By Putting An Hundred And Fifty In Soak Every Day, We Had The
Same Number At Each Stage Of Curing, On Each Day; So That We Had,
Every Day, The Same Work To Do Upon The Same Number:
An hundred
and fifty to put in soak; an hundred and fifty to wash out and put
in the
Vat; the same number to haul from the vat and put on the
platform to drain; the same number to spread and stake out and
clean; and the same number to beat and stow away in the home.
I ought to except Sunday; for, by a prescription which no captain
or agent has yet ventured to break in upon, Sunday has been a day
of leisure on the beach for years. On Saturday night, the hides,
in every stage of progress, are carefully covered up, and not
uncovered until Monday morning. On Sundays we had absolutely
no work to do, unless it was to kill a bullock, which was sent
down for our use about once a week, and sometimes came on Sunday.
Another good arrangement was, that we had just so much work to do,
and when that was through, the time was our own. Knowing this,
we worked hard, and needed no driving. We "turned out" every
morning at the first signs of daylight, and allowing a short time,
about eight o'clock, for breakfast, generally got through our labor
between one and two o'clock, when we dined, and had the rest of the
time to ourselves; until just before sundown, when we beat the dry
hides and put them in the house, and covered over all the others.
By this means we had about three hours to ourselves every afternoon;
and at sundown we had our supper, and our work was done for the day.
There was no watch to stand, and no topsails to reef.
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