Evening star., 1903-12-30
ON THE RIVER FRONT
VESSELS WANTED BY THE LOCAL
WOOD DEALERS.
Changes in Randall Line Pursers-Ice
Gorging About Buena Vista
General News.

The lumber and wood dealers are endeav-
oring to charter vessels to load at points on
the Potomac and elsewhere In Virginia for
this city. 1t is stated that 500 per cord
was the freight paid by dealer here for q
barge load few days ago. Fear of being
frozen up here makes vessel masters fear
full OF bringing cargo here at this season
of the year. Rates on lumber cargoes have
also. it is stated. taken, an advance.
The wholesale fish market on the 1lth
street wharf was very dull place this
morning, there being but few buyers on
hand and the stock of fish being small.
Few fish are now coming from the neigh
borhood of Norfolk, and the bulk of the re-
cetpts was frozen stock from the south.
The stock of oysters In the shell at the
wharf market was increased last night by
the arrival of two vessels with small car
goes aboard. The demand this morning
was quite light, but prices keep up, from
20 to 50 cents per bushei being asked for
the medium grades and 81 to $1.23 per
bushel for larger stock
There are some few wild ducks and geese
on sale at the wharf, but they are all poor
stock and sell but slowly.
The drifting ice Is tearing away the
greater portion of the long line OF piles
driven in the river at the forks of the chan
mel for carrying the pipe line from a
dredge. Already twenty or more piles are
down.
The withdrawal of the steamer from the
route to Wirt's wharf at the end of this
week will make number of changes In the
pursers in the Randall line boats. Mr..
George Guest of the steamer Wakefield will
take charge of the steamer to the lower
river; Mr. George Stafford of the steamer
Harry Randall will be transferred to the
steamer Estelle Randall, on the Glymont
route, and Mr. NJ. F. Grimes. now acting
as purser on the Estelle Randall, will
turn to his desk in the main office of the
company.
Along the wharves.
The upper works are being removed from
the old steamer Phlox. at Alexandria, and
it is understood that during the winter she
will be transferred into a barge. to carry
coal and lumber on the Chesapeake.
Ice. from two to three inches thick. in
large cakes. covers the surface of the river
about this city and for forty miles down
the stream, and except for steamboats, navi-
CATION Is at a standstill. The ice coming
down from Georgetown meeting the ice out
of the harbor and the Eastern branch
gorges continuously between the fats and
Buena Vista wharf and the ferry steamer
has to break her way through it on nearly
every trip.
There is a revival of the report that
small steamboat is to be placed on the Pis-
Getaway creek route in the early spring. 1t
is stated that stock company is being
formed in the neighborhood of Pennington,
Md, for the purpose.
The three -masted schooner Mary Sanford
was brought into port yesterday afternoon
by the tug VIM. H. Yerkes jr.. with a cargo
of lumber from Savannah. The schooner
had rather quick voyage up the coast.
The tug Yerkes is in her home port here
for the first time in several weeks
1t Is stated that the work on the new bat
teries building at Fort Washington and on
the other public works at the post will be
discontinued about the first Of the year
until the return of warm weather.
The schooner e. R. s. Dougherty came
into port yesterday in tow of tug with a
cargo Of oysters. She is the first OYSTER
laden vessel to arrive for several days.