The morning times., 1895-12-08

there are very few prettier sights than
Washin gton's oyster fleet under sail.
Some OF the craft arc pungies, some OF
them are buckeyes, some OF them are sloops
| and others of them are schooners-
The difference between these types OF
craft is that the buckeye Is sharp at stem
| and stern, with q foremast that Is loftieT
| than the mainfnast, though sometimes IL
is schooner rigged, but usually 1T Is rigged
with leg o. mutton cotton. 1t Is claimed
by their partisans that 1t is easier to handle
than any other style of craft and that it Ia
swift In breeze and stanch in q blow
The pungy is a boat without waist,
with u main topmast and one or more
! jibs or staysaiis.
SOME OF THE FLEET.
Some of the larger and more celebrated
of the local oyster fleet are as follows:
Ella Covingtnn, Capt. Covington; Lizzie
Lane, Capt. Cevingtrn; UnderhAl, Capt.
Shivers; Robert Knight, Capt. Wsrod; Mary
Candy, Capt. Faunce; j. D. Faunce, Capt.
Faunce; The Dean. Capt. Lawrence; j.
D. Bell, Capt. Rollins; Anne Gibsnn, Capt.
Rods; Isaac Solomon, Capt Clark; William
Turner, Capt. Wells; Capitol, Capt. Chisel-
tine; Alice Horner, Capt. Chase; The Becca
Capt. Ellis; Evening Breeze, Capt. Duvall;
Stephenson, Capt. Eskridge; Blxler, Capt.
Ellis, and The Chief Capt. Swami.
These boats Will make about two trips
Der week, and each time Will bring up
from 300 to 500 bushels. The captains OF
these craft buy the oysters from the dredg-
ers and tong ers who hold forth in the waters
above the beds. The favorite grounds are
in the st. Mary's district in the waters and
tributaries OF Brftain's Bay; though some
times oysters are located and taken up as
far from the mouth OF the river as Colonial
Beach and Lower Cedar Point.
Then early in the season many come from
a @rtx n<xA
so much esteemed. Those coming from
the st. Mary's region are the steadiest mar
ket oyster and Just now are bringing at the
dock from 40 to go cents per bIsael, and
shucking about one gallon to the bushel
In the shell.
The very finest oyster of a local cherac-
ter are those that are caught in Tangier
Sound and the p okomoke region OF Virginia
These sell at Washington for from 6b cents
to 20 cents per bushel and will shuck about
a gallon and a pint. The shuekage costa
20cents per busbel and requires about twen-
ty-five minutes. though the chHIn pion
shucker at the wharf holds the record at
eighteen minutes for average oysters.
DIFFERENCE IN BUSHELS.
The nItddlenen. who sell them to the
Washington dealers. sell them for the same
price that they pay for them, and the reason
they are able to do this is that the oyster
-
OF the Washington market. When one OF
the Washington fleet hauls up alongside
tonger or dredger and buys 500 bushels, he
means. OF course, "oyster measure
They are served TO him In half-bushel
tubs, aud this busheI viii make nearly
bushel aud third when he hauls up along
the Washington dock and measures the same
oysters TO the Washington dealer in stand.
ard half-busilel baskets. This is where
the profit of the sailor comes In. This fleet
after the close of the oyster season goes
into the fish business. When that closes
down fl is about time for the watermelon
season to open, and when this ends there is
very little adjournment for the riyerman
before the oyster season is once more upon
him. Thus he sails the whole year round.
The oyster year is from September l to
March 81, and the time that the dredgers
are allowed to operate is from October ID
to March %. The tongers take oysters
out Of water as deep as twenty two feet,
though usually eighteen feet is deep enough
for the tongmen to reach down. The
dredgers are not limited to depth, as they
will work anywhere IN the bay, and pursue
the oyster with the same zeal OF extermina-
ton as the peies sic sealer pursues the seal.
Tongrnen say that pity and remorse are un-
known to dredgers.
Mr.. Tucker assured The Times that many.
OF the tales OF hardship told by dredgers
are fakes, though he admitted that the life
was not luxurious. The captains of oyster
dred gers, although they were not very
sensitive about taking oystsrs wherever
they could be found, and did mt = It very