Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-26
PIRATES IN THE CHESAPEAKE.
The TOnguemen Enter the war-Capt.
WiBgate's Swivel Gun.
From the Neqo York Tribune.

From the Neq0 York Tribune
BALTIMORE, Dec. 23.-Further reports
from the lower Chesapeake show that the
oyster pirates are giving the state police
navy lively time. 1t now appears that
Capt. Wingate was not aboard his sloop,
the Carrie Franklin, when she was at
tackled by the Illegal dredgers and had to
beat a retreat. The Franklin carries two
cole cted his crew, and is now after the
oystermen. The trouble between the
dredgers and tOnguemen is also increas-
ing, and unless the oyster police
navy take more decisive action
conflict resulting in serious
loss of lie is imminent. A number of
oyster schooners which arrived here from
down the bay to-day had their standing
rigging cut, their sails perforated with
bullet holes, and showed other signs OF
having taken part in a battle. The cap
tains of the vessels report that about 2
o'clock on Sunday morning crowd of
armed tonguemen, numbering over 100,
started out from Herring Bay, on the
west side of the Chesapeake. They were
all in a large slOOp which they had seized
without leave or license. They drove
away the dredgers who were anchored or
at work on Holland Island bar near Fair
eTs under the State law, but
they work there all the same. A captain
whose vessel was at anchor said:
1.-THE night was fOggy. and the first we
knew of the approach of the tonguemen
was blaze of light which lit up the bay
and called every man on every boat on
deck. The report from l00rifles, muskets
and pistols, all blazing away at once, was
enough to astOnish anybody, and the way
in which we got up our anchors and took
advantage of every puff OF wind TO get
out OF the way of the bullets was lively"
Several Of the dredgers, however, were
wounded. The Oystermen of Somerset
and Dorchester counties have also I'D
another naval 6ght. Capt. Veazey, of the
steamer EnOch Pratt, says that while his
boat was at DeaPs Island, about mid
night on Monday, the Somerset oys; en-
men we're sailing IN their sloOps toward
Fishing Bay, Dorchester county, and
blazing away with their rifles in every
direction. The moon lighted up Tangier
sound, and the slOops and also the flash
ing Of the rifles could be seen plainly. A
large crowd of Deals Islanders
had collected at the Maryland
steamboat cOmpsny's wharf TO watch
the fight from afar. 1t is said
that the battle was caused by the
Somerset dredgers plying their vocation
IN Fl6hing baV. Inc dorchester oyster
men resented this as an unlawful trespass
upon their oyster grounds. They chased
the Somerset men home and, il is re.
ported, captured one Of their slOops. IL
was 10 get even with the Dorchester men
and 20 recapture the sloop that the on
slaught was made by the Somerset dredg-
ers on Monday night. The result OF this
atiray is not known yet. but IL is proba-
BILE that some of those engaged were hurt
in the iusilade kept up for a couple of
hours.
Reports are also received OF later en-
gagement between Capt. Wiugate and
the dredgers in fog. While the Frank
lin WAS stationed on the middle ground at
Nantcnke Point, dredgers began work on
the forbidden ground. The captain fired
on them, and the drpdgers retaliated. but
when the captain blazed away with his
swivel gun, they pulled up anchor and
went away.