The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-01-25
OYSTERS! OYSTERS t!
BALTIMORE. January Ii. 1879.

BALTIMORE, January Ii, 1879.
BLESSED be the man who first in
vented sleep believe was the excla-
nation of the lllstrious Sancho Panza,
when he and his master became weary
fighting the wind mills, or perhaps it
NAV have been uttered after he had
been tossed in the blanket, for he and
his master had such a great variety of
strange and ludicrous adventures that
| am not quite sure just where II comes
in. They were strange couple, San
cho aud his master. the knight of the sOr-
rowfu figure. and did so many strange
things, But the man who swallowed
the first oyster did stranger thing than
anv Of the wild vagaries recounied 10y
Cerventes and by him attributed To the
iIustrious pair before referred to. This
man, whoever he was. was a courageous
man. and the people of Baltimore should.
by all means. ascertain his name and
build him a monument, because they
are indebted to his courage in captur-
ing and swallowing the first bivaIve for
one OF their principal industries. aud
one that over,cp> all others in magnl-
tude. which would never have reached
its present colossal proportions. If he.
bold courageous man that he was, had
Rot swallowed the first oyster. And
then the people Of this city love to build
monuments. aud there are manv thou
sands Of oyster shells that might he util-
lied in the construction of q monument
10 the memory Of this individual. Then,
again. it would he so very appropriate
TO build his monument of shells, ami II
would serve the double purpose of com
memoraling his courage and perpetual
ing his fame. as well as utilizing the
useless shells that now are 10 he seen
almost as thicklv sown upon the va
cant lots in the suburbs and along the
wharves, and indeed almost every where
else, a. are the water-worn pebbles and
grains of sand. in the soil whereon the
city stands. Everybody eats oysters
in Baltimore, and we had almost said
everybody cooks aud sells them. bat We
will qualify the latter remark by say
ing that large majority of Baltimorcans
are, in some way, connected with the
capture canning or cooking of oysters.
Ii seems when Il person cannot find
employment at any thing else in Ball-
more, he goes into the oyster business
Ii be is a stav-at-home domestic sort of
a chap, he gets room and the neccs-
sary apparatus, and cooks them and
offers them for sale, and he, who wishes,
can get seven oysters fried in a box =
for fifteen cents to take home to his
wife. if he has one. or take with him if
he is going or 4 journey and wishes
to take lunch along with him. The
reader must not get the impression that
the oysters are fried in box for all
the signs do not read that way We
believe they are usually fried in the
ordinary way though we have seen
signs that stated they " were fried iu 4
box" but are Of the opinion that the
propretors did not mean what they
said Many of these men, who would
fain make you believe they fry oysters
in a box, also deal in the raw material
and supply their customers with raw
oysters, so they can cook them TO suit
themselves Then there is ano, her class
that carry them around the streets in
large tin buckets or cans, and sell them
at moderate prices per quart or gallon.
One Of the latter class lives near our
temporary abode. He is strange, odd
genius, who has been in the army If.
teen wears, a part of which lac spent
in fighting the Modocs under Captain
Jack. in the lava beds of Oregon. or
wherever it was This odd fellow has
many testimonials from his officers for
heroism and bravery, but somehow he
came home short time since and quietly
settled down here on Hallcluiah Hill.
and went TO opening oysters aud ped
ding them round the suburbs. and
every morning he will jerk our door
bell As if all the ghosts Of all the dead
Modocs and all the defunct warriors Of
all the other tribes were at his heels.
and in a voice as musical as a rip-saw.
demands if we wars any oysters this
"smornen, good and fresh, 20 cents u
quart"
Then there is another class called
Arabs, we suppose from some resem-
blance they bear to the people Of tina,
name, who in some way get possession
Of poor, forlorn end superannua;cd
old horse or mule and rcketv old
wagon and pedile them in tn" she'll
through all the lanes and streets and
alleys Of the city. This last class gen
orally have good lungs and know how
to use them, and make the streets echo
with weird unearthly wells they make
in proclaiming the quality Of their mer-
cbandise
But seriously speaking, the oyster
trade of Baltimore city is of gigantic
proportions, A9d if not the first. is GER
tainly second to no other branch Of bust
ness There are eighty firms engaged
in packing oysters in this city, Their
capital ranges from 500, GOO to 81 900.
900, and amounts in the aggregate to
100000 The number Of vessels en-