The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-06-13
Lively Description Of an Interesting
Excursion.

| CITY press HOIlceS OI pidHh SudUl
bakes down the Potomac without
knowing what they meant. A few
DAYS ago friend asked me to be
his guest on an excursion down
the river, and l told him l would
go, The next day l received the
following printed notice:
"Dear Sir-The Plank Shad par
tv will! leave on the steamer Waw-
asset from foot of Seventh street,
ut 10 o'clock a. M, Thursday,
April "a. THE COMMITTEES"
/ arrived at the wharf of the
Mount Vernon steamer little
ahead of time, not knowing exactly
what was meant. l found chart
cred steamer, a reception commit
tee, Il lot of suspicious looking
boxes and baskets, and several of
the leading merchants and bust
ness men of the city. Half an
hour afterward, when perhaps
twenty additional gentlemen had
arrived, the whistle was blown, the
cable cast off and the ''Plank Shad
party were steaming down the
Potomac.
Those who have never seen this
river in the early spring when the
air is soft and fresh, and the foil
age begins to put on its variegated
plumage, and the young wild flow
ers begin to bloom, can have no
idea of it's grandeur. The climate
OF Washington in the spring is
unequaled, the skies are bright
and clear, the air warm and fresh,
and Nature is in her most winning
humor. The Potomac is broad
and clear, and the banks present
a varied scene of gently rising
hills, circling valleys and level
plains. There is nothing more de
licious in the cOuntry-eXcept a
plank shad bake.
Among the persons on board
were Senators Window, Sargent.
Chandler and Cragin, Assistant
Secretary Sawyer, Governor Cor
ham, Hemphil! Jones, and a large
number of the leading business
men, lawyers and merchants, who
sought a days recreation from
business. We steamed briskly
down the river with the tide, past
Fort Washington, Marshall Hall
and Mount Vernon, and landed at
Glymont, a summer landing, with
hotel pavilion, summer seats III the
grove, a dancing hall and splen-
did beach.
Glymont is about thirty miles
down the river from Washington,
and about fifteen from Acquia
creek, which was such an import
ant depot of supplies for the Nir
ginia army during the war. Here
the steamer was made fast, the
passengers went ashore, and the
servants of the club who had &C
companied the party took the sup
plies to the pavilion = whisky,
brandy, champagne settler water,
horse-radish, lemons, delicious
spiced oysters, cold tongue, Wor-
cester sauce, salads, dishes, glass
es, ice, cold meats and what not.
Half a mile below the landing a
score of fishermen aided by two
windlasses and two horses, were
drawing the seine, an immense at
fair, covering acres of space. Ev
erybody is familiar with drawing
the seine, how fisherman go out in
the boats to clay" it, how heavy
rope surrounds the outer and the
inner rim, how il is left for time,
and how it is drawn in--the hors-
es and windlass, couple of hun
dred yards apart, going round and
round like threshing machine,
winding up the outside rope, and
gathering the fish in to the shore;
the fisherman, white and black, on
the inside of the net up to their
necks in water, Juggling at the in
side rope so as to keep it OH the
bottom, that no fish might escape,
and at the same time drawing in
the seine. 1t is delicious job and
a cold one. Yet to the party wit
Messing it it was lively, because it
was novel. Besides it was a glo-
rious day, not too cold nor too
warm, and the party felt like child
rem at the end of a long school
term, and to them the drawing of
the seine was rather a jolly pro-
ceeding.
Two pools were made as to what
would be the size of the ''catch."
The first was made by payment
of twenty-five cents by each per
son present, who had the privil-
ege of making a guess as to the
number of shad that would be
caught in the seine. The second
pool was like the first, except it
related to the number of fish, and
not to the shad particularly. The
one who came the nearest to the
number caught was to take the
pool. The guessing of the gen
tlemen was of the most extraor'
binary character, ranging from
nine TO six hundred and seventy
five for shad, and from two hun
dred and fifty to fifteen hundred
for the whole number.
The day was not regarded by
i the fishermen as a good one, and
the fishing grounds had failed fol
| some cause this year, so that th'
/ fishermen expected a very small
catch as no large one had beer
3 made this spring in that locality
5 When the seine was drawn anC
the shad counted there was onlI
4 eleven, and the pool was taken by
e 8 gentleman who chose that mum
: Der. When the numbers were be
a ing put down for the second pool
Y before the haul was made, jim
Young, of the Philadelphia Star
e went quietly and interviewed n
: old darkey to learn his opinion
: The old fellow said he didn't thin
n there would lie more than tw
y hundred and fifty herring, and 3
: Jim took that number. When til
q seine was drawn and the sha
e counted there were only eleyeI
If and the pool was taken by gel
s. tleman who chose that numbe
it When the numbers were being pl
r down for the second pool, befol
st the haul was made, Jim Young,
o. the Philadelphia Star,went quiet
5 and interviewed an old darky
n learn his opinion. The old f
it low said he didn't think the