Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1892-02-27
SEVENTH STREET WHARF
Where the People Of washington
Euy Their OysterA
Especial Washington letter.

lSpecI6I washington Letter.
One Of the most interesting spots In
Washington Is seldom seem It is the
Seventh street wharf, where bushels,
gallons and tons Of oysters flom the
lower Potomac and Chesapeake bay are
landed. It Is not only an interesting
but gastronomically enjoyable place.
No sooner does the passenger alight
from the Seventh street cable cars, near
the foot Of that busy thoroughfare. than
his olfactories are greeted with All odor
which plainly indicates the vicinity of
IN oyster mart A very short walk from
the car track, around a sharp bend,
brings the visitor to the river bank,
where dozen or more oyster sloops
are moored to the wharvcS. The cap
tains Of these vessels are always ready
to sell oysters Of any kind and quality
and in any quantity, from a bushel 10 a
boat Iced No sooner is q customer in
sight than these captains come out Of
their smoky cabins or emerge from the
groggeries in the vicinity. whip cut
their immense oyster knives and com
mence opening some of their choicest
bay fruit to exhibit to the prospective
customer and convince him that thsy
are pure salt water molluslSs Of the I'm
est kind.
A great many people go to these
wharves, especially on Saturday nights
and all day Sunday, from sunrise TO
sunset, for the purpose Of buying
oysters by the bushel and eating them
right there in the midst Of the bivalvr-
lar atmosphere. Very fair oysters can
be purchased for fifty cents a bushel.
but there is a lower grade OF small
oysters which can be purchased at
thirty-five cents per bushel; but this
latter grade is generally purchased for
use in soups at cheap restaurants. The
best grades bring from sixty-five cents
to one dollar per bushel, but very sell
dom go higher than the latter figure.
although there are seasons of the
year when the river is SO filled with ice
as to obstruct navigation to certain
degree, and then the price sometimes
goes above a dollar.
II you never ate bushel OF oysters
without stopping, or never saw anyone
engaged In gorging himself in that
manner, you cannot appreciate the nov
city Of the situation. Well-dressed gen.
tlemen wearing kid gloves and silk hats
and carrying gold-headed canes ap.
proach the wharves, and give the negro
shucker a silver dollar for bushel Of
raw. The colored man produces q
splendid grade of oysters worth about
seventy-five cents a bushel, which he
opens for his customer, who rapidly dis.
poses of the albuminous beauties by
swallowing them whole. The colored
man clears a quarter of dollar inside
of fifteen minutes and the customer al.
ways goes away happy. The oyster.
opener lifts one-half of the shell from
the bivalve, loosens the oyster from the
other half and places it on little bar
rel in front OF him. The customer, hav.
ing removed the glove from his right
hand, picks up a half-shell, conveys il
to his mouth. throws back his head and,
with another swoop now you see il
and now you don't), the oyster is gone.
This operation is repeated until the
whole bushel has disappeared.
An oyster roast is very enjoyable
affair. between nine o'clock and mid.
night, any night during the winter.
There is little shanty opposite the
main oyster wharf, in one corner OF
which is stove aoout twelve feet long
Congressional parties of a dozen or more
each take the belt line cars near the
National theater and ride to this oyster
ronSting shanty. AS soon as they enter
the door the colored servants empty
three or four bushels Of oysters upon
the red-hot surface Of this large stove,
and there they roast for from five to ten
minutes, when the opening commences.
In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
all oysters are spoiled in the cooking,
because they are generally served very
we'll done, when they are tough as
leather and as indigestiblc. The roast
ed oyster is thoroughly warmed
through, smoking hot and cooked in its
own juice, and therefore so soft as to
be self-digestible. When taken from
II,