Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-16
ON THE RIVER FRONT
MUCH TROUBLE CAUSED BY
DRIFTING ICE CAKES.
Fish and Oyster Market-Improve-
ments at the Norfolk Line Wharf
Other Matters.

Except for loose ice drifting in the chan
mel between this city and Alexandria there
was nothing yesterday morning to impede
the moving steam vessel, but at high water
the westerly wind caused solid sheet or
ice to break away from the Georgetown
channel at the Long bridge and along the
Virginia shore to point below -Four Mile
run, and this swung directly across the
channel, forcing the loose ice to jams on
the eastern shore. The cake was fully
four miles long and about mile and half
wide, and varied in thickness from two to
five inches of hard clear ice. 1t gave the
steamboats, considerable trouble, but the
ferry steamer Columbia made two or three
trips through it and broke it up. Then the
pieces hoated off with the tide Last night
the channel was comparatively open, and
but little trouble from the ice is looked for
by river men until the next freeze comes.
Should 1t come soon, with the river as it Is
now, full of floating ice, it would probably
put an end to navigation except for pro-
peler boats.
Not person was to be seen on the tidal
basin skating yesterday. The ice is be-
coming soft from the effects of the warm
weather yesterday and last night.
In the ice which came out of Four Mile
run was large tree, which constantly re-
vowed In the ice as 1t drifted, and from a
distance looked like a big snake playing in
the water. The roots finally caught in
the debris on the flats and it broke out of
the ice and was left lying in the shoal
water about half way between Buena Vista
and Mann's fertilizer factory.
flsh were in very good demand at the
nth street wharf fish houses this morning,
put the supply was very small, some few
fish coming from Norfolk and some from
further south. Prices this morning were
llrm and were as follows: For pan rock 10
TO II cents per pound; medium rock. Is to
IL cents per pound; boiling rock, 20 to %
cents cents per pound; Spanish mackerel, 10 to
1Z1a cents per pound; salmon trout, to ~
cents per pound; gray trout, 6 to cents
per pound; sheepshead, 6 to cents per
pound; founders, to cents per pound;
Potomac black bass, 13 to 10 cents per
pound; North Carolina black bass 10 to
Il cents per pound; bluefish and tailors 10
TO u cents per pound; green pike to .
cents per pound; white perch II to 10
cents per pound white perch small, 20 to
90 cents per bunch; catfish large 20 to
80 cents per bunch; catfish small, 10 to Is
cents per bunch; yellow perch, 20 to 40
cents per bunch; carp, Is to 40 cents each;
eeis cents each; Florida roe shad SO
cents to 81 each; buck shad, 80 to 60 cents
each, and herring, 8 cents each
Ihe arrival at the 18th street wharf of a
large schooner with about 1900 bushels of
oysters aboard, combined with the return
OF warmer weather, has forced down the
stock could be bought as low as GO cents
per bushel, while the finer grades sold
from 81 to $1.25 per bushel. The demand
continues fair
Ducks continue scarce and prices ranoe
from ~ cents to S. per pair
Matters of General Interest,
Reports from the upper part of Chesa-
peake pay stated that 1t is checked up with
ice, and that navigation through the Della
ware and Chesapeake canal is closed This
means that no more coal will come to this
~ In hpr
way. Mr.. John Callahan manager of the
Norfolk and Washington line has gone to
Norfolk on business.
The new addition to the freight ware
mouse of the Norfolk and Washington line
at the foot of It'll street Is completed The
addition consists of three rooms. One is
TO be used as general store room another
as a linen room. and the third as a store
room for the large quantity of stationery
used by the company.
The failure of a barge laden with oil to
arrive here from Baltimore has caused
scarcity of the illuminating fluid and yes
terday evening six or eight of the large
tank wagons from this city went TO AIeY
andria and were loaded at the Standard Oil
Company depot there
Mr. K. A. Bullock has completed his new
dwelling at Passapatanzy, on. the Potomac
river in King George county, Va
The steamer e. James Tull Is lying at the
wharf of VIM. A. Smoot & Co at Alexan-
dria, and as soon as the weather will per-
NIT will go to Nomini creek to load lumber
for this city.
The tug NJ Mitchell Davis left port YES
terday morning with a tow of five oyster
boats, bound to the lower river. With the
Davis sailed the tug Peerless, with light
OIL barge in tow. AS neither of the tugs
had on an Ice plow the tug Camilla went
ahead to break channel to clear water
The tug Winshp brought one barge laden
with gas coal from Shepherds landing Of
the Baltimore and Ohio railway to this city
yesterday.
The two-masted schooner James B. An
derson has completed the unloading OF her
cargo of lumber and is lying at the burnt
mill wharf awaiting an opportunity to go
down the river.