Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-02
NEWS GATHERED
ON THE RIVER FRONT

The first of March is the end of the win
ter with the steamboat men on the Poto-
mac river, not that they do not look for
cold and disagreeable weather in the month
but freezing weather means winter, and
in the light of previous experience all dan
ger of a hard freeze Is over until next
winter. Proceeding on that theory, the tug
Camilla, which arrived here yesterday
morning with tow Of oyster-laden YES
sells, had her ice-breaking pillow removed
and stored until needed again, and within
the next week or ten days, as opportuni-
ties present themselves. the plows on the
bows of the other vessels in the harbor
will be taken of and the boats will be put
In shape for open water workTN lille the
Ice that has covered the river has not been
| thick, 1t has been very tough, and the
plows have been needed by the tugs in
| service to aid them in getting through the
compact masses of frozen snow.
Preparations are being made in earnest
| for the opening of the shad and herring
| fishing season on the lower river, and the
various packing houses are getting in sup
plies of salt, empty barrels and the like In
| readiness to salt the fish for the winter
| market. The bugeye George B. Faunce de-
parted yesterday with a cargo of salt for
a packing house at Little River, the Bessie
for Wilkerson's wharf and the Rena Cox
took load of empty barrels to Wilker-
sons. For the next two or three weeks
vessels loaded with empty barrels, bulk
salt and other materials for fish packing
will be leaving almost daily for the fishing
shores and packing houses at down-river
| points.
The schooner Escort, which unloadea a
cargo Of oysters here, took aboard load
of oyster shells and sailed with them yes
! ferday for Mobjack bay, near Old Point,
where they will be used on depleted oyster
| beds. In three or four years from now
| these Shells it is stated, will be found
thickly covered with large oysters, and
"Mobjack bays" always command a high
price in the oyster market. At the oyster
wharf Is pile of shells fifteen feet high
and many feet wide and long, which will be
| shipped to the oyster beds in Virginia and
Maryland waters where a covering for the
bottom Of the river is wanted in order to
make holding ground for the oyster spat.
The GOldie c. and sloop Enola laden with
oysters in the she'll. were brought into
port early yesterday morning by the tug
Camilla, and later in the day the Volun-
teer, which had sailed up the river from
the Potomac oyster beds, was picked up
above Alexandria by the tug Minerva and
was brought to the oyster wharf. Now that
all the Ice is out of the river. oyster-laden
boats will be sailing into port here almost
daily from the Potomac oyster BEDS
The schooner Lydia Vernon sailed yester-
| day for the lower river to load cargo Of
Oysteis Uach " tuls port, the schooner 4.
p. Finley sailed light for Virginia port
| to load lumber; schooner c. H. Dagger has
sailed from Nomini for this city with a
cargo of lumber: schooner Sidonia Curlex
has sailed from Alexandria with a cargo
| of bottles for Norfolk; schooner Isabelle
! is reported loading cord wood in Nomini
| creek for dealers here.
The tug Walter F. Meade yesterday de-
| livered several lighters loaded with broken
stone from the quarries above Georgetown
| to the new bridge in process of construction
across the Eastern branch. where 1t will
| be used in making the concrete of which
the bridge is to be built.