Middletown transcript., 1892-01-28
DELAWARE CITY.
AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM OUR
NEIGHBORING TOWN.-THE NEWS
OF A WEEK.
DELAWARE CITY, Jan 28th.

Master Lew Broadway of Wilmington
is visiting here this week.
Mrs. Waterson, of Chelton Hill, Pa, il
visiting friends here this week. v
William Givison finished another fine
sturgeon boat at his shops here this week
for James Conard of Port Penn.
- Several parties of fishermen will
leave here next week on rock fishing
expedition down the bay.
- Mr.. Jacob Frempt has been in Phila.
delphia for the past three weeks, under
going an operation for the treatment of his
eyes.
= The Rev. Mr.. Oates, pastor of the
Presbyterian Church was unable to preach
on Sunday, having been taken suddenly i'll
on Saturday.
- William Anderson and William T.
Vail are among the candidates thus far
mentioned for nomination for assessor on
the Republican ticket
- James E. Sadler and Harry C. Clark
finished filling their ice houses this week,
which insures plenty of ice for the fish
packing business.
William Anderson, assessor for Red
Lion hundred, will sit at the lumber yard
office tomorrow, Friday, from A. NJ.
until 5 P. NJ, for the purpose of hearing
appeals.
- Members of the New Castle High
School Alumni will present the temperance
drama, 1.-THE Last Loaf" in Assembly
Hall, on Saturday evening, January Both.
Prof. Fremont Davis, of this place,
assisted by home talent, will give an en-
tertainment at Mulligan's Hall, on Febru-
ary 18th. An interesting program is
promised.
- John H. Roberts resumed filing his
large ice house along the canal on Wednes-
day. The ice is about six inches thick,
with a prospect of being much thicker
before he is through.
The Presbyterian Manse is being re-
novated and put in readiness for their pas
tor, Rev. Luther Oates, who will soon
occupy it.
Contractor A. B. Cook and force of
carpenters from Delaware City, are erecting
new barn on the farm of Joseph Cleaver,
near Mt. Pleasant.
A force of bridge builders are making
repairs on the trestle works on the railroad
between Delaware City and Porter's
Station.
Mayor Reybold is getting his ice boat
in order, and will be gliding over the wide
waters of the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal at the rate of a mile minute in a
few days.
The basin on the opposite side of the
canal is crowded daily with skaters, after
noon and evening. The bright colored
dresses worn by the ladies on these occa-
sions make the scene very pretty, a full
view of which is had from Clinton street.
- The tow of timber for New York by
way of the ocean mentioned in last weeks
TRANSCRIPT, arrived at New York on
Monday morning at o'clock. Much in
terest was felt in the undertaking by the
watermen, being the first timber taken
from here by that route.
y With the exception of the Ericsson
line of steamers which still make daily
trips between Philadelphia and Baltimore,
navigation through the Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal is virtually closed. A
number of barges and vessels are tied up
here for the winter.
The outlook for the opening of a busy
season in the spring is particularly bright
this year. There will be more capital and
men engaged in the fishing business than
ever, the fleet of fishing boats will number
at least one hundred, manned by two hun
dred men, besides little army of packers,
butchers and caviar makers. This, together
with the work on Fort Delaware and Della
ware Battery, for which money is already
will give our town quite a
boom.
The popular winter pastime of "red-
up" is now being enjoyed on the canal.
A party of skaters provide themselves with
about fifty short fishing lines, to the hook
of each is attached live minnow, the
other end of the line being tied to stick
about two feet long having round hole
near one end of it, and a round stick stuck
through the hole. On the other end of the
first stick is tied; piece of red flannel.
Reaching the large coves where the fish
the skaters cut a number of
holes through the ice about foot square
a hole for each line. The lines are baited
and dropped into the water the round
stick is placed across the hole, which lets
the fiat stick to which the line and red
flannel is tied fat on the ice. The pike,
bass or yellow perch siezes minnow and
pulls the line which raises the fiat stick
and displays the red flannel streamer. At
sight of the red one shouts red up !" and
a rush is made for the line and the fish
In few minutes another red
shoots up and away they go for the fish.
On bright day when the fish are biting
good there is almost constant rush from
one line to another and the excitement,
together with the exhiliarating exercise of
skating and the jolly good humor which
prevails, makes it one of the most fascinat-
ing sports of the season.
= Since the discovery of the headless
body of murdered Noah Benson in the
canal here early on the morning of Decem-
ber 26th, there has been a noticeable
scarcity of colored people on the streets
and roads after dark, and many wierd
story of restless spooks and mysterious
midnight apparitions have been related
around the winter hearth at night and in
the shops and stores frequented by the
supe rstitious darkeys in daylight. Among
the most popular late day stories is that
of headless body slowly pacing the canal
banks at midnight, stopping here and