The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-28
SATURDAY NIGHT MARKET.
Pen Picture of the Peddlers on the
Outside of the Building.


Outside of the Building.
A visit to the city market on Saturday
night, just between the hours of and 0
O'Clock, affords good opportunity of wit
Messing an animated scene. 1t is then and
there that the negro huckster can be seen in
all his glory, ard the shrill-voiced market
woman in her prime. A terrible hum of
voices pervades the place, and in
order to overcome this obstacle
the hucksters are obliged TO
elevate the pitch of their voices so that they
may be heard by the passing crowd. From
1850 O'Clock in the evening up to 10 o'clock
IS the time when most of the colored people
do their marketing, and by 9 O'Clock the
entire market is almost given up to tnem
They come IN their best clothes and make
shreWd bargains. The hucksters, who ha, Q
their stands on the outside of the market,
are the ones that generally make all the
noise, and some of them are decidedly elo-
quent in their remarks concerning the re-
spective merits of their produce.
vegetables and fruit are CHIEFLY sold on
the outside, with here and there peddler
dealing IN suspenders and tinware Pretty
nearly all the stands are illuminated with
candles, or naphtha lamps, which emit dis
agreeable odor, and which, combined with
the yelling and hawking from many Threats,
conventional torch and oil lamp, make the
surroundings anything but pleasant to
people OF sensitive nerves The crowd on
the outside Is as great as that inside the
market, and from their inces ant clatter it
seems as IL bedlam itself had broken loose
from its m 3orings. Old, white haired COZ
ored men mounted on superan uated mulee,
Win wagons OF ancient make, are to be
seen everywhere.
norton of tho brckctaro cali v,,od,oo
raised on their own FARMS while some sell
on commission for other parties. A person
walking along on the sidewalk on the out
side Of the market is very apt to be violently
grabbed by an enterpriSing huckster, and
be compelled to undergo the ordeal Of
having cabbage, with a very bad odor
cllnglng to it, thrust in bis face, with the
boss" IL you refuse to purchase it,
your misery is not yet at an end, for
the huckster will at once enter into heated
discussion, setting forth the principal
merits of that particular cabbage, and in
the end will make strenuous appeal for
you to purchase it, at the same time re-
ducing the price cents. The ruling pas
sion is first to charge price above the ex-
pectatlons Of the seller and to gradually
come down.
The instant you leave one huckster YOU
fall into the handso of another one, who saws
IN stentsrian voice: "Hyar y'r' gents;
apples five cents quartz The largest
and finest apples are, of course, placed on
top In the measure, the bottom of which is
pushed forward few inches. If YOU hap
pen to be near couple of stands in close
proximity to each other, you are sure to be
assalled on all sides by the keepers, who
claim unanimously, and in one breath. that
their goods are the very best the market
AFFORDS, and person may be considered
fortunate TO escape with a whole suit on
his back.
Perhaps the most exciting period is lust
a lew minutes before the market bell is
rung, which denotes that the business of
the market is over for the night. All sorts
OF perishable produce is sacrificed by the
owners in order to get rid of it, and then it
IS that the sales are brisk. The buck
sters on the outside are composed
mostly of negroes, but the sons and
daughters of Italy and of Jerusalem
are well represented. Mr.. Moses conf
dentially tells you that dose subscribers
will year like iron" (and they look rusty
enough, and that "dey are dirt cheap"
While Mr. Moses is in the act of etlogizing
on the quality and price of ''dose sus-
benders" his face assumes a serious ex-
preston, and if his hands are not
engaged otherwise they are used for thu
purpose of conveying more emphasis to his
remarks, and he finally sums up with $50
hellup me gracious" The hashy colored
articles which he peddles around the mar
ket catch the fancy of the colored dandy.
and it is very rare that the form of Mr..
Moses is observed with goods on his return
home.
The Italian women sell lemons and a
rough line of d .y-goods. They seem to be
always attentive to their business. and are
not discouraged with small sales. The
Italian boys bawl out matches into your
ear and do not care whether they sell
box of matches or not. They have an in
dependent air about them, aud appear to
be happy. The peanut man is there and
does rushing business. Everybody
invests a nickel in peanuts, and the
streets in the neighborhood of the
market are literally covered with peanut
shells The soda water man is there also.
He concocts liquid refreshmentsin a variety
OF colors for the festive country darkv. who
enjoys it immensely. Circus lemonade can
be had, If paid for, but for some occult
reason there is no demand for the beverage.
AT 10 O'Clock, when the market bell ri nos.
the big doors are closed, and the men who
clean the market up are the only ''sad his