Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1892-06-24
"CLAMMERS."
a DAY WITH THE NEW JERSEY
CLAM CATCHEKS.
How They Ensnare tho BIvaIvuIar
Aristocrat from His Muddy Home
-"ChuEgina" and "Shucking"
Clams-A Clammer's Outflt.
.ARKERTOWN canrot be found
- on the mar no matter how much
you look, YET to use tho express

'tnere are lou votes and 2UO fights" In
that little village nestled under the red
clay cliffs of the New Jersey Highlands
on the banks of the Shrewsbury River.
There is quiet little settlement, and as
claiming pays pretty handsome profits
most of the cottagers are supplied with
the comforts OF civilization. Whole
families arc engaged in catching .sshuck.
ing," stringing or packing CLANS down in
this amphibious village. The sons
follow in the footsteps of their fathers,
marry, settle down, rear children and live
over again the simple, fighting lives of
their ancestors. The oldest inhabitant
does not remember when Parkers did
not catch clans and fight out their
quarrels with natures weapons. Yet
they are simple folk, pleased to extend
hospitality toward stranger, and, for
people who get their living from tho
water, hard working and saving.
Every clammer owns rowboat, in
which he spends most of his days. The
very rich among them have sailboat In
addition to the small boat, and those
who have no boats ut all (they are very
few go threading" for their clans. In
this class must be reckoned large num-
Der of farmers, who do not care to haul
down boat from their farms every time
they want CLAIMS, so they roll up their
trousers and walk along barefooted in
the shallow water on the flats. AS they
walk along they can feel the shell of the
clam with their toes. They stoop down,
''grabble" for him with their fingers aud
toss him into floating tub, that is pulled
along by u string. Sometimes the wives
or daughters carry tho tub or basket
while the man ''treads"
The season for clans is now fully
open, and as clans are plentiful the
clammers are happy and conteated. A
man has to be extraordinarily lazy not to
make from SO to $3.50 day, and the
labor rule of eight hours is long one
with him.
Out in the little harbor or pulled up
on the beach in front of the village are
row and sailboats. Right after breakfast
and the folks in Parkertown eat break
fast at time when the city nottingham
is thinking about getting up-the clam.
mer starts for his boat. He takes down
his oars, rakes, hoes and nets, and ga
snack" to satisfy his cravings if he gets
hungry out on the water before u 1
o'clock dinner. The rakes are queer
looking tools to landsman. There are
two kinds. On the stern of every boat
is cross piece, on which the loag rakes
with thirty-foot pole rest. They are
something like garden rake, only the
teeth are longer and curved sharply, so
t1,nf f1,-a -x,,,tt n ~.
bottom of the river. They work like
pair of scissors. The short rakcs are
about fourteen feet long, and, with the
hoes, are used in shallow water. The
rake itself is about three feet long, is
made of iron or steel and is very strong.
One of the popular features of these raAes
is the backing just above the teeth,
against which the CLANS are pushed when
the rakes are closed, just before pulling
up.
George Parker, "Jim' Rider, "Joo"
Brown, John and slim" Taylor are the
boss clammers of Parkertown, and it was
in Riders boat that saw the rakes at
work. We had showed of from the
shore and Rider soon had the oars in the
locks ready for work. Did you ever see
clammer rowe 1 have seen the blue
and the crimson on the Thames and seen
how "Bob" Cook had put in his fine
work, but the clammer's stroke was
revelation. Rider had it to perfection,
and as he proudly told me, ''it's born in
'er man. He can row an that's ALL" 1t
is almost impossible to describe it except
as quick, jerky motion, seemingly all
up ard down. The oars are never feath
cred and it does not seem to require any
exertion on the part of the cammer. He
just sits there and jabs his oars into the
water, never seems to really pull on
them, and yet the boat goes along. He
eau keep his stroke up all day, and
clammer was never known to say he was
tired from rowing.
But we are right over the clam beds
and in very deep water, so deep that
Rider is compelled to hold the rake BY
the very ends of the handles. He care
fully balances himself near the side of
the boat, and the motion of the boat on
the water sends the sharp teeth in the
mud at the bottom of the river. He
WORKS tho rakes, one handle in each
hand, around in the mud. Finally, at
ter much patien; scraping, he closes tho
teeth of the rakes and baud over hand he
pulls up the long pole with curious
looking clawfal of mud, pebbles and
CLAIMS.
The contents of the row of curved
prongs are emptied on board flush with
the gunwale of the boat and his expert
:ncod eyes quickly tell him which are
the best clans. AS he picks out the good
CLAIMS he throws them into the bottom of
inc boat and the mud is dumped back
into the water. Sometimes the clammer
S very lucky and strikes spot that is
LOUDLY stocked with clans and then he
gets enough in couple OF hours to do
Tor q whole days work. This method
IS called "chugging" and is that gener-
Ally practised by the people who live in
Parkertown.
After the rakes have gone many times
into the water Rider looks at the sun
md says it is near dinner time. All over
The river you can see the clammers max
mo- for the beach They all have tb,t