that
his son be so educated and trained that
he can enter one of the professions
when the time comes. Both father and
mother bend all their energies to save
tire pennies that will liberate the boy
from the sea. And so here in San Fran
cisco some of the cleverest physicians,
most skillful surgeons and brainiest
lawyers are sons of these hardy fisher
folk. It is a lineage to be proud of, for
from these fathers they inherit a clear
brain, an honest heart and a constitu
tion that can not be matched the world
over.
There are about 2,500 of these fisher
jpen_-,at Fishermen's wharf. They are
lured here from Italy by the tales of
gold that can be earned - so easily.
Pietro comes with the idea of return
ing just as soon as he acquires' money
enough on which* to live in comfort for
the rest of his days. Gaspare- Is r here
because the little piece of land at home
.that is his by inheritance has been
worked and , reworked through - several
generations until it is now weary .and
barren and nnable to yield him the
barest living. . So he must let it rest,
and go himself on a journey of thou
sands of • miles, to earn the money that
will enable him to coax back to-it the
vitality that has been drained by his
fathers for more than a century.
And Gaspare and his like are the only
ones of all these men who ever return.
By. the time Pietro and his fellows save
enough to buy ■• them a passage home
ward they have come to the realization
that the * progressive spirit of' the. new;
world is better ; than the ■:* dolce - far ;
niente of the old, and the money that
had been Intendedfor their own home
going is sent back to Italy to bring out
the.loved ones they left behind.
All of these men are; a happy, lot. full
of the joy of living, peaceful-and hard
working. The priest who presides at
* mass '■ at the little Italian church ■ and
La* Soclete interpret the laws for i them.
These are their authorities. Aside from
thiß each one { has an innate ; knowledge
of the difference between right and
wrong—a sure sense of justice that
springs from a rare simplicity of .heart.
When this sense is outraged hot words
come andY knives flash, i Then Pietro
hold3 * his r peace and SalvatoreV knows
nothing. It is^seldom that the district
attorney can obtain evidence enough to
convict-, the men who did the - k+Utmj*
and the 'working out of the law_goes
back into the hands of the fishermeh;
Here justice as they see her never fails
to clainKher own.
Some of these-men hare b"pn follow
ing the sea for 50: years, / une * felluvv
The TIE THAT
BINDS AT FISHERMEN'S
WHARF
rtsrtefl his ea«#r here in 1854 ana
beyond a few gray hairs time ha» not
yet succeeded in marking him Mold."
He is as straight as an. arrow, splen
didly muscled and as hard as steel. In
theif 1 little world you see no sunken
cheeks, pinched faces nor dull, listless
eyes. When old age does claim them
their cheeks are still brown and hard,
and always their eyes are bright and
full of Interest, mirroring the youthful
npirit within.
"These men generally die of old age,"
says a physician who knows. "Cance»
and asthma get them sometimes, but it
is usually old age. and a very old age
£t that."
It is the most natural thing for these
men to save money. Their living ex
penses are very small- Bread and wine
and the salt breath of the ocean are all
they need >to give them vigorous health.
They = begin by saving pennies. The
pennies I grow into dollars, and" when
• the *housand s dollar ■ mark ; is reached
they -»ail upon I some man in whomthey
!have confidence and seek advice as to
the best investment. It is usually real
estate that they buy. , All of the- prop
erty at North Beach is owned by these
. toilers of the sea. - When their.: savings
reach; into i the r - ten - and twenty thou
aands they branch out into bonds • and
stocks.:./;;.'•;' /:- -•■. \v:l ? /'■." : -'i:' : \-
Some time ago one of these men sent
.to " Italy * for a nephew who was blind
and v. crippled. ■.'"£ "When ;. the boy. arrived
here the Immigration lJ authorities de
manded that the man show evidence
that he was • financially able to * support
■ the boy. ■■'The evidence came ,in a mo-*;
ment from the inside ■ pocket of a very
»habby coat... Bank notes, Spring sVal-
J«y stock,.railroad*bonds, one after an
•ther until the 1175,000 mark was
reached. The officials were satisfied.*
* * *
Every Monday the ; fleet- of six or*
Mven hundred blue and white boats
leaves : the wharf. -Each little craft is
; provisioned * with macaroni . and . im
mense round : fiat loaves of the coarse
bread the Italian loves so well. I Always
; Jthere is the big Jug of good red wine—s
Jenough of all of these"things to last for
:a week or more, for when these boats
bear out ; into the open sea -there is no
, telling when the weather will permit
them to return. _ N , -
, At all seasons of the year , the ocean
la capricious, and a storm may. be ex
pected at any time. When the wind be
comes ." too strong ' and , the waves • too
high, the boats that are outside do not
attempt 'to com© home, but .put!, into
- Tomales bay, where they remain fish
ing until the ' elements become . good
natured again. While wuiting for this
change the men eat and sleep on board
- the: boats. They do \ their ; cooking on
little square stoves filled with, glowing
charcoal. I> v ■:,•'.' "
■'v These j>, fishermen have a childlike
faith •in i a special : providence that cares
for them whilo at sea. Because of this'
faith they have a v reckless indifference
for wind and rain and "are, absolutely
fearless in all the emergencies that so
frequently confront them. ■ The most
Impenetrable \t og ' and '•} fiercest sale : ar*
xnattera for ; which God * must have a
care, not ': they. And providence ; never
falls them. No one ) along Fishermen's
wharf could recall an instanoo of one of
these men being drowned. ; . :/,,:. .:; ; ;:.
;; Every boat Is i provided with. a net
a*out-150 feet long. . There is a state
i law governing the-mesh of the net. It
% must ?be coarse V enough to allow , the
: baby fish to pass through safely. When
r the nets are drawn from the water, they
are solid "■with gleaming fish. ; The
itiiuirming burden ;Is thrown „ Into \ the
■ hold ; and the / net. cast again, and then
again, until- the boat can hold no more.
Then the return trip is made or the fish
•old ■ and ■ transferred tto the big;; steam,
tags, and the net goes to work again.
' There Is a great stir on fisherman's
wharf ea Thursday. ; That Is the v day
when all tha boats return, weather per
xnitting. Boon after 10 ' o'clock tha har
■ bor is crowded with trim little craft,
and '- erery fow mlnntes: bring; fresh '. ar
rtrals. Their oooupanta leap to the land
ins;'llka dismissed school ■' children. Big,
muscular • faXUnrs« axo they, strong . and;
; avottrs; as aata. ,' They greet one another
- with m ' torraat' of words and ejaoula
; tion*. Whro* s with •'■ nursing bambtnos
:?«nd ■: stranrUßft " youngsters at their
•klrts ar« there to meat husbands and•
to help ta vnlaadinjT tha fish. Peddlers
■ Wok -• their was;ons to ' the edge:; of ' the
'.Wharf - and - bargaining and selling - go
;on at a lively rate. Sometimes there is
a glut of herring, and a lot of that fish
Is' oast Into the sea for want of a mar
ket, and a great part of the men's work
1 thus goes for. naught.;' At best, the high
ast price .they ever receive for herring
Is 60 cents for a very large box. :,
All day . Saturday and Sunday the
little fleet is .'. huddled in a sheltered
•pot; at the wharf, rising and bobbins;
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