National Republican., 1883-09-10
AMONG THE ASH HEAPS.

The Poor People Who Earn Their Daily
Bread by Mining Cindcrs--A Talk with
Then, nj Their yvork-Nhnt They some
times Find.
The old adage, "One-half Of the world does
not know how tho other half lives finds
ample verihcati6n in this city. The coored
population particularly in many instances arc
driven to dire oxtremitios in their efforts TO
provide food and clothing for large families.
The soap fat man" rag men, swill collectors,
and many similar occupations, including the
ash gatherers, are occupations invented by
necessity.
A REPUBLICAN reporter paid visit To the
extensive ash dumps on tho site Of tho old
Washington and Georgetown street railway
stables near tho b. q o. depot whore hun.
drcds of loads of ashes and house swcepiugs
are dumped daily, aud watched the operations
of fully fifty persons who were working as in.
dustriously as ever gold miners did in tho bo.
nanza days of California.
The workers woro principally colorcd
people who, in point of age, veritaby ranged
from the cradle to the gravc.n In nearly
every instance they were provided with hook
pointed instruments similar to pokcrs while
.
ash cart arrived in the inclosure, which is
partially surrounded by "a high fence, tho
workers would rush pcll mcll To the fresh load
and dig and scrape, until in very few mo
mcnts 1t would be entirely loveled. The
sceno was an amusing ono, and frenuent COM
ical dialogues resulted from tho general
scramble for first place on tho dump. One
old colored woman, on whose brow over three
score years had chseled their lines and whose
pinched face denoted the absence of comfort
able clothing and Il scarcity of food,
fell headlong to tho ground while
tottering toward fresh load of
sweepiugs. Arising feebly and shaking her
gray topped head despairingly, whilc the
crowd swept past her, she murmered, ut aint
. use nohow. De good Lord has dun seen
to 'fict me dis way an | CESS mus DO
,ntented."
To the reporters interrogatory as to her
age, she replied
81 am nigh onto 20 years of age, please de
Lord.'
Have you been engaged at this kind CT
work long?"
"Yes, sab bout twelve months. You sec
my ole man is crippled up wild de rtmatiz an
has to do dis ter keep body and soul toged-
der. | doan mako much Mt it, but den as
long as kin git little corn meal an a slice
OF bacon once in n while will do dis work.
1t is all dc ole woman can do now befo' dc
time Gums for her and dc ole man ter cross
ober dc ribber Jordan an rest from dere
tolls"
Her language was pathetic and brought be-
fore the reporters vision the words of Burns
Mans inhumanity to man makes countless
thousands mourn" He pictured in his mind
the poor and decrepid old woman, from her
picaninny days away down south in the white
crested cotton fields to her present deplorable
condition, ragged, weak, and delving for life
in the ash dumps of the national capital.
Passing along to u group of halG'clad col
ored children, one Of whom wps dancing
about and clapping his hands gIeefully, the
reporter discovered that the latter had un-
earthed single earring with amethyst set
tings, which he held aloft and danced rs en-
Enthusiastically as an Indian warrior would
around the reeking scalp of an enemy.
DO you often find jewclry?" asked the re-
porter.
"once in while|I duz," said the happy
boy, stopping his display of joy long enough
to answer.
What will you do with that earrng?"
"Oh, lse gwine ter sell it, he replied, with
beaming face. Ls- 4uf|GT|T ~
Where do you usually sell such finds as
thatf" Nh 5
"Atdifrent places, sab. sumtimes we soll
'em to de pawnbrokers, an, den again, to de
Jews on ID street."
do you find much jewelry?"
mo, sah," he replied, with n broad grim
" But sum OBJ desc peopul heah finds sumthin'
nearly cherry day. Dere's so many Oh dem dat
anything like dis is gobbed up mihtgy quick.
Mos oh do boys an gals is in pardners wild
each odder, an divide de mummy when dey
find anything like dis"
A girl in the party volunteered the in
formation that the " finds" often included
money, and that one of the diggers had found
silver quarter early that morning. An old
man. who was devotnG his energies to sitting
ashes, said that the largest find ever made
on the dumps was that of boy named Ike.
who found n small iewelry box last winter
which contained full set ofjewelry- breast
pin and earnings About the same time
another party found n bracelet.
Dat was durin de session oh congress"
said the speaker. Dat is our biggest time
an III be mighty glad when congress Gums
agin."
In another part of the inclosure two men
were busy loading n dilapidated looking cart
with bony and feeble horse attached to it.
Proceeding to the spot the reporter found
that they were loading the vehicle with Gin
ders and half burned Goals. The men were
interrogated by the scribe, and in answer to
his questions replied that they stored tho ciu-
ders until winter in their coal yard" and
then sold them by the load to those people
wno are too poor to buy coal.
DO you gather the cinders yourself?'
Some oh dem wo do" he replied, but dc
mos oh dem We buy by contrac'." +"
" How's that" asked the reporter.
Why, we pays desc people 'roun here so
much pile. Dcy gathers dc piles an we
buy 'em by contrac'. BY dnt means dey turns
derc cindcrs inter mummy"
Some of those who were working by con-
tract were then interviewed as to how much
money they made each day mining for cinders.
The children make from eight TO ten cents,
whilo the older ones sometimes mako from
twenty-five to thirty-ive cents for days
work, from o'clock in the morning until
Sundown. Filled with reflections on this pc
culiar and lily paid occupation, tho reporter
passed out from among the dumps and clouds
Of dust to tho street.
- ----------.-----
LATE LOCAL ITEMS.
A large meeting of the w. &. II. U. was held
at Masonic temple yesterday, at which ad-
drnSGna unrn nhnln h,r Mrr