The Rise And Decline Of The Ol-^mpia Oyster 



washed before they were culled. While in the sink float 

 they were protected from heat and cold. The sink float 

 answered another purpose; after the oysters were culled 

 they were put into the sink float again which enabled 

 them to continue to feed and live until they were taken 

 to market and also protected them from freezing or too 

 much sun. 



At first, getting the oysters to town for market was 

 very difficult, but as the need became felt and the pos- 

 sibilities of a new freight business became apparent, 

 boats were fitted up suitable for carrying the oysters. The 

 boats would sometimes make two or three trips a day 

 into Oyster Bay and Mud Bay when necessary to pick up 

 and take the oysters to market from the many culling 

 houses which were now located in said bays. 



The first boat making regular trips to Olympia with 

 Olympia Oysters was an 18-foot boat called the Polly 

 (owned by J. Y. Waldrip and Jess Bowman) and it was 

 powered by a one-cylinder two-cycle gas engine. It was 

 subject to frequent break-downs as is testified to by 

 Humphrey Nelson, who (as a passenger) , spent a night 

 floating around the Bay in 1902. In 1905, Captain Volney 

 Young put on a boat named "Mizpa" which was a steam- 

 boat about 40 feet long and used wood for fuel which was 

 supplied by settlers along the shores of Oyster Bay and 

 Little Skookum. In a few years this boat was outmoded 

 by new boats with shallow draft, more power, and a 

 greater capacity for oysters. The oysters were increasing 

 very rapidlj^ and new boats came on the run as needed. 

 The "Chickeree" and then the "Traveler" captained by 

 Charley Cheadle, were next. The "Traveler" had an ex- 



(25) 



