Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-25
ON THE RIVER FRONT
MANY IMPROVEMENTS IN HAIR
Dor AT ALEXANDRIA.
Preparing for Dredging Work
Launch LOWE Randall Raised
General and Personal Notes.

The new pier building at the foot of
! Queen street, in Alexandra, for the Alex
| andria Chemical and -Fertilizing Company.
| is now rapidly approaching completion and
| will be ready for service In about a week
or ten days. The pier is fine one, and is
in keeping with the many improvements
made in the past few months about the har-
Dor of Alexandria. 1t is twO-story struct-
ure, and on the upper platform a tramway
is being constructed. The phosphate rock
and other fertilizer material will be taken
from the hold, of the vessels lying at the
wharf. raised by steam power to the upper
platform in buckets dumped into the tram
cars and transported to che fertilizer stor-
age houses a block or more away. With
the modern appliances to be installed at
the new per it Will be possible to unload
vessels in less than half the time it now
takes to do Among the improvements
in contemplation at the Alexandra waite;
front is the replacing of the old tumble,
down pier at the foot of King street, adj
joining the new pier of the ferry line. with
a new and modern structure to he used
in steamboat service. The property has
recently changed hands, the family owning
| it having sold it, after it had been owned
by them for over a century.
There was excellent demand for all
varieties of fresh fish on sale at the whole
sale fish market on the wharf this morning.
The supply on hand was quite large. ample
to meet the demand. Trout. bass, tailors
| and other varieties of salt water fish were
on SALE and rver-caught fish were also in
stock.
Several vessels with oysters aboard have
arrived at the 18th street wharf market In
the past twenty-four hours, and the shell
fish are in good demand at Soc. to 81 per
bushel.
CLANS and crabs are also On sale, but the
demand for them Is light.
The surveyors attached to the Office of the
engineer officer in charge of the Potomac
have been running lines and making prepa-
rations for the dredging Of the channels in
this vicinity. the bids for which will be
opened in the office of Lieut.. Col. r. l..
Hoxie in a few days. All along the river
between this city and Alexand Ia the sur
veyors have Their range flags. red and white
material. a high staff, flying. to mark
the different lines by which the dredging
work will be done. Several bars which
have formed between this city and Alex
andria will he removed, and work will also
be done II the harbor.
The repairs to the hull of the steam yacht
Diane. belonging TO General Crozie-, have
been completed and the boat will return to
her winter quarters at the street wharf
as as she is put overheard While on
the railway a small leak in the hui OF the
craft was caulked and made tight and other
minor repairs made. The Diane will not
go into commission again until some time
during the coming spring.
The steam launch LOWE Randall. which
has been lying sunk in II e (ock at the Ran
dali line pier a the foot of 9Th str ct south
west for year past has been raised and
pumped out, and transferred to the other
side of the pier in order to give the United
States army quartermaster's department
tugs the berth in which she was lying. 1t
is stated that the engine will be taken from
the LOWE Randall and that her hull may
be rebuilt and equipped with a gasoline
power engine
General River Matters.
1t is understood that the tug Gibbon. the
tender to the artillery stations at Fort
Washington and Fort Hunt will next week
be moved to the pier at the-foot Of K street,
which as has been stated, has been leased
by the army authorities for the use of the
tugs Gibbon and Lieut.. Alonzo Cushing
The dock has been dredged and ware
house is to be erected on the pier to pro-
tect the stores being shipped to and from
the forts from the Indictment weather. The
tugs have been using the naval battalion
wharf for the past two or more years, but
as there was 10 warehouse on the wharf
to protect stores in bad weather the change
will be made.
The masters of the steamers coming into
port from the lower river report hundreds
Of dredge boats at work On the oyster beds
from Lower Cedar Point to the mouth OF the
river. Anchored in Cu-riomen bay and in
the vicinity of Co1tons wharf, where the
dredge boats come for harbor, they are so
thick that 1t Is with difficulty the steamers
make their way through them to their land
ings. Reports coming from tie lower river
oyster beds state that the catch o. the BIZ
valves has far this season been quite
light, although the outlook was for good
season. Old oyster men attribute this scar
city to the indiscriminate robbing o. the
oyster beds.
The schooner Edna A Pogue. which ar
rived here a day or two ago. has been
brought around from Baltimore to COM
piete the unloading of her cargo of pine
lumber.
The schooner ]. D. Bell has arrived in
port with cargo of about thirty cords of
pine wood aboard consigned to the local
dealers.
The schooner Leroy, laden with railway
ties from the lower Potomac has arrived
In port and will unload her cargo on the
James Creek canal.
The schooner William Donnelly Is lying
at the wharf foot of 14th street southwest
discharging cargo Of pine lumber from
q Virginia port.
The barge Mary A. Hooper, laden with q
cargo of about 700 tons OF hard coal from
Philadelphia, has arrived at Georgetown
and Is unloading her cargo. The Hooper is
a new vessel and Is making her maiden
trip. Capt Winstead Is in command of
the barge.
The schooner Henry F. Kreeger, which
unloaded cargo OF ice here, will take q
cargo of soft coal from Baltimore to Bos-
ton and will receive So cents per ton freight
The Amanda Lewis and George B. Faunce
are among the recent arrivals In port with
cargoes of Potomac river oysters aboard
for the local market.
Capt Frank kintz master of the tug d.
NJ. Key. has recovered from his recent in
disposition and has returned to duty aboard
the tug.
Mr.. John B. Padgett. purser of the steam
er Estelle Randall the GIymont mail
route. has accepted position with the new
ferry company between this city and Alex
andria and Will enter upon the discharge
of his new duties Saturday.
Capt Frank Luckett, pilot of the steam
er Wakefield, Is detained at home In con-
sequence of the serious Illness OF his
mother at her home in this city.
Capt. Chap Slye, pilot of the steamer
Harry Randall. is again on duty after q
trip or two spent ashore with his family
at Rock Point, Md.