The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-10-09
A TEXAN MARKET.
Rusv Scenes Enacted Once a Week
at Houston.
rhs C,ueer Things One Sees and Hears In
and Around the Market-House Every
saturday-AIl Nationalities
Are There.

CHARACTERISTIC bdhVo IlAC bOuI4St W GlC
saturday evening market held at Hous-
ton 1t is something unique and this
4ba only place to see it, small markets
not being allowed here as in other
cities. Houston also holds Sunday
market, but inaugurated the Saturday
movement for the benefit of those who
wore too lazy or too religious to rise
early on the Sabbath morning. 1t has
horne good fruit, opening out great and
new fields for trade, as the German
farmers soon came in from distances of
twenty miles and more hauling their
nroduce in wagons, and wholesaling it
to the many small dealers, who now de-
pend on this supply, their 'praifie
sehooners" and slow OK teams of four
and five yokes of oxen filing the streets
with an element usually unknown in
city life
The market-house itself, standing in
tho midst of its square, is fine looking
building, with crouching lions at the
corners and fountains in the grass plot
at the side; but it is the people who
congregate here that make it such re-
markable scene, the yenders alone
representing every nationality, Amer
leans being far in the minority.
The market wagons occupy one side
Of the thoroughfare which bounds the
square, They stand drawn up in line,
their hind wheels touching the curb, the
horses heads turned to the middle of
the street. 1t is supposed, and in some
few cases correctly, that as the owners
Of these wagons pay no stall rent but
only small license to sell, they will
dispose of their commodities at lower
prices that do those venders within the
building. 1t is only in this outer row
that we find the negro market gardener.
He raises all that he offers, from the
fat turkeys, ready dressed or alive in
coops, to the tiny bird-peppers, brilliant
in hne, small as pea, hot as fire, and
delightful in flavor, which grow wild
along the bayou that borders his land.
Near by on the sidewalk a Chinese
peddler displays his wares. John has
his pig-tail neatly pinned up, and his
blouse and shoes are models of cleanli-
ness.
ANY ting a-day?" he asks, exhibit
ing wonderful fans and cushions,
brushes, teapots, Chinese lilies, and
what not. He tries to be very per-
sasave in his pidgin-English, and re-
sents demonstratively the interruption
q the little black-eyed Dago boy who
runs up his hand-cart of hot peanuts
and takes his stand, vociferously call
ing his wares.
fat, yellow man, as greasy as his
ownplucked geese, is chaffering by his
cart with slip of girl, who be-
lieves, and rightly, that he is cheating
her in both price and measure as she
buys from him supply of okra for gum
boon the morrow.
Here is little German woman, face
sharp and puckered into innumerabie
Erinkles; but her balls of hand-cheese,
strewed with caraway seeds, are white
and appetizing She has put some away
IN can, which she tells you ''schmech
gat;;" but when uncovered thoy are as
yellow as gold, and smell to heaven;"
yet these her German customers prefer.
This thin-faced Italian has a wagon
laden with game. all killed close by
Alule-eared rabbits and ''mollie-cotton-
tails;' squirrels, red, black and gray,
some skinned, some not; punches of
partridges, braces of prairie chicken
and dozens of snipe tied together by the
neck; some wild geese; ducks of all
kinds from canyas-back to didapper;
and here is a single sand-hill crane
nne eating the bird is, too, and a hand
some fellow to shoot. The owner is a
good salesman and an eager. He calls
70 oeach passer-by, and knows well how
% praise and show his stock. Small,
swarthy, litne and dirty, he is type of
hls class, always asking higher than he
viii get, and dropping little by little to
she offered price at last
Many others are in line, but they are
oat repetitions of these, If we except
ne strapping brown virago, with her
poultry and eggs, turnips and cabbage,
VINO Is too busy joking coarsely with
sne colored men and abusing the ven-
aefs around her to pay much attention
sOherstrade. .
within the building stretches a quad
saple row of vegetable stalls, all tended
y women, German and Irish exclusive
" clean dressed and hatless. Their
9afes make pretty show; no hot-bed
ps0aaots are here. no garden truck from
oener States, but all home-raised. The
alesn green and white of the sueculent
spring vegetables are seen in the midst
december, the pale pink radishes
ing IN the crisp, curly leaves of chic
5' the purple kohl-rabi against the
E'ses Of creamy, wax beans; the long,
s..sn PODS OF Carolina okra" are heaped
0As @ golden carrots and red spring
sss' piles of purple egg-plants are
sagee between cabbage heads. pro-
olaily hard; while great punches
~, 4 COOL white celery keep company
e,s 49, baskets Of fresh green pease and
skinned new potatoes. The women
very artistic in their arrangement
s1ese things, and they make fine
10y q color; but fruit they do not
- Here again the Dago comes to
~ lore You find him in stalls stocked
nest India, Northern, and Cali
4 1fuits; only what other States