Evening star., 1902-01-13
THE RIVER FRONT
HARBoR POLICE BOATS SUCCESS AS
ICE BREAKER.
The Fish and Oyster Market-Improve.
ments at Various Points-Gen-
eral Matters.

The harbor police boat Vigilant had her
first experience as an ice breaker Saturday,
and for so small boat was a great sue
cess. The men working on the United
States army pile driver and snag puller
wished to get a barge alongside the craft.
and as the harbor was full Of ice they
called on Harbor Master Sutton to break
track to the pile driver. The Vigilant
was sent to do the work and easily broke
two inches of hard ice. When she returned
to the harbor office wharf it was found she
had torn some of the light metal sheathing
from about her bow, and Commodore SUIT
ton has had the Vigilant fitted with an iron
shoe over her stern to protect the metal.
The supply of fish of all kinds is still ex-
tremely limited at the 11th street oyster
wharf this morning there being but few
barrels brought up by the river boats and
receipts by rail being small. The demand
continues to be good and prices are the
same as Saturday.
The supply of oysters in the shell at the
11th street wharf was considerably aug
mented yesterday by the arrival of several
laden vessels from the beds in the lower
river. Prices this morning were somewhat
lower than last week, the small oysters
selling at 80 cents per bushel and the large
ones bringing as high as 81 per bushel.
The arrivals are the Ethel, S. L. Brown,
Ada Ballinger, George B. Faunce, Lottie
1nOmaS, William turner, ITdHdu, beuldH
and Pearl and Amanda Lewis.
General Port News.
The large four-masted schooner George
McFadden, with cargo of fertilizing ma
terial for the Alexandria Chemical and
Fertilizer Company. has arrived at the
wharf of William A. Smoot & Co., at Alex
andria. The tug William H. Yerkes, jr,
brought her into port.
The schooner isabelle. having unload
her cargo Of cord wood for Robert Murphy,
has sailed for river point to load.
The three-masted schooner William Mar
shall, laden with full cargo of railway
ties, sailed Saturday evening from Alexan-
dria for Boston. The tug Carter towed her
to the mouth Of the Potomac.
The tug Camilla has arrived here with
tow of oyster-laden craft from the lower
Potomac.
The schooner A. H. Quinby has arrived in
port with a full cargo of cord wood for the
local dealers.
The barge Sandow came into port Satur-
day evening with tow of two barges,
laden with hard coal, from Philadelphia.
She will take tow Of light barges to
Baltimore.
The pungy Cora McKenney has arrived
at Alexandria with load of oysters. This
is the first cargo of oysters that has ar
rived there for several days.
The James H. Beach has gone to the
lower river and will load a cargo for this
port.
Mr.. Llewellyn Ballinger of the harbor
police force and Mr.. Thornton Smoot, pur-
ser of the Randall line steamer Kent, who
are at Fort Staunton New Mexico, for the
benefit of their health write that they are
rapidly recovering, and expect to be able to
return home very shortly.
Mr.. G. A. Minor, who has been in charge
of the improvements at Fort Washington,
Nd, and Fort Hunt, Va, for the past four
years, has severed his connection with the
United States engineer SERVICE and will
take charge of some extensive engineering
works in New York During his stay at
the Potomac river forts Mr.. Minor has
made many friends.
Undergoing Repairs.
The pungy Shining Light, belonging to
Mr.. Theo. Ballinger of Alexandria, is at
one of the down river boat yards to have
the damage done her by the ice repaired.
The Shining Light was cut through by the
ice about ten days ago. while loading oys-
ters in lower Machodoc.
Six barges are in port, light awaiting the
arrival of tug boat to take them to Bal
tinore, where they will load coal for the
ports on Chesapeake bay and the Potomac,
Rappahannock and James rivers.
The new quarters at Fort Washington
are rapidly approaching completion, and a
river freight steamer has been chartered
to take a load of dry plaster to the Fort to
use on the walls of the new buildings.
The contract for the building of new
steel boiler for the light house steamer
Jessamine has been awarded to a Balti-
more firm.