Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-28
RHODE ISLANDS CLANS.
From Churning for Quahaugs to Cook
ing the ChOwder by Barrels.

From the Pro0ideace journal.

prepared to fill, as it often is, from five to
fifteen or twenty thousand people IN the
course of a few hours, is stupendous az
fair, and from the bottom up is awork to
be admired as whole and wondered at
in its details; and few of the thousands
who in the course of the summer season
sit down to clam dinners appreciate the
work entailed in its preparation. First
and foremost there is the clam. Most of
the CLANS used at the shore resorts of
Narragansett bay come from the flats
across the bay from Nayatt, on the Co.
nimicut shore and On Green's island. AS
far up as Pawtucket and about Sabin's
Point the CLANS are considered hard, glue
shelled and gritty; but across at BullOck's
Point they are good, and the Bullock's
POINTERS get their CLAIMS right at home.
Cwo-thirds Of the CLANS are got by 'schurn-
ing" The clam gang wades out over the
bed and shovels up mud and CLAIMS and
everything that comes along into big wire
baskets. which, when about full. are lift
ed out OF the water, and a rinsing and
shaking wash out the mud and leave the
CLAIMS. Two men and a boy attend to
each basket, one man shoveling in the
mud, the second getting out the clans,
and the boy "culling" them. Churning
the water is two or three feet deep, as, by
the time the workman has to put his head
under water, when he bends over at SHOW
cling, he soon has to give up the Job. The
suction on the shovels Is tremendous, and
they are made exceptionally strong.
When there are good tides, on the full and
change Of the moon, the CLAIMS may be
raked out after the manner of the nom
! professional digger; a shovelful of mud is
! ny OF n tbo 81
tains are raked out with the clam-hOe.
Consideration Of either of the above meth
DDS is sufficient for true understanding
OF the happiness of the clam at high wa
ter. The clam ordinarily lies in the mud
from two to eighteen inches; a clam that
would bury itself much deeper than eigh-
teen inches is not to be looked upon with
favor. 1t is wearing life that the clam
diggers lead, working as they do i've or
six hours at time in the water, and so
hard as to be constantly wet with perspi-
ration. Capt. }. H. Northrup, who has
been the Captain of the Rocky Point clam
gang for some eleven years, and has prob
ably handled more clans in his lifetime
than any other man in Rhode Island, said
that at Rocky Point last year some 1000
bushels of CLANS for the bake alone were
used. His regular clam gang is seventeen
or eighteen men, but on big
days it Is necessary to increase the force
to fifty or sixty men.
Once the CLAIMS are out of the water and
in the boats they are towed to the shore,
where they are piled in a shed, picked
over and carefully washed. Five or six
men are employed constantly at this work
at the larger resorts. The preparation of
the pile on which the CLANS are to bake is
the next step, and this is done on much
the same plan everywhere. A pile of
wood is laid, on every layer OF which cob
ble-stOnes are placed, and the burning of
the wood heats the stones and makes
them ready to have the CLANS thrown on
top. At Rocky Point, instead of building
the pile on the ground, it is laid on a sur
! face of stone, cemented with tire-clay, and
some such plan has been adopted in other
| places. This allows of the stones being
pulled off after the wood is consumed and
the plate swept clean of ashes. when the
stones are piled on 1t again. Over the hot
| stones mass of rockwell is piled, and
the sight of a line OF walters with tubs of
CLAIMS between them. running at break
neck speed for the pile, forming circle
about it and emptying the tubs on top
| with a concerted effort. is familiar. Over
the whole the canvas is laid, seaweed is
heaped, and fragrant steam arises from
the pile. Twenty minutes later the clans
are ready for the table.
The Rhode Island clam IS, alas, going
out Of use for chOwder. II has too much
/ grit in its belly, and when it Is cut up 1t
makes a chowder not agreeable to LOOK at,
| and so about tw0-thirds of the chowder
| CLAIMS are quahaugs-sO TO express it.
| Old-fashiOned people say they Ike the
lOng-neck CLAIMS better. but the quahaugs
are white and clean and palatable thus
prepared, and Of late years have come in
| 10 general use. II the visitor to Rocky
| Point should chance to stroll down toward
! the beach behind the laundry-house he
would discover near the water an old
shed. Against the side facing him is
huge pile of quahaug shells, and through
| a slit that runs the whole length Of the
shed quahRug shells are flying out In a
way at once mysterious and startling.
But behind the opening is a bench, and at
| the bench are three or four men opening
| quahaugs for chowder; ''out outs" they
! call them, and a few OF the largest CLANS
are also cut out for the same purpose.
The quahaugs come from Edgartown, and
a schooner brings from 200 to 800 bushels
of them every fortnight. which are emp
tied in shed where the water constantly
flows over them. Quahaugs "grow" close
to the surface OF the mud, and are raked
out the same as oysters, or may be "trod
out" at low water. Thrse hundred gal
Ions OF ohowdeT make an average course
for a goOd-sized excursion party. Patent
clam choppers chew long necks ana little
necks into tid-bits In no time 10 put into
the oaldrOn.
As for fish, that Is cut up and baked on
CRATES by the half ton in two ovens. Clam
cakes swim about and fry In small pond
of melted lard on top OF a big oven, and
200 pounds of liquid lard bubbling and
sizzling float the hundreds OF cakes. one
man drops in the dough from huge tin
dish full, and second is employed In
turning them and taking them out. Five
barrels OF -four per week represents the
average consumption OF clam cakes at
well-patronized resort. For the other de-
tails of the feast, melons and potatoes are
bought by the hundreds and cartloads;
bread is baked by the hundred loaves, In
the proportion OF 800 white 10 250 brown
oavos; butter IL laid IN store by the ball
ton, aud between twenty and thirty walt
ers are required to serve It all up in the
larger dining-halls.
The shells are about the only things left
after a well-organized excurelon party
hap attacked ciam-bake. These are
carJsd on aud dumped on some stretch OF
waste land. The accumulated shells OF
spassn Of some eighty days are cOneidera-
BILE. They lie In the sun until the follow
INK spring. Then they are spread over
the roads. aud prime roads they DO
MAXI. The quahaug shells make the
best, aud are spread about the cottagers'
Ia.