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    The life of these workers can only be vaguely imagined today. Work began very early, while still dark at the beginning of the season, and was not finished before nightfall. The food was mediocre, even though the presence of gardens, livestock and a bakery tell us that at Red Island they did not experience the disastrous conditions of the majority of French fishing settlements. The permanent residence of a doctor, who very often had the title but not the experience, guaranteed that injuries and illnesses, common to the fishermen, fishing accidents, whitlow and other infections caused by knives and hooks, pleurisies and pneumonias, could be adequately treated.

    The cabins which perched along the cliff were nothing but wood huts exposed to freely circulating air which carried the poudrin (powdery snow) of the last spring storms into every crack. One or two straw mattresses thrown on wooden frames and that was it.     The sojourn of the fishermen varied according to whether they came from France or from St-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The fishermen from France were dropped on the island by the outfitters' ships at the start of the fishing season, that is to say in March or the beginning of April. They unloaded dorys in which was packed the salt and other necessities of the campaign. The livestock, if they had some were thrown into the water and had to swim to the beach. The manoeuvring required to hoist them to the top of the island must have been epic... Once all goods had been unloaded, the schooners left and returned only at the end of the season in September or October. The only connection between the fishermen and the homeland was the French naval ships of the Newfoundland Division who had to insure that French fishing rights were respected and saw to the distribution of mail, checked the validity of fishing settlements and made sure that the numerous fishing regulations imposed by the French Maritime Registry were respected.