The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-12-05
WHERE MANY RACES MEET
A COSMOPOLITAN NEIaHBoRHooD
IN AMERICAS METROPOLIS.
There French, Italian and Spanish
are Mostly Spoken, and Strange
Dishes are ConcOCted.


are Mostly Spoken, and Strange
Dishes are Concocted.
The Eighth Ward, or that portion of
it lying west of the dry goods districts,
presents features that are to be seen
nowhere else in this great city. 1t is
cosmopolitan neighborhood. More diff
forent customs and habits are to be met
with there than in any other part OF
New York, A greater variety of races
and types of people are to be seen and
wider conglomeration of languages are to
be heard.
What are called the Latin races abound
more so than elsewhere. French, Span
ish and Italian names and expressions
are very plentifully mixed with the Ger
man. There are a greater number OF
natives of France located there than in
any other quarter, and it is because they
and the Spanish-speaking population OBJ
serve and maintain the customs and ways
of their native countries as far as posi-
BILE that makes the ward characteristic.
Business signs in French, Spanish and
Italian are everywhere.
The butcher shops are designated as
"Boucheries Franchise" boarding houses
bear the sign "Maison Privee" and the
dry goods dealer calls himself "Mercier
Franchise" The hat "Chappelerie."
1t is common sight to see on the signs
"Bon Marche, ""Nouvetes, ""Lingerie,"
over shops. Blocker street, once the
fashionable place of residence of the
Lattings the Depaws and the Kettletons,
resembles rue of Paris or Gale of
Madrid or Barcelona. There are all sorts
of trade places even to a French American
fish market.
The oyster saloon connected with it is
described as a "Depot d'Huitres," and
''Fresh fish daily" in use is made to read
''Pousson, Frais, chaque jour sur glace."
Beer, wines and liquors sold in the cafes
and cabarets in the neighborhood are de-
scribed by the signs "Biere, Wins ct Lii
queries. The painter styles himself in
his bushes card "Peintre," and schools
are termed ''ecoles."
1t is in the Eighth Ward, too, that the
bulk of the Spanish-speaking population
of the metropolis is settled. Like the
French they maintain the customs of their
native countries to great extent. The
Spanish population is recruited mostly
from the West India Islands, the Cubans
predominating.
Mixed with this population are the
immigrants from the Danish and French
West Indies. They are of one color
(black), but the types vary from the
shiny, ebony black to the saffron color
and mulatto Their dialects differ and
it is sometimes difficult for the Cuban to
understand what the other West Indians
are saying. They follow the trade OF
cigar making to large extent.
A favorite congregating place of the
Spanish Eighth Warder lisa restaurant in
Blocker street, kept by former slave
owner of Cuba. Here former masters
and bondsmen of the Spanish West Indies
meet and mingle, and Haytiens who were
lately opposing each other, either as adj
herents of the victorious Hippolite or the
defeated Legitime, shake hands, and
quaffing cup of chocolate or other
beverage, converse on the merits of the
past conflict. There arc nearly as many
colonies and majors to be encountered in
the resort rs at Missouri crossroads.
They saw service in the Cuban war for
independence, and spend much time in
talking of the exploits of the time.
The place is the only one in town, it is
said, where cooking after the Spanish
style is used. Green,corn is known to
almost every one, but black corn is not
common here. 1t is of: purplish black
color and is very sweet. When in season,
it and black beans form some of the food
products of Spanish Eighth Warders. A
peculiar dish, of which they are quite
fond, and which is not found in the Del
.ue1;co menu, is the famous ola pud
ding, or the oily pot 1t is mixture of
black beans, rice andf garlic, with oil as
the main ingredient. 1t is palatable to
many.
Among the other unfamiliar foods and
beverages peculiar to the Eighth Ward
is Chiauti wine, an Italian decoction of a
yellowish color, that comes in long, thin
necked bottles in glass castings. The sale
of it is extensive. The Italian groceries
and bake shops, of which there are many,
display novel sort of bread. 1t is very
long and crisp and not thicker than the
finger, and sells for sixteen cents
pound.
There are many romances and strange
tales to be heard among the Spanish
residents. In Washington Place, near
Washington Square, is household OF
Cubans, in which there is girl who acts
as servant, and who was brought by
them from Havana when slavery still ex
listed there. She still works without
pay. Her master whips her sometimes
and she cannot be made to understand
that she is free to go or stay.-NeU York
Helrs