Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-20
A modern fish stall along the Potomac.

Make me an offer. What? Ten-ten
cents! I'm offered ten! Who'll make
| it eleven-even-even? Who? Hey!
Look at those fish," bawls the auctionser,
picking up one. Ever see such fish this
year? offered eleven: Twelve! Twww-
| ee-e-e-lvee! Once more! Come on,
Jake. Take hand in here. Seen bet
ter perch this season? Twelve! Sold to
Mike for twelve"
All about the auctioneer are heavy
| coated men, some dressed in aprons,
some in pea-jackets. Slick-sklnned.
moon-eyed fish cayort on the floor and
in baskets. The cement floor is drenched
with ice water. Cold to walk on.
X
WITHOUT stands the shocking
shack where oysters are taken out
of calcareous shells and canned for the
market. The shucker stands on a little
pavilion, whose front covers him like
an apron. He jabs his knife into the
oysters suture line and with turn of
the wrist prizes open the valves. The
| jelly-like animal lies within, imhedded
on pearly couch. The shells are
thrown on the ground. while the oyster
goes into bucket with other oysters.
| The upper end of the Washington
channel offers anchorage for private
craft motor boats, skiffs, yachts and
cupboard runners. Few of these are
used during Winter months. When the
waters turn warm many pleasure parties
start here.
! In recent years the water front has
gone through many changes. The model
fish market was once the scene of mot
ley-colored wooden shacks which were
an eyesore to city fathers and the cause
! OF much agitation. Notwithstanding,
the wharves have been the scene of as
| little crime as any SPOT in the city One
old resident asserts that a stranger may
/; walk Water street or adjoining thor
oughfares any hour of the night and he
Will never suffer harm. 1t always was
peaceful.
Back in 1889 terrapin sold for SIP a
dozen. Today they fetch five times as
much. 1t wasn't unusual to see $50
! barrels of crabs on the docks at one
time. And they sold for 81 barrel
The wharves had its renowned men,
| great traders and fishermen. Old
timers remember Jerry Gibson, Frank
| Russell, Joe Trader. Bill Chaseltine
and Joe Birdsall Along the river front.
they rated as high with those who
watched the daily business in river
| and sea foods. They were men to con-
| Jure with. because their annual volume
amounted to about 100000 clans
To give an idea of the past trade
| OF WaShington's harhor, one has only
to bark back to old District records
There he finds that in the year 1886.
| thousands of vessels docked at WASH
/ ington channel and discharged every
conceivable kind of freight To wit:
ITO sailing schooners brought 29. 900 tons
| OF coal; $50 schooners brought 332, 900
bushels of oysters: 88 vessels unloaded
l88,40O watermelons: 748 vessels
brought $1,000 cords of wood from the
lower bay, and 1876 vessels brought
| 100000 feet of lumber. Railroads
and trucking over smooth roads has
spelled death to all this traffic in heavy
| freight. Passengers that now throng
our Union Station formerly came to
! the city by way Of the river. Besides.
| travellers from other cities, there were
, thousands. of Capabilities who made
merry on river excursion boats, The
, privately-owned automobile has cut
! out much of the excursion traffic.
| Early records tell that the water
| front between M street and Ninth
street overlooked the river from a