Milford chronicle., 1959-01-23
oystermen Hit BY
Deadly Blight Once
Fought Each Other


The mysterious blight currently
threatening disaster to the areas
mulfi-million dollar oyster indus
Try, set Oystermen recalling the
crew-shanghaiiing, oyster bed
oooIlegging" "pfrating'' and
bloody oyster-wars" between coin
peting fleets on the Delaware Bay
and tributaries during the middle
1905.
Horny-handed veteran oyster
men operating out of Murderkill
River on the bay south Of Dover
talked OF incidents of the bay strife.
handed down from father to son.
The wars which resulted in many
arrests, broken heads, injuries gen.
orally, even many fatalities, were
the outgrowth of friction caused by
intense competition and illegal
raids" on restricted beds between
fleets of tongers and dredgebOat
oystermen, with the bay police in
spection vessels caught in the mid
I. die.
There were many battles" on
the bay or near the mouth Of trib-
utaries between crews of al many
as 200 vessels at time, of vessels
sunk, and crews drowned, or crew
requirements being shanghRsied
right off the streets or in shady
drinking spots. in Baltimore, and
even along Wilmington's coast"
section.
Several oystermen recalled with
a shudder, the discovery in a drag
net haul of two victims Of the
oyster wars. The bay net came
In with oysters out OF the mud,
plus the remains of two human
skeletons. The necks Of the victims
were found chained together with
anchor wire. The skulls had been
crushed by repeated blows from
some blunt instrument
This find set the whole bay area
talking for long months; brought
charges of murder and moves to
strengthen water police inspection
crews and vessels, to cope with the
wOrsening situation.
Also recalled were exploits of
the so-called Captain Pungy, said
to have originally come from some-
WuCtc III DldCAUAA4 A1u&fuA GU
putedly a fearless dredge captain,
at home in any bay vessel and a
leader of men. He is said to have
taken a leading part in the famed
bay battle when 40 oyster dredge
boats tangled with police vessels,
seven ships being sunk, many in
jured and many casualties.
Others recalled the so-calIed
Blood Point Battle" in which a
huge feet of "dredgers" fought for
hours with the "tonger's feet"
Police vessels striving to"break it
on, are reported to have been
driven off. Many lost their lives, it
was reported.
Other talk of the present "oys-
ter blight" led to discussion of the
natural enemies" of the shellfish,
including the big drum and .rock",
fish that crush oyster shells in
their jaws. the starfish that
"strangles" and eats the oyster,
the mullosk drills" that cut
through the oyster shell, inject a
fluid which gradually liquiIiies the
meat, allowing this enemy to drink
his dinner. 81
Some rs years back, the: oyster
sloops used to put in during most
of the cold weather months at the
Wilmington municipal dock, on the
Christina River near Church
Street. The sloops, with tons of
fresh caught oysters, would at
tract large throngs of buyers and
the curious. Buyers would come
with pals TO be filled with open
oysters, bags to take them home in
the shell after getting their fill of
'raws" right on the dock. The
sloops would come In from Maurice
River Cove, Bivalve, Fortesque,
Little Creek, Bowers Beach, etc.
One old timer said he could re-
call as many as 100 to $50 persons
lined up to buy oysters in VIII
mington. The Maurice River Cove
oysters usually had an abundance
of oyster crabs" in their shells,