THE COAST FTRITERIES OF TEXAS. 



407 



The Ibllowinji' tnble shows tho Ciitch of oysters during the i^ast four 

 years by tJie tisherraen of this bay: 



Many oysters have also been obtained from this l)ay during each of 

 the past four years by men liailing from Galveston, Aransas Pass, and 

 Corpus Cliristij but their catch has lieen inchided in the figures for the 

 localities in which the oystermen lived. 



MarlxCting hovses. — The only wholesale fish and oyster markets on 

 the shores of Matagorda Jiay are the two located at Port Lavaca. 

 Here 8 men are employed and the value of property ^occupied is 

 about $1,000. The cpiantity of fishery products handled is quite small, 

 and the marketing methods employed do not materially differ from 

 those practiced at other points on the coast. As a site for an oyster 

 cannery this bay is probably not surpassed by any on the coast of the 

 Gulf of Mexico. The best oysters gathered there in 1890 were sold on 

 the reefs at 60 cents per barrel to vessels making occasional trii)s, and 

 if the oystermen could have disposed of their catch every night they 

 would doubtless have been willing to accept 50 cents per barrel at the 

 reefs. These oysters cost delivered at Corpus Christi and Galveston 

 about $1 per barrel. 



ESPTRITU SANTO BAY. 



Espiritu Santo Bay, which lies southwest of Matagorda Bay, is 15 

 miles long and averages about 4 miles in width. Including its tribu- 

 taries, Shoalwater Bay, Pringes Lake, etc., its limits extend over an 

 area of about 61 square miles. It probably contains more islands than 

 any other bay on the Texas coast. By means of two bayous it has out- 

 let into Pass Cavallo, the outlet of Matagorda Bay. No rivers empty 

 into Espiritu Santo Bay, but at its western end it receives the greater 

 portion of the fresh water of San Antonio Bay, consequently the water 

 liere is (piite fresh, and oysters occur only in very limited quantities, 

 if at all. In the eastern half of the bay, where the water is not so fresh, 

 the conditions are very favorable to oysters. The depth of water in 

 this section is froml to 8 feet, and averages about 5 feet. In this shoal 

 water ordinarily the ground is not muddy and appears to be (piite free 

 from shifting sand. The a\'ea of the oyster reefs is approximated at 6 

 square miles. 



No settlements exist on tlie shore of Espiritu Sanit) Bay. The seine 

 fishermen from Port Lavaca, and occasionally those from Aransas Bay, 

 fish here. Port Lavacja is about 25 miles distant and Aransas Pass 



