Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-12-11
AN OYSTER VILLAGE.
IT'S MALES ARE A HARDY AND
INDEPENDENT RACE.

IT'S MALES ARE A HARDY AND
INDEPENDENT RACE.
They arc oil Captains, and Proud Of
Their Gallant Little SlOops-How
They Plant, Gather and Market the
Bivalve.
Twenty miles from the city Of New
FORK aud one-cighth Of milo northwest
VI Far Rockaway, on O narrow neck
which used to be known as Northwest
Point, the traveller, whose quiet taste
leads him awoy from busy city scenes,
zones upon a quaint oyster village. In
wood is its name and sleepiness 10 it's
chief characteristic.
Within the limits Of Inwood there orc
90 poor. The population is composed
largely Of "oaptains has
owned ond used an oyster boat. at no
natter how remote period, is always o
captain" If You will venture out on
tho bay some morning you will find
numerous vessels belonging 10 the In
wood feet Of oyster bouts, and the mas
ter of sloop never fails to salute the
masters Of the others whenever the boats
are in hearing distance, with hearty
"Good mornin', Cap'en," which greeting
is invariably answered in the same bluff
fashion.
Leaving Inwood in the early hours,
for the oystermen ore up betimcs, many
If them, in fact, being off to the dock,
.s it is called, by 2 o'clock in the morn
ing-the visitor to the oyster grounds
:akes the winding, travelled road Of the
village, which is bordered on one eide by
the shining waters Of tho bay and CT the
,ther by the coy homes Of the OYSTER
men.
The brisk walk in the crisp morning
mir is inspiring, and by the time one has
followed the bend of the yellow road to
the dock and clambcred down its sides
into waiting scow, he cannot but be
impressed with the freedom Of the
FISHERMAN life, which, Notwithstanding
its hardship and exposure, is full of that
poetry of the picturesque always fur
nished by water and sky. The dock or
.anding used by the Inward oystermen is
called Tones Island. 1t consists of
eleven acres Of land which lie on the
headwatcrs Of the southeast part Of
Rockaway Bay, aud is more commonly
known as Front Cove. This island is
owned by the 1nwood oystcrmen, who
paid $500 for it. Upon it are seven huts
three of which are portable oyster scows
Or boats, with rude dwelling houses
attached, in which the oystermen domi-
Gle their families when occasion requires,
and where the operations of house,
keeping may be conducted on rude
SCALE
The bit Of shore afforded by Tones
Island, dotted here and there with huts
and boats. and covered at intervals with
low, tangled grasses, forms an attractive
picture, and it is from this point that the
oysterman embarks. AS he climbs into
his boat and takes up the oars prepare
tory to rowing out over tho bay, he is u
study in color tones in his yellow oilskin
pants, his tarpaulin hat and his bright
English jumper. His hat, which is bet.
ter known MS "sou 'wester," is made OF
oiled canvas. His great topboots ore Of
rubber, and his coat, like his trousers, is
of yellow oilskin. AS he settles himself
at the oars, the novice instinctively won
ders how it is possible for the oyster
man to distinguish that which he face
tiously denominates his own ground,
but this query is soon answered by the
scores Of stakes with which thu
bay is dotted everywhere. Thes.
stakes have their counterparts OF
shore, and every oysterman readily
recognizes his own, not only by their 10
cation, which, however, is as firmly fxet
in his MUD as the points Of the compass
but by means Of peculiar marks, no tive
Of which, are alike. In this way the oys
ter farm is made absolutely clear to it
owner, even though it does lie from on
to twenty feet under water. Ever,
member Of family is allowed thre
acres Of oyster ground, and as the fami
lies Of the lnwood ovstermen are FIRE
quently large, the farms are usually o
sufficient size to yield u generous crop
Upon leaving shore the oystermar
rows directly to the scene Of his posses
sions, where he begins the operation o
planting or longing according to the sea
son of the year. In planting, the oyster
man stands upright, scoops up the see
from the bottom of his boat with
shovel, and by an adroit backward move
mcnt Of tho wrist, such as farmer use
in sowing grain, scatters the oyster
broadcast into the water. After tn
oysters have lain two or three weeks
few of them are taken up and examine
by a practical planter. If they are no
growing, however, nothing can be don
except to plant them in another place
! : The operation is known as transplant
ing, and is made necessary by the fac
Of the oysters having been too thickl
> sown. If this is the case the seed mus
be thinned, or the germ Of life will bt
come extinct. When oysters are tran.
planted, the oystermen usually own sui
!, ficient ground that has been previousl
: tested to which the seed may be trans
fe1cd, but if not, new ground must /
= used, and this, as general rule, is mo,
prolific than the old. Sometimes q
!, oyster bed wears out in ten years, b,
oftener, the sages say, such ground wi
: produce heavily for more than half
century.
: Most Of the oysters used for plantir
come from Connecticut The best Sc
= son for planting, it is thought, exten,
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