Evening star., 1903-10-03

Was.lngtonians VINO spent their vacations
at Vagina Beach this summer recall the
anmus1ng sights witnessed at the fiume
which. connects the bay with the ocean.
During low tide there is but little water In
.the underground passage, but when the tlde
lis high the salt water flows through and
5gives the fish fresh supply of water
"from the briny deep. Every day when the
.tde is ebbing the fishermen who have been
unsuccessful with their nets gather about
the outlet and await the time when the
water uncovers the wooden bottom 1t is
at such times that great many hsh are
left high and dry. Several barrels of them
are sometimes gathered by the hshermen
and sold to the occupants of cottages.
There are tines when these fish are IN de-
mand for the ocean is often too rough fof
fishermen to operate their nets.
During the severe storm on the ocean last
month the fishermen were III sad pilSht
and had it not been for the fish caught III
the rume many of the summer boarders
would have done without sea food. Men ana
boys gather in the flume, and with the use
of nets such as are used for landing crahs
succeed in getting rom a peck to two bush
els of fish. Spots. croakerS. founders and
jumping mullets are the principal hsh that
are caught in this way. 1t is an amusing
sight to see the colored boys ana men Wau-
ing about in the deep water dipping up the
fish and saving them for market purpos 5.
The jumping mulletS are i'll greater demand
than the other fish, as they hnd ready saie
at greater prices. The bay is literally hiied
with these fish as well as with white pefcil,
and the only reason that there are so many
fish there is that the bottom is so rough
that nets cannot be worked in 1t to ad-
vantage.
In the pay near where the water enters
at Ia to be seen lumt-
ing about IN the water. but they positively
refuse to touch any tempting bait that IS
dropped there on hooks Enterprlslng poyS
frequently wade in the water and nave fun
with the fish In addition to earning a few
pennies each time they make catch. One
day during the storm Il party OF small col
ored boys We're operating net. They had
q school of the jumpers cornered, ana JUST
as they were about to make a haul, as they
supposed the fish went over the net the
same as so many horses going over the hur-
dies. .
Il have often heard of jumping mullets," "
remarked , oystander, but never until l
witnessed the performance today did be-
lieve what l had heard
Just then the conversation was ended by
the shouts of one of the boys: Il caught
one"
$50 did T." said another.
'You better legso my feet or III bat You
one"
rs dat yo' foot - inquired the second one.
who had announced that he had made a
haul
Go or away from my foot said the boy
who was held Il prisoner, "or you Will hhu
out
The net was dropped. and the hours work
netted the boys one fish.
4 X
Summer surely has gone remarked d
man who makes use of his nose we'll as
of his eyes and ears. but with no intention
of prying into the business of other peo-
I,lIs .i,f,,.
is invariably a sure sign that fall has ar
rived, and such odor may now be readily
detected almost everywhere, even by those
whose sense of smell is by no means highly
developed.
Il attended one of our leading theaters
last Monday evening" continued the OBJ
serving citizen. and the odor of moth
balls and cdmphor was as prominent in its
way as the star on the stage. 1t was
evident that nearly all the evening suits
worn by the men occupying orchestra
chairs on that occasion had just been
brought forth from their summer storage
places and their treatment intended to out
wit most devastating insect"
* >; = x X
It IS believed by the officers of the bureau
OF navigation that the new mess jacket
Just adopted for the navy will prove popu
lar with the men. The jacket is similar
In design to the worn during the civil
war and it's use by the men-of-wars mer
will again justify their description as blue
Jackets which is somewhat of a misnomel
as applied to their present uniform Of shirt
and trousers of blue The new jacket is
loose fitting. double breasted. with a roll
ing collar. and is cut away more at the
bottom than the old war jacket 1t is in
tended TO be worn princi 2ally on shore
when the men are at liberty 1t presents {
neat appearance and will give the men a
more Gressed-up look than is possible will
the present style of shirt tucked in trous
\ x = i x
TIE dangers to the individual on the
streets of the average city said the man
WHO stayed IN town all summer. have
often been spoken of. but | don't think with
sufficient emphasis. Nowadays people don't
make ttcir wills settle UP their affairs
when they go to Europe or across the CON
tinent. Stll. the idea of such a procedure
was always that the prospective travele,
was about to incur the risk of new and un.
usual perils. 1t is question in my mine
whether he does not place his life ir
Jeopardy more frequently by staying al
home 1t may be that the risks the aver
age citizen at home runs each day are moi
in a sense unusual still they are real al
the same. OF course. with the general use
OF automobiles street travel receives ar
added peril. although under the operation
of salutary laws and the speedoneters o
tie bicycle policemen the apprehension.
from that source are not keen as in tb,
early days Of what might be termed the nm
restrained use Of the public thoroughfare:
by these machines.
The bicycles. which, according to :
quite prevailing notion. are no longer used