Evening star., 1901-02-18
ALONG THE RIVER FRONT
STEAM FREIGHTER BEING BUILT
FOR POTOMAC TRADE.
Good Supply of Oysters and Fish at
the Wharf Today - Gem
eral Notes.


side frames have been put up. The new
steamer will be eighty-five feet long. twen-
ty-two feet wide and will have depth OF
hold of five feet She will be supplied with
a tusboat engine and boiler, and Is ex-
pected to be faster than the Tull, Occo-
uuan and other vessels of her class now
doing business on the Potomac. She Will
ply between this city, Alexandria ana
points on Occoquan bay and Aqula creek
and will be ready for service in the spring.
For the first time in three months there
not oyster on sale In Fessei d.
the 11th street wharf Saturday last, put
yesterday a tow Of six vessels arrived up
from the lower river, with 5000 bushels OF
the bivalveS on board, and fresh 'suppHes
are looked for daily, as the ice is becoming
lighter in the river. The market was sood
this morning and prices were 6oc, toc. ana
81 per bushel for the different sizes OF
oysters.
The recent arrivals are the Sunny South
with COO bushels Kathleen with 600 oushels'
Avalon. 45O bushels; Eta, COO bushels; Kay
mond Oliver. 200 bushels and Waunita, too
bushels They all come from the Wicomico
and Blackistone's Island neighborhoods.
The supply of fresh fish received py the
dealers at the 11th street wharf since Sat
urday has been larger than usual, tftecn
packages being brought up on the Nor1ok
line steamers from the shores about Nlr-
ginia Beach and Norfolk, and twenty pack
ages of frozen fish coming by express from
the shores on the northern Atlantic coast.
The market was quite brisk this morning
but the dealers had no difficulty in filling
the demand.
Prices were: For black bass. II to 15c.
per pound; white perch, Zoe. per pound;
yellow perch, &C. per pound: jumping mul-
lets, &C. per pound: catfish. % to DOC. per
bunch shad, 40c. to 81 each; rock. II TO l1c
per pound: winter shad, $3.50 per hundred:
trout. Zoe. per pound; haddock. &c per
pound: blue pike, &c. per pound: frozen
trout 61a to &c. per pound, and smelts, 10
&c. per pound
The overhauIing of the steamer River
Queen is being pushed in order to have her
ready fer service on the Mt. Vernon route
during the inauguration week.
The new harbor dredge WILL it is under
stood begin operations as soon as the river
becomes open. The first work Will be done
at the junction of the Georgetown ard
Washington channels.
The work of rebuilding the Norfolk ana
Washington line steamer Washington has
been begun at Baltimore.
Gossip of Interest.
The managers of the Washington Steam
boat Company and of the Randall Potomac
River Line have withdrawn their steamers,
the Wakefield and Harry Randall, from the
route to the lower river for ten days. Both
boats viii resume their trips on the Poto-
mac about February 26 if the weather
permits This stoppage has been made
necessary from inc TACT lllSt tlIc tioeho
along the lower river are filed with heavy
ice and the steamers would not be able
To make half their landings. Advantage
is being taken of the lay-up of the steam
ers to do some work to their boilers ana
other machinery and TO give them an over
hauling
The Following ruling made by the United
| States steamboat inspectors at their meet
| ing in this city recently is of interest TO
the owners of small pleasure craft owned
here. The section relates to the engineers
of such small craft, and in: substance Is as
follows:
No person shall receive an original Ii
ccnse as engineer or assistant, except for
special license on small pleasure steamers
of ten tons and under and ferry boats PIE
drivers and other nondescript small vessels,
who has not served at least three years In
| the engineers department of q steam YES
sci, q portion of which experience must
have been obtained within three years pre-
| cedlng the application
large force of hands is buSily en-
ployed in repairing the banks, levels ana
locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio cana!
| from Georgetown to the Cumberland coal
regions. The canal will be reopened for
| traffic it Is understood, about the middle
| of March. and before the 1st of April coal
| laden boats should arrive here.
| The repairs to the United States light
| house tender Holly have been completed at
| Baltimore, and she will shortly start on a
| cruise on the bay to look after buoys that
have been displaced by the moving ice.
Steam has again been raised on the Mt.
! Vernon steamer Charles Manchester, and
| she will be ready for service again very
| shortly.
The steamer Estelle Randall is taking a
| large quantity Of slate, lumber, &c, to
| Fort Washington for use on the new build
! ings being erected there.
| The water in the river has again returned
to it's usual level, after having been cX-
tremely low for over week.
SchOOners and Tugs.
| The Wcems line steamer Potomac. which
| last week failed to make a trip to this city
! from Baltimore on account of the ice, made
a special trip, arriving here last night. After
discharging her freight she loaded. and at
once started back to Baltimore. She will
reach here on her regular schedule on We'd
nesday night.
| The Washington and Alexandria ferry
| steamer Columbia was off her route yester-
| day in order to have some necessary work
| done to her wheels. which were quite badly
! damaged in running through the ice last
| week. Some repairs We're also made to
the metal on her hull which was started
by the ice.
| The Norfolk and Washington line steam
ers making regular trips on schedule
| time, the ice interfering with them but
little.
The United States naval tug Tecumseh
| made trip to Indian Head Saturday, with
the naval gun barge in tow.
| The barge Ida l.. Maus, having completed
| the dscharging of her cargo OF coal. is
laid up at Stephenson's coal yard waiting
for q tug to take her to Philadelphia.
The naval tug Triton brought the work
men employed at Indian Head to this city
on Saturday evening.
The tugs w. NJ. Davis and Camilla ar
| rived in port yesterday. with tows of oys-
| ter-laden craft from the lower river.
Thirteen vessels are lying at the oyster
wharf awaiting an opportunity to go dowr
the river to load back to this port.
The schooner Hulda which sailed from
NewDern, N. c., for this port early in the
week with a cargo Of lumber, is consigned
to Johnson q Wimsatt.
The schooner John +. KrantZ has COM
pleted the discharging of her cargo of lum-
ber and will sail as soon as the ice will per-
init.
The Baltimore and Ohio railway tug
Brewerton with the barge, is making regu-
lar trips between Alexandria and Shepherd
landing.
The schooner Jennie c. May has arrived
at Rockport, Me-, and will, it is reported
load for Alexandria
The barges John I. Brady and George
b. Roberts have been chartered to loaC
railway ties in Piscataway creek, near For
Washington, for Philadelphia, at 10 cent.
| each.
The Silver Spray has completed the dis
charging of her cargo of oysters and will
L H., a..