The St. Johns herald., 1891-03-12
CHICAG0'S NIGHT COOKS.
Queer Characters Who Furnish
 Food for Street Prowlers.
Per:patetic Restaurants Which Do a Good Business from Ten T. zI. Cnt!i Dawn 4 Pretty Far Lunch for Five
 Cents-Wa:zing Cafee.

CenES-ts assliIS OaIeSs
 Acting on the facts given him, Chi cago News reporter selected Detective Morgan Thomas, of the Harrison street station, and at eleven o'clock started out to explore this parad .se of intiner- ant cooks and restaurants on wheels. At the hour when the West and North sides were silent ia sleep the leVee was lively sceEc. The usual thrOng Of painted women, white and black, alleged sporting men, with barber-pOle pants, bill-poseer shirt-fronts, and dance-house necktie., were to be seen.
 There comes one Of the cafes," said Thomas.
 Around the corner of Polk street and Fourth avenue appeared Q swarthy lit tie man. Iio carried Q small folding table beneath one arm, and in the other hand he held what looked like hotel consomme boiler. It was made of cop per and it shoEe like full moon. He cried ia sing-song voice: Hash and wiencTs, gut Wurst.'
 ''Tkis class is the most common" said the detective. ''See. he sells hash, bread and Frankfort sausage, red-hot."
 "Vill de shentlemens haf some red hots un1 brod?' asked the cook, as he placed his copper kettle on the curb. In a twinklirg the table was set up. His wares were good. Hot, homemade hash, with good bread and butter, made excellent sandwiches for a hungry rounder or policeman. The redhots were generally cutin two 1ongitudinally and smothered in mustard. The mer- chant willingly told how he made his living.
 ''You see, frents, I sleeps me in de daytime, cause de beeblers what wants mine stock dey be sleepin, too. Mine woman, she cooks de hash efery after noon und l cook dc red-hots vile I carries dem. Lots of fellows make money nit dis business. See, in dis part keeps de hash, and here are de red-hots. Under is de lamp what keeps de place hot. In dis box l carries the brod und mustard. I shust walk me round, und de peoples what is hungry dey buys. Dey be peoples what only work aroun' nights. Some be tievess somo gamblers, some policemen und odder ting. Oh, yes, make more money als vorkin' in a restaurant"
 'Ile is only sample" said the de- tective, as the gay fellow picked up his paraphernalia and departed shouting his weird sing-song cry.
 The waffle man was also encountered, but merchants of bis kind are too numerous in the daytime to merit much comment. A little farther on the pop corn man held forth his little court, gasoline torch and supply of buttered snowfalles done up in pretty paper bags. During tho warm autumn evenings every good nook shelters nocturnal sweet corn cook. He gives you big, fresh boiled ear of corn wiGh plenty of butter, such as it is, and seasoning for nickel.
 It was not until the negro quarters were reached that the night cook was seen in all his glory, w1th his little movable stall, where he displays appe- tizing roasted tidbits of chicken, opos- sum, corn and sweet potatoes. Who could resist stopping to see the white clothed fellows who assume grctesque shapes fitting about their ovens in the darkness, now and then crying: "Come on, brethren, an partal1e ob de feast. Choice cuts heah. All yoh wants fer two bits"
 A great many well-dressed white men stopped to get a lunch of chicken or sweet potatoes. These cooks are patronized all night long. Not @ sign of their booths is left by daylight, for as dawn appears they pack up and go home. Those fellows just making a meal of chicken legs, toast and sweet-potato sandwiches are actors" said the officer. "These lunches save them time and money. On their way to their rooms they take bite and satisfy the inner man with choice dainties at small cost"
 Leaving the darker portions of the levee, and upon reaching State street, the itinerant night-cook is supplanted by the all-night restaurant These itinerant merchants do not like the lightest streets. because their custom ers are found only in the darker streets.
 Speaking about variety actors as 'ham-fat soEG-a2d-danco artists, said 6 theatrical manager, Il think the man who first called them by thatname must D0NN SNCl1 bttAA stAfbNtt .tliNAAA A 4A Nia t-it levee, getting away with a plato Of eggs and ham just prepared by one of these night-cooks.'
 These cooks l-nGw every tough and bad character in the locality, and very often supply such men with the only meals the latter get when in hiding from the pol:ce. so they arc very often used to advantage by the police as stool pigeons. TAcy are necessity in this locality, and # they Were prohibited from doing business every gou2dcr would strike.
 The Extremity os Po!-teaess. It does beat all, as the good country people say, how polite so:no people are. A Boston lady tells Of a gentleman, so called, who asked permission to smoke g cigar in her presence. Sa2 does notat i al dislike the odcv of a rp3l cigar. and ! readily cran:e3 permission. But TO, on !