Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-09-07
TEE GRABBING TROUBLES.
The killing of Evans Recoun-
ted by One who Visited the
SpPnR
Richmond, Va.


John Thomas Evans, of Smith;
Island, by Capt. George Savage, of the
Virginia oyster police, has caused
widespread interest and comment
This writer happened to be on the
Island d few days later, and looked
over the ground of the tragedy, care
fully investigating the whole matter.
Believing that an account of the
conditions leading mp to the shoot.
ing, and of all the evidence obtaina-
6le III the matter, would be of inter
est to Your readers, he submits the re-
suits of his Investigations.
Under the B!ack-Jenkins award
the line between Maryland and Vir-
glnia on Smiths Island runs westerly
from dorse Hammock to the bay,
throwing the lower end of the Is
land into Virginia. According to
the Maryland charter the original
line from Smiths Point easterly
would pass over the grabbing grounds
in question, and between Herring Is
land and Fishbone Island, without
touching land until it reached Fox
Island, or its unknown Watkins
Point tits possible that if the Vir-
glnia commissioners had known or
fcreseen what source Of expense
and trouble the present line would
be that they would have agreed to
run right line from Smiths Point
to or near the INDICATED Watkins
Point. lt will be seen by tie aid of
a chart that the larger portions of
Tylers' and Shanks Greeks in Smiths
Island lie below the boundary. The
Maryland crabbers are and have
been allowed to crab in the waters of
the two creeks to aroughly drawn line
across the lower line of the Island.
At times they have been allowed to
net crabs about half mile further
down, and then again they have
been kept back further North than
South point, according to the humor
of the police captain. Between
Smiths and Tangier lies body of
very shallow water about five miles
long and three miles wide. This
bottom is called the "knoll," and is
covered with a species of sea grass
that turns dark when it dies and is
called "black grass" in contradis-
tinction to. another kind called
white" This "black grass" is con-
sidered the best grabbing bottom,
and as it is entirely within the area
prohibited to Maryland crabbers, of
fers very great temptation to such
as are reckless enough to risk arrest.
The upper portion of "the KNOLL" is
used very little by Virginia crabbers,
except when Northerly winds impel
them to seek smoother waters, and
they hunt the shelter of Smiths Is
land. The limited use of ''the knoll"
by Virginians, and the knowledge
that hundreds of dollars worth of
crabs are practically going to waste
every day for want of catching, acts
as stimulant to violations of the
law. The inhabitants of the Vir-
ginia end of Smiths Island have
abandoned that portion and moved
elsewhere, there not being a single
soul resident thereon, and the near
est Virginia people are on Tangier,
not less than eight miles from the
nearest family on Smiths. The
Herring Island mentioned by Capt.
Savage is small marsh island, sit
uated approximately near the centre
of the grabbing grounds. 1t is un-
important except as factor in loca-
ting the spot of the killing cf young
Evans. Just below Horse Ham
mock, in Tangier Sound, lies the oys-
ter rock known as "Woman's Marsh" ;"
This oyster bed is almost entirely
worked out. No young growth of
oysters has been seen for years, and
the old oysters are very scarce, many
tongers ceasing to work there.
y The trouble in the present instance
was started by four or five MARYLAND
youths, from fifteen tn twenty wears
old, who persisted in going down on
the prohibited area. Some Police
captains had been quite lenient and
had make no arrests. Captain Say
age resolved to pnt stop to the depre-
dations. To this end he boarded
the bateau of one Sydney Smith and
warned him to keep away from the
forbidden area. On August 10th,
the four or five spoken of went down
on ''the knoll' again. A Michigan
der, temporarily resident on Smiths,
was on board of the police boat POGO
moke that morning, and found the
crew cleaning up the guns. He re-
marked to Capt. Savage, "Yon are
letting the boys come on the BLACK
grass today" "Yes," replied Capt.
Savage, 81 am today" implying that
it would be the last time.
Before day next morning the crowd
who had been grabbing near Herring
Island, accompanied by sixteen-year-
old John II. Evans, who had moi
been in prohibited waters at any
time this season, were on the grounds
waiting until it should become light
enough to see how to net crabs.
They had sailed down with fair
wind and had furled up and taken
down their sails. The universal Gus.
tom is to lay the spirit in the boat,
and wrap the sail around the mast,
before takifg it down. The knowl-
edge of this custom has an impor~
tant bearing on what follows.
Capt. Savage, not having been on
the police boat since the shooting,
has not been seen, and his version of