Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-05-08
CHARCOAL BURNERS.
POOR MEN WHO LIVE HAPPILY IN
THE LOUISIANA PINES.

cipal Foods-Some Pleasure and q Little
Preaching-Boys In the Business.
A few evenings since New Orleans
Picayune reporter was induced to go
aboard one of the dozen or more char
coal boats which are to be found at the
head of the new basin canal at all sea-
SONS of the year. The entire charcoal
supply Of the city is brought in through
the canal 1t is manufactured across the
lake in the pine woods, where quite an
industry has sprung up within late years.
On an average boat day arrives at
the head of the canal Here the charcoal
is transferred to wagons and peddled
about New Orleans.
The charcoal burners lead a very rough
life. As usual thing, they have camps
and are stationed away out in the
woods, their charcoal ofttimes being
hauled several miles to the lake. The
man to whom the reporter was talking
said that there were at some seasons of
the year as many as 200 men engaged in
the work.
ssThe life of the charcoal burner is q
very hearty, sometimes a romantic life.
In the winter it is very pleasant one,
for then the fires which burn all night
furnish CHEEKY spectacle Every night
in the winter, when the heaps have all
been finished and the burning begins,
the men gather about the fires and cook
their suppers. Some cook in their tents
and camps, but great deal Of the cook
ing is done by the charcoal fires. Sweet
potatoes furnish the greatest diet for
the charcoal man. These are obtained
from the surrounding country in any
number, and at night every man roasts
himself as many as he wants for his sup
per- Frequently they roast enough at
night to serve for breakfast. Every now
and then we had an egg roasting. An
egg roasted in the charcoal is excellent.
They wrap the eggs i'll leaves, dig
trench in the ground, and, filling it part
ly with burning Goals, place thereon
thin layer of sand, to retain the heat,
and in five minutes they are roasted. b.
"Fish is cooked often in the same way
as we'll as meats of any kind, when we
are SO fortunate as to kill any game.
The opossum roasted in the ground is
simply excellent. There are many ne
groes in the charcoal business, and al
most any night they can be seen dress
ing an opossum, getting it ready for
baking in the ground. The negroes work
hard to get their pine burning, and then
blow up their dogs and HE away to the
woods, hunting de possum. 1t is no
unfrequent thing to have half dozen
negroes baking possum about the same
fire
1.-THE fires have to be watched all
night usually, so as to insure the pine
from burning up, and singing, dancing,
banjo playing and general good cheer
prevail all night long. Some sleep
while others watch. Strange to say, the
gambling habit does not prevail in the
charcoal fields to the extent one would
suppose. Very little of crap shooting
prevails.
tThe charcoal business is mostly con-
Quoted by individuals There are no COR
porations about it. The woods are free,
and the only capital needed is an ak and
box of matches. Living is cheap, and
what money is made comes almost en-
tirely as profit.
"After the fires are extinguished and
the handling of charcoal begins, the
woods become filed with SCOT and dust,
so that the business is necessarily dirty
one all the time. But now and then the
men clean up bit and go to church.
Every few weeks some Methodist preach
er visits the camps and stays day and
night The men get all the SCOT they
can off their faces, gather about the fires,
and the preacher gives them talk.
There are no churches in the woods Of
course. Indeed it is 15 or 20 miles to the
nearest settlement of any size. The pine
forests are not free everywhere, and
charcoal burners have to go where they
can get the material cheapest.
"Do you see that small boat over
there to the leftf" said the charcoal man,
pointing to a very fiat looking craft,
upon the stern of which four or five
dirty little boys were lying in the sun
shine. "That is boat owned and man.
aged by little boys, who come from New
Orleans. They have their own axes and
conduct tn01r own business.
Upon walking on board the little
craft, the scribe was shown down into
kind of hold underneath the boat. There,
sitting in the middle Of the craft, was
charcoal furnace, and about the sides of
the boat were hanging skillets and pans.
A broken mouthed coffeepot steamed
upon the furnace, and the boys explain
ed how they did their cooking aboard
when "dey wuz coming in wild der char
COAL The little fellows seemed as
happy as pigs in the sunshine, and while
the SCOT made them look much like ne
groes they were genuine white lads.
They said that they made pretty good
money out of their business and loved it.
They told interesting stories of how
they killed their own meat, caught fish
from the lake and lived in the woods
These little boys had just finished
selling their cargo and were waiting for
q tug to carry them out into the lake.
There was an air of comfort about the
little charcoal fellows, which was pleas
ing. Indeed all the charcoal people were
found to be kind and accommodating,
tulu IHduy VI tHeHl pOSSeSSSu VI IuOT6
than ordinary intelligence.
Honey has been known rrom the ear
hest times. The Scriptures make men
tion of it and pagan writers celebrated
its virtues. 1t was called the milk Of
the aged'' and was thought to prolong
life. Honey was also used in the en-
ballning of the body after death.
This food, as useful as it is delicious,
was esteemed most highly by the Greeks,
who celebrated its virtues alike in prose
and verse, so that the fame of Attic
honey has been transmitted unimpaired
to our own day. Used in all kinds Of
pastry, cake and ragouts, it was also es-
teemed as a sauce. Pythagoras, in the
latter portion of his life, was vegeta-
rian, and lived wholly on bread and
honey, a diet which he recommended to
his disciples. And this gentle philoso-
pher reached the ripe age of 80 years be-
fore he departed from life.
The true source from which honey is
derived was only discovered in later
years. Virgil supposed that its delicious
sweetness fell from heaven upon flowers
in the shape of gentle, invisible dew,