Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-12-25
DEAD PAUPERS GOODS.
SELLING AT AUCTION THE ODD
PROPERTY or SUICIDES.

They Find Their Way to the Bowery.
Misery's auction sale" took place
Thursday. 1t was held at Duane street,
and though that is not its official name
it occurred to a reporter who heard it
called so as most appropriate one.
! The auction has an odd and grewsome
| origin. When a man commits suicide
| by pistol or knife the coroner takes pcs
session Of the weapon. IF the man has
no friends or relatives. and leaves No
will, his clothes and any personal effects
| that he may have go with it.
After the unfortunate is laid beneath
the sod of Potter's field, and al the legal
formulas have been observed, the coro-
ner hands all these things over to the
public administrator. The large num-
Der of suicides in this big city, the mys-
terious deaths of unknown men and
women and the deaths in the poor gar
rets serve to swell this officials interest
ing collection of estates and heirlooms to
such size that a special man is kept
busy looking after them.
Should any of these articles be va1u-
able they are placed in the Office safe or
else sent to a safe deposit company. But
the bulk of the stuff that falls into the
administrators hands is Of little value,
consisting mostly of cheap furniture,
clothes, bedding, reTolvers, knives and
odds and ends, of which every man pos
sesses bis share. These things are sent
to the storehouse at Duane street, ad-
joining the Newsboys' Lodging house,
and there they accumulate until the pile
grows too big for the place, when they
are auctioned of to the highest bidder.
THE AUCTION ROOM.
When the reporter entered the place
the sale was in progress. The auc-
tioneer's pulpit like stand was in the
middle Of the room. and that function |
airy, in a silk hat, was deeply engaged in
overcoming the objections of poorly |
dressed, stout Irish woman to buying a
cheap watch that might have been silver |
or steel The room was filed with a |
motley gathering Of men and women. 1t |
was a poor looking crowd, although |
here and there a scintillating spark be |
trayed a diamond on the person of |
Chatham street curiosity" dealer. Many |
people who daily pass the curiosity shops |
on the Bowery have wondered where 81 /
the odds and ends displayed in the win /
dows come from Had they attended
this auction they would have known.
There were perhaps a dozen of these
dealers present, and they bought largely.
Then there were many women, poorly |
dressed creatures, who stopped bidding
when the article passed the dollar point
Where they came from. or what they
wanted the stuff for, nobody knew save
themselves. The auctioneer got his
money-he didn't care. The curiosity
dealers shrugged their shoulders was
none of their business. The stock Of
fered was scattered about the room. 1t
included knives, umbrellas, old clothes,
bedsteads, rusty bayonets, billiard balls,
carpenters rules, peddlers' outfits,
chromos, revofvers, chairs, tables, stove
pipes, etc., all mingled in rusty, dusty
confusion The sale proceeded after
this manner, the auctioneer saying:
"How much dye bid? Forty, forty,
forty-forty-fve? Fine silica umbrella.
Maybe duke owned il; maybe a
duchess; maybe bum stole it. Forty
FIVE! Once, twice, down she goes. Mrs.
Mulligan, that's the name, isn't it2
Forty-fve cents. Now we have lot No.
25S-a saber. How much d'ye"-and
so on.
There was story connected with
every one of these articles, romantic
one undoubtedly in many cases, but no
one there knew it or evinced the least
desire to learn anything about it.
UNROMANTIC BIDDERS.
A suit of clothes was held up by the
boy.
How much dye bid?"
Those nearest the stand felt the cloth
and examined the clothes carefully, then
a bid was offered, and another, and 80 {
on until the hammer fell. Mrs. Multi {
gan must own a second hand clothing
store, for she bought great deal of
lot No. 347-one coat and vest How
much dye bidT' came the monotonous
formula Of the auctioneer.
''Lemme see, cheviot orwhat? What's {
it made Off asked Mrs. Mulhgan. She
examined it closely for a moment with
an eager face. Then she said in dis
way:
''It's got hole In it" {
Yes, sure enough, there was a small
hole in the coat, right above the upper c
outside pocket The auctioneer pressed
his finger on the spot for moment and t
then remarked in matter of fact voice: l
II guess that's where the bullet went c
through"
The coat and vest were sold, and when S
some poor fellow buys them he will B
never know that a bullet once pierced
his coat and reached a mans heart. q
''Where's lot 1902" asked the auc- b
ioneer. 0
The assistant handed up a package a
in dirty piece of yellow paper
It was united, and with a Gathering
noise lot of revolyers and knives fell
,ut on the table. Big revolvers, little a
,evolvers, old fashioned ones, self cock V
ing affairs, Colts, Smith & Wessons, P
bulldogs, American and European makes, s.
laggers, bowie knives, stilettos, bright, a
-usty, all kinds and in all conditions, t.
md the sight was enough to send chill +
through man. The people who were II
gathered in that room, however, did not p
zee anything suggestive in this, and Of 81
ered their bids on each weapon as it
vas put up as though it were an every
lay occurrence with them. c'
Then pawn tickets, for small amounts n
were sold for twenty-five and d
hirty cents apiece. When the last ar L
icle had been sold the auctioneer said: g
1.-THE sale is ended, ladies and gentle a
men. Thank you for your courtesy. l n
lope to see you soon again. New York e
Jun. u
Early Minstrel Shows.