Evening star., 1904-03-18
ON THE RIVER FRONT
NEW BUILDING TAKES PLACE OF
BURNED sTEUCTURE.
Vessels Preparing for Fishing Season
Capt. Tolley Buys Schooner
Other Matters.

The work OF erecting the new blacksmith
shop for the American Ice Company on the
wharf at the foot of 9th street Is progress
Ing rapidly and within tthe- next ten days
the building will be under cover The new
building Is being erected on the site of a
burned stable and feed house. and Is the
first building to be constructed by private
interests along the river since the District
took possession Of the wharf front prop
erty. When the managers Of the ice COM
pany asked for, the building lines for the
new building the engineers Office ran them
fully twenty feet back of the present build
ing line, and to this the ice company OBJ
1ected, as they had rented the property on
Its old lines. Recently. however, the mat
tsf was adjusted and the work on the build
ing started.
There was a large supply Of nearly all
varieties OF fresh fish on sale at the 11th
street wharf market this morning, and
from the early hours Of the morning until
nearly 10 o'clock the wharf was a busy
place and the bidding at the fish auctions
was spirited. Prices show a decline in the
past two or three days, owing to the good
receipts of fish from the nets in the river,
and are as follows.
For pan rock. 10c. per pound: medium
rock, l2c to 15c. per pound; boiling rock
lSc to 20c. per pound; sheepshead, &c. to
SC. per pound; white perch, large, &c. to
10c per pound; white perch, small, 15c. to
3Oc per bunch; black bass, &c. to &C. per
pound; jumping mullets DC. per pound;
carp, &c. per pound; river mullets, 15c. to
2Oc per bunch; black catfish, zoe. to 25c
per bunch; white catfish, 25c. to 4Oc per
bunch; sand perch, Csc. to 30c. per bunch;
North Carolina roe shad, 6Oc. to 7Oc each;
bucks. 25c to 3Oc each; North Carolina
herring, $1.75 per hundred; winter shad, 81
per hundred; small yellow perch, lOc. to
15c per bunch, and large yellow perch, 25c.
to 35c per bunch.
The supply of oysters aboard the vessels
at the 18th street wharf market this morn
ing, while not large, was ample to meet
the demand, which has been dull for sew
eral days Prices are about the same as
those of yesterday, ranging from 4oc TO
75c. per bushel, according to the quality of
the oysters wanted.
The large power launch Jane, owned by
parties in this city, which has been hauled
out at Deans boat yard. near Alexandria,
during the winter, is being given general
overhaulng and will be put overheard In
short time. She will be used for pleasure
cruising on the Potomac
The heavy northwest winds Of the past
thirty-siX hours have caused unusually low
tides in the river and the flats between this
city and Alexandria were bare Wednesday.
Owing to the low water the steamer Kent,
on the marine railway at Alexandria, could
not be launched until yesterday evening.
The old disused building which formerly
stood on piles near the arsenal at the foot
Of 7th street and which was used as a boat
mouse for many years has almost entlrely
disappeared owing to the raids being made
on it by the small boys Of the neighbor-
hood to furnish fuel for their fires built on
the river bank at nearby points. All that
remains Of the structure are few beams
and piles of the wharf and some planking
at the other end of the wharf. which can
only be reached by boat.
The schooner Winfield s. Schuster, which
has arrived here with a cargo of about 100
tons Of Ice for the Home Ice Company, is
one of the largest four-masted schooners
that has ever come here with Ice aboard.
Her deep draft and the low tides would
not allow her to come up to the wharf and
a part Of her cargo Is being removed and
when lightened the vessel will be docked.
The reports coming from the Potomac be-
low this city state that catfish are unusual
ly numerouS this spring and large catches
of them are being made. At Windmill Point
a few days ago several hundred of the fish
were caught at one haul of a small net and
they were shipped to this market. .:
The fish are mainly OF moderate size,
though few big onesghavebeen caught.
Capt. A g. Talley has purchased the
small three-masted schooner John A. Cur
It's from Capt. W. ]. Martino and will take
command of the vessel. The Curtis was
built at Laurel. DEL in 1874 and registers
155 tons She will be kept In the bay trade.
julius w. Truitt, having completed his
probationary term in the light service. has
been made an assistant keeper and assigned
to duty at James Island light station in
Chesapeake bay.
Captain Wright, chief inspector of hulls
for this district, was in the city Wednes-
day on business