Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1850-10-02

Gus cks of sparows often made predatory descens upon
it old goose and gander might sometimes be seen FOL
loving each other up It's side, nearly midway; pigs rooted
round its base and and then boder than the rest
would venture way up attracted by the mixed odors
Of some hidden bone enveoped in decayed cab
bage eaa rare event. both of these articles being unus-
ua oversighs of the searchers below.
The principal ingredient Of all these dust heaps is hne
cindes and ashes but they are accumulated from he
contents of all the dusthoes and bins Of the vicinity, and
as many more as possible the fresh arrivals in their org
nal state present very heterogeneous materials. We can
not better describe them, than by presenting bret sketch
of the different departments of the searchers and soers
who are assembled below busy themselves upon the mass
of original matters which shot from the carts OF the
dustmen
The bits of COAL the pretty numerous results Of accident
and servants caeessness, picked out, to be sold forth
with the avges, and best of the cnders also selected
by another party who sell them aundresses or TO orazes
(fo whose purposes coke would not DO SO wel ana he
next sort of cndes called the beese because 1t is lett al
ter the wind has blown the finer cnders through an upright
sieve, is sold 10 the brick makers.
Two other departments called the "software" and the
"hardwae are very important. The former includes all
vegetable and animal maersevery thing that will decom-
pose These selected and bagged at once and carried
off sounas possible be sold for poughed land,
wheat barley sc. Under this head, also, the dead cats
are comprised They are generally the perqulsles OF the
women searchers Dealers TO the wharf, or dust
field every evenings they give sixpence for white cal,
fmrpence for coorad cat and for black one according 10
her quality The "hard ware" includes all broken poe
rv mans crockery earhenware oystershes, &C., which
are sold to make new roads.
rhe bones are selected with care and sold to the soap
boler lie bols out the fat and marrow first for special
pse and the homes are then crushed and sold for manure
Of"raps" the wooen rags bagged and sent of for
hop manure the white linen rags washed, and sold to
make paper, Sc
The n things" are collected and put into an oven with
grating at the bottom. that the solder which unes the
parts mes and through into receiver This sold
separately the detached pieces of tin are then sold to be
melted up with old iron, &c.
Bits Of old BRASS lead &c. are sold to be melted up sep
ara,ely, or in the mixture of ores.
All broken glass vessels as cues. mustard pots, tum-
bers wine glasses bottles, &c., sold to the oldglass
shops.
As for any articles of ewelry, sverspoons, forks thm
bes or other plate and vauables they are Pocketed OFF,
hand by the first finder Coins ogold and silver are often
! found, and many "coppers"
Meantime every body is hard at work near the base OF
the qreadus heap certain number Of cart-loads hav-
nq been raked and searched for all the different things Just
described the whole Of it undergOes The process OF Silt
ing. The men throw up the stuff and the women Silt IT,
"When was young girl" said Peggy Dol'lng-
.Thas long time ago, Peggy" interrupted one OF the
: sifiers; but Peg did not hear her
.'When was quite young thing" continued she, ad-
dressing old John Doubeyear, who threw up the dust into
her sieve "t was the fashion to pink roses in the
shoes as brqh, as that morse Of ribbon Sally has just pick
ed out of the dust yes and sometimes in the hair too, on
one side of the head to set off the white powder and save
stuff never wore one of these head dresses myself
DON'T throw up the dust so high, John-bu lived only
few doors lower down from those did, DON'T throw up
the dust so high tell ee-hewiud takes into my face
"Ahl There! WHATS that % suddenly exclaimed lit
tie Jem running as fast his poor withered legs would
allow him, toward fresh heap which had just been shot
down on the wharf from dusmans cart. lie made dive
and search-,hen auolhe-then one deeper STILL "im
sure saw it I" cried he and again made dash win OO'f
hands into fresh place. and began to distribute the aShes
aud DUST and rubbish every sde to TIE great merrmen
of all the res
# "What did you see Jenny ?" asked old Douoeyear
D in compassionate tone
"Oh! don't Know, SAID the oOy, only II was Hhe
. bi, Of something made Of real gold"
il fresh burst Of laughter from the company assembled
followed this somewhat vague declaration, TO which the
dusmen added one or two elegant epithets expressive o
their contempt of the notion that they could have overlook
ed Bit of any thing valuable in the process OF empyIng
h suudry dust holes, and carting them away.
"Ah" SAID of the sifers, "poor Jems always aan
ewing something or other good-bu it never comes"
Before the days work was ended however, little JeH
again had glimpse Of the prize which had escaped him OF
the previous occasion He instantly darted hands and heae
foremost, into The mass of cnets and rubbish, and brought
J. up black mass of halfburn parchment entwlned with
refuse, from which he speedily dsengaged an oval frame
of gold containing miniature still protected by It's glass
but half covered with mdew from the damp lie was IL
ecstases the prize Even The white catsklns paed DC
fore it, In all probability some of the men would have Ia
ken it from him try and find the owner" but for the
presence and interference of his friends Peggy Dong and
old Doubeyear whose great age even among the present
company gave them certain position OF respect and con-
sderaton So all the rest went their way, leaving
a the three to examine and speculate on the prize
The three friends having settled To their satisfaction the
of money they should probably obtain by The sale
Of the golden miniature Frame and finished the castles
which they had built with in the air. the frame was again
enoded in the sound part Of the parchment the rags and
otenness Of the law cast away and up they rose 'o
bend their steps honeward the little hovel where Peggy
n. lived she having invited the others TO tea that they might
IF talk yet fully over the wonderful good luck that had
n befaen them.
"Why, if there isn't mans head in the canal" sud-
o denly cried little Jem "Looky there isn't that mans
q head ?-Yes it's drownded man."
"a drownded man, live" calculated old DOubeyear
"Le,'s get him out and see' cried Peggy. perhaps
e the poor suul's not quite gone"
i Little Jem scued off 10 the edge of The canal olowe;
by the old people AS the body had foa'ed