Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1870-11-26

II .
btsh and Mere Rubbish The River
Front OF tire Future.
Having been MY Commissioned a. River
Front Reporter CT TEE STAR. and provided
with private signal, a speaking trumpet, a
compass, and nautical dictionary, we cleared
the other day from the counting room, aud
scudoed swiftly up the Avenue before brisk
autumn breeze. On arriving at the corner Of
l+h street We put the tiler a-port, hauled sheets
fat aft, and stood off SOU SOU west, leaving the
ofice Of the Associated Press on the weather
quarter and willsrds' Hotel under our lee
Keeping on this course, the Long Bridge soon
hove in sight, ard here we vii, Delay our nauti-
cal lingo for time.
WE STAND ON TIE BRIDGE IN DAYLIGHT.
The Polly Ann, Of Alexandra, was making
her way down stream, propelled BY two-pole
power, and the draw being open, we had an
opportunity Of witnessing a specimen Of fresh
water seamanship.
Say, Jim, don't set too high on that pole!n
Bob, take tother long pe,e, and sheye her
head or"
{" Now, lively, boys, keep her moving; shove
Thus shouted the skipper as he stood astride
of the long tiilrr, winch would have made a
bowsprit for good-siyed yacht. From the
half open iO'cRfle OF the Polly Ann comes a
cook, a yeuns lad whose complexion would be
made many shades tighter by iRmersion in the
Potomac, Is noisiiy busy with lis pots and pans.
just astern OF the Polly feGts q nondescrpt
craft OF the genius canal boat, propelled by a
colored lad, with the occasional aid Of the gray
and grizzly skipper. This Is the " Belle" OF
somewhere long shore; and the POlly' and
Belle" having got safely through, the draw
was swung into It's place, and We purtged our
wsy over the bridge, or, rather, what is left OF
Z, Tor IT Is IN quite q ruinOus condition.
and in some places has disappeared altogether
large number OF men are at work making
ready for the new bridge, and, after witnessing
s s, c2er a ier time, We retraced our
the psssage OF q craft, whose long sails gave one
the tSea OF piratical felucca, but the ungainly
huii, laden with cord wood, soon came into
sight and dispelled the Illusion. 1t was pleasant
to lean upon the rail and survey the broad
Potomac, above and below. with here and there
, White sh SAIL the Shipping and buildings near at
out in bold relief az ainst the clear blue sky and
the rnsset- erowp hill sides of the Virginia
shore, aotted with dwellings. And now train
ward As though to plunge into the stream, but
goes rafting and Earring the bridge inste Adj
and II swallowed up in the distance. Long
travellers are as prudent a. was the old lady in
crossing The suspension bridge at Niagara. Said
she - held my breath and bore up, and
cont believe weighed pound"
"BLACK DIAMONDS"
Heading down stream now, We get into dia-
mond fegIon-yes, "black diamonds" are piled
in piles and heaped in heaps, and more are
coming from the holds Of yon trim schooners
But You do not hear, as Of old, the CHEEKY "yo,
heave oh, of the mariner. Horsepower or
steam-power lifts the laden tubs from the hold,
and the coal Is then dumped into carts which
stand In waiting. There is coal, coal every
where here, and the air is filled with coal dust
The men about the wharves are black and
griny; hntias the majority were originally black
this does not much matter.
"sHKLLs OF OCEAN,"
From coal We come to ice; or, rather, 70 one
Of the stOrehouses of .he G. r. Ice Co, and the
activity Of soal and the proximity OF ice are
sadly suggestive Of "wailing winds" and wintry
weather. We take heart again, however, at
the sight OF heaps OF oyster shells; for cold
weather If 1t does bring discomforts, brings
sing, while common mortals devour:
"Oysters! One needs the genius OF a Shelley
Fifty to hymn these treasures of the sea
Salacidris dabs Of appetizing jelly
Sources of epegastric extacy."
We are at the wharf where the oyster sloops
most DO congregate, and the scene is a busy
one. Around are rough sheds, bearing faint
traces of whitewash, with oystersheiis visi-
Bile within the doorways and without the
doorways, rendering quite unnecessary the
rough, half illegible scTawls which inform the
public that oysters are sold here. On each side
and at the head Of a narrow wharf are twenty
or thirty neat little sloops and schooners, some
Tiled to the deck with oysters, others partially
unladen. Conspicuous on the deck OF one OF
these craft, in neat blue uniform, is police SER
geant, whom stranger might take for the ad-
he wharf are laden, and drive sway. A dozen
or TIVE OF men and boys, white and black are
engaged in "shucking." Here you see the TN
kettled gentry, hose shrill bucie notes or stem
torian cries make the day hideous in the city.
Flop go the oysters into the kettles, and crack
go the shells into heaps. with the sound like the
breaklng OF crockery. You are beset with in
\ Gu feei peckish, and conclude you viii try
rev.. Taking seat on the gunwaie OF a little
.loop, jolly FISHERMAN opens for you, faster
freight. And how delicious are oysters thus
eaten from the shell, favored simply by their
own liquid, only those need be told who have
wo.th will feeda hungry man. Take a cruise
long shore in the wake OF THE STAR reporter,
and try it.
THE OYSTER TRADE.
Few are aware of the magnitude Of the oyster
trade; and some statistics may perhaps be ad-
vantsgeously introduced here. The number of
vessels engaged in taking oysters in the waters
Of Maryland with scrape, drag and dredge, !.
from $50 to $50. These vessels (pungies as
they are called,) carry An average load of 900
bushels, and make perhaps, two trips to market
each month. This gives a monthly aggregate Of
$780, TO 100 eco bushels Il, 00O0O0 BUSH
els per season Of nine months. TO this large
Yield must be added the oyster product, taken
by 80 canoes. which scrspe or tongue frem
the shallow waters, an average of 40 bushels
each during the oyster season. total of
,ioo,utO bushels, about three-fourths OF which
are sold to vessels engaged in the carrying trade
This give total yield OF nearly Il O0O, 900 BUSH
els from the Maryland waters OF the Chesapeake
any Its tributaries alone for q single season.
The waters of that part of Chesapeake Bay
lying within the limits OF Virginia are dredged
by about 200 vessels. These vessels employ
more than 5 ,Oo0 men, and take yearly from the
beds between 5000 900 and 10 600 GOO bushels of
oysters, which are shipped TO Bosom, New YORK
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
The local consumption is, of course, but
small Per centage Of the enormous total yield,
Tor distant communities have a rare apprecia-
ton OF oysters from the waters OF the Chesa-
peake. Packed in barrels or in Dramatically
sealed tin cans, Chesapeake oysters are shipped
10 the Pacing coast the West Ipdias a.,d- e.