Cherry County independent. (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 18??-1896, 1892-12-22
MARKETS. OF MOSCOW.
Queer Features of Life Among the
Russians.

husSidUSs
visited some of the Russian markets
here. saws Frank G.. Carpenter, in a letter
| from Moscow. and they have many fea-
| lures which could be adopted with profit
bv us. Fish are sold alive, and the only
| dead ones are the dried ones. They are
kent in stone watts of running water, and
the tishwife will stand with a dozen OF
these marble watts about her, each filed
with different kinds of fish. Russia has
some of the greatest fisheries in the world.
Millions upon millions of dollars worth
OF fish are taken every year from the
Volga, the Caspian and the Black seas
and all the ~caviare in the world comes
from here. You see this caviare sold IN
cans and tubs in the markets. 1t locks
like bird shot sprinkled with salt water
and it is made up of the eggs Of the
sturgeon. which are killed for this p0r-
pose. 1t brings high prices even IN
Russia and is best when 1t IS fresh. In
fact. Russians say that caviare should
not be more than a month old to be good
and that you cannot get good cayiare
further away from the Folga than Mos
COW. The meat OF the sturgeon, after
the ~caviare has been made from the eggs,
is sailed and sold. You can buy it here
for about 10 cents 4 pound, and all sorts
of dried fish are eaten by the people.
They are shipped in great crates the
country and they form a large part of
the diet of the peasant. The cons2mp-
ton of fish is increased by the numerous
Russian fasts, during which the
people cannot eat meat and must conflne
themselves to fish.
The q~ueerest markets of Russia ar
those of the winter, when all sorts o
fish and meats are sold in Il frozen state
The Russian winter is so cold that these
fish are caught at the beginning of it,
are placed in watts and are sold in blocks
TO suit the customers. The dealers buy
them by the tons and store them away
for their retail customers of the winter.
Beef, mutton and poultry are frozen the
same way and a butcher can lay III dur
ing October his full supply of meats for
the next six months. The meats are
frozen so hard that q knife cannOt cut
them, and it is necessary to saw them up
or crop them with an AK. Splinters of
frozen meat fly about over the market
and children and beggars collect these
and take them home to their families.
There are many curious things sold Ill
the markets here, and you can buy cells
and snakes and chicken legs. Lambs
feet are sold as a great dainty and calves
feet are bought for soup bones. Among
the oils which are used by the peasants
for salads and cooking is sunf1Ower oil,
and one of the great industries of this
country is sunflower raising. The peas
ants eat sunfower seeds in large quanti-
ties and they nibble at them and chew
upon them as we do peanuts. You can
hardly find a man who has not some sun
flower seeds in his pocket and everywhere
you 90 you see women with baskets of
these black and gray seeds for sale, They
taste very much like pumpkin seeds and
the peasants eat them at their gatherings
Just as the Chinese do watermelon seeds
at the theatre.
A vast deal of business is done here IN
Russia by peddling. On many of the
business streets of Moscow there are long
lines of open-air stands and ~bare-headed
Russian men and frowzy-headed women
sell fruit, vegetables and knick-knacks
under the blaze of the hot sun. THERE'S
an immense business lone in little booths
and the so-called thieves market is a
fixed institution of every Russian city.
This name has come largely from the
guides and there is nOdOubt that many of
the articles sold are stolen. The truth,
however, is that these markets are second
hand markets and that many Of the fine
articles which these secondhand dealers
sell have come to them in q Legitimate
way. This second hand market in st.
Petersburg covers nearly a whole block.
The building which constitutes it is cut
up into all sorts of angles by arcades,
and you 90 through narrow aisles out
upon which look little cells packed full
of secondhand goods and presided over
by ~hard-looking women and villainOus
men. 1t is said that ones pocket book
is not at all safe in this quarter and that
a stranger ought not to 90 through it
alone. L had a guide with me, and
though the crowd was rather noisy and
somewhat impudent IN their requests
that should buy of them. / saw nothing
very dangerous Or terrible. In some of
these shops you will find the finest Of
silver plate. There are bushels Of
watches and old rugs which are almost
worth their weight in gold. The dealers,
however, thoroughly appreciate the value
of their goods, and real bargains are
scarce. Much of the stuff is said to be
brought to the market by servants, and
now and then you can pick up a piece of
bric-a-brac or plate that has been stolen
from one of the palfc.s. Russia has a
system of pawnbrok n :, and the pawn
shops are connected with the govern
ment. The money is loaned upon
pledged articles at a fixed rate. and all
pledges which are not redeemed are sold
ut auction.