Oyster Bay, New York

“ In the center, then, was pitched the tent of the men of battle of the manhattoes, who being the inmates of the metropolis, composed the lifeguards of the governor. These were commanded by the valiant Stoffel Brinkerhoff, who whilom had acquired such immortal fame at Oyster Bay; they displayed as a standard a beaver rampant on a field of orange, being the arms of the province, and denoting the persevering industry and the amphibious origin of the Nederlanders. ”

“ The greatest production is in Chesapeake Bay, where the principal yield is from the natural beds. Most of the oysters from New England and from New York and the outer coast of New Jersey are produced by planted beds; the entire yield of the Pacific Coast is similarly derived, and there has been recently a considerable increase in oyster culture in New Jersey, Virginia, and other States. The number of persons engaged in the industry is estimated at upward of 60,000, but as many of them are employed part of the year in other fisheries, farming, etc., definite statistics are not available. ”

“ New York is necessary to all on the coast, both as a market and as a place to procure supplies; and every creek, or inlet, or basin, of any sort, within a hundred leagues of it, is sure to possess one or more craft that ply between the favourite haven and the particular spot in question. Thus was it with Oyster Pond. There is scarce a better harbour on the whole American coast, than that which the narrow arm of the sea that divides the Point from Shelter Island presents ”

“ The amount of oysters eaten in New York surprised me, although there was an idea at the time of my visit that they produced the cholera, which rather checked any extraordinary excesses in this curious fish. In the business streets of New York the eyes are greeted continually with the words "Oyster Saloon," painted in large letters on the basement story. If the stranger's curiosity is sufficient to induce him to dive down a flight of steps into a subterranean abode, at the first glance rather suggestive of robbery, one favourite amusement of the people may be seen in perfection. ”

“ The stores which had been provided for the voyage by the good housewives of Communipaw were nearly exhausted; but in casting his eyes about the commodore beheld that the shore abounded with oysters. A great store of these was instantly collected; a fire was made at the foot of a tree; all hands fell to roasting, and broiling, and stewing, and frying, and a sumptuous repast was soon set forth. This is thought to be the origin of those civic feasts with which, to the present day, all our public affairs are celebrated, and in which the oyster is ever sure to play an important part. ”

“ The town offers attractions of fine scenery, and facilities for boating, bathing, and fishing. It has many handsome residences and a public library. The principal industry is oyster cultivation. The government is administered by town meetings, held every two years. ”

“ Americans tell me that though the oyster attains high perfection, and is held in culinary reverence as high, in the States, anything resembling our Haymarket oyster-shop is not to be found in New York. But on Broadway Pavement, during the gay night, brilliant lamps, sometimes coloured in fantastic devices, invite you to enter underground temples of oyster-eating. These are called oyster-cellars. ”

“ The trade gives employment to 2,500 men in New York City, and to 200 in Brooklyn. There are 750 oyster-saloons in the metropolis, and 100 in the City of Churches. On the North and East Rivers about 50 scows are employed receiving oysters from the vessels arriving from these various bays, and from these boats about 3,000,000 oysters are daily shipped throughout the country. ”

“ The sea near New York, affords annually the greatest quantity of oysters. They are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where they lie in the slime, and are not so frequent in a sandy bottom: a rockey and a stony bottom is seldom found here. The oyster shells are gathered in great heaps, and burnt into a lime, which by some people is made use of in building houses, but is not reckoned so good as that made of limestone. On our journey to New York, we [240] saw high heaps of oyster shells near the farm-houses, upon the sea shore ”

“ Those of my readers who are not aware of the fact that New York is an excellent place [Pg 278] for shell-fish, know in all probability little or nothing of the many elegant subterraneous establishments called “oyster-cellars” which adorn the principal avenues and public places of the great American Persepolis. The good people of New York swear that their oysters are the best in the world ”

“ In the fall, blue-fish are caught. All of these, with oysters, soft crabs, and diamond-backed terrapin, offer tempting dishes to the epicure. This recently isolated shore is now within direct railroad communication with Philadelphia and New York, and can be reached in nine hours from the former, and in twelve hours from the latter city.
From the Hommack to South Point is included the length of Sinepuxent Bay, according to Coast Survey authority. From South Point to below the middle of Chincoteague Island the bay is put down as "Assateague," though the oystermen do not call it by that name. ”

“ From there you can look over the great bay between the Nevesinck and the west point of Staten Island into the sea. As regards view, therefore, it lies as well as New York, and is quite safe to be reached by ships. The land around it is tolerably good, and therefore the place is reserved from sale. There is an abundance of oysters on the shore, considered to be of the best. The ebb tide being spent, we entered the Kill achter Kol with a good wind and, rowing ahead, arrived at about three o'clock at the point of Woodbridge Creek. ”

“ Our Susquehanna River is a public stream."
"Right you be, lad. The government does own the Delaware Bay, but it leases the oyster-beds, or at least land for oyster-beds, to private individuals. Each oysterman has his own grounds, just as each of your Pennsylvania farmers has his own farm."
"Are you kidding me?" asked Alec, mindful of the reputation sailors have for spinning yarns.
"Not a bit," replied the captain. "I thought everybody knew that."
"But how could a man have an oyster-bed separate from all the other beds in a big body of water like the Delaware Bay? ”

“ Hereupon the New-Yorkers remark “that the company which frequent their oyster-cellars, though perhaps not quite so respectable and numerous in the evening, is nevertheless a great deal more so in day-time; that the Philadelphia company is often mixed, and in some instances absolutely vulgar, owing to the low price of oysters; whereas in New York, where good oysters cannot be procured for less than 371⁄2 cents (equal to about 1s. 6d.) a dozen, loafers (this is the American term for blackguards) are completely excluded, and sent to the more plebeian beef-shops. ”

“ The nervous system consists of three chief clusters of nerve-cells with connectives and nerve fibers. Oysters were formerly distributed along the Atlantic coast, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, but are now rare north of Cape Cod. Chesapeake Bay is the center of
the oyster-beds. There are two kinds—a rounded form, found north, and a more southern, elongated form. They are found also on the coasts of England, Europe, Japan, the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. The fisheries are very extensive, and the animals are protected by laws. ”

“ He called attention to the survival of a number of small birds about the dwellings of man as the result of favorable conditions, such as a constant supply of food, etc. He shows that the contact of man in the main has been disastrous. His remarks on the oyster are timely; he shows its extermination along the coast by man's agency. "Hardly more than a century has elapsed since men believed that the oyster-beds of New York were inexhaustible, and that a small measure of legal protection, feebly maintained, was quite enough to sustain them against any chance of decay. ”

“ The bay or harbor of New York is very safe and capacious; its boundaries towards the sea are Long Island and Staten Island; it extends nine miles below the city, and is from a mile and a half to five miles broad; inclosing several small islands, on which are fortifications. The Hudson enters this bay from the north. The East river, or channel between New York Island and Long Island, communicates with Long Island Sound on the east. The Kills, a strait between Staten Island and the Jersey shore, communicates with Newark Bay and the river Raritan on the west ”

“ Very soon, however, the talk of psychic waves and millions bored them; and as soon as the villa at Oyster Bay was opened they were glad enough to go.
Here, at Oyster Bay, there was some chance of escaping their money-mad and wave-intoxicated family; they could entertain and be entertained by both of the younger sets in that dignified summer resort; they could wander about their own vast estate alone; they could play tennis, sail, swim, ride, and drive their tandem. ”

“ How the shovels flashed, and the shells glinted in the sun, as strong arms heaved [Pg 190] them back into the sea! How the piles of tiny oysters grew!
What a sight it was! From far and near, from east and west, from north and south, from every oyster town about the Bay, came scores of boats to add their shining sails to the great fleet. Look where he would, Alec could see ships sweeping along before the breeze, their decks crowded with toiling men, bulking high with oysters. Never, as long as he lived, would he forget that scene. ”

“ On the flats between headlands are marshy meadows, some diked and converted into lush fields where cattle graze. At 39.2 m. is a junction with an improved road. Right on this road is the village of BAY CENTER, 2 m. (sea level, 200 pop.) , with its large oyster cannery and shell-crushing plant. The first discovery of oysters on the Pacific Coast was made between 1849 and 1851 at Shoalwater Bay, now known as Willapa Harbor, widely known for its oyster culture. ”

“ The villages served by the railway are the only important settlements; those on the hilly north shore are residential. To the north of the village of Oyster Bay, on a long peninsular beach called Centre Island, are the headquarters of the Seawanhaka Yacht Club; and to the east of the same village, especially on Cove Neck, between Oyster Bay Harbor and Cold Spring Harbor, are many summer residences with fine grounds. ”

“ Oysters, nevertheless, that have not fixed themselves, but remain loose at the bottom of the sea, have the power of locomotion; they open their shells to their fullest extent, and then suddenly contracting them, the expulsion of the water forwards gives a motion backwards. A fisherman at Guernsey told me that he had frequently seen oysters moving in this way."
Some still entertain the question whether the oyster was indigenous in Massachusetts Bay, and whether Wellfleet Harbor was a natural habitat of this fish ”

“ In one edition of his map, (1632,) the "R. aux Escailles" is drawn emptying into the same part of the Bay, and on the map "Novi Belgii" in Ogilby's "America," (1670,) the words "Port aux Huistres" are set against the same place. Also William Wood, who left New England in 1633, speaks, in his "New England's Prospect," published in 1634, of "a great oyster-bank" in Charles River, and of another in the Mystic, each of which obstructed the navigation. "The oysters," he says, "be great ones, in form of a shoe-horn; some be a foot long; these breed on certain banks that are bare every spring-tide. ”

“ Its distance below the entrance to the bay is about eight miles.
Although the county-seat of Pacific County, and, like Port Townsend, a place for the receipt of customs, it is but a small village, and depends on the oyster trade for its chief support. The annual shipment of oysters to San Francisco is estimated at forty thousand baskets. Quite a number of visitors may be found here in the summer, who come to the coast to escape the heat of the valleys in the months of July and August. The drive on the beach, and the privilege of boating on the bay, are about the only amusements. ”

“ Little, metal markers, labeled Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, New York, and so on, were stuck in the doors of the various [Pg 65] cars, to help the men trucking the oysters get them in the proper cars. The strings of cars reached the full length of the oyster sheds, which must have been at least two hundred yards; and Alec saw at once that when the three strings were coupled in one train, there would be considerably more than a third of a mile of oysters going to market. ”

“ The affair planned for Oyster Bay was to be particularly brilliant--a water carnival at Center Island with tableaux, fireworks, and illuminations of all sorts.
Reassured by the magnificent attitude of America's womanhood, business discounted the collapse of the go-cart trust and began to recover from the check very quickly. Stocks advanced, fluctuated, and suddenly whizzed upward like skyrockets; and the long-expected wave of prosperity inundated the country. On the crest of it rode Cupid, bow and arrows discarded, holding aloft in his right hand a Destyn-Carr machine. ”

“ Something terrible must happen. That grey wilderness, arched by grey heaven stooping to grey sea, is a fitting keeper of hideous secrets. Vetch suggests that Oyster Bay cannot be far to the eastward—the line of ocean is deceitfully close—and though such a proceeding will take them out of their course, they resolve to make for it. ”