Evening star., 1902-08-14

ON THE RIVER FRONT
BOATS PREPARING TO CRUISE ON
THE POTOMAC.
The Gwin Sails for Annapolis - Oil
Fuel Tests Satisfactory-other
Marine Matters.

Messrs. Boswell and Weber which has re-
Gently been fitted with a small steam engine
and boiler at Boswell & Co.'S shop has
been taken to the boat house of Mr.. Ed
ward Whyte to be housed over and pre-
pared for service in the river. The hull of
the launch was formerly one of the large
boats of the United States dispatch boat
Dolphin and Is built of white cedar
throughout
The large sailing sloop Seagull, the prop
erty Of Mr.. Jacob Deamer of this city. has
been hauled out at Mr.. Whytes and has
been given thorough overhauling and re-
painting preparatory to an extended cruise
on the river. The Seagull with MIR. Dea-
mer and party of his friends aboard will
leave here early next week for a cruise of
Two or three weeks on the lower Potomac.
The demand for fish today at the 11th
street wharf was fair, but the prices show
put little change from yesterday. Today
Spanish mackerel sold at IA to 15c. per
pound; sturgeon, 10 to 12c. per pound; pan
rock, D TO sc. per pound; medium rock. to
l2c. per pound; boiling rock 13 to 15c per
pound; founders, &c. per pound black bass,
IA to 15c. per pound; white perch, 10 to f2c.
per pound; small white perch. 10 to 12c.
per bunch; eels, to &c. each: gray trout,
So per barrel; spot, 81 80 to 81 per barrel;
buttertish. IS per barrel; hard crabs 81 to
81 per barrel; soft-shelled crabs, 30 to 4Oc.
per dozen, and clans, 40 to 5Oc. per hun
dred.
About $500 watermelons have arrived at
the oyster wharf, foot of 11th street, in
three vessels all from Virginia fields. The
stock on hand in all the boats at the wharf
Will amount to about 10000 melons, and
the sale for them is slower than it was
early in the week. Prices this morning are
about the same as yesterday, ranging from
81 to $40 per hundred. according to size and
quality of the fruit wanted.
The sailing sloop Harriet. with party
from this citv aboard is down the river
a trip to Colonial Beach and the other
summer resorts. Messrs. Bingham. Arnold
and others are also at Colonial Beach in the
sloop Skipjack from this city.
The Lucy, little pleasure craft belonging
to Mr.. Kirkpatrick of this city, is at Town
shend's boat exchange, and has recently
been given thorough overhauling and put
in order for service on the river.
Mr.. Townshend is building a mast for the
new sloop recently built for Mr.. Thomas
Faunce. The spar is forty-fiye feet long
and is of North Carolina pine. Mr.. Faunce
has not yet named his new boat. She will
be fitted out for use during the coming fall
and winter in hunting and fishing trips
about the Potomac.
The United States navy torpedo boat
twin, which has been here witnessing the
tests of oil as a fuel sailed yesterday even
ing for Annapolis. She was saluted by the
steamer whistles as she steamed down the
Potomac.
Oil Fuel Approved.
II is uIlueISloOu lie torpedo DOdt Rogers,
which is lying at the wharf of Forsberg &
Murray, foot of Sth street. is to be fitted
with oil-burning tubes, and her boilers will
be changed to suit the new fuel. This will
be done in order to test oil as a fuel under
actual service conditions. The tests of oil
at the experimental boiler were perfectly
satisfactory, it is stated, to the navy engi-
neerS. The operators were able to keep
high steam pressure on the boiler with the
1raf
The naval tug Triton yesterday took a
new naval gun, said to be a 6-inch, from
the United States naval ordnance foundry
here to the proving grounds at Indian
Head, Md. where it will be tested before
being sent to the ship for which it was
built.
The steamer Kent on her last trip up the
river, brought fourteen hogsheads of leaf
tobacco, picked up at various points, to
Alexandria. They will this afternoon be
reshipped on the Weems line to the tobac-
co warehouses in Baltimore.
The portion of the ferry wharf al Alex
andria used for the storage of coal is be-
ing torn down by a wharf-building machine
and will be replaced with new timbers and
in more substantial manner.
Mr.. Frank kerSey of Alexandria has been
made second engineer of the steamer Harry
Randall, vice George Sherwood. transferred
to the steamer Wakefield
DR.. L. Z. Rauterberg and friends. who
have been spending the past three weeks
cruising on the river in the yacht Alert.
returned home yesterday. While away the
party visited Leonardtown. Colonial Beach,
St Clements and Britans Bay and the ST
Mary's river. Nd, and Coan and Yeocomico
rivers and Nomini creek, Va
Mr.. r. F. Cheshire, formerly of this city
is here, second officer in the United States
lighter kearney.
The Peri, laden with a general cargo, has
sailed for points Aqua creek and will
load lumber for this port.
me tug j. S. Hoskins. having in tow
Standard Oil Company barge No II. laden
with Oil from Baltimore. arrived in port
yesterday for the oil company.
The schooner Fanrill is in port with a
cargo OF sand from Greenway for George
town.