Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-10-03
OYSTER ADDS FAME To OLYMPIA
STUDY OF BINAINE
PAIRING PRODUCT NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. CAME


an output of thousands and thou
sands and thousands of dollars. 1t
has been said that, the Olympia oys-
ter is the most expensive in the
world This no doubt is due to the
fact that the oyster is very small and
it takes a great many Of them to
make up quart, that the cost of cul.
tivation runs from $1,000 to $4,000
an acre and that it takes four or five
years for the oyster to reach its ma
,turity or when it is at the "eating
stage"
Science is replacing guesswork
however in the oyster cultivation of
the goth century. Years ago before
the white man had invaded this Puget
Sound region, the Indians hunted
the oyster.
They camped for weeks along Oys-
ter. Mud, Shelton and South bays
each year, holding oyster feasts. As
the white people moved into this
country the Indians later sold the
oysters at minimum price.
Then one day, away back in the
early '90's, Capt. Doane became in
terested in the Olympia oyster-he
saw a future for this diminutive
bivalve: so he opened the old Doane
Oyster House where travellers might
stop and feast on these dainty NOR
sells.
1t was not long before the fame of
the Doane Oyster House spread and
equally the prominence of the Olym.
pia-grown oyster. 1t is even said that
the Blue Points and their neighbors
turned over twice in their Atlantic
beds and tinged the water with green
There are people living in the four
corners of the earth still telling of
the wonders of the Olympia oyster.
Fame Spreads.
People who had tasted of this de.
ilicious sea food often wrote to Capt.
Doane that the taste had fingered
and they would like to order some of
the tasty miniature oysters. Capt.
Doane started shipping the oysters
lin small way and soon the business
grew until today more than 10000
sacks of oysters are shipped out from
Olympia each year representing
about $33O,OOO that these 10000
sacks alone bring in.
Years and still more years ago the
government sold the oyster lands to
the Indians for 1925 an acre. Today
this land if developed can not be pur
chased under $4,000 an acre, while
the uncultivated land easily brings
900. The Indians about 10 or IL
years ago sold the land for $500 an
acre.
Many of the Indians priced fire
water more than these productive
loyster lands. They would come to
town and borrow money to buy liquor
with. Finally their debts would be
come so heavy that they would sell
the land for mere song so that they
could pay their immediate debts
However. the Indians often chung to
their Indian land. and treasured il
with the same feeling as their native
garb.
Man became the guardian of the
oyster, however. at just the right
time. The greedy starfish, the scooter
bill, and mussels were making steady
warfare on the oysters and they were
about to be doomed and the oyster
race on this section of upper Puget
Sound become extinct. when the hand
of man reached forth.
The natural elements and these
ienemes were overpowering the oys
tiers when stepped in.
The matter of shooting the scooter
ducks and blue bills at any time OF
the year so as to protect the oysters
was taken up with the federal gov
eminent and permission was given to
pump lead into these oyster devastat
ing birds at any time. A warfare was
started on the starfish. who feed on
the oysters, and many of the beds
near here have oyster cops who patrol
the beds and shoot all starfish. Then
war Is being waged on the mussels
who eat the food of the oysters.
Concrete bikes are now built
around the oyster beds. The oysters
often were frozen when the long run
,out Of the tide came during the cold
weather or were injured by the heat
in the long run out of the tide in the
summer. The bikes keep the oysters
covered with water the entire time
and prevent them being injured by
the xtreme cold or heat and the oys
tiers can feed to their stomachs' con
tent on the diatoms in the water. II
cost 81 900 an acre to dixie the oyster
land.
Just as small boys grow rapidly
and gain strength on oatmeal mush
ho h ~