Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-24
ON THE RIVER FRONT
POTOMAC COOPERATING FLEET
REPAIRING DAMAGES.
Shortage Of Supplies at Down-River
Stores - Army Tug Gibbon
Resumes Trips.

The tug James o. Carter Is at Benefits
railway yard having the metal on her Ice
breaking pillow renewed, in preparation for
the ultimate resumption of the work Of
breaking up the ice in the river. The tugs
j. T. Selectman and Camilla are also hav-
Ing their plows recovered with iron, hav-
ing damaged them in the Ice. The crew of
the steamer Estelle Randall were employ
ed the greater part of yesterday IN repair
ing the damage done the metal sheathing
on the hull of the steamer in running
through the ice Wednesday. The tugs w.
II. Mohler, Minerva, Rosalie, Juno, Edith
Winship and Bartholdi are lying berthed at
the harbor office pier and the docks adjoin-
ing In readiness to resume the ice-breaking
work as soon as Commodore Sutton is
ready to start at 1t.
The supply of fresh fish on sale at the
wholesale fish market on the 18th street
wharf this morning was not very large,
while the demand was excellent. ROCK,
blues and other varieties of fresh fish We're
on sale, but the bulk of the stock Is still
coming from southern waters. Prices re-
main steady and range about as follows:
For mullets, and 4e. per pound: Sleeps
head, and 4c. per pound; Spanish mack
erel, lie. per pound; blue fish, IL to loc
per pound king mackerel, 61a and &c. per
pound; Florida shad, 65 to 75c. EACH
Florida buck shad, 30 to 35c. each: Florida
herring, SlJO TO ~ per nunQTbu, DidCk
bass, 10 to 15c. per pound; mud shad to
4c each; frozen blue fish, &C. per pound;
frozen gray trout to &c. per pound; white
perch, 10 to 1212c. per pound; pan rock
12kc. per pound; medium rock, IS to DOC
per pound, and boiling rock, 20 to 2Sc. per
pound
The only oysters on sale at the wharf
came from the beds about Norfolk and the
demand for them Is quite light. Prices
keep at the figures quoted yesterday.
The receipts of wild ducks and geese
from the gunners on the Carolina sounds
were light this morning and they sold at
high prices.
The schooner Jennie Thomas, which was
reported overdue on a trip from Savannah
to New York with cargo of lumber, and
for whose safety considerable fear was
felt, has been located at Fishermens Inlet,
Va. The schooner put in there with case
of smallpox aboard and was Guaranteed
When the quarantine period expired she
was frozen fast, and is still lying in the
harbor icebound.
A letter received here from resident of
Westmoreland county near Colonial Beach
says that the stores of the country along
the river are out of tea, coffee and sugar,
that supplies of canned goods and flour
are running low, and everybody is praying
that the river will open so that the steam
boats can run, before starvation time sets
in. The writer concludes by saying that
the coal oil and candles have long since
given out, and the country people now
have to go to bed at shutdown for want of
something better to do.
General and Personal.
The United States army tug Gibbon, ten
der to the army post at Fort Washington.
made a trip from the fort to this city
yesterday, the first for about two weeks.
If the ice becomes no harder than it is
now she will continue on the route be-
tween Fort Washington and this city.
While many of the steamers in the har-
Dor displayed flags in honor of Washing
tons birthday Wednesday, only the mont
tor Puritan, the Naval Battalion D. e. N.
G. ship, was decorated. Bunting covered
her from stem to stern, and a long string
of signal flags ran from her bow over the
tops of her masts and down to deck again
aft. The decorations were very effective
and attracted much attention from the few
persons who visited the waterfront during
the day to look at the ice and watch the
tugs at work
Captain James Mamaduke, who has been
aboard the tug William H. Yerkes on Ches-
apeake bay for several weeks past, is
spending a few days at his home in Alex
andria. Captain Ollie Crowder has resumed
the command of the tug Yerkes, and Cap
tain Bob Brown has taken charge of the
tug Carter. Captain Frank V. Kintz will
take charge of the tug d. NJ. Key as soon
as she is launched from the railway.
The work of overhauling the tug Eu-
genia and large sand and gravel digging
machine belonging to Mr.. Louis E. Smoot,
dl Tic <al0Adiiuiit Silipy dDoul CUl1-
pleted, 1t is stated, but the vessels can
not be launched until the railway thaws
out. AS soon as the machine is launched
ii will be taken to Greenway flats and
will begin the taking of sand and gravel
from the river bottom for in this city.
The United States naval tug Choctaw yes
terday afternoon left with barge laden
with coal from this city to go to the naval
proving grounds at Indian Head through the
heavy ice.
AS soon as the weather will admit of the
resumption of outdoor labor the work of
placing a gasoline engine in the little