Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1888-06-30
WHENCE THE CLANS COME
A GRAPHIC SKETCH OF A MOST
INTERESTING INDUSTRY.
How "CIammingN IL Practiccd ny
the ..Chuc.ers' of New Jcr
sey-A PICTURESQUE Scene.


scy-A Picturesque Scene.
Claiming Is SO great IN industry that
there IS on the western bank Of the
Shrewsbury, near Highlands. y. J.. n
settlement composed entirely If clam
mers and their families. The Highlands
form an almost continuous bluff Of red
clay along the river, but Parkertown Is
on a stretch Of low ground which makes
out into the river at a point opposite the
southern end Of the Government proper
" AZ SANDY Hook. The Shrewsbury
namcIv separates the ocean branch from
the mainland.
There IS a continuous activity at
Parkcrtown or Seaside. the new tangled
name Of the place. to which. however, ITS
denizens do nottake kindly for Parker
town swarms with ParkcIs. lnnGmtr-
abe row boats and small sailing crafts
are at anchor. Horses and wagons are
driven right into the river and alongside
the sail boats, and the men IN the boats
beuin at once to shovel clans INTO the
wagons. Meanwhile, some Of the tiny
vessels spread their sails and glide down
the river or men in high topboots wade
to Their row boat and pull over toward
Shooters Island, or d~ia-onaIly across to
Srermacctti Cove. Some boats are
hauled ashore and the boatmen, throw
ing the CLANS into baskets, which,
when filled, they load on two wheel
harrows aud trundlc into the shantics
along shore or up the slope, into the
village. One young fellow turns with
his w~hcc!hariow into a gate about half
way up the street. Seated in the space
in front OF the shanty IS a whole tribe Of
%clanmers. The clans in the basket are
distributed, and three generations of
Pirkcrs start IN to open and bunch them,
while a swarthy young fellow twangs a
guitar and another rattlts a tambourlne.
Some OF the men have gotten out their
long polcd Iakes and are claiming IN
water so deep that they hold the ends OF
the rakcs by the very ends of the handles.
With the motion of the boat on the
waves the forty teeth of the rakes bury
themselves in the bed Of the river, and
when the men draw in the poles and
empty the contents of the row of carved
~p,ongs>on to a board flush with the gun
vale, there are generally Il number OF
clans among the sand and pebbles.
This method is called Chngglng fol
CLAIMS aud is The most general. though &
good many clammcrs rake or hoe for the
blvalvcs III shallow water, using the short
handled Iakcs or hoeing up the bottom
and her sitting the sand through &
pitchtork.
There is a curious little settlement o.
clam -chugoers in the Horseshoe. Sand
Hook. 1t consists of five shanties Oh
floats securelyAmoored to stakes driven in
the sand and also attached 10y stout cables
to anchors. For as the shantles are on
the beach. they would float away on the
hlrh tide or be hlown out to sea III !;
gale if they were not moored and an
chorcd. Some of the shanties are not SC
HIGH as the men who BUNK in them, yet
they have all the convenlenCes of house
Keeping. Several Of these Clam-s4uattels
AZ they are called by the aristocrats OF
the industry, float down in their shantic'
from | arkrrtown in the early spr.ng anC
remain in the Horseshoe until late in tn,
fall.
Every evening q number of weather
stained sIools anchor III the Horseshoe
They are the vessels of the men wh'
dledgc for CLAIMS. They sail far out into
Sandy Hook Bay, then furl their ibis
leaving their main>ails spread, and throw
out n ra>e attached to a long rope. tn
forward motion OF the boat, resisted b,
the proun-, causes these to bury them
!. selves M the bottom of the bay.
Even in winter the ciammcrs are no
idle. They break holes IN the ice an,
hoe for cl,m>. THIS i, praCtlccd OF TIL
parkertown shore and also in Spcrma
cetti cove. "hlch is on the beach side q
the head Of sandy Hook Fay In thi
: cove there is also n settlement of ekar
! squattciS. In summer there is Il float
! inc grocery in the cove, a shantv III
float, alongside Of which the hoatmc
row to purchase provisions. The clam
t ,nrrs who ch'g, rake, tread and no
complain bitterly OF those who drcdge
! They say that the drelgers leave II
clans for them. \ rhuggcr, rakel
tr1adcroi hoer, is nowadays happy
his catch reaches 1000, a day wor
: that viii stand him in a couple {
dollars. -Ntn la}h GrJpifc.