The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1904-02-01
STORY OF AN OYSTER
TOLD BY HIMSELF ABOUT HIMSELF
AND HIS TRIBE

on the FishmonRcr's counter.
There were nbout 10000 Of us when.
as tiny flakes Of spawn or "spat,' rs
the oyster spawn is called We noatcd
out into the water one day on "thc
fats
At first we were white and apparent.
ly lifelcss. Then We turned gray aud
finally black At this stage we became
vlsibly alive For several days We
fio6tcd, the sport OF wave and tides
Some Of my brothers were carried out
10 sea and so vanished. others were
swallowed by fish A. last we all be
gan instinctivcly tu sink toward the
bottom
Then began again terrible destruc
ton Many fen ON mud the most IA
tai thing young oyster can do. These
persisted ut once Others attached
themselves 10 plants and weeds which
grow u the bottom of the sea. They
lived for q time $50 long ut least as the
plant remained alive. Then when the
plant died they prrishod ass we'll
Fortunately for myself driftcd on
f
uf tine old shells which the drodgcrs
and oyster men $50 carefully scatter all
over the sea floor of an oyster bed !
settled with my deep shell uppcrmost
ANA my nat or right shell nearer the
ground At the time did not know
why I did this I have since realized
that II was because In that position
should bc more easily able to eject the
sand and grit which rough sea some.
times stirs up In shallow water. ! at
tachcd myself firmly 10 my anchorage
Of "cultch" and felt myself at last fair
ly started In life
Soon noticed that every single NOR
sci Of shell or stone around me was
tcnantcd 10y tiny oysters, all lying In
the same position as myself and all
firmly anchored
There | lay, unmoying for nearly a
year Food. in the shape Of tiny ami.
malculr, which an oyster loves best
was plentiful when the water was
thick with IT, we all opened our shells
wide, and. making currents In the wa
ter by means OF the tiny hairs which
fringe oNr glls and which men call our
boards. We washed the daintles into
our mouths. our choicest dellcacics
were the minutc green algm, which
give to full grown oysters that greenish
tlngc that IL the mark OF the arlsto
cratic native.
When | first anchored myself, ! was
but the twentieth Of an inch in diane
ter so small indeed, that n microscope
would have been necessary to examine
me. At that stage my shell was per
fcctly transparent.
At the end OF ten months ! had in
creased In diameter tO fully the size
OF dime and become what Is called
brood"
During all this time | had been learn
ing many things. | found out that II
was necessary 10 close my shell tight
when dangers OF various kinds threat.
ened. when he tide was low or, In win
ter. when frost was severe. You may
perhaps imagine that an oyster IL n
creature Of such low organism that II
cannot see or feel much of what is go
Ing on round about IT, But you are
wrong The mantle fringe OF an oyster
II very sensitive. II you watched us
from boat In calm water, you would
see that the mere shadow OF the boat
crossing an oyster bed will cause those
OF us upon whom II falls 10 close our
shells Immediately
II was necessary To hc most careful,
Dangers were many and terrible. Sea
urchins prowlcd among us and de
II Ia,
worst Is the five fingered starhsh. One
of my sisters anchored not yard
away. fell a victim to this terror Of
the oyster beds II Clutchcd her with
its long fingers She closed her shell
But the creature was not 10 bc shak
en- or Hour after hour IT clung there
until on the second day after its first
grip she, poor thing, opened her shell
To get IA mouthful OF food. At once the
starGsh injected into her nuid which
stupcncd her so that she could moi
close again. Then the monster turned
itself inside out shoj itself into tn,
open shell and doyourcd her.
Then, one day year after | haC
noated as "spat" came a stnrthn.
change in my existence. Somcthins
huge aud heavy came out Of the shad
ow of boat above and approached
raspng ana grating along the bottom
II was great triangular drcdge o
wrought iron At the bottom was
fiat bar with blunt edge, known I,
the drcdgers as the bit"
As the bit" approached IL scrapc'
the bottom of the sea clean, and mex
instant |, too found myself lifted an,
dropped into the net, together will
hundreds like myself and a misccl
lancous collection Of small solcs an'
other things
one Of the men sorted over the cate
and, having selected all the oyster
and spat, shaded" the rest back int
the sea through "a portfolio.
l. in company with enormous uual
titles OF other brood, was put into
"wash"-a measure holding i've and