Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1922-06-10
Principal Industries
Of Chincoteague
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ~

species of the highest priced fsh
caught in the waters of the Atlantic.
The various other kinds which are
caught Off the coast of Chincoteague
are: spring herring, grey trout, hard
head, drum. the sturgeon and blue
fish. the king spot or roach and the
Sea-bass and late in the fall the null
let. which swarm the channels and
bays of Chncot sague are caught in
great numbers, both by night and day.
The pound fisherman spend thou
sands of dollars getting ready for the
fishing season. knowing vast sums of
money which they have made in the
waters of Chincoteague in days gone
by. II is fast becoming known that
Chincoteague is taking the lead in
the fishing industry. The ice plant,
which has been recently purchased by
Mr. McHugh, an enterpriSing bust
ness man of Wilmington. Delaware,
has been rebuilt with new engines in
stalled, and il has helped this growth
considerably. because il is situated
on the waters edge, 30 the fishermen
can run their boats up to the docks of
the plant, whore ice can be obtained
quickly and the fish can be readily
packed.
Docks are packed to their greatest
capacity every day with men and boys
waiting for the fish boats to come in
from fishing so they can buy fresh
fish for breakfast, dinner or supper.
The people no longer resort to the old
way Of hand-lnc fishing in the har
bors, a. means Of livelihood, be-
cause there is not any pay in it. Be
fore the fishing industry was intro
duced al Chincoteague the men would
,it for hours in 4 small boat, with no
protection from the burning rays OF
the sun, catching only small quanii-
ties Of fish. but now it Is different.
\ man can 20 down TO the fishing
headquarters and buy more fish for
twenty-five cents then he could catch
in the harborS. with a hand-line all
day. This is very convenient for the
house keepers because it saves tn m
lots of time and worry looking for
food. The "Sea Pound Fishing OF
Chincoteague is now carried on by
such prominent men As: Messrs. John
Leonard, j. T. Powell, |. d. Peterson.
X. j. Jester. Elmcr Watson and others
who have helped greatly in the prog
gess OF Chincotcague.
Fish are caught in such abundance
now that Mr.. Thomas Rowley, well
known man of Chincoteague, pro-
poses to build canning factory AT
Chincotcaguc and enter the fish can
ming business. If this is done Chinco-
league will progress one more SIP
towards prosperity.
The new bridge which has been
under construction for about two
Years will be opened to traffic July
It'll. 1929. This bridge will be gr- at
help TO the fishermen Of Chincoteague
because they can ship their fish more
readily by the bridge route than by
Tie wat r route of today. The bridge
will also help the other business men
Of Chincoteaguc in the same way.
The other watering industries
namely catching oysters and clans,
sea foods Of unsurpassed quality hold
an almost equal place OF importance
n the fishing industry. The oysters
which are caught in the bays and in
lets of Chincoteague are the best in
the world and are famous every
where.
These oysters are transplanted
from one place TO another many times
before they are ready for the mar
kets First the : ed oyster is taken
from the natural beds where they are
found in large punches fastened to
one another by nature. in order to
prevent them from being dragged
away by the swift moving tide.
These seed oysters are Knocked
apart with small hammers welded by
,killful hands and are then planted
again in de per water where the tide
can't drag them away. After about a
year they are tranSplanted from the
deep muddy channels to a sandy bed,
in more shallow place but are
planted thicker her and the tide
which runs over them can not drag
them away, but it does make them
grow cry FAST Here all the i'm
puliteS are washed away by the
tide and thy are quickly prepared
for market.
These oysters are sent to the mar
ket in TWO ways. The majority of
them are shucked or opened by skilled
men and are Shipp d in cans, while a
great amount Of them are shipped in
barrels. This sea-food known as
"Toms Cove" oysters bring enormous
prices wherever they are sold.
CLANS. another sh Il fish caught in
the bays of Chincoteague, are almost
a. famous as the oysters and are
caugh; and handled in practically the
same way as oysters except that they
are not found in punches. On an
averag the CLANS are sold for about
two dollars a thousand.
a.. L.