Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-26

THE FISH THAT GOT thought to be fiat as a
AWAY. pancake from the effects,
will not even take hold of hands with him in
the surf. The only listeners he can find to his
story about the big fish he caught which got
away just as he was trying to pull it into the
boat, are-to take the place of those pretty
creatures who hung so eagerly upon his words
few short days ago-two or three fat old
women and baby with nursing bottle!
OYSTER DREDGING.
The three hundred inhabitants Of St GEORGES
Island depend almost wholly on the water for
their living. and very good livelihood they
get out OF it, mostly in the shape of oysters.
This Is IL great Clustering ground in the season,
and the tong men frequently earn from $40 to
$50 week at their work. They hire boats for
$40 a month If they do not own them and the
oysters they get in the st. Georges and St.
Mnry's rivers they sell to the oyster schooners
for 40 and so cents bushel. Unfortunately,
the industry. which might otherwise be per-
petuated indefinitely, bids fair to be wiped out
altogether within two years by the piratical
dredgers. Dredgers are permitted to 20 for
oysters out In the Potomac, but the law forbid5
them to work in the st. Marys and St Georges
rivers, which are county reservations of Mary
land. However. they take every opportunity
when the police boat absent to enter the rivers
and rake up the oysters with their gigantic
shovels at the rate of half a dozen bushels at
a scoop. In this way they are rapidly DESTROY
ing the beds, so that very soon there will not
be enough oysters in them to pay the tong
men for their labor. Very shortly now the
dredgers will have destroyed all the beds in
the lower Potomac and then they will have to
seek other pastures to ruin. Talk about your
star fish! Why, they are gentle foes of the
| oyster compared with the dredgers.
SUPPLYING FISH AND CRABS
Happily no enemy threatens the fish and the
| crabs. Great numbers of the latter are sent
from hare IN Tho Wasb;pgton ,,orLox No A :.
boxes with wet sea grass. 1t ia a curious fact
that crabs and fish, as well as other water crea-
lures will keep ever SO much longer alive and
In good condition in wet sea weed than in
water. Marketmen send down here to fisher
men with whom they have correspondence for
SO many hard or soft crabs, according to tho
number wanted; the supply is unlimited. The
fishermen send the crab by steamer. Quanti-
ties OF sheepshead, striped bass and other fish
they send In the same way, to be sold on CON-
mission.
ST. GEORGES ISLAND
is one Of the most beautiful spots in the lower
Potomac region, and is surrounded on all sides
by picturesque diversity Of fertile land and
| wafer. st. Georges river separates it from the
Maryland shore. 1t was granted by Lord Bal.
tlmore IN 1854 to some English Jesuits, to-
| gether with st. Inigoes manor, place of about
5000 acres on the st. Mary's river. The priests
settled down on the manor, where members OF
their holy order remain to this day, and made
| no other use of st. Georges Island. which was
| very densely covered with timber. than to cut
wood on 1t. Fifty years ago the island was sold
| by the Jesuits to two men from the eastern
shore OF Maryland, who parcelled it out and
| sold 1t piecemeal to colonists. One Of the
| colonists, Thomas Adams, left his 100 acres ia
| his four sons, who now run the hotel and store
| here and do hourishing business-in summer
with hotel keeping and in winter with the
| trade that the oystering business brings. The
| island Is three miles in length and has an area
! of about 1000 acres. 1t was bigger few years
ago. but the water has washed some of it away
From Washington here at present are Dr. and
Mrs. Smith and Miss Alice Smith, Mr.. and Mrs
! Mott, Mr.. H. Barton, Miss Edith Rathbone, MIR
and Mrs. L. Stargardter, Mrs. s. Goldstein
/ MIR. VIM. A. German. MIR. T. A. D. German
| Mr.. j. F. Mead, the Misses Baldwin. MIR. A. c.
West. the Misses West, Miss NJ. X. Niece, Mr. r.
J. Nichols. Mr.. Thomas W. Hay, Mr.. T. A.
Finckel, Mr.. Charles II. Baker. Miss Ella
Crystal, Mrs. Hafelfnger, Mrs. Linden, Mrs
Rupert. Mrs. Iseman, Miss Iseman. From
Baltimore are Mr.. Robert C. Cole. Mr.. A. E.
! Porter, Miss Rose Talbot. Mr.. H. Kershaw ant
wife, Miss W. Kershaw, Mr.. II. G. Kershaw
Mr.. F. K. Kershaw, Miss Ferguson, Miss S. E.
Richmond, Miss NJ. Richmond, Miss LuIr
Matthews, Mr.. E. Mcdonald. RIB