Evening star., 1901-11-11
1T WAS A JOLLY CREW.
The Experiences of Shippers, Lands
men and q Commodore.

There were shippers, and landsmen and
a commodore-more landsmen than shippers
and only one commodore. Afoat, these
artificial distinctions would have scored.
Ashore, they were as naught in the face
of that leyeling human frailty, hunger.
There were more oysters than shippers.
landsmeIf and commodore combined-many
times more-and there was Furthermore,
a hot fire to roast and to stew them, with
sundry appurtenances which went TO make
up the essentials of well-reguIated oyster
roast.
1t all occurred yesterday at Bnena Vista,
known to earlier generations as Giesbo-o
Point, or, more properly, Upper Giesboro'
There, where in the war times, cavalry
horses and mules by the thousands were
held in corral for the Union armies. and
where for unnumbered years all classes of
people have made merry in dance hall,
bowling alley, carousai and swings, The
Capital Yacht Club yesterday bade farewell
to the sailing season. Ordinarily the out
ing would have been at a greater distance
from the city, to insure better appetite
in case the wind chanced to blow from
the south, bringing odors to discourage
the shippers, landsmen and commodore.
But the club had decided to open two oyS-
ters with one knife-inspecting the prem
ises with a view to a possible lease for
next seasons establishing for the harbor-
ing of the fleet and securing a site for
the roast. For the early hours OF the day
the latter object was paramount In the
minds of all. Later in the day the other
purpose was pressed forward and chan
nels, anchorase, betterments, etc, Were
discussed until the landsmen skunk off the
leeward and resumed the argument over
the bivaiyes.
While no decision was reached in the
matter of the plans for next season, there
was no dissent from the verdict that the
roast was successful I'm all features The
master mariners of the schooner yacht Mist
had voyaged over the perilous way from
the Washington channel to Buena Vista
Saturday night and had done their work
Well. The oven was roaring and the oys-
ters sizzling when the main party arrived
on the launches lola. Aquamata, Teddie and
Dorothy and the sloop Priscilla. Skipper
Bright split wood with the ardor and skill
of a frontiersman. Assistant Skipper Fow-
Ter shoveled oysters upon the hot iron with
the adroitness of a stoker on an ocean
greyhound. Other shippers Of greater or
less degree In the economy of the day
helped here and there with coffee boilers
oyster stew caldrons and cracker deposits,
and at least half dozen of the shippers
dispensed appropriate liquids.
Meanwhile the commodore stood by and
beamed as becomes the leader of an eiti-
cient crew. He had passed the word to
arm for boarding. and In a trice the oyster
knives of varying shapes We're flashed
forth, palm shields of store make fnd home
make were produced. and the fray began.
L nc idIu iuDDeIS, dller d rev Trials With
the strenuously reticent oysters. generally
sought those whose grasp had been weak
ened by the heat But there were no acci-
dents. No one swallowed a shell by mis-
take, no one punctured a palm.
A few landsmen. unable to face the per
lis of the home voyage, struck off across
the country for the electric ear, thereby
sinking low in the estimation of the skim
pers and the commodore. To offset this
spectacle other landsmen venuurei on the
tossing main on the Priscilla on a VOYAGE
OF discovery to sound the channels leading
rrom the main waters to the more placid
surface of historic Tin Can harbor But
the Priscilla grazed bottom, the landsmen
FEARFUL OF the chance of remaining aboard
for many hours, begged the skipper to
sheer on from shore. and the s,oop soon
went spanking down toward Alexandria
and beating back later, to fiad the shores
deserted and no Charon at nand to land
the party. One of the minor shippers re-
sponded to the urgent demand for help
and ferried the cold ones to land and oys-
ters.
The shippers landsmen and commodore
returned to the city before dark. The an
nual oyster roast of the Capital Yacht Club
had been a decided success.