THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 13 



No douljt, liowover, tlie cliief iittrriL'tioii in tlie district was tbis isolated colony of oysters, and tbat they were 

 made incessant use of, is attested by the size of the heaps. As a rule, there is little or no perceptible inter- 

 stratification of earth to suggest a period when no shells were thrown down, and the forest had time to grow and 

 dro[) its uioldering leaves, the dust an o])portunity to settle. Land-shells are very few, which would not be the 

 case had weeds and bushes grown over the beds. The increase of the banks, then, as a whole, was steady from 

 the beginning to the end. 



How long ago that beginning was, is a question very difficult to answer. Most persons, I believe, are inclined 

 to exaggerate the length of time required to i)ile up even so great a deposit as this. The shells are very large 

 and heavy. They will probably average twice the size of the ordinary oysters seen in Fulton market. The greed 

 of savages, when food is plenty, is as well known, as that a vast quantity of oysters may be eaten before the 

 appetite cloys. It is evident that large numbers of Indians permanently resided in the vicinity, and i)robable that 

 still greater numbers came from a distance to the coast in summer. This was in accordance with their habits 

 everywhere. Taking these various considerations together, it will be seen that it would not require so extraordinary 

 a period, as might at first appear, for the accumulation of the heaps, although so extensive; at the same time it is 

 evident that oysters were exceedingly numerous there. But it is also probable that not only were the shells of the 

 oysters eaten on the spot, thrown down on the bank, and thus piled up, as you can see the degenerate descendants 

 of these Indians doing to this day, but that visiting Indians were in the habit of ])rocuring large quantities of the 

 mollusks, shucking them here, and carrying them away to the interior in vessels of wicker, birch-bark, and pottery. 

 They came down the Penobscot and other rivers in large canoes in the autumn, filled up their buckets with oysters, 

 and departed. In the cold weather of early winter they would keep good for days and weeks, and form a luxury 

 in their up-country wigwams, that would remind them most pleasantly of sunny summer-days beside the sea. Thus 

 this bay became a shucking-grouud, as well as a place for feasts. Possibly a sj^stem of barter was instituted, by 

 which certain men lived on the spot and devoted themselves to getting and selling oysters in exchange for clothing 

 and weapons and game. We know there were arrow-makers and canoe-builders, and so on ; why not oyster-divers 

 and dealers ? Indeed, it is not improbable that the small neighboring oyster-beds of Sheepscot and Thomaston 

 were designedly planted by the Indians with young mollnsks obtained from Damariscotta, with a view to continued 

 and convenient supplies. 



The Indians probably procured their oysters by wading out and picking them up at low tide. This was the 

 work of the women and children, while the warriors sat on the bank and ate till they were satisfied, or superintended 

 the proper freighting of the canoes. But many were also got, no doubt, by diving, which would be done mainly 

 by the young men. It is doubtful whether they used anything in the shape of a rake, grapnel, or tongs. I could 

 find no evidence of anything of this sort, but if such were used, they were doubtless made of wood (stone would 

 be too unwieldy), and therefore would completely perish. 



Another question is, how did they open these monstrous shells ! There are three ways : one is by fire— roast 

 a mollusk a few minutes and he opens his valves; evidences of fire, in the shape of ashes and charcoal, are 

 recovered at various depths in various parts of the deposit,* and it is probable that this was the usual and cheapest 

 method. Another way was by striking a brisk blow on the side of the shell just over the ''scar", or attachment of 

 the adductor muscle. This seems to paralyze the animal and his muscles relax. I have seen a heavy stone 

 implement that looked as though it had been used for this purpose, and was different from the ordinary hammering 

 stones. At Wellfleet, also, I dug from a shell-heap a rough stone tool, evidently fashioned by men, which 

 exhibited signs of long usage both as a hammer and as a wedge or knife with which to pry open ihe valves. But 

 any of their stone knives or smaller hatchets would have been eminently suitable for this service, and there was 

 hardly need of a special instrument for the purpose. There is an implement in the possession of Dr. E. C. Chapman, 

 of Damariscotta, however, that appears to have been made expressly for such service, and would accomplish the 

 matter as deftly as onr modern knives. 



However, Damariscotta is only one of the many points along the coast of the gulf of Maine where these shell- 

 heaps, and extinct deposits nnder the water, show that the oyster once flourished. The most easterly point that I 

 can make sure of is Mount Desert island ; for at Eastport no oysters or remains of them have ever been found 

 native, a report to the contrary notwithstanding. 



In the George river are extinct beds, concerning which more will be said hereafter; then comes Damaris- 

 cotta, already described, and next is Sheepscot river, where there were once plenty of oysters, but no shell-heaps 

 of consequence, and the next point is Casco bay. 



* In these places, in deep sections, we found fragments of charcoal mingled with the shells under conditions that showed conclnsivcly 

 that it could have been deposited tbero only as the shells were deposited. * » * So common did we find the coal, that I feel confident it 

 can ho found there by any careful observer.— Chadbournt;. Trans. Maine Bist. Soc. vi. In digging down from the surface of one of 

 these heaps, fragments of charcoal were found at a depth of 3 or 4 feet, and here and there a layer of the same substance. Above and 

 below these layers was sometimes a conglomerate mass of shells, apparently burned to lime by the action of fire.— MosES, loc. cit., 74. 

 Mr. Morse found at the very foundation of one of the highest heaps the remains of an ancient fire-place, where he exhumed charcoal, 

 bones, and pottery. » * » These small mounds are composed of the same materials as the others, but had a larger admixturi; of earth. 

 They appearto have been the heaps ol 'refuse giaduallv collected around the encampments. Wv.Man. yrf Jnn. Reimrl realmlii Mud. .inh., 

 1H6!I, p. 18. 



