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Show SQI IDS AMUl'.ALONES. Chinese Fisheries on the Rocks of the PacificVillage Pa-cificVillage of Abalone Fisheries. Fish-eries. BOME LITTLE CHUNKS OF ASIA Which Dot the California Coast for Miles A Mollusk Whose Grip is Dangerous to the Unwary, THE tourist visiting the 1-acilio coast finds few strati jror things than the camps of Chinese fishermen along the shore in sheltered coves from San Diego north to the Klamath. These camps look as if they were older than the discovery of America, so weather beaten are the red wood shanties. It is impossible toascertain the results or proli Is of these fishcries.for a large pari of the product is dried and sent to thu flowery kingdom for sale, and the Chinese are proverbially proverb-ially close mouthed about their business. common of Pacific coast shells, but the Chinese discovered its edible qualities, and began to ship tons of dried abalones to China. The business soon became so profitable that colonies of Chinese dotted the coast from Santa Cruz southward, and thousands of shells still lie on the cliffs to mark their camps. Only a few years ago any one who wished could easily find abalones so large that when well pounded, sliced and fried three were an abundant meal for a hungry man, but most of them now are quite small, hundreds of shells not boing larger than a watch case. The flesh is white, nutritious and very palatable. I have many times taken a sack and a crooked bit of iron to pry the abalones off the rocks, and followed the retreating tides a mile westward down the dripping shale searching the crevices for choice specimens for the boys in our summer cabin on the Estero cliffs to fry for dinner. In Southern California a score of years ago it waa a very common thing for Spaniards who had a saddle horse of which they were particularly proud to cover the bridle, reins and trappings with bits of polished abalone shells, and they certainly were much prettier and easier to carry than the heavy silver dollars dol-lars which were spiked in patterns over the saddle leathers a few years later, and were bored and hung from thereiss. Thus far in this narrative it would seem that there is nothing dangerous about the gentle abalone. He is simply a large shellfish, clinging to the rocks near low tide water mark, and he has seomingly no defense whatever against his numerous numer-ous foes. But in several well authenticated authenti-cated cases the abalone has deserved the title "dangerous." In 1873, on the coast of Monterey county, a Chinamen disappeared disap-peared from a large camp of abalone lishers. They were working on shares and great emulation existed, so it was thought that ho liad ventured too far and that the incoming sea had swept him away. But in a few days his body was discovered bent ovor a crevice, his hand held fast by an abalone, and firmly secured in this position, unable to escape and too far from camp to make his cries heard, the poor fellow had seen the tide riBe inch by inch till it drowned him. Ho had lost the small flat bar of iron used for loosening large abalones from the rocks, and seeing a very large specimen speci-men far down in the crevice had inadvertently inad-vertently placed himself at such a disadvantage dis-advantage that he could not exert sufficient suffi-cient strength to withdraw his hand, nor to break the shell, nor even to force his hand further in so as to destroy the firm clasp of the mollusk. This sad event caused abalone hunters to desert the camp at once, and tha place i still known as "Chinaman Point." - VILLAGE OF AEALONK FIBHF.RS. The two most interesting features of the Chinese " 'long shore" industries are undoubtedly the squid and the abalone fisheries, both of which can be observed in the Bay of Monterey, which is in fact tho center of the squid business, but not of the abulone, tho latter being more or less known to the entire coast of California, Califor-nia, especially off San Luis Obispo and Ventura. ' On the shores of Monterey Bay, south f the old town, are tho remains of the once flourishing works of a whaling company. com-pany. "The ground," writes a recent visitor to the place, "is all so saturated with oil that it gives under foot like a poor iwphaltum pavement on a hot Au-, Au-, gust day." An qccasional whale and a good many banking sharks are still tried out for their oil either here or on the shores of Oirmol bav. sixmiloe walk, and between , the two whaling camps are the Chinese villagos for squid fishing and abalone catching. On the rounded bowlders below the cliff, in the midst of "unspeakable dirt," aro the Chinese shanties and hundreds of drying frames of pine laths. These frames are covered for many weeks in the autumn with tho oily squid, a fish nhnut aa long as one's hand. They enter the bay in vast schools and are netted ty tons. They are split and boned, dried for two days on the frames and then thrown on the sand to complete the process proc-ess of drying. The packing is done by trampling them close together in great Backs. Cod and halibut come and go, but the great schools of squid, which no American will eat, aro the main re- lianco of the Chinese fishing companies of the region. The Chinese villages, as seen in the afternoon from the bay, with their junks and lateen sailed hailing craft drawn up on the beach or coming in with their ' freight, the widespread nets, the children in red and yellow, the curious balconies projecting over the water, the flags and high scaffolds, and acres of drying fish, all soim to bo thoroughly Asiatic, and the Asia also of the great Mongolian lowlands of sleepy rivers and squalid little fishing villages, such as travelers in China describe. Sometimes tho Chinese build on the cliffs, but by far the greater part of their "camps" are set "between sea nnd cliff," and often miles from any town or railroad. rail-road. There are Italian fishing villages, too, but these are not unlikosuch villages the world over, and they are far less picturesque pictur-esque than those of the Chinese, They are perhaps seen at their bust on Kan Francisco and Toniales bays. The Italians Ital-ians never go very far from their markets, mar-kets, for they uhn to supply all the food fishes and leave the wpiid and abalones to the Chinamen. Crubs and shrimps are gathered in by Italians, Portuguese and Chinamen alike. The oyster trade is in the bandsof Italiansand Americans, the latter controlling some of the larger California companies. But tho most curious food product of the Pacific coast is probably that beautiful beauti-ful and useful mollusk the abalone, which has made many a Chinaman rich enough to return to his native land, buy a rice farm and settle down as the nabob of Ids village. The abulone is a univalve ' . -.1 DRYING SQUID AT K CHINESE FISHERY AT MONTEREY. There is also a story told among some of the old familios in San Luis Obispo to tho effoct that a young Mexican who went out on the rocks at low tide to procure pro-cure a very largo abalone shell to take over the Coast range to present to a young lady was caught in like manner, and waving bis red scarf and shouting for help was dragged loose by half a dozen men, who reached the place while tho tide was rapidly rising above his waist. Even the ordinary sized abalones require re-quire a stroug jerk to get them from the rock. It is probable .that the largest abalone that ever grew could be taken off by any person if it was done quickly, but tho slightest delay would bring one to grief unless he had a lever handy. The shell is so broad and flat that it cannot can-not be seized. The only way is to insert in-sert the fingers or some instrument beneath be-neath the edge, which is usually raised half an inch from the rook. The old American settlers near the sea coast have learned to value the abalone aba-lone highly as furnishing an epicurean feast when properly broiled and served piping hot. But few modern cooks know how to prepare abalone, and tho toothsome tooth-some morsel is fast becoming a tradition. So indefatigable in its pursuit are the Chinese that in a decade or two more this curious and delicious mollusk will probably be almost extinct. Cuaui.es Howard Shinn. .... A YOCHG CHINESE ABALONE CATCH KK. and clings like a limpet to the rocks. Its single shell is ear shaped, and many specimens have been found that were nearly ten inches in length and eight in width. The "abalone jewelry" is made from a small button of pearly accretion in the middle of the shell. The abalone exists in its fullest perfection per-fection south of San Francisco bay, but it is found for many miles north of tho ' Golden Gate. It thrives along the coast of Baja, or lower California, as far as Cape St. Lucas. There are two varieties, varie-ties, one with dark shells, tho other witL reddish shells, both being alike pearly inside. When (ground from the outside, o as to show the red and black alternating alternat-ing with the tinted mother-of-pearl, tho ffeet is wery attractive. j , yhe atilonq used to btj one of thempst ! |