Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-08-30
THE GREAT KING CRAB INVASION.

How q Jerseyman UtfItzes a Nuisance
The shcre at Goshen Teeming witt,
Ioung MOnsters-EEetting IL Cargo OIL
HOrsefeet
Correspondence of the Newark Advertiser
When invited to visit the cancerine
factory of the Hon Thomas Beesley.
State Senator of this county, [ must
confess to entire Ignorance as to what a
cancerine factory might mean, and un-
der the belief that an account of nv
visit thereto may not prove uninterest-
ing to your readers, [ make it the sub
ject of this letter.
A trip on the line of the West JERSEY
Railroad to Cape May Court House.
and then pleasant drive of four miles
and half to the village of Goshen,
where the factory is situated, brought
us upon the field of action Here, on
our arrival, large number Of men
were found patrollipg the bay beach,
each armed with long spear, with
which they were busily engaged in
spearing and throwing into boats and
wagons the giant king crabs, or horse
feet, which abound at this place on the
| beach These creatures resemble
nothing on earth, in heaven, or sea,
but themselves. In size about that
of top of a patent pail by about four
inches in height, shaped like horses
hoof, with a shell of a reddish color on
their back, and provided with innumer-
able claws and feeders, protruding from
below, with which they make painful
progress along the beach. The king
crab challenges competition for ugli-
ness, and up to few years uselesness.
Whether fish, flesh, or fowl, none seem
to know, but the natives here call it an
animal
Never seen or heard of, except dur
ing the months of May and June, and
only found for range of few miles
above and below Goshen, the habits and
life of the king crab are almost an en-
tire secret to even the best of nrtural-
lists. In May and June the creature
pays his annual visit to New Jersey
shores, and that only near Gohsen, for
the purpose of laying eggs. Coming in
on the high tide, they remain there on
the ebb, and, as soon as deserted by the
water, commence depositing their eggs
IN countless myriads in the sand. At
this time the number of king crabs in
sight is almost incredulous, scarce
foot of beach being without it's crab.
The eggs are scooped up into wagons
and drawn to the hog pens and chicken
coops, where they are eagerly devour
ed, and the crabs are also in immense
numbers given to the hogs, who prefer
them to corn. Since the settlement of
the country this consumption of crabs
has been going on, but it was not till
1855 that the present Senator Beesley,
then living at Beeseley's Point, on the
the other shore, had his attention
drawn to the probable value of the king
crab for manuring and fertilizlng pur-
poses. He secured therefore some two
miles of beach at really nominal value
and set up manufactory for reducing
crabs to powder.
Having prepared his machinery, he
issued price list for crabs, and soon
had hundreds of thousands of them at
his disposal. From half mile of
beach no less than $50, 900 were taken,
while, as one informant told me, the
multiplication table ran out before he
had counted a few days. Having
speared the crabs they are conveyed in
boats to the factory, where pens are
provided. into which the living crabs
are thrown, and heaped up by thou
sands like bricks. Here IN few hours
they die, and curiously enough, do not
putrify, but dry up, SO that live crab
of four or five pounds will weigh but
pound or so when dried.
They are then thrown into a thresh-
ing-machine, and claws, feeders, shell,
and all torn into fragments. Belngyet
green, they are then placed IN i metal
cylinder and turned over furnace,
like in coffee roasting, till thoroughly
dried, when they are passed through
mill and ground into powder as fine as
flour. Thus these devilish- looking
king crabs become converted into Can
cerine. a name given to the compassion,
it may be supposed, from the latin
word cancer, meaning crab.
The cancerine is in good demand at
the mill at $50 per ton. During the
present year probably 400 tons will be
made, it's market being principally
among the fruit-growers of Maryland.
Its properties are considered very
valuable, there being over ten per cent.
of ammonia in it, the shell of the crab
beng unlike that of all other crabs,
Holsters, &C., of the horny nature and
not of lime. [ cannot recommend
visit to Goshen Beach for sweetness
sake, for dying king crabs do osmell, and
that most foully.
AS for reclining on the sand, say
rather recllne on eggs, for the latter
are most numerous. Little king crabs,
almost invisible crawl up your clothing
and get into your hair; while to look
at the parent crab is enough to force
many veteran iii scenes OF ugllness
and filth to part company with his last
meal A few years ago vessel loaded
with fine sea sand during crab egg time,
and went off to port with her cargo
Unfortunately the skipper took as much
eggs as sand, and on unloading began
to turn out young king crabs ad intini-
tum, till the port authorities ordered
her back to the ocean, there to dis
charge her crab cargo when and where
she pleased.