Evening star., 1942-09-27

which crossed the creek some $50 feet
above the ford"
The vast amount Of fish caught In
the Potomac River during the early days
of the District of Columbia is almost
unbelievable, and yet there is proof that
at times the catch Of fish in this ma
jestic stream was really stupendous. The
industry extended beyond Georgetown
as well as up the Eastern Branch as far
as Bladensburg, where. in 1916, the
curing and packing of herring is said to
have then been the only remaining
branch of this industry left. The further
statement is made that at this date 'the
river at full tide has or feet of water,
on which boats ply backward and for
ward to Washington" The next time
you drive your car through Bladensburg
look this stream over and try to imagine.
if you will, seeing boats drawing or
feet of water sailing up as far as this
old settlement, even though it may have
happened 100 years ago.
The Metropolitan, Georgetown news
paper. in its issue OF April 25, 1886, has
this to say:
1--WE were not fully aware of the i'm
mense Importance of the Potomac fish,
cries and their value to Georgetown, in
particular, until this spring. Besides
the larger supplies shipped daily by the
canal, every night the long length of
Bridge street and High street, besides
many other places, is crowded with heavy
four and six horse wagons from the most
remote parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland
and Virginia, even to the confines of
Ohio. which exchange the produce they
bring down, for the delicious fish which
this noble stream affords in an exhaust
less abundance, and return with years
supply of these cheap and grateful deli
cacies to the far-off homestead of the
inland farmer. Activity and enterprise
source Of immense and permanent
wealth to the town.
Single Haul
Again, on May 2, 1885, the Metropoli-
tan has this news item:
Great Haul of Fish.-The fisheries on
the Potomac have been unusually pros
porous for several days past. Our mar
kets have been glutted with the finest
fish we have ever seen. One thousand
rock or bass fish, weighing from SO to 60
pounds each, were caught at single
haul on Friday evening last 1t is said
that several hundred escaped on the
seine's coming in shallow water We
understand they were caught at the
landing called Hollow Marsh, owned by
Mr.. w. King. 81 miles below George
town. Many of them were sold in our
markets at ST."
When was youngSter and we used
to twit the colored children of the
neighborhood, they would come back at
us with: "Herrin', herrin two for a
penny; amt you 'shamed to eat so
many?"
There was, indeed. less truth than
poetry in this saying, for the writer never
recalls when herring were quite so
cheap as this, though there was time
in the dim past when great quantities of
this delicious fish, as we'll as shad, could
be bought for mere song
In 1887, the Belvoir or White House
Fishery. which at one time belonged to
Ferdinando Fairfax, was one of the chief
fisheries on the Potomac, as was the
Sandy Bar fishing shore, Raingerfield's
fishing shore, Bryan's fishing shore Con
Bryans PoinD, also fisheries at White
House, Freestone, Oxon Run, Monkeys
Point, High Point. Stony Point, Fair
Landing, Longwood, Bridges Greek,
Fowkes Landing, Whites Shore (now
Colonial Beach,, Maryland Point, Wind
mill Point. Stump Neck. Stump Landing,