The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1888-12-28

battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac,
is now, in the year Ammo Domini eighteen
hundred and eighty-eight, infested by pirates.
Not pirates Of the Morgan or Capt Kidd
type, however Not heroic cutthroats, gener-
ous thieves, with athletic figures, handsome
bronzed features, long hair, piercing black
eyes and gay Spanish costumes-fearless fel-
lows, who snap their fingers at the fury of
the wind, bare their breasts to the lightning
and confront all the elements with immortal
defiance They are not picturesque corsairs,
with lone virtue linked to thousand
crimes" these Chesapeake bay pirates. And
their vessels are not 'long, low, rakish
crafts" which spread their white wings and
speed away to the horizon with the speed of
the wind. The pirates Of Chesapeake bay do
not scuttle ships or sack towns, and they have
never been known to make captured young
women, vainly pleading, walk the barbareus
plank This is not due, however, to their
scrupulous moral principles, as will be seen
further on.
The Chesapeake bay pirates are oyster
pirates: nothing more nor less than men who
unlawfully dredge oyster beds that do not
belong to them; the term '*pirates," by gen
eral usage. is therefore somewhat stretched
in its application to them. But the booming
of cannon and the crack Of rifles are now the
frequent sounds that disturb the quiet that
broods over the beautiful waters Of the
Chesapeake.
Several battles have been fought between
the oyster police and the oyster pirates, and
many lives have been lost iu the undecisive
war thus far this season. But it still con-
tinues, and will no doubt continue indefin-
itely. The police are at q disadvantage. The
pirates know it, They have combined, and
are now fleet Of many hundred sail, manned
by desperate characters, to whom conscience
and humanity seem to be unknown quanti-
ties.
The causes and nature of the oyster war
cannot be understood without some knowl-
edge Of the Laws on tho subject and of the
methods OF pursuing the business.
In 1868 the Maryland legislature assumed
control over the oyster beds Of Chesapeake
bay and all its estuaries, channels, creeks and
the rivers debouching into it. The law was
designed to protect the industry by placing
it under governmental supervision, for even
at that day the growth of the oyster business
threatened to destroy the oyster beds faster
than they could be naturally replenished.
By the law the oyster gatherers were divided
into three classes, and the territories within
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as sharply as possible. An appropriation
was made for the purchase of q steamer to
act as police guardian Of the laws.
or the three classes into which the oyster
men were divided, first in the order Of origin
come the tongers This class is usually COM
posed of the poorer men, and they take their
name from the chief implement of their
work, big pair of rakes, with handles
usually about twenty feet long, joined to-
gether by bolt hinge near the lower end.
The teeth of the rakes are set facing each
other, so that when the handles are brought
together the teeth shut up like pair Of
jaws, and whatever is grasped ky them is
hound to come up. Tongers. cs rule, use
rude canoes. sloops and ''pungies" for their
work and generally work in pairs. They
have not the capital necessary to provide
themselves with a large boat and dredging
machinery, or to employ a large crew, there
fore they are tongers These men are usually
inoffensive, ignorant, hard working men and
respecters Of the law.
Next to the tongers are the scrapers, aud
the only difference between them and the
dredsers, who constitute the third class, lies
in the tonnage Of their boats Their methods
are the same, but as the scrapers are re-
stricted to the shallower waters their
machines are built upon q smaller scale.
The scrape or dredge consists of heavy
rake without handle. A net is attached to
it in such way that whatever is torn up by
the teeth is caught iu it. In place Of
handle long rope runs from the rake to the
deck of the boat and to windlass Every