The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-05-01
ALExANDRIA-1TsIM RoyEMENTs-.A VISIT
TO FISH Wharf AND SOME OF IT'S At
fractions.

1 1SAA "naaf ANU SOME OF lis Al
FRACTIONS.
ALEXANDRIA, April %, 1s5l
Mr. EpfToR-l have been whiting an hour OF
two about this place, and if you have space in
the Dispatchto throw away, you may give il to me
for word about what have observed
Alexandria 10 Frightening up very considerable.
There Is decidedly less grass about the streets than
there was two years ago. and the town wears the
appearance Of more activity and spirit. few
years since you could see no new buildings, and
now they are to be seen often in a ran,ble
through the streets, and some of them are verv
extensive and handsome. a fine private residence
OF mr.. MctEIGH, Is among the most superb of pfi-
vafe houses, while the river front shows massive
new warehouse of CAzEsovE g. Co and very
extensive steam flour mill put up by company Of
winch that very enterprisng and important man of
the place, Mr. FowLE, ia the head
ihere is a good display of masts along the river
among which are those of two very cons derable
ships-one OF them unloading coal from Liy erpooI
Thisis truly carrying Goals to New Castle" The
Liverpool coal Is very useful to mix with the Vir
gina 6ituminous coal for the manufacture of Gas,
and this importation. learn, is Tor that purpose
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad ia ia active
operation, and seems to be a well made road Jts
rolling stock-engIues, cars, &c, appear to be very
gooa; Inc engines are very large and seem to be
well built. This road VIII add much to the busi
ness and prosperity of Alexandria-indeed, is ri.
ready doing this. $ a
knowing my sentiments as you do. need hardly
say mat the signs OF improvement in Alexandria
pleased me. ] go heart and hand for Viro;nia
towns, and in all cases deplore the existence of
Jeaousles and rivalries among them
One feature oil Alexandria, which is remarkable.
Is us large business in the fish trade. No town in
the MON, is said does so large business in nut
ting up herring and shad. The season, however
is thus far, said to be failure The twelve or fonr
teen packers here, learn annually pack in n sea.
son from to TO- 600 bbls. of herrings and 600 do
OF shad. Thus far, very little more than half of q
thousand barrels of herripgs and 100 bbls of shad
have been put up, and the season has not long tn
run The fisheries lower down the river keep Ip a
constant commerce with the town, and their daily
catching ls sold to the packers here who yerv
promptly put them in barrels for market Fish in
the fresh state. sell to-day the wharf at IS 50
50 per hundred Tor shad and 81 per thousand for
herrings. =
visited the fish mart today. twas not ditIicujt
to fnd-l had only to follow my nose, In common
parance here, it is called the Fish hole never
had before 80 lively sense of the full meaning OF
that OFT quoted expression, IAN ancient and fsb.like
odof.' On every hand were fish and fish ottal-the
winds waited upon their wings the concentrated
essence nt fsll-the fish cleaners and handlers were
go covered with scales and other ishy indications as
to seem half fish, half human beings--thc heads
oi mammoth surgeons gistened in the sunshine,
and loaded the breeze with their decomposng
odors-defunct eels, which lay coiled up in corners
not immediately demanded by the operations of the
fish cleaners. were gradually drying in the SUM- not
without contributing their sull share to the general
perume--silmy kitteDs, broad mouthed cate and re.
fuse perch, strewed the ground where they were
cast Oft by the tishermen-the river slips were well
supplied with the bloated bodies of dead fish, and
as you walked you trod on fsh roe and crushed
the germs OF thousands You are enveloped in the
odors, and imagine that here must be concentrated
all the fsh and the tishy smells of at least one he
nrisphere. Carts are busily employed in transpor.
ting the ottal to the contiguous farms where it +,
applied as manure, and for one year is said to be
as good as guano.
pcramhulated through this place to see the op-
erations Give me credit for being perseveringiy
curious individual The clipped herrngs are be-
headed and gutted, and thrown in large watts
hogsheads with salt. The gross are heads and all.
thrown in the hogsheads. They are left in this
condition some or 8 days when they are packed
in barrele The shad go through the same pro-
cess. The family roe are picked with care and
salted in like manner packer told me he great
ly preferred the gross herring. The native Juices
ofthe clipped he contended, were all DESTROYED by
the salt; while 1t was not 50 with the gross herring
"But then you don't clean the gross herring T.
said l. That's nothing" he replied, the salt ueu
trazes and destroys everything that the intro.
OF gross herring Is just nothing at all - The fish
mart was some years since on the river below liz.
town; but the southern breezes which blew from
that point the place, in fish season, were the
very opposite OF the spicy gates from "Araby the
blest;' and the location changed to that it now
occupies above the town. The Fishermen say
however, that in spite Of its odor Fish hole" is
the healthiest quarter of Alexandria.
As inseparable concomitants of the fish trading
and fish cleaning business, number of groggeries
were huddled about the fish mart. They were rude
weather boarded shanties, ornamented inside with
coarse and gaudy red and blue pictures and great
circus and maneeerie show-bs. In them were
groups OF bronZed fishermen, some with very red
noses induging in the very bad liquors which were
no doubt retaied to them. Some that we saw pour,
ed out into the glasses had villanous look, very
much like that bad brandy lone drink of whch,"a
friend OF ours is n the habit of saying twill make
an honest man steal!'
After examining my satisfaction left the locality
rather rapidly. 1t was long time before could
get rid OF the conceit that smelt fish aDd knew
too well to doubt it, that several times during the
afternoon, got rich sniff OF the fisay odor from
the wharf My last Alexan6rian remembrance of
the evening was sense of the proximity of fish
hole, as the ferry boat in which was, passed up
the river to Washington. TO heighten the pleasure
OF my trip, in the boat there were some dozen OF
fish wagons loaded with fish However toi tune
may knock me about and play at cross purposes
with me. aud though | heartily venerate the char
acters OF the disciples Of Gslllee, doubt whether
the strait could arise in my affairs that would make
me fisherman! B.