The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-04-24

IN
At twelve O'Clock last night we received informs
ton that the fire had been subdued by the steam
and that tue Yellow Jacket mine would soon again
TEE NEW YORK FISH MARKET.
--~~--~-~~~~-~~---~~-
The Friday Sacrifice at the Foot OF Beekmnu
Sireet-Catchns the Fish-Scencs and Incl.
dents-The Buyers and Sellers-The Coster.
mongers.
There Is no buster place In the city of New York
than the corner Of South and Beekman streets on 81
Friday morning. Almost before daybreak the work
OF taking the fish which to supply the tables OIL
many thousand persons commences and is vigor.
ously kept up until eight and sometimes nine O'Clock
in the morning. ReughookIng men, but
with something Of picturesqueness after
oil about their costumes which often con-
sist Of 0lskns anu sou'wester or coarse ,
shirts of variety Of colors, blue overals, and
sometimes with red woolen Phrygian caps of tho
kind worn by Italian fishermen, and their legs en-
cased in long and thick India rubber leather boots
which keep out the salt water which washes In smaA
waves over the tops OF the cars on which they stand
These cars are square wooden boxes, or perhaps Il
would be correct 10 call them cages averaging
about twenty feet long by fifteen wtde In which tho
fish are Kept alive. Between the planks which com.
pose them are interstces through which the water
freely flows and permits them to be submerged.
On the top Of these n5h cages which are m0ored
to the wharf and to one another to prevent
their being carried away by the ebb Of
the tide stand the fishermen, armed with
net and gan. With the former they explore the re.
cesses OF the until they have one OF ita
scay denizens, and then by a quick. dexterous
movem ent they withdraw 1t and empty the contents
into q basket. Very often fish, especially If he be
large one. 1ops out on the top Of the and COM
mences leapng and wrggling toward the water; then
the gan men curves into NOOK toward me END,
into the head or back or the luckleSS fish, generally
sending him to THAT Dourn whence no fish returns.
Considerable dexterity IS required In the taking Of
lObsters there is wonderful tenacity In those pre-
hensile claws with which they cling to the
task to free them from It, although the fishermen
themselves assure you, lake the clown In the circus,
that cit Is oil done Dy simple turn OF the wrist"
When the waves from passing steamboats, wash over
the cribs it seems almost impossible for the fisher
do not appear in the slightest degree decomposed,m
as Mrs. Darlington says. When the baskets are filed
1ns are p 70 s empd no bay
rels and transferred 70 the stalls Of the wholesale
Dealers winch are oil included within that long,
low-roofed wooden tenement extending from Beck.
man street to Fulton and with the exterior OF which
presents busy and somewhat weird and pho,
turesque appearance at early dawn. The few ana
certain lght over surrounding objects which enables
one to see with dstinctness only those which are
elise at aand, anu renaering Others at distancs
| figures of the fishermen entering or passing with
huge baskets led with fish, Holsters, crabs or other
products of the upon their backs seem to vanish
and appear like wierd monsters Of Eastern fable.
| the dealers themselves cad IN long aprons or
stalls, or busily engaged In arranging or weighing
their fish, or giving directions, with outstretched
who have from the neither a realms the
| strange beings while the barefooted urchlns who
OBJECT might Without any great stretch Of tae ina.
Rlnaton, be looked upon as their 'famlar" OF
atlenaa sprtes very BABEL OF SOUNDS deadens
| resemble the hail Of maintopman In gale at sec
than anything else are heard on al sides. HUSKY
orders as to the dispos ton OF the fsh are mingled
| with 0aths, friendly greetings, rough jokes ana
nasty explanations OF annoyance as passera
| row gangway. It requires considerable eQua.
| nmity OF temper to be- sworn ut for not getting
corns trodden on without ressntine these indcni
tes But It would be useless and worse than foolisH
o. PERHAPS your palms, s
| mongers are sturdy and, when occasion requires
sas es variety Of s that is brought 70
markct-cod, nalibut, sea bass striped bass blactj
aS %ans other
about in very lively msnner others in their las
sssorne wSd and as
in one last, expiring but inensctaai wr,E
ssess Ss9erS to MENTION tina. as1 many Of the
that reach this market, such as halibut salmon,
trout. pike ana several other varletloS are SEM
with pieces Of ice. AS soon as tho fish are brought
| into the market from the cars they are weighed.
| The halibut, some OF which are enormous, weighing
averaging eight ten pounds apiece for disposal 70
| the retailers, few OF whom ever purchase such an
enormous nsh entire. The large Goldfish are decapf.
| tated and the head thrown away. Oh misguided
a%ase xna Sss
and shoulders boiled and served with oyster or FEM
| mel sauce, you would never throw such delicious
| bonnie bOuche to the dogs, or rather, the cat&
Fulton street FISH market IL that remarkable cant
| language much In vogue among the cosserm0nger1
| and old Ash wives who frequent the famous market
In Thames street, London, from which the mys.
FERROUS dialect derives Its name OF Billingsgatet
much In vogue. To be sure there Is some 'chaing,n
but OF very different kind. And 1t II to be re-
marked that there appears to be less scope for an
exchange OF those lefthanded compliments fof
which the 'costersn aud female fish dealers Of
Lon1cn are 50 fau6us % everybody Is 80 busy that
skylarkng or chatting seems almost out OF placs
and iltlmed.
the retail vendors and costermongers, or licensed
| vendors as they are generally called here, having
thronged the wholesale department all the morning.
jostled another and shouted themselves hoarse,
aiD to take their departure, the licensed vendors
with their purchases In their wagons, the owners OF
stalls IN the retail market directly opposite, aud who
are OF course tue largest buyers to await the trans
fera 70 their stalls Of the fish they have ordered 70
| be sent to them.
Later In TIE day the retail market is thronqed with
ant other buyers and until MONDAY the FISH dealers
| have busy time; about that time custom begins 70
| slacken, ana they have chance to rest aud cons
graduate themselves o. the profitable trade which
excellence the lucky dag In the calendar Oh the nsn
| market
| PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.