The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-26
VACANT LOT COAL MINERS.
Eager scavenEers who Live on the windraiii
OF Circumstance.

OF Circumstauce.
There are not any real coal mines underneath
the ground in New York. that Is. not any that
are known. but there arc %quarries whore
miners work early and late these cold days and
derive benefit therefrom, both in regard to exer-
else and substantial proceeds.
II make, or rather l save, 90 cents a day"
said a thrifty looking colored woman armed
with n bucket brimful Of coal which she Ind
picked from the ashyards at the terminus of the
elevated road. at pays me to come every
mornin'. If I had time to spare I'd pick later.
after the others got tired. but them what's busy
can't do that. You sec the ash cars carry upa
load of stuff every mornin' and evenin' and
dump 1t down, and sometimes you can pick out
a whole lot of pieces what amt never burned
at all. and will make a good fire."
Wherever there is a coal pocket for supplying
tho engines on the elevated roads with fuel.
scraps and stray Jumps of coal tumble out and
fall into the street below, and under each of
these precious stations there is an eagor scav-
enger or two gathering up these windfalls Of
circumstance. Some of the wagonmen who
carry stuff to certain vacant lots where filling
in Is needed give the privilege Of coal picking
for a small consideration.
How many of you children are there = was
asked Of a boy who. wheelbnrrow in hand, was
commanding his body of aides.de-camp In a coal
picking expedition.
Nine" was the laconic answer.
"And how old are youi You don't look more
than H."
I'm IS, and there's two older. All the rest
is kids. Mother does all her ironing with tho
coal we get, and tho cooking. too, most of 1t. I
don't go to school no more"
And your wheelbarrowf 7"
It was a battered article that had seem
inRly existed for generations.
II borrows it from the man in the shop. No,
we don't live far, not moro than two blocks
Coal is heavy"
A certain vacant lot uptown in process of be-
these days. 1t is much below the surface Of the
street. and the ground Is covered with cropping
f nSI pieces g' 81 " coal. .s Some sS are sis = CIV With II spadsss.
II kin, git two bags in a mornin' easy said a
youthful coal digger. changing his slim spade o6
prehensiyely over the coal field. Plenty of
folks picks up their fuel this way, and them
Near by was II group OF these real smart"
ing on tho ground absorbed in their task. The
mans, blue trousers and the red plaid shawl
and lodged about her waist made n CLINT OF
color in the neutral dinRiness. The TWO had
earth. They now and then drew forth treasures
black, uncharrea, and valuable. Two heavy
s sneir n TSEG at h The ;, ,m,o %H Sield inSy sS Sr1weS Of
the hol ow. was Uttered with bits of broken
glass, with tin cans twisted Hwry, hoops;
The like. Some too asscrtive piles OF rubbish
had been sot on fire. and the smoke blow athwart
q company OF child scayengers kneeling in ne
ashes ana cindcrs. and their faces wore q siolid;
amer mnd s SThrdfSs oSer II" the e"s sSSii serF yober ant iitt Esu care.
takers these. the undisguiged pleasure with
when making mud pies and dirt houses is lack
ing with them. They are girls, and from their
varying sizes and the couple OF women near II
| RppnDl likely That one or TWO nnttrO families
had shut up house ana turned out to CLEAN coal
while 4 good harvest offered. ., ,.,,, -. ann,
could hardly stagger up, the, emhankment, so
heavy was the sack Of coal on her back. and hor
the woighto his burden. They had evidently
been picking since very early In the day. Two
turned up a goodiy assortment Of charred cm:
bers. and. rs They moved away their aprons and
bandana handkcrchicfs which they had util-
lied rather than leave any OF their accumula'
Some OF them there Italians mixes their find
ings with a fair quality Of bought coal ana sells
wv H Smo ,Sasn more than saia a4 Se9 ih 1F rSo coal SaR piskcI
to accumulate right smart money ut the bust
ness 6Mt tmGn my 5 siGGT c 40 e TO to ~ " YSSu a sen
the folks what buys the coal pickin's second
hand gets them n sigh, cheaper than they could
git coal from "ny OF the coal yards, and people
with big families what has TO count every cent
is glad OF he chance. ,,., =,
boys lodging houses downtown who pays hi
OF the coal pickin's he sells. Hess up here mos
the very first one in the mornin's, and he's >,
spry he gots ahead of tho old, stiff. jointe,
pickers. lie amt got anybody TO look 10, what
anything TO him, and he gels along BY cleanin
stuff they give him for the job, and by this herr
coal pickin' usiness. II ever | hear. OF n goo'
load bcirg dumped any whore. ] look out 70
him to give he word. and he's always welcom,
to n ride on my wagon. II seems he glls nj
breakfast and bed aud his dinner to the lodginl
house. hut nothing at midday except what h.
/. can pick up. Kind Of hard on a boy not NOR
than eleven years DID,
: Every where on the route OF the trains tina
come into New YORK those coal pickors are seeI
on the lookout for falling coal. and IT. is aston
/ isning tho amount they accumulate bit by bit
The boy who makes his 10 cents o day Is onl,
one out OF hundreds,