Wichita eagle., 1888-12-01
Daily eagle
TRIP WITH THE MILKMAN.

TRIP WITH THE MILKMAN,
SCENES IN A GREAT CITY WHEN
PEOPLE ARE ASLEEP
At O'Clock in the acknowledgements
Empty MILK Cans for Fun Ones-How
Customers Are served-Intelligence Of
the Milkman's Mare-Daylight.
TON" Murphy has been a n,ilkman for
moro than fifteen years. and for a very long
time has supplied the reporters family with
regularity that has never been broken save
= py an occasional blockade and by the biz
gard OF lest March Murphy invited the re-
porter to go with him on his rounds some
night and see for himself how the work was
done. This invitation was recently &C
cepted.
At little after o'clock in the morning
Murphy was met by appointment at little
uptown stable, where he was found groom
Ing his horse A lantern, whose flame sput-
tered and fickered, was suspended from a
nail in beam Just behind the STALL and fur
nished all the light that was necessary for
Murphy's accustomed eyes, but to the
stranger in such surroundings the stable was
filed with deep shadows which changed into
fantastic shapes as the lantern swayed to
and fro
The top o th' mornin' to We" was Muir
ply greeting as bis visitor appeared. Faith,
didt think ye'd come so chill a night" Ten
minutes later Tom and his visiter were driv-
Ing toward the Weehawken ferry with a
load OF empty milk cans which were to be
exchanged for full ones. On the way it was
possible to examine the interior of the wagon
closely. The rows of cans on the bottom of
the wagon fitted In snugly between narrow
strips of iron 50 placed as to keep them in po-
stion, and the ribs of the cover of the vehi-
Gle were filed with hooks upon which were
hung half pint, pint, quart and two quart
measures in great numbers. Space was
economical IN every way possible so as to
give the vehicle the greatest carrying capac-
ity OF which it was capable. AT this hour
the streets Of the city were still occupied by
numbers OF people and vehicles of various
sorts. Restaurants were doing thriving
business, especially along Sixth avenue, and
the bar rooms were in full blast, potwith-
standing that it was beyond the hour when
the law declares that the sale Of liquor raust
cease. Along the streets the night hawks of
the city, the bscSnen, hurried and scurried
here ard there watching for fares OF
drunken men and women there were many
on the streets, and these were the natural
prey of the cabmen
DISTRIBUTION OF MILK
Neehawken was duly reached and the work
of unloading and loading was quickly &C
conplished- On the way back Tom explained
the manner in which the milk was distributed
over the city. On all roads, he said, milk
trains are run to the city from the surround
ing country. This is consigned to contractors
who have the milk carted to their own depots
IN the city, whence it is distributed by their
own men and teams or, as in Toms case, the
mllkman, owning his own horse and wagon,
Is supplied at the cars Those who get their
milk in the latter way purchase it more
cheaply because of the saving to the con-
tractor in the matter of carriage than do those
who secure their supplies at the contractors
city depots. In a majority of cases, how
ever, the contractors own the entire outfits Of
the nilkmen, who either get salary or q
commission. There are several, however,
who, like Tom, have built up routes of their
own, and who make speciality of furnishing
the best milk attainable to their customers.
The financial returns are not large and
hardly pay the men for the hardships they
endure in pursuing their business. Most Of
the individual owners Of routes are engaged
to deliver supplies to restaurants and saloons
in the early morning, and, in fact, up to
noon, after their own work is done.
1t was after O'clock when Tom announced
that he was approaching the upper end of his
route, at Eighth avenue and Fifty-third
street. That locality was perfectly quiet at
that hour, the only noise being the rumble of
the wagon and the rattle Of cans, save when
an occasional elevated train, street car or
b cab Went by. As the marc turned into
Fifty-third street she pricked up her ears,
whisked her tail and started off on a lively
Eot. Tom hitched the reins to hook in the
top Of the front Of the cover, allowing them
TO hang limp over the animals back. TIE
lantern was then hung on another hook and
Tom was ready for business As the mare
approached certain house she swerved to-
ward the sidewalk and slackened her pace
Tom, with three cans in either hand,
leaped from the wagon while it was
still in motion, and, rushing into an
area under the front steps of
house, exchanged a full can for an empty
one This he repeated in five other houses,
The mare in the meantime walking leisurely
along. When Tom had returned with the
six empty cans, and had placed his foot on
the step to leap into the wagon, the mare
was off again with a rush. A block farther
on she slowed up on the opposite side of the
street and Tom, with more full cans, leaped
down again. This was repeated time after
time, the animal exhibiting unerring q
knowledge Of the places where the milk was
to be left as Tom did concerning the guam
tity desired at each.
SERVING THE CUSTOMERS
In every case the man brought back empty
cans corresponding precisely in dimensions
with tho full ones he had taken from the
wagon Occasionally he grumbled at fiDd-
ing notes attached 10 the empty cans request
ing an additional quantity Of milk for that
day only. These demands were satisfied out
OF an extra can carried for that purpose To
Gil them caused some Inconvenience, for it
uecessitated additional trips from wagon to
house, and the mare rather dislihed being
dictated to Ii regard to longer stops than
usual As the wagon went along Tom said
that be began serving a new family the day
before on q street where he had had no other
customers, and be wanted his visitor to no
tice how unerringly the mare would follow
the new routa She did it as correctly as il
her owner had held the reins, which he never
once touched Corners were turned as faith
fully by the careful and Intelligent animal,
and other vehicles were passed as safely as
the most cautious driver or pedestrian could
have wished At one point near O corner the
mare stopped and Tom explained that he