Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-03-14


street without its fun quota of this class
would present an unfinished exterior. The
number and variety of street characters
have greatly increased during recent years.
Like the articles at a country sale, they are
too numerous to mention. A few of them,
however, will justify especial notice as a
sample Of the entire stock
One of the most prominent street char
acters of this, the latter end of the nine
teenth century, is the newsboy. His num-
bers, rather than his size, gives him prece-
dence in partial enumeration of this class.
He, however, occupies more space, accord
ing to his size, than any other inhabitant of
street surface. He is industrious, persis-
tent, reasonably impudent and frequently
unclean.
The newsboy is in season the whole year
round. His business may be subject to
slight fluctuations, but his stock in trade is
the same the year through. The newsboy
is generally present. He comes early and
remains late. He almost invariably has
two or three and sometimes moro to help
him come. His office is on the street and
his place of lodging not unfrequently has
an element Of intangibility. He is not too
modest to ask for patronage, and not so
timid but what he can, without blush or
tinge of shame, thrust his goods under your
nose and yell like demon in your ear He
has the art Of insinuating himself down TO
fine point. When the place where he is
and the place where he is not are compared
the former is found to be in a large major
ity. To enumerate the prominent street
characters of Chicago and leave the news
boy out, would be play of Hamlet minus
the Prince of Denmark.
Persons generally known as street takers
are prominent characters. Like the balance
of mankind the street faker is looking for
the almighty dollar, but unlike many others
he is content if he only reaps fraction of
the dollar. They do business on a limited
capital and not unfrequently change with
the seasons. In fact, they>Sometimes have
a dismal change. A street faker with
large and varied stock of jewelry one day
may on the next loom up as a cutlery mer-
chant or bloom out a basket florist He
caters to the public appetite and befriends
the long suffering by dispensing various
healing balms He thrives on the pedes-
trian trade and resorts to various devices
to catch the eyes of the passing throng He
is jeweler, a doctor, periodical dealer and
book seller, chiropodist and florist, sells
buttons and songs, vendt sweets and
tooth-picks, while he fairly revels in wealth
if he is lucky enough to be the first to in
troduce mechanical toy. The street fal1er
is also numerous class, and plies his trade
in sunshine and storm. His extinction
would tend TO lonesome tine streets and
remove a recognized landmark.
A very fewof .his class have places of
business where they may be found through
out the year, and in rare cases through
series of years. Their place is coop
on some one of the populous thoroughfares,
or hall or doorway. The waffle man is
one of this class. Mr.. d. e. Dean has dis
pensed these punctured biscuits to Chicago
people from his improvised stand at the
city and county building for years. The
popcorn man on West Madison street is
another. Each section has its line of this
class. AS a general thing, however, the
street faker is migratory, and frequently
changes his field of operations.
In the spring, when the warm sun bursts
the bud, and the grass 4" comes creeping
everywhere" except on the Chicago Gus
| tom-house lawns, the ice-cream woman,
! with her little hand-cart, comes forth, and
the lemonade stand dots the landscape. AS
the weather gets hotter, and the dog-star
/ RACES, the latter vendor increases in num-
bers until he fills every unoccupied nook
and doorway in the frequented portions of
| the city. This character is tender plant
of tropical variety, is short lived. The
first cool wave of approaching fall nips his
| profession, and it wlthereth and dieth.
Another street character is the hand
organ beggar Both sexes belong to this
class. 1t is chiefly composed of the lame,