The age-herald., 1898-02-21
STRANGE SCAVENGERS.
How the Markets of Charleston, s. c., Ar
 Kept Clean.
From the Washington Star.

From the Washington Star
 Charleston, s. C., has the most primi. tive and peculiar scavengers in the world Hundreds-it seems thousands-of carrion crows or buzzards, in the very early morn- ing, swoop down upon the historical old city from the tall palm or palmetto forests which skirt the western suburbs. In the waking hours any passenger en- tering Charleston on the Columbia express can see huge black Jumps fall from the trees about. They never hit the ground. Out in the open these black Jumps gather in struggling flock and flop their way over toward the custom house. They are buzzards While the twilight is yet gray these vulgar birds go to the city market and infest 1t for an hour or two Tho passenger who was startled by their dull flop from their palmetto perches, and saw. great black clouds of them move across the low rice flats, can, if he goes to the market place, see the same birds. disgust- ingly tame, running about the stall flows of the meat mart; fighting with the hunger of dogs of the city for the bones and waste which fall from the butchers meat block.
 A stranger who did not appreciate the health value of these buzzards is liable to kill one of them. Then he is liable to be fined $10, for the city does not allow it's curious scavenger birds to be destroyed with impunity.
 The Charleston market is a noted placo in the south. It runs from Market street to the waters edge, and Is the main thor- oughfare for the crowd of pedestrians who come and go from the harbor boats. It Is a novel sight to see the hurrying feet of workmen treading their way carefully among those wild birds gathered there by the hundreds. Like domestic chickens. they stand about, and. like domestic dogs. they watch for every piece of waste as it is dropped from a meat block One would hardly think, as he pushes the big birds out of the way, that these same feathered things roost in the forest, and are tame no- where else In the markets they never attempt to steal meat from the counter.
 Going through the three or four blocks of the big market one morning the writer counted over 300 of these buzzards walk ing about as nonchalantly as though 1t was their own poultry. yard. They will not get out of your way. They fight every dog or cat that attempts to run in op- position, and will scramble with man or a child who competes with them for 0 fallen scrap of meat. But they keep the Charleston markets clean, perfectly clean. As a result of their thorough scavenger work this is the cleanest and healthiest meat market in the world.
 In consideration of their assistance in keeping the city clean the municipal coun- cil has made it an offense to injure or Kill one of them. An offender not only has to pay a $1O fine, but usually gets free lec- ture on the laws of health and the value of the buzzards as assistant members of the local board of health. By an hour after sunrise the birds have all left tho city. It is for this reason that the visitor to the city, who usually gets up after that hour, and strols out later, never sees this extraordinary sight of wild birds acting as market scavengers.