THE CLAM-BAKE.
Two carriage-loads of people were at Pleasure Bay, wandering about under
the trees in front of the hotel. Down between them and the bank was a
lot of men piling up a heap of round stones and crossing sticks of wood
over them till a high sort of a cross-beam pinnacle was built, to which
one of the men set fire. Mercy, how it blazed up and flashed through the
cracks in the wood! They seemed to enjoy the blaze, and worked like
beavers around it--though I don't know how a beaver works, never having
seen one.
Some of the men went down to the water, and, dragging up great armfuls
of dark green and yellow grass, swelled out here and there with bulbs
and blisters, laid it in a heap before the fire. Some of the others sat
down on the rocks, with pails of potatoes and sweet corn between their
knees, which they began to wash and tie up in their husks.
I was awful curious to know what all this was about, but made up my mind
to wait and see; for Mr. Burke seemed so anxious and busy that I didn't
want to stop him by asking questions.
When the wet weeds, potatoes, and corn came on, I thought that the next
thing would be some clam-bake; but instead of that, a fellow came down
from the house with a lot of young chickens, picked clean, which he
carried by the legs, and another loafed up from the water with three
great horrid green monsters, like crabs swelled out--green as the
sea-weed, and so dreadfully crawly that the very sight of them made me
creep all over.
"What on earth are those creatures?" says I to Dempster; "mammoth
cockroaches that have taken to a seafaring life, or what?"
"Why, lobsters," says he.
"Lobsters!" says I. "Not a bit of it. All the lobsters I have ever seen
were bright red, and still as mice."
"That was after they were cooked," says he. "Wait till these come out,
and they'll be red enough, I promise you."
Well, I waited and watched, for what these men were up to was more than
I could make out. When the wood was all burned down they brushed the
coals and ashes away with an old broom, and two colored men came up from
the shore, carrying a two-bushel basket full of little longish-round
creatures, hard as stone, and with a long black sort of a knot hanging
out of one end. They were dripping wet, and pieces of sea-weed clung to
them, as if they grew in the water like the crabs and lobsters.
Well, when the ashes were swept away, and nothing but the hot stones
were left crowded close together, the two nig--well, colored persons,
lifted that great basket between them and poured the round creatures
among the hot stones till they sissed again. Then they piled on a heap
of sea-weed, and a cloud of steam came pouring through. Then another
layer, and over that the potatoes and corn were poured down and laid on.
Then another layer of weeds, and the chickens and three great large
fish, done up in cloths, were laid out for a steaming, and with them
those live, green lobsters. Oh, mercy! how they did spread their claws
and crawl through the sea-weed! It was enough to make you creep all
over; but the men soon smothered them with steaming grass, which heaved
up and down for a while, and then sank off, till the lobsters lay as
dead as the chickens, and made no more fuss about being roasted alive.
By this time the whole heap--grass, chickens, corn, lobsters, and other
shell creatures--was big as a small haystack. At last the two colored
persons came down with a long tin pail, in which was a roll of butter
and some vinegar. They sunk the pail down into the steaming sea-grass,
clapped the corn on, and buried it with all the rest. Then more sea-weed
and an old boat-sail flung over all, and that little mountain of
roasting things was left to steam and sizzle while the whole party went
to take a walk along the shore.
Mr. Burke kept by my side, and part of the time he carried my parasol,
shading my face with it in the tenderest way.
He said something about the clam-bake, but I had really got so sick of
everything in the fish, fowl, or vegetable line, that a curiosity, more
or less, was of no consequence, so I said I should know how I liked
clam-bakes better when I had seen one.
He answered that would be soon, for half an hour was enough to put one
through.
Sisters, I was in no sort of hurry about it, for the rest of them were
busy chatting and talking, so that we were just as good as alone, and
the moments were precious as gold sands in an hour-glass.
By and by some one set up a shout. Mr. Burke wheeled right round, and
says he:
"They are going to open the clam-bake; come and see it done?"