Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-02-02
n NDING THEIR NETS
Northern Neck Fishermen Getting Reaay
iOr Spring.
SEINE
IaSY MILES oE
i.onfs BIE md Littie-ho" '"'
Fishing Industry Is Condnc'c"
Failing OG-Iost Ills oSs'
craT Notes.

CONFORM KING GEORGE coUNla'
"a ,,orr,,,rv Especial Rain. haii'
FL 49,. or ,iov" the arst week in feo-
M ,,, Owls many a Potomac naheii'an
|E 10. ,fs seirca. nets. boats. ana
| 80 ,srapbornalia. preparatory 70 '"'
III -, csbery And TO thus set Things
4# A. 80 81 no triang undertaking. Many
mi ,,nes NJ seine must be mendoa anl 'aireo'
<4 MANY nets repaired and hung ana 'ne
W ,,,ts from The IooSoui-man's tiny Skin
|< q, ,to hugo sc.no-boat which is propelled
Ell n. t,eotv-four abc-bodied men, must
< an no inspected and put In perfect ofd-r
W f,r ,bo season 30 soon 10 open.
t,sbina on the Potomac Is a business OF
80 ircoue.dcrable magnitude. and affords
W lucrative employment for goodly num-
W ,,r NJ men and boys who know but little
about teamwork and who would be IDLE
III hut for this important enterprise. How
FL over. many Of the seine fisheries are not
II roy oporatcd on as extensive a scale as
"a ihoy were In years gone by. several
a dozen strong men and half dozen horses
a with a woll-equpped outfit, now success
fully operate the average small fishery
Years ago from scvonty-fve to 100 picked
men aud a couple Of dozen horses were
required 10 operate "A first-class Potomac
,prinr fishery. 4 seine two miles long
was placed on a platform in the rear
end Of a large boat. one end OF tne
seine was attached 10 huge ropes maue
fast" on the shore and tweniy-seNsh
10 thirty men would start out win the
boat 10 LAY the seine out A1ter
circuit Of several miles the boat anu
crew would return 20 % point on inc
shore. some distance below the starting
point Ropes attached 10 the last ena
" the seine were then made fast 10
capstand, a machine 90 whose levers
number Of horses were attached. for
hours and hours The horses tugged at TINS
machine steadily winding IN the great
net laden with housands-sometines
nillions-of nsh Of nearly every variety
IN Tho Potomac waters. The intense ex-
element ane Wild hurrahs at the mo-
mSnt when the immense seine and It's
burden would first come in sight may be
better imagined than described
BOUGHT THEIR SUPPLIES.
When railroad facilities were meagre
md imperfect u was common custom
'or the people of Piedmont and the Val
Icy Of Virginia TO come down here every
sprinc In large covered four-horse wagons
To- buy their annual supply Of the pro-
verbal Potomac herrings." Then II was
40 uncommon thing for a train OF these
mountain wagons 10 camp all night
near the fishing shore, and while the
iovlal Piedmont citizens waited for their
turn" 70 come, or for "haui' 20 be
made in order 20 FIJI their orders, the
proprietor of the big fishery would feast
ihem not only on the fat of the land
hut the best that the water contained.
and "old rye" in abundance. or course,
I'm many respects the habits and customs |
have changed. and the Potomac fishery
Of to-day IS not what II was twenty |
years ago, bat even now It's a mon |
strosity' TO people residing far away from
the Potomac. The outfits of to-day are /
not. as large as they were when Potomac !
behring's sold readily for so per thousand, |
and when II was not uncommon TO eaten !
rockrish Weighing from thirty TO nfiy /
pounds each. The largest seine on the |
Potomac several years ago was said 10
,o eight miles long and was drawn IN
90 the shore by means of steam engine
The largest in this section now can be
drawn ashore, when full Of FISH. by per-
haps thirty or forty men and a few
horses Tho past fall and present winter
fisheries have not been very profitable
The low prices Of fish prior TO Christmas
discouraged many OF the fishermen. and
The business was suspended until the time
arrived TO make preparations for the
spring fisheries
SUNDAY TRANSFORMATIONS.
Tho bin recently offered in the House
of Delegates in relation TO railroad and
steamboat traffic on Sunday attracted
great deal OF attention I'm this section
81 the STATE. For some years past the
Potomac steamboat wharves In this coun-
~ have been crowded with passengers,
shippers, and freight nearly every Sun
A. &. pf freight
BE- handled on Sundays here than on any
other day In the week. The public high
ways leading 20 the wharyeS are ire
Quently crowded with wagons, carts, etc,
"A greater part Of many a Sunday, some
carrying produce 10 and some hauling
freight, etc, from the steamboat wharves.
Not only light freight. but cattle sheep,
logs. and grain are handled and shipped
py the Potomac steamers nearly every
Sunday during the shipping season.
Grip Is epidemic In the county just
now. and a number Of our people are con-
lued TO their beds with It.
Mrs. c. n. Farmer Of Uptonburg. this
county. Is critically III with pneumonia.
Mr.. W. Y. Morgan, editor OF the North
ern-Nock News has been quite sick. II
Is hoped by tho whole peop.e of the
Neck that he will speedily recover.
There are many complaints throughout
the Northern Neck about irregularities
on oarelessness IN connection with the
United States Mail Service Newspapers
are frequently several DAYS behind time
ana letters are sometimes two or three
Says going three or four miles This I'M
9ardonahle trouble IS more prevalent in |
the lower counties OF the Neck but this
county Is not entirely exempt from IL.
Tor occasionally Sundays Dispatch does
not reach this place til Tuesday.
FAR1i-WORK. l
General teamwork Is well advanced FOR
thistseason OF the year. Farmers. fearing ,
repetition Of last February's inclement |
weather. are clearing and ploughing their
cortland as rapidly as possible. A larger ,
acreage OF land has been poughed UP 10
this time than was ploughcd up TO the
middle Of March last year. |
Notwithstanding the fine rains Of last
week and the continued open. mild J
weather, wheat oats. and grass are SIN q
very backward and unpromising
Mr. Henry, W. Edwards one Of the
most prominent and extensive agrlcultu- |
rists OF Stafford county, is under meli- :
cal treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hos
pital. Baltimore. This is the second time
that Mr.. Edwardss health has Necessi-
tated treatment at the Johns Hopkins.
Mrs. y. u. Whitehouse OF Green
Height" this county. is extremely IN. c
and Is being attended by Or. NJ. w. Minor, g
az this place. Her mother Mrs. J. +.
Hayes, Was summoned to her bedside $
several days ago.
y. 1. A.