Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-23
GENERAL NEWS GATHERED
ON THE RIVER FRONT

Although ice almost a half. inch thick
formed on the Potomac last night, the river
men do not anticipate another severe freeze
this year, and the large fleet of vessels that
has been laid UP here since early in the win
ter is now being overhauled in preparation for
returning to service again. Reports from
the lower river are that the ice has entirely
disappeared from the creeks and bays along
the Potomac, and there is nothing to pre-
vent the sailing craft from going into them
for cargoes of wood and lumber for the
dealers here, and within the next week, with
few exceptions, the entire fleet that win
tered here will have sailed and business on
the Potomac will have resumed it's normal
condition. A small undertaken vessel
from the mouth of the river sailed into port
yesterday afternoon and dropped anchor in
the harbor, and is the first vessel to come
into port unassisted by tugboat for several
weeks. .-. -.'...t
The Standard Oil Company tug Radiant
towing three tank barges, Nos. 50, g. and
~ arrived in port today from Baltimore
laden with oil in bulk for dealers here and
at Alexandria. This is the first visit the
oil barges have made to this city for the
last three weeks, the ice keeping them
away. The Philadelphia tug Peerless ar
rived in port yesterday afternoon towing
the coal-laden barge James Hally, from
Baltimore for Georgetown. The bugeye A.
J. Lawson arrived yesterday laden with
dealers.
The schooner sidonia Curley, which I'M
loaded lumber here. has been taken to
Alexandria to load a cargo of empty bot
ties from one of the glass works at Alex
andria for Norfolk Ate" unloading at
Norfolk the schooner will go to the Rap
pahannock to load cargo OF lumber for
this city The schooner Nettie has also
been taken to Alexandria to unload the re-
mainder of her cargo OF lumber from the
Rappahannock.
The paving of the yard of the Norfolk
and Washington Steamboat Company's pier.
foot of It'll street, which has been delayed
by the freezing weather. will be started
Monday morning next, when Contractor
MacNamara will put a large force of men
at work. Asphalt paving blocks will be
used at the pier and it will be the only
pier on the river front paved with such ma
tcrial.
The heavy northwest winds of the past
two or three days have caused low water
in the river. the tides yesterday being sew
eral feet below the average. In many of
the more shoal docks there were only a Few
inches of water, and small boats lying in
them were aground The tide yesterday
evening instead of raising two feet or more
as usual, came up less than one Today
the tides have resumed their normal con-
ditioD
The little tug Eugenia belonging to the
Smoot Sand Company Of this city, departed
Yesterday afternoon for Piscataway creek
with a tow of light sand-carrying barges.
which will bring back the sand and gravel
that the dredge. has taken from the bottom
of the creek AS yet only the Smoot digger
is at work on the river but it is expected
that the National Columbia Sand Dredg-
ing Company diggers will be ready to start
dredging within the next week or ten days.
The big Philadelphia barge Chesapeake,
which unloaded a cargo Of coal at George
town. has been taken to Alexandria to load
a cargo of gravel from Norfolk