San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-04-26
CHARLESTON'S RAH-RAHS.
Mischievous Little Negro Chimney
Sweeps and Their Curious Life.
Some of the Fantastic Tricks Played
by the Inky Elves - How They
Operate Among Peoples
Chimneys.

Speaking of city-bred boys who gan
a livelihood by doing odd jobs here anc
there, the little chimney-sweeps il
Charleston are interesting" said |
woman who spent last winter in tina
conservative old town. "From contin
ually showing their way up and down
the narrow flues their clothes become
one mass of shreds and tatters, to which
the SCOT clings obstinately. 1 saw {
number of them dancing like imps o.
darkness on street corner one after
noon. They were inky black from head
TO heel, the SCOT clinging even to theil
eyebrows"
Don't the people burn coal il
Charleston"
"Oh, yes But a great many won't
hear of using anything but wood il
their sleeping-rooms, and the big two
story brick kitchens belonging to the
houses, originally built to accommodate
an army of slaves, but now occupied by
families of more or less irresponsible
negroes, all have open freplaces, il
which wood, usually ightwood, is
burned. The law requires that each o.
these chimneys shall be swept at least
once a month. The city is divided into
districts, each district leased out to 6
contractor, who engages to attend t.
the sweeping, and he in turn hires 6
small black sweep, who can easily gel
up and down the chimneys to clear
them. I think ten cents story is the
charge for sweeping a chimney"
"And what wages do the sweeps get|
Anything, nothing, according tc
their need or the inclination of the con
tractor. They make living, such as il
is, and that is all they expect. They
don't work all day, and as they are full
of mischief they generally give the con
tractor plenty of occupation in look
ing after them. They play truant and
all sorts of fantastic tricks, and fire.
quently stop more than once on the
way to some appointment to have
Jig or breakdown in the streets or some
vacant office. The contractor treats
them well, because the Office of sweep
not being in high repute, or much
sought after, he finds it difficult to Sc.
cure employees"
"How do they clean the fues?"
"They have a short-handled brush
not unlike hearth brush, only it has
bristles on both sides, and three-cor
nered iron scraper. They rest their
feet on the projecting, uneven bricks
on either side of the chimney and climb
up in that way. 1t is part of their duty
to sing when they get up to the top"
"To sing?"
"Yes, in order to show that they
have gone all the way up. They have 6
peculiar rhythmic cry, which they re
peat over and over: 'Rah-r-a-h, rah
r-a-h!' People in the neighborhood &c
to the windows when they hear this
cry to see the sweep. Grotesque enough
he looks, with half his body protruding
from the chimney; black goblin uI
among the roofs, an army Of dislodged
bats and chimney swallows futtering
about his head.
'Rah-rahs' the children call them
1lOUlC ollSS eLt oil oid
Of them, thinking them something I'M
canny.
ct Is famous trick with these lit
tie imps to brush up against pedes'
TRANS in the most unseemly way in the
world, doing it purposely so as to soil
their clothing. They walk along care
lessly. to all appearance, with their
heads turned around behind them, and
then are all apologies when the collision
they designed takes place.
There was quite an excitement one
day in a house in our neighborhood
A sweep got stuck fast in the chimney
and could neither move up nor down
The contractor thought he was fooling
at first, but afterward a bricklayel
was sent for and hole made in the
chimney, through which the little pris
oner escaped from his irksome posi-
tion."-N. Y. Tribune.