Intro
This is the 19th story in the New World Series. Years of heavy rain with swollen rivers full of rocks and debris had taken their toll on the number of riverboats in service; only Newburg was making boat repairs and building new riverboats. With the availability of building materials, more barges were needed. The delivery of perishable fruit now had first priority; the delivery of other goods was often delayed. The northern trade route needed more riverboats but cold weather often delayed work in Newburg which was in the far north; another location for building boats was needed.
Just as a boatman's suggestion led to the establishment of Bricks & Mortar of story 18, so too did a boatman's knowledge of the area lead to the founding of another settlement where boats could be made. South of Bricks & Mortar, halfway between there and the town of Fruit & Nuts of story 17, there was a large lake and an old family fishing village. The family had a small fleet of fishing boats they built themselves; perhaps with help they would expand their boat building skills to making riverboats. The area was quite a bit farther south than Newburg and not too far from Riverboat Depot. With the promise of help, not limited to boat building, the families agreed.
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Map seed # 145366777 Big Lake, Small, fair, Disasters Off, Easy 8 (no seeds, no animals)
Mods activated for this map and load order:
Map Changing and Starting Mods: Banished UI Maps, Banished UI Town Names, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, More Terrain (Cygnus54), Settlers Deco, Kid Tree Replacer x-Light, New Flora Edit, Family Start
Tweak Mods: Better Stockpiles, Better Stockpile Storage, Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting, Hunting Season, Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), Rock Respawn, Tiny Smoke.
Major or Must Have Mods: An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), override Uneducated, Storage Crates, Kid Workshop, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Alotofseed Trader 2, Kid Tiny, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace
Supporting Mods: Kid Animal Shed, Kid Deco People, Kid Fish & Ships, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Houseboat, Kid Market Food, Kid Patchwork, Kid Some Boats, Kid Washing Mod, Water & Other Decorations.
Welcome to Fish & Ships, eager explorer. You're right, the old fishing village retained much of its old charm even though it is now the major shipbuilder here in the north. Let me tell you how the fishing village developed into the port town you see today.
Chapter 1
There were 29 of us who arrived here from Riverboat Depot a few years ago, 16 adults with 13 children. I was not thrilled with the thought of moving to a small fishing village even though Riverboat Depot was a bit too crowded and busy for my liking. My husband, Glorin, said there would be a lot more to do than fish; we were going there to help build riverboats. He was a forester and there was bound to be a need for more logs. That proved to be true; the old rundown shacks we stayed in when we first arrived all needed to be demolished and rebuilt.
We only brought with us what we could carry which included potatoes, seeds, a few tools, and coats. A supply boat would arrive from Riverboat Depot soon. We found no storage barn or shed to store thing in, just crates and barrels scattered around the village. Those contained mostly fish and crabs and some onions, mushrooms, and roots.
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The village itself was just a small cluster of cabins and houses most of which were on the shore of a large lake. There were 10 cabins and houses, plus a bait shop and a boat house on the dock that housed the villagers. They had a small dingy, 2 crab boats, and 2 fishing sailboats, all which they built themselves.
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There would be a lot of work here besides boat building, but the village was peaceful, quiet, and quaint.
Chapter 2
We learned a bit about the village and its inhabitants in those first few days. An older man lived alone in a cabin by the fishing pier where he fished since he was a boy. His wife died in childbirth when their youngest son was born; that son was now a young adult and living in the boat house on the dock. He looked after the boats making sure they were clean and in good condition. The fisherman's oldest son lived alone in a house by the stockpile; he was the village woodcutter. There was an anvil in the woodcutter's yard for when tools were needed.
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Two other men living in small cabins had also lost their spouses, one remarried and started a family, the other had his daughter and newborn granddaughter living with him. His son-in-law died the previous winter after falling into icy water trying to haul a large fish into the boat. He made it back into the boat and back to shore; but died a few days later from exposure. There was a small cemetery and tiny chapel near the woodcutter's house.
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Behind the chapel was a tiny tailor shop. The villagers only had basic hide coats, most of those were a bit shabby; if a deer herd came near, a hunter would go out and they would have venison and a few hides to make new coats with; they had no regular hunter. They basically lived on fish and crab, and from day to day.
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The bait shop, the small cabin across from it, and 3 larger houses by the dock housed 5 families with young children or adult children still living at home. All totaled, there were 29 villagers, 21 adults and 8 young children.
Chapter 3
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Our group that arrived that spring also had 29 citizens, as I said, but we were younger and had fewer adults and more children although another girl would become an adult soon. I was glad that there were several children the same age or a year younger than our daughter, Emeryleigh, who was just 3 years old. There was a set of twins that was 3 and another that was 2, a boy and girl in each set. The villagers also had a few 2 and 3-year-olds. There were 2 boys in our group that were 5 years old, hopefully, when she was older, our Emeryleigh would fall for one of the boys that did not want to be a river boatman.
My husband Glorin's father was a river boatman, and it was a hard, sometimes lonely, life with months away from loved ones. His father injured his back working on one of the resource barges and was home now, but he and his wife were concerned for Glorin's younger brother who talked of becoming a boatman; they did not want that life for their son. They hoped he would fall for a girl he did not want to leave behind, or that he would want to follow us here and become a boat builder instead. Oh, by the way, my name is Shaylah.
Although we badly needed housing for our group, we had other things to tend to first. A jetty trader was built on the river. Next to it was a supply boat jetty, and next to that was a record keeping jetty for inventory records. We need to know what we had and what was needed. The villagers had no problem with us checking the crates and barrels. We did not want our being here to cause anyone to go hungry.
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We found the hedgerow where the villages got wild honey, rose hips, strawberries, apples, and wild oats from, there was a weed patch next to it where I found some eggs. We planted a patch of potatoes next to the hedgerow. We build a fresh food and fish market across from the potato patch. We went out several times to gather wild foods and herbs and soon the market had a nice selection of foods.
Chapter 4
It was early autumn before one of the families moved into their new home; a Boat Builder house was built on the lake between the bait shop and fishing jetty. The family with the oldest set of twins moved in; their father tried his hand at a little fishing while taking a break from work on the first river boat.
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The forester workstation and our house were built next up to the north of the stockpile and woodcutter. It was a beautiful spot for a house at the edge of the forest; there was a small pond with ducks and a hedgerow with a walnut tree, wild oats, mushrooms, and I found some duck eggs. A tiny shed was built on one side of the house and a wood pile on the other. I gathered some branches and wild foods when I had the chance.
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The leaves had fallen from the trees making it easy to spot the herds of deer that came near. Three of our men went out to hunt, venison and hides were taken to the market. We were still getting some potatoes from the patch next to the market. The weed patch had rabbits and grouse hiding in it, and we got game, rabbit meat, fur, down, and eggs from the patch; we would not weed that patch. The village tailor was shown by one of our women how to make warm coats with the hides and down. We got the impression that the villagers were glad we came.
Chapter 5
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The supply boat arrived from Riverboat Depot in autumn with the promised supplies. The boatman brought apples, walnuts, a few iron tools and linen clothes, plus some herbs. There were more supplies set aside for us but he had perishable fresh fruit he had to deliver first, so this was all he could bring this time; he'd be back with more. If we didn't want the linen clothes, we could trade them to one of the river boatmen when they get here.
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He had just pulled away from the supply jetty when another riverboat was spotted coming down the river. It was Orio, the food merchant. He had cabbage and goat cheese that would keep well for winter use; he waited while we brought 200 wild honey to the trading post. We got 200 cabbage and 100 goat cheese in trade. We ordered more cheese and some fruit preserves; we had cabbage seeds that we could plant next spring. He would probably not be back before then.
The days were getting shorter and colder, and the fishing boat and crab boat returned to the boat house pier with their catch. We hoped they would not have to go back out again until spring, we even built a fish smoker this side of the market hoping to make this catch last longer into the winter.
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Home building was slow going; we were often short of logs, and the laborers had to help cut trees. We quickly gathered branches for firewood and wild foods before the first snowfall. A cabin and one house got built that winter, the cabin by the trading post and the house not far from our house. The couple with the twins that were the same age as our Emeryleigh moved into that house. That left 4 families left to spend the cold winter in the rundown shacks.
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Chapter 6
By spring, another house was built next to the one with the twins near us. The 2 families planted 3 patches, one of cabbage, one of oats, and another of potatoes.
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Another boat builder was built on the lake just past the fishing pier. The jetty was extended. A family with a 4-year-old and a newborn moved in. Glorin and I had another daughter we named Oralie around the same time. The first boat builder had completed the first riverboat and began working on another.
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The supply boat returned with the rest of our supplies. He had more walnuts, apples, herbs, iron tools, and linen clothes for us. He would not return unless we sent word that we urgently needed food. We assured him that there was not much chance of that, we were managing quite well and even had a new riverboat ready to go. He said the depot was still trying to recruit new boatmen, he was not sure but thought 1 or 2 were being trained. A boatman would have to bring one here to pick up the new riverboat; he had no idea when that might be but would let the Depot know that one was ready for pickup.
It was late summer when Ansom, the livestock merchant, came to port. He knew nothing about new river boatmen or that a riverboat was ready to pick up. He had sheep but we had no room for a pasture. We said we would like one milk cow and some chickens, he said he would see what he could do. After he left, we thought we could have used a sheep or 2, we could use the wool for warm coat; we did not get enough down, and our coat surplus could be better.
Chapter 7
Time past and another cabin was built east of town by the clearing where 2 herds of deer had been spotted. A hunter's workplace was built by the cabin; we would have more venison and hides.
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The last family from the old rundown cabins moved into a nice house close to where those old cabins had been. The old ones were demolished and added to the stockpile for firewood. The new house was close to the patches and the hedgerow where help was always needed. The fresh food and fish market had a nice selection of foods that were produced or gathered.
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We kept a close eye on our supply of coats and tools, a worker got to work at the anvil to make iron tools whenever needed. The tailor could make a few warm coats from the rabbit fur from the weed patch. As we told the boatman, we were doing quite well.
Chapter 8
By late autumn of year 3, we had a tiny town hall built next to the stockpile. We thought it was time we had better records of the town statistics.
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Fish & Ships had a population of 70, 42 adults and 28 children, all happy and healthy. There were 20 houses for 27 families. We would build a few more houses when there were young people of marriageable age.
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We made a copy of our inventory records to keep at the town hall. We hoped a river boatman would come with more goat cheese or with a cow and chickens, or wool. We had some crab and fresh fish and plenty of smoke fish for the winter. The fisherman could always go out on the pier for more, but the crab boat and fishing boat could stay safely moored at the boat house pier again.
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Chapter 9
In late winter, the temperature rose above freezing and we had an early spring thaw. The boat builders were busy, 2 riverboats were completed, and work began on 2 more. The 1st depot barge was also finished and ready to go.
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A lighthouse was built on the little offshore island near the boathouse jetty. The fishing boat and crabbing boat workers got an early start heading out to their favorite spots on the lake.
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In spring of year 4, Orio, the food merchant, returned. He had cheese and fruit jam and brought us a milk cow, a rooster, 3 hens, and a few baby chicks; the livestock merchant left a message at the Depot that we wanted them. We traded wild honey and rose hips for the cheese and jam but he would take nothing for the cow or chickens; they were complements of Riverboat Depot. The boatmen were all happy there would be more riverboats on the route soon. The Depot was sending more workers and someone to bring the new boats from here to the Depot. We could expect them to arrive soon.
In less than a week, 10 adults with 4 children arrived.
Chapter 10
Glorin and I were very surprised to discover that the worker who was sent to deliver our boats to the Depot was Glorin's younger brother, Dayle. He came with a couple who were friends with his parents. The couple had an adult daughter with them who was a year older than Dayle, who was 8. Glorin and I wondered if this would be the girl his parents hoped their young son would find and not want to leave behind to become a boatman. Delivering our boats was the next best thing to being a boatman but without the hardships. He would stay with the couple and their daughter here when not delivering a boat; back home at the Depot he would stay with his parents while waiting for a riverboat headed in this direction to bring him back. A cabin was built for his new family on the small island by the lighthouse.
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A tiny house was built next to the town hall for a couple with 2 children, and another house was built down the road, behind the boat builder, for a couple that had no children. An animal shed had already been built on the road north of that house. The milk cow and chickens were adjusting well to their new home.
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Next to the animal shed, a tiny house was built for the last couple that arrived that spring. They had 2 children. Across the road from them, a gatherer's workplace was built next to the hunter's cabin. The tiny shed across from the animal shed would be getting a lot more use.
Chapter 11
Checking our inventory and supplies often we discovered that the original villagers still preferred fish and crab over other foods. Hoping that more of the smoked fish would remain in storage for winter use, we built a market BBQ next to the smoker to make fish and chips; our potato harvest had been good again that year. The villagers and everyone else in town really liked the new food choice.
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The catch of fish and crabs also was good that year, although Elmerson who fished from the pier, said it was not peaceful and quiet like it used to be before a boat builder was built on either side of his cabin by the fishing pier. We extended the boat builder's jetty way out into the lake and set up a crabbing and fishing jetty where it was peaceful and quiet for Emerson. If the lake was too rough because of storms or wind, the fishing and crabbing could be done on the jetty so the boats didn't need to go out. The season could be extended for a short time after the boats were usually moored after the first frost. Emerson appreciated the effort and the peace and quiet but was soon back on the fishing pier right outside his front door, convenience or habit we supposed.
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In late autumn we had the first snow of the season which made the extended jetty pier too slippery and dangerous for fishing or crabbing. Earlier, in summer, Dayle, took one of the new riverboats to the Depot; it was replaced at the mooring jetty by 2 other completed riverboats. He was brought back to Fish & Ships before that first snow by Milisha, the seed merchant; Dayle would not be delivering another riverboat to the Depot until early spring.
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Also before that first snowfall, Amintie, had transplanted some berry bushes into big wooden pots. She and her husband, Ster, took turn at the gatherer's workplace when he was not hunting. We had plenty of venison and leather in storage already. Amintie thought it would be good to have some of the berries close to the house, everybody in town loved those wild berries. It would be a long wait until the next berry harvest, at least there was fruit jam in storage for the winter.
Chapter 12
By early spring of year 5, those pots of berries were taken out on the jetty where a platform had been built for them. They would get plenty of sun once the spring rains stopped. Another platform had been built across from it on a lower level with stairs leading down. Some rope railings had also been installed on the jetty for safety, and a couple of benches were added.
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A completed depot barge was brought to the mooring and so was another riverboat. As soon as the weather cleared, Dayle took the barge to the Depot and was almost immediately brought back by Anson, the livestock merchant. Anson wanted to know if the cow and chickens were doing well; we thanked him for letting them know at the Depot that we wanted them. We have no complaint about the efficiency of the river boatmen, eager explorer, especially with them being so short-handed as they are. Dayle said he was told not to be in too much of a hurry to deliver the new boats because there were simply not enough river boatmen. He was asked if he wanted to be one but he said no; he enjoyed living here and spending time with his brother, nieces, and newborn nephew. Yes nephew, Glorin and I had a baby boy that year. Dayle was also quite happy doing what he was doing; when a new boat was completed, he was called to take it on a test run and then moor it at the jetty with the other boats that waited there for him to take to the depot.
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Another barge was ready to be tested and moored when he returned. Some flax and herb pots were now on that lower jetty platform along with some sunflowers and wild morning glories that Amintie potted up. The jetty looked quite nice; folks started to take a stroll out on the jetty and back on nice days.
Cordelin, the resource merchant, came to port in late autumn. He said thanks to the new depot barge we delivered that spring, the Depot stockpiles now had plenty of resources. If we need iron, stone, or logs he would take our order. He confirmed that there was still a shortage of boatmen. We needed no resources but told him we were waiting for a general goods merchant. He said he would leave word at the depot.
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Boat building was temporarily stopped after another barge was completed. The mooring places were almost full and 2 more riverboats were almost done. Dayle would wait until the following spring to deliver more; hopefully there would be a few more boatmen by then.
Chapter 13
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It snowed in late autumn. The crab and fishing boats came in, and the workers on the jetty quickly finished what they were doing and returned to town. The boats and the workers all returned to their workplaces when spring came again. Dayle left for Riverboat Depot with another river boat.
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Six adults with 3 children came from Riverboat Depot to help. One single adult male hoped to learn to build boats. A young single adult girl wanted to be a boatman; her parents thought the move would distracted her from such thoughts. Two houses across from each other were built on the jetty for them. The couple with 2 young children also built a house out on the jetty, across from the storage unit that was built there. A cabin was being built next to the boat builder at the end of the road for the single male.
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Just before that cabin was completed in late summer, Lenardo, the general goods merchant arrived. He brought Dayle back with him. Lenardo heard we were waiting for a general merchant. We traded wild honey for 200 pieces of cheese and 50 down. We ordered wool, more cheese, and goat cheese, plus fruit jam and oat cookies that were on the list of items he could get. We haven't had oat cookies since we left the Depot. The children will would love them; they always ate all their oatmeal for breakfast, sometimes with a bit of fruit jam, and they liked it even better since we got the milk cow; they would really like oat cookies.
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That last cabin was completed next to the boat builder soon after Lenardo left. Dayle had a special order for the boat builders; someone wanted a houseboat.
Chapter 14
The tailor was happy to get more down to make warm coats since the supply of coats was low but reported that the supply of leather was also very low. Two hunters went out immediately; 3 herd of deer were spotted in and around the clearing by the hunter's workplace. We could use the venison as well as the leather.
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The warm coats were most welcome because it was a cold winter; by spring of year 7 there was very little firewood left on the stockpile. Two woodcutters worked to replenish the supply. The weather warmed quickly. The crab and fishing boats went back out to their favorite spots and the workers returned to the jetty. The new houseboat was ready to be delivered; Dayle took the boat to the Depot and returned in summer with Ansom, the livestock merchant. We didn't need any of the chickens he had with him; ours had multiplied and there was now a hen house in the yard of the house next to the town hall.
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By summer, our records showed we were doing okay; our firewood, tool, and coat supply were now good, as was our food surplus. We had a barge and more riverboats waiting to be delivered to Riverboat Depot. Elizabela, the girl who wanted to be a river boatman, had been helping Dayle do test runs and moving the riverboats to the mooring jetty. Elizabela loved the water and the boats. As usual, she kept the riverboats clean. When autumn came and the wind began to blow, there was not one leaf to be found in any of the boats.
Chapter 15
Conniel, the single male who came to Fish & Ships at the same time Elizabela did, wanted to be a boat builder and he had an idea. Elmerson the fisherman who lived in the cabin between the two boat builders, saw Conniel talking with the boat builders and with Dayle several times. The idea was to build a merchant ship like they had out west where he originally migrated from. The ship was much larger than a riverboat and faster because it had sails. It could be used to pick up the special deliveries to the Depot like the depot barges did. The fresh fruit would get to the Depot and thus to the customers a lot sooner. It would relieve some of the boatmen from having to backtrack because of the perishable fruit. Dayle made the suggestion to the authorities at Riverboat Depot the last time he was there and he got the go-ahead to build such a ship. Conniel became our 3rd boat builder.
Dayle also discovered that the Depot had built a small mooring jetty for the riverboats, so both he and Elizabela went together to deliver 2 of the riverboats to the Depot. They returned in late summer with Malisha, the seed merchant, who was on her way to nearby Seed & Feed.
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It was snowing in late autumn when Lenardo, the general good merchant, came with our order of wool, fruit jam, oat cookies, and goat cheese. He also had regular cheese but most of what we traded for the last time he was here was still in the market. This order of goat cheese disappeared as quickly as the first, folks here liked the goat cheese better. Lenardo was happy to get our wild honey, he had several orders for it.
Our tailor was glad to get the wood for warm coats even though our supply of coats was good at the time. She hoped she had enough flax for the linen sails she was working on for the new boat.
Chapter 16
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Winter passed; the crab and fishing boats and the jetty workers came in for the winter and went out again in spring. There had been many days in early spring above freezing when all 3 boat builders were out working on the new ship, even the town's builders help. There were no buildings to be built, we did not as yet need any more houses. We only had 28 homes for 51 families but there were many young singles ages 9, 10, and 12 years old still living at home. Our oldest daughter, Emeryleigh, was 10 that year and the nearby twins were 9. Glorin's brother, Dayle, was 12 and still living by the lighthouse with the family he came with from Riverboat Depot. We all thought he and Elizabela would someday get together; they spent so much time together with the boats. Everyone was surprised when Elizabela at age 15 moved out of her jetty house and into the cabin with boat builder Conniel who was 28.
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The new ship, a barque it was called, was finished in early summer of that 8th year. It was a beautiful ship. Elizabela got to go on the test run with Conniel and Dayle but could not go on the delivery run to Riverboat Depot with Dayle because she gave birth to a baby boy, she and Conniel named Carris. Boat builder, Rowens, went with Dayle instead; the new ship needed 2 boatmen. The problem of not enough boatmen still remained; most of the riverboats we made remained moored at the jetties, here and at the Depot.
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Chapter 17
There's not more I can tell you, eager explorer. We have no complaints about the river boatmen; they do a fine job. The supply boat was here promptly from Riverboat Depot after we arrived. I think the villagers are glad we came. We managed to fit right in and preserve the quaintness of a fishing village; the lighthouse just added to it.
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We know the villagers like the smoke fish and the fish n chips. The food and fish market is the place to go for food and for visits with neighbors. I think we did a good job here at Fish & Ships providing a variety of foods. We could use more fruit besides berries. The fruit jam and goat cheese that the river boatmen bring are well liked; oh, and the oat cookies are our favorites, there just are never enough of them. We hope with more riverboats; there will soon be more boatmen and more fresh fruit and grain products. We aren't skilled at processing or baking with grain ourselves, but we can build boats. If you're ever in need of a new houseboat, eager explorer, let us know.
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So, on this summer day, I will say farewell and wish you safe travels. I packed up some fish and chips for you to take along with you, and some oat cookies. Enjoy what's left of summer.
The End