Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-04-06

h us ohbe features as there DISPLAYED on the one
go over on the Page, the Collyer, or the wash
Ingtoh, some day shortly, and visit that huge dm)
iHo,H mushroom which springs I'D in the course
; .ne nrst night Of every spring wherein refresh
Is me point at which the heavy transactions in
tne nsh caught on the Potomac during fishing
season. take place; the mart for the sale Of the
product OF the greater part of the labors by day
and by night of the (perhaps) five thousand Poto,
mac river seine haulers, who from the 10th of
March to the LIST of Nav annually rescue from the
depths OF our noble river, treasures in the shape
OF shad and herring, worth, in the aggregate an
almost fabulous amount Of money. From one to
three hundred schooners and sloops are engaged
In bringing the fish up to that point, and from
three to six hundred persons are employed there
in the business Of counting, beheading cleaning
and sailing them away; while the outside crowd
OF employers, sellers, buyers from distance,
booth keepers, hddlers, dancers, drinkers loaf
ers and loaferesses, number perhaps quite many
more.
All this throng are packed and jammed amid
tons OF reeking fish offal and almost as much i'm
weight OF refuse fish, on and around a single
wharf located on an utskirt of Alexandria, whose
police is always prudently augmented to cover
the urgent necessities of the occasion; for a con-
siderable portion of the goodlie (ungodly) COM
pane'' grazing Fishtown, between their propen-
sity for execrabe whisky and their taste for
rowing and rioting, require to be kept in check
by the presence Of stern and efficient officers
Very few Of such of the denizens of Fishtown
belong in Alexandria. The District of Columbia
supplies her with perhaps more than half of them
and as consequence, our police reports during
work house, arrests by the watch for minor Of
fences, &c, &c. The surrounding country, too,
duly empties into Fishtown nearly all its noto-
rlous rowdies Of both sexes. Ii has often struck
us as being wonderful, how Alexandria can man.
age such population thus empted in upon her
in an hour, as well as her authorities do manage
to control ii, and with as much patience and good
humor she manifests under the infiction.
The necessities of the profitable business of
Fishtown often require those engaged In saving
the staFe, day and night so the wages earned by
the operatives are very high when at work-whis-
ky stimulating them in many instances to intense
! exertions. Few Of them leave the wharf at the
| end of the season with 80 red in pocket-if
nearly all of them do carry of red or black eve,
| as may be- They spend their money in the booths,
as sailors returned from long cruise so prone
! to spend theirs. I" High, low, jack" the Thin
BILE rgger, the patent-safe game man, the fiddler,
and the retailer of victuals and drink, to say
nothing of the other kindred characters hanging
around, secure most of il. $
The lions its of recesses like its lionesSes of
! every hue; and in too many cases both are grad
/ yates of the Washington city workhouse, loaned
for the nOnce to Alexandria, as if by way Of show
ing our quiet neighbors and friends of that burgh
! some of the most noted specimens of metropolitan
| society.
The ladies' of Fishtown, though knowing lit
| tie and caring less about crinoines, sit day and
| night surrounded by hoops, (when at work, }
! every mothers daughter of them, with ht ad III
| handkerchief bound, frock upturned to the waist
| arms barred, pipe in mouth, bloody knife in hand,
| fumes of liquor too frequently pertaining their
picturesque persons, and oaths, such are almost
sufficient to cause unsophiSticated man 10 flee
| his country, rolling out between their teeth
/ They sit surrounded by hoops, though not them
| selves of the crinolne order, as remarked above
| cutting slashing, smoking, tossing and chatter
| ing, day in and night out, when the tide serves
| below and the wind serves above. Altogether
| Fishtown is peculiar institution, to be inspected
! nowhere else under the sun. While Alexandria
is to he congratulated over its invariable profits
to her trade she is no less surely to be congratu
| lated when the season ending, she is enabled to
| send back to the surrounding country and the
| District Of Columbia, Fishtown turbulent, law
| defying and degraded population, of maarais
! SKjctS, borrowed for that occasion only
PALM SUNDAY, occurring yesterday, was OBJ
! served at the Catholic churches by the customary
/ blessing and distribution of the palm in coThmem-
Grafton of the entry of our Saviour into jerusalem
AS is usual on this OCCASION the churches of this
| persuasion were filled with interested congrera-
tiOns all anxious to obtain a sprig of the blessed
| palm, to be treasured up by each recipient during
\ the year
| The morning services for Thursday next at 6
o'clock, are commemorative of the Sacrament
After the - Gloria the ringing of the bells is sus
| pended: The observance is both joyous and sad ;
Joyous because on that day the ordinance of the
| Apostles was instituted and sorrowful on account
| of the holy passion of our Saviour.
| The obsefvances Of Good Friday morning are
! the veneration and kissing of the Holy Cross in
! memory Of Him who suffered the agony of cruel
| fxion thereon. On the evening of Good Friday
| occurs the office of the Tenebrae, which occa-
| sion psalms and lessons from the prophets are
read. Afterwards the service begins to assume Il
| more Joyous nature and to partake Of the coming
Easter festivities. On Saturday the bells are
/ again ung, and the blessing Of the Font and of
| the new fire is observed.
! CIRCUIT COURT.-On the meeting of the Court
this morning the jury was discharged for one
| week.
| In the case of Johnson who filed bill PRAYING
for special Injunction of the Court to release him
from the payment of certain bonds and forfeitures
due the Potomac Building Association for money
advanced by the Society certain shares of stoc ks
| held by Johnson in the Society. on the ground
that the contract between the Association and the
applicant was Illegal and the action of the Asso-
citation usuriOus-
Judge Mirick read an opinion sustaining the
Association, and denying that the action was usu-
I rious, because Johnson was i member and part
Rer of the Association and had made fair con-
tract with them.
Judge MorselI conceded in Judge Miricks
| opinion.
Judge Dunlop was reading an adverse opinion
| when this paper went to press.
In the repleyin case tried on Saturday, Of Mat
| thew Field and Michael Lytton Robert Raj
ney and X. }. Crawford, the jury brought in a
F, verdict for defendant. Damages Sl25, with in
| terest from November nth, 1855.
Editor Ers~ing Star: VIII you oblige citi-
zen by calling the attention Of the Seventh Ward
/
persons passing along the streets of this part of
| the city at night. The person who begs this IA
vor, has been assaulted when going to his home,
passing over the bridge Twelfth street canal
| Really peaceable citizens should be protected
| by the authorities Of the city; if not, we must
defend themselves.
With respect, A CITIZEN
| p. :. Assuredly, Captain Mills cannot be aware
Of the danger persons are in when going over the
| Island at night; if he was, his guards would
| certainly be on their post.
| WASHINGTON, April 4, 1857.
| DIsGRACEFUL.-Betwen four and five o'clock X
| p. m yesterday, large number of boys were en-
/ gagged in stone battle on street, commencing
near 10th and ending near 9TH street. Hundreds
! of our citizens witnessed the disgraceful scene
and many went in search Of police officers TO dis
perse the riotous gang. But there is but OFF,
Ger in that district (the 3D. confirmed as yet
by the Councils, and he had been called to an
other section Of the district to prevent a distur-
bance Justices Dom and Murphy interfered
| and the parties dispersed, but none were ar