The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-12-09
! A HOUSE BUILT |
| UPON THE SAND 1
Observation-Disclosures!

THE haze of lovely day in October
L lay on Jamaica bay. A gentle
southwest wind stirred the water into
shining rippies.
Afar on the horizon the salt mead
ows resembled the islands of the Blest
The wind, blowing over a thousand
leagues OF heayjng sea, was redolent OF
salt and fTeighted with stimulation.
Crayfsh Bill is bayman. He lives
en- Ruffie bar, four miles away from
shore as the crow flies, in the cabin
Of an cid canalboat drawn UP on bar
and surrounded by piles driven into
the sand 10 protect it from the ice.
Say, JIM" said Bill, as his visitor
came down the cabin stairs, this
ere cabin amt no Aston hotel, with
French cook, but | can give you some
oysters right out of the bay"
Fifteen min-tes later the visitor
drew cracker box to the table. The
menu consisted of oysters on the half
shell, soft CLANS roasted in the oven
with slice of bacon over each. milk
toast made of bread four days old and
condensed milk, and tea brewed in
pot black as the stoyepipe that pro-
jected from the top of the cabin.
After this meal was finished and the
cats were fed, Bill lit his pipe and his
tongue began to wag. Said he:
You amt been here since lost my
house last March,"
where did you get money enough
to buy a house?" said the visitor in
playful irony.
Il saved it." said Bill. ct cost me
about s35. l s'pose I'll never have so
much money again at one time. I'm
over so and amt so strong as l used to
be-
This ere is the oyster season and
I'm watchin' the oyster beds to keep
the thieves away. | watch nights and
tong oysters in the daytime. l s'pose
you never tonged for oysters with
tongs 10 feet long in strong tideway?
well, it amt no child's play.
days work is a boatful of oysters, and
you have to Gull EN- after you've dug
EN- up You don't do much dreamin'
dllCl sOu ldNC bSOii tohoAh ~
tiers all day-you're too tired.
"It took me two years to save THAI
money to build my house. l got per-
mission from an oyster planter to
build a house on one of his bars. !
had a kind of feelin' that I'd like to
own a house that was all my own and
that didn't cost me nCthin' for rent,
and when | shut the door l could look
aroun' at the stove and the cupboard
and the hunks and the dollar clock and
say to myself:
This ERE house is all my own. /
built it with my own hands, paid for
il with my own money. Laid every
timber in it and drove every nail, from
the cellar to the tarred roof.
''Of course, you understand, I'm only
jokin' about drivin' nails in the Gel
lar. cause there wasn't no cellar. AT
high tide there was two feet O. water
where the cellar ought to be.
ct had that there house all planned
out in my mind for year before
started to build it. even to the vinegar
barrel was goin' to have settin' out
side the door to catch the rain water
frcm the roof, cause you can't gel
Crotch water in the middle of Jamaica
bay"
Bill laid his knotty, brown hand up
ON his knee and looked with unseeint
eyes up through the companionway
He was aroused from his reverie b.
his visitor, who said, with grin:
did you build your foundation o
stone or of brick?"
NO, SIR said Bill. my founda
ton was built of eight-inch piles, tel
feet long. There was contracto
drivih' piles over the Canarsie size o
the bay, and he had dozen piles to
short for his use. l bought 'em 70
half what he paid for EN-"
How did you get the piles over t
Ruffte harp said the inquisitor.
Made raft of 'em and towed er
over behind my skiff. Took me seve
hours to do it on account of the tidt
which carried me and the raft dow
to Barren island. There were blister
on my hands as big as walnuts whe
I got over to Ruffie bar"
How did you sink your founds
tion?" said the visitor, seeking to di!
turb Bills serenity.
IT'S queer about that" said Bill
"Cn them ~ "a the middle of tn