The Rise And Decline Of The Ol'^mpia Oyster 



4 



Early Day CullaEig, Cuifivating, Marketing, 

 Openings and Packing - Inception of Diking 



System 



UP TO THE TIME OF THE PASSAGE OF THE 

 "Callow Act" in 1890 the native oysters were not culti- 

 vated; they grew wild, sc to speak. The Indians would go 

 out on the beds and pick up what oysters they wanted to 

 eat and dump the shells near their camp; where the tide 

 flats were uneven with ridges of gravel piled up by the 

 waves, the oysters were reefed and in places several 

 inches deep — nothing was done to level out the beds 

 or distribute more evenly the accumulation of oysters. 

 The Indians accepted nature and it's bounties as they 

 found them; there was always a plenty to supply their 

 needs as well as early local sales which they made in 

 the nearby settlements. As a general rule, transporta- 

 tion was by water in their dugout cedar log canoes and 



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