The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-10-17
A Rig OYSTER Story.

FLOWS that for an lSter!' Salu tne
skipper of an oysterman, pointing tc
an enormous shell that lay on the deck
ut amt not only a big SHE'LL he con
tinnel, "but it's got a powerful hig
yarn that goes with it"
The shell was certainly four feet
long, large enough to serve as a bath
tub for a small boy, and must have
weighed owe $50 pounds, as the re-
porter could not move it with one
hand 1t was one of the largest bl-
valves known, the tridacna giSas,
more properly allied to clans, but
passing as a very respectable oyster.
Eyes, sir" continued the skipper,
who was s%hucking oysters, smoking,
talking and humming a tune ut the
same time, "that lister was fet' he'd
from tn East Indies by an old mate of
mine, and haNpenin' to run foul of me,
he slys, says he, Bob, you're in the
lister biz and oughter have the boss
ister kinder sample yer goods like
So what does he do but send this ere
ballast aboard. There was two of 'em;
one got washed away in Il gale OF wind
oil Pint Lookout, down the Chesapeake,
but the two of 'em weighed Over 3OO
pounds, AMI ellis, he what fetched
'cm, said he eat the lister along O the
hull port watch of the ship-ahout
twenty. I reckon-and there was b Ut
of that lister left. The ritter weighed
close on to forty pounds, all solid meat.
Ye wouldn't open many OF 'em in an
huor.
1.-The yarn? Wall, as l was sayin',
ellis was one . these SpeculatIn'
chaps, always 10 kim FIR the main
chanc,, swappin' knives, clothes, any
thin TO make a cent, and cute as they
make 'em: 50 when the ship struck
the IIoss Iatitudcs Gil was always on
the 10 ,kou. for curioSities. shells and
such, for IT, fetch home and sell. So,
when the ship struck the stlaits O
Sunda and KEN to. off he goes with a
couple - natives what came aboard to
git coral anil things. Wall. they was
walin' along, as Gil said, haulin' the
can G after 'em and pick;n' up chunks
# coral ami C nchS and such, and all
to once Gil see what cooked Ike a
flower, all pink AMI yellow, and not
KNOWN what it was, up he goes and
give it a kick with his foot. The next
minute he .elt s1mcthin' close over his
f. Of Ike vs., and was gr.ppcd as eff
he'd took root, and 10 kin down he see
his foot n;ppcd in n Of thee ere
SHELLS. Full and haul every way he
would lie couldn't move, and
they couldn't get at the crit
ter. rs it was buried in the
oral and the tide on the Hood; it rises
about six fet in that country. Wall,
they thunped the crittcr with the oars
and hauled away for awhile, all to no
pupp1ls, and Gurus enough Gil had left
his knife aboard, and the only thing
to do was to 60 for it. SO off n of
the natives started for the bark, and
she a lyin' two miles away. The other
chap stood ly Gil in ase he gev out;
and there they was, the tldr a rlS!n
every minute, but in about three quar-
tcrs of an hour the ships cutter came
The boys gev Til a cheer that
kind O bracel him up, and the skipper
had sent his grog. Overheard jumps
the mate, with one O these ere spades
they use in wllalin', and in about a
minute the critter was al cut up and
Gil yanke | aboard; but III be dogged
if the water wasn't most up to his
chin. The next day they went at low
tide and got out the critters shell; and
that's the yarn, and there's the saell,'
said the skipper in conclusion.-PhH-
adelphiG Times.