Crab Soup

The blue crabs of the southeastern coastal waters are known by scientists as Callinectes sapidus and, more aesthetically, by certain native Indians and students of Greek as “beautiful swimmers.” Those meeting these crustaceans under less auspicious circumstances are more likely to recall the etymological associations of crab with “scratch” and “claw,” and Nevyll’s vivid image: “those crabsnowted bestes, those ragyng feends of hell.” Beyond words, blue crabs find immortality in the di