CONNECTICUT : NEW HAVEN AND VICINITY. 327 



at New Haven as a natural field of oyster production, while this harbor was equaled, if not sur- 

 passed, by several inlets still farther west. 



"Uutil lately, however, all this wealth was used up iu private consumption, sold in the shore 

 towns as 'fancy, 'or mixed in with the southern stock, without being taken into account. The 

 fishing was done mainly for each man's winter supply, and nobody paid much attention to any 

 regulation of it beyond the close-time in summer. Gradually, however, these public river oysters 

 became more rare and coveted. The law was ' off' on the 1st day of November, and all the natural 

 beds in the State became open to any person who wished to rake them. In anticipation of this 

 date great preparations were made in the towns along the shore, and even for twenty miles back 

 from the seaside, boats and rakes and baskets and bags were put in order. The day before, large 

 numbers of wagons came toward the shore from the back country, bringing hundreds of men, with 

 their utensils. Among these were not nnfrequently seen boats, borne on the rigging of a hay-cart, 

 ready to be launched on the expected morning. It was a time of great excitement, and nowhere 

 greater than along the Quinepiac. On the day preceding, farmers nocked into Fair Haven from 

 all the surrounding country, and brought with them boats and canoes of antique pattern and 

 ruinous aspect. These rustics always met with a riotous welcome from the town boys, who hated 

 rural competition. They were very likely to find their boats, if not carefully watched, stolen and 

 hidden before they had a chance to launch them, or even temporarily disabled. These things 

 diversified the day and enlivened a community usually very peaceful, if not dull. As midnight 

 approached, men dressed iu 'oilskin,' and carrying oars, paddles, rakes, and tongs, collected all 

 along the shore, where a crowd of women and children assembled to see the fun. Every sort of 

 craft was prepared for action. There were sharpies, square-coders, skiffs, and canoes, and they 

 lined the whole margin of the river and harbor on each side iu thick array. As the ' witching 

 hour' drew near, the men took their seats with much hilarity, and nerved their arms for a few mo- 

 ments' vigorous work. No eye could see the great face of the church clock on the hill, but lanterns 

 glimmered upon a hundred watch-dials, and then were set clown, as only a coveted minute remained. 

 There was a hush in the merriment along the shore, an instant's calm, and then the great bell 

 struck a deep-toned peal. It was like an electric shock. Backs bent to oars, and paddles churned 

 the water. From opposite banks navies of boats leaped out and advanced toward one another 

 through the darkness, as though bent upon mutual annihilation. 'The race was to the swift,' and 

 every stroke was the mightiest. Before the twelve blows upon the loud bell had ceased their rever- 

 berations the oyster-beds had been reached, tongs were scraping the long-rested bottom, and the 

 season's campaign upon the Quinepiac had begun. In a few hours the crowd upon some beds 

 would be such that the boats were pressed close together. They were all compelled to move along 

 as one, for none could resist the pressure of the multitude. The more thickly covered beds were 

 quickly cleaned of their bivalves. The boats were full, the wagons were full, and many had secured 

 what they called their 'winter stock 'before the day was done, and thousands of bushels were 

 packed away under blankets of seaweed in scores of cellars. Those living on the shore, and regu- 

 larly engaged in the trade, usually secured the cream of the crop. They knew jnst where to go first ; 

 they were better practiced in handling boats, rakes, &c. ; they formed combinations to help one 

 another. That first day was the great day, and often crowds of spectators gathered to witness the 

 fun and the frequent quarrels or fights that occurred in the pushing and crowding. By the next 

 day the rustic crowd had departed, but the oysters continued to be sought. A week of this sort 

 of attack, however, usually sufficed so thoroughly to clean the bottom that subsequent raking was 

 of small account. Enough oysters always remained, however, to furnish spawn for another year, 

 and the hard scraping prepared a favorable bottom, so that there was usually a fair supply the 



