Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-08-27
A NOVEL BUSINESS.
COOKED FOOD HAULED TO THE
WORKING MEN DAILY.
THEY ARR A" FLOATING HOTELS
Colored Women Have Rugged Up
Old-Timcy Wagons and Given the
Looming Mules Job-Thousnnds
Served and Much Money Made.

Even In a quiet, conservative city. such
as Richmond, one who keeps his eyes
open cannot help observing things that
are odd II not new under the sun"
People dress very much alike in the
main, but under close scrutiny their man
ner and material OF dress are widely diff
ierent. Men have many different occu-
pations and live under much varying
conditions.
In the country everybody eats break
fast at O'Clock. dinner at u. and supper
from to ). This Is SO all the year
around. But go complex is the clviliza-
ton Of the closing years of this century
n the larger cities that there il not an
hour In the twenty-fOur that somebody
is not just getting up. and somebody
just gOirg 90 bed. one cannot walk
upon tho streets - Richmond at any
time morning, evening. or the wee smd
hours % the night, without seeing peO-
pie going 10 and returning from work.
one has only 10 pass a restaurant where
meals are served at oil hours, day ana
night 90 see something of this. Let the
hour be what it may. somebody is at the
table. j is his breakfast. dinner. or
supper. though 1t may be an odd hour
for any one. Of these.
FLOATING HOTELS.
Eating suggests It. Perhaps many have
not thought, that besides ner fine
hostelries, Richmond has a number OF
floating hotels" Every day of the
week. except Sunday, in Richmond and
Manchester many pots boil in private
houses for the service Of others all over
the city. There are d number oe wagons
which go all over the city every
day wherever then arc III work.
ana carry hot food for sale. This in
dustry belongs mainly 10 coOred people,
though white people are often interested.
II Is much an industry with the colored
women as washing clothes or any
other work by which they make their
bread. II there are not women enough
in one house 20 DO the large amount
OF cooking each day, two or more houses
club in. They cook up all the coarse.
strong food they can get. Cabbage and
bacon is a fav09ite feature o. the menu.
There are Brunswick stew, potsful OF
beans and blackeye peas. Many OTHER
things, more dainty and gracious to the
appetite. are cooked up. There are pies
aud cakes. which are iced and speck'ed
with plumbs and altogether fixed up
so that a working mans money doesn't
stand any show.
WAGON IS A PEACH.
When everything is ready the wagon
Is loaded. The vehicle is almost without
exception a tumble-dOwn, broken-up,
crank-sided concern, whose four wheels
stripe the earth at any anglc-except the
right One-from 60 degrees up to I2O. The
horse. well the horse IS generally a mule
He has ~. S." branded on the fore.eg.
and saw four years Of service in the
war between the States" He has very
good complexion generally, but decided
~ hollow In the cheeks, and particularly
the hips. lie has been, with difficulty,
seen 10 walk, but never TO trot. 1t is in
fact. often necessary for the observer TO
stop wa king himself 10 find the statu
quo Of the Least. Another interesting fea-
ture OF this get up is that TO one IS ever
left at home 10 take care Of the chill
dren." The fact Is. there are no children
at home. The last dirty-faced, yelling kid
is piled in the wagon with the Brunswick
stew and other edibles and taken along.
More than this. all the women go, too.
Not one Of them IS not honest but color
ed women. as rule. like to watch each
other
How these poor army mules can carey
this load is a marvel, but they do il. The
wagons go 10 every place in either city
where men ore at work. They always ar
rive on the scene just at the dinner hour
and the steaming hot and really good food
is offered at low prices TO the hungry
men. II works like a charm. The dinner
that the CONAN at home fixed up is
cold. and actually goes 10 the dogs, while
tho man plunges about I'm his clothes
until he finds a scent piece lie fills his
bucket with stew. or bacon and cabbage,
and his bucket-top with hot bread. Then
he feGsts. OftentImes ne sips hot coffee.
There ia no telling how much food Is
thus cooked up and eaten up each day
this way. and how much money is made.
The colored women say Il beats washing
several times over. There is less work in
It, and much more money, 10 say no.
thing Of the ride and the honor of keep
ing a vehicle and team. This is, joking
aside. a great business There are thOl-
sands Of men who belong to the tin
bucket brigade, and not one Of the color
ed members of these regiments who is
not a patron of the floating hotels"
MaIN-STREF.1r pAnFrsc nTTT