Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-20
DARKIES HUSTLING.
ONE WAY OF MAKING THE EASY GO
i ING NEGRO STIR HIMSELF.

A Pleasant Industry for the Charleston
Colored Folk Originated by New Yorl
Notwithstanding for silver-Div
ing for Greenbaclks.
Asteamer was just leaving Charleston
bound for Jacksonville, Fla. A stop OF
: several hours at the famous old earth
quake city had made pleasant break
in the three days run from New
York. Many of the passengers had
taken advantage of it to drive about the
quaint old town, curiously observing the
great cracks caused by the upheaval
that still remains in many of the build.
ings. Others took a sail over to Fort
Moultrie or to Fort Sumter. where the
civil war was started. Perhaps the
most interesting point for the sightseers
who remained ashore was old st. Mich
ael's church. Some of the more sturdy
climbed far up into the steeple, from
whence General Beauregard had
watched and directed the battle. until
the Yankee gunners had got the range
of his observatory and put cannon ball
right through the steeple, not far from
the generals head, when he discreetly
retired.
These passengers were so much i'm
pressed with the historical associations
connected with the place that it was al
most relief when half hours diver
sion came to them. As the steamer was
moving away from her pier an ambitious
little tug that puffed and snorted and
footed enough for couple of ocean
liners missed its hold, and the big steam
ers bow drifted slowly around until she
lay broadside to the outer end of the
pier. Here she was held for awhile by
stiff breeze that pinned her up against
the pier and by the mud that griped
her keel.
Perhaps it was the cheerful recollec-
ton of past experiences which they
hoped to have repeated that caused all
the darkies, big and little, the six-year-
old pickaninny and the grayheaded,
stoop shouldered reminiscence of slavery
days to hurry down to the end of this
pier. There are few things that will
arouse the dusky southerner who makes
his home along the river front. He is an
easy going, happy natured fellow, fond
er of laugh than he is of work, who
finds his greatest content in doing
away in some sun sheltered nook upon
the wharf, resting to the full from the
arduous toll that he fancies he may be
called upon to perform in the week to
come.
They were of this class who came
frooping down to the steamer by the
dozen and score. A careful patching
into one suit of the attire of half of them
would have made beautiful crazy quilt
garb for one. 1t is doubtful if the most
conscientious and painstaking cobbler
could have constructed decent pSir of
shoes out of the material he found upon
that pier.
! However, it was diversion to the pas
sengers ON the upper deck to see that mot
ley crowd, and when dumpy little fellow
with wonderful mouth, that must have
created great vacuum in the atmos-
phere every time he breathed, pranced
to the front and shouted, ''Now, ladies
and gents, jes' you tro dime at dis yere
hole, n if don ketch it she don count, -
there were instantly three or four dimes
aimed at the "hole." But none of them
made Dullseye. l fancy the game
must have been played before, for the
instant the dimes flashed in the sunlight
"a half dozen stalwart negroes leaped
upon the shoulders of the possessor of
the mouth and bore him to the ground.
Then there was scramble! A Yale
Harvard football scrimmage is supposed
to contain as much of writhing, contor-
tioning, muscular humanity es it is posi-
BILE to get into given space. But Yale
Harvard tangle would be sort of kin
'dergarten frolic in comparison. That
one scramble lasted more than ten min
iutes. During that time the pile of dusky
humanity was ten feet high at least, and
there were twoscore Of writhing forms
in the heap, all struggling with despera-
tion to get at the unfortunate fellows
down below who were supposed to be
clutching the dimes. I'll warrant that
during that ten minutes there was an
individual waste of energy that would
have kept the participants in food for
week if otherwise directed.
But that was only the beginning. The
sport became as exciting to the watchers
as to those who took part. Quarters
and half dollars began to shower upon
the wharf, which was now thronged
with an eager, dark faced multitude,
whose eyes glistened. The most sober
minded passenger caught the infection
and began to feel around in his clothes
for silver. A well known Bellevue hos
pital physician, DR.. J. S. O'Neil, gather
led together all the silver dollars that
had been given him in change in
Charleston, and kept half a dozen
heaps of darkies in turmoil at once.
The climax came as the steamer began
slowly to move away from the pier.
Some one waved a two dollar bill and
asked who would dive for it. 81 willw
came from two dozen throats, and there
was a general peeling of jackets-from
those who were dudish enough to wear
Jackets. The bill futtered on to the
water ten feet from the pier. There was
an anxious, hesitating, regretful pause
and a scratching of heads. Then there
was plunge, a few sturdy strokes by a
young negro, and he clutched the bill.
The passengers gave him cheer and
the steamer sailed away.-New Yorl
Herald.
f.
The Cow Tree.
The COW tree, the sap of which close
ly resembles milk, is native of South