The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-20
GATHERING UP THE BOTTLES.
A Thriving Business That Few People
Know Much About.

| Thriving Business That Few People
! Know Much About.
/ "Bottahs! Bottahs! Bottahsw came the
cry of colored man from his seat Oh a
street wagon the other day, and as it was
wholly unintelligible to reportorial ears,
! the reporter huri led down the lane, where
the wagon had stopped at a buck gate, to
inquire what new commodity had been in
trOduced by the street pe1dlers. The back
gate opened and a domestic came out with
an apron full of empty BOTTLES, and in the
wagon was varied collection of bottles of
all kinds and shapes.
$50 you are buying bottlesp the driver
was asked.
yes, sah buys all the bottles l can
get sab, ~ was the reply. He went on to
explain that To- fourteen or fifteen years
he had be n connected with liquor houses
in this city, and Lad looked after the bottle
departments but, said he, cit pears as if
all of my old employers has died away, sab !;
yes, sab: dey is done dead, so a year ago
come dis June l 'lowed dar was a livin' in
buying bottles, and Use done been in it evan
sin, boss
How do you find it, Is it prohtablel"
he was asked.
"Well, boss, dars livin' in it sab.
makes about IS a week clar, and its an
homes Twin, sah-better dan loafn', aud
some weeks, sab, makes more, sah.n
/" How many bottles do you buy a weekl'
Well, sab, some weeks it rises no to
1000 bottles-most usually 5000 to 1000,
sah-and when it runs down as low as 4, 900
goes away"
You don't mean that you buy bottles
anywhere else, do you'"
"Oh yes, sab, to be shuah / goes to
Doboy, Darien, Brunswick, Cane Creek,
Beaufort, and den has de two islands
Isle of Hope and Skidaway, sab. | duzn't
do any business on Tybee sab, as de bottles
are done under contract"
what do you do with all the bottles,
Lanem
well. sab, desc beer bottles l deliver to
de beer bottlers, sab, and has no trouble
in selling de wine bottles and de liquor
TASKS. De chow-chow jabs, and de pickle
jahs, and de oatsup bottles, ships dem TO
New York. sab. Dey is always glad to get
dem, boss"
What do you pay for bottlesf"
Now. boss, OATS de question. l pays
different prices, san; but de average price
Is about a cont apiece. It's owing to de
condition, boss. De French claret bottle, if
it is clean an ingood shape, is wurf nc,
but If it looks old like. an has to be well
cleaned, well, den, it may be wurf from nc.
to lc. The Rhine wine bottle is wurf a
cent. De French claret bottle is a mighty
pretty bottle, boss; nicer dan de homemade
bottles, and he dived down into a barrel of
miscellaneous bottles and brought up a
French claret bottle and an American wine
bottle for a comp arison. He was right
The French make is superior in color and
finish to the America make.
When not engaged In gathering or deliv-
ering his bottles, Lane, for that is the
mans % name, is busy asserting
and cleaning them up for de-
livery or shipment. He is very
polite in his address. and the care his horse
receives shows that he is merciful man,
for a merciful man is merciful to his beast
His horse is in good conditions, is provided
with a sunshade to shield its head from the
suns rays, and Is not worked in Stacking
harness like so many are which are driven
by thriftless negroes who live from hand to
mouth. Lane dresses neatly and nu nbers
among his customers some of the most arts
tocratic ladies who are not ashamed to
come down to the lane gate to see that the
industrious fellow gets all the empty bottles
about the promises.
Lane estimates that he has collected no
less than one-third of a million bottles
since he went into the business a little over
a year ago, aud he deserves encouragement
for his industry and thrift.