The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-06
IN PECK SLIP FISH MARKET.
lively Scene ut Auction sales to He
brew Merchnnfs

| brew Merchants.
Prom the New York Evening Post)
Peek slip is the fish market for Hebrew
merchants who live within a radius OF
nity miles OF Manhattan. To this point
come pedd!ers from beyond Bayonne and
New brunswick, n. J., storekeepers from
| Nestchester's towns, push-cart men from
the 'red-light' district. and mongers from
Mulberry Bend. strengthening people
they are, and dirty-Russian, Polish, and
| Austrian Jews, some in the peasant garb
OF their native lands; others. longer here.
IN greasy brown oyeralls and Jumpers
Most of them wear their hair long. and
the more recent arrivals have their feet
| encased in odd black hip boots with high
heels. The men with the boots wear long
military whiskers and tall black Astrak-
| han caps set rakishly OK one side of the
| mead. Each day they assemble and secure
| posts OF vantage near the .narket-place be-
| fore o'clock in the morning, so that they
cfl be ready when the call of the auction
eer is sounded.
The sales are made by boxes. each one of
which contains about $50 pounds OF fresh
| fish direct from the Great Lakes. As fast
as each consignment arrives by truck from
the railroad terminals, the boxes are auc-
toned OFF on the curb, and so fast are the
sales made that each box Is sold almost
before it touches the pavement In the pro-
cess OF unloading. The auction is over be-
fore noon, and the curb cleared of its
noisy, pushing throng, but in those few
hours of business the total sales Of the
three or four auctioneers amount to more
than those of any other business conducted
on Fulton Market.
The auctioneers are usually the foreu, m
of the markets that have fish to sell:
brawny, big men, well able TO quiet the
outbreaks mat not infrequently arise
among their buyers. They make their ap-
pearance, each morning. with their heavy
uisters encased in enormous white aprons.
and stalk up and down the sidewalks.
Ratchet in hand, waiting for the fish.
When the first truck pulls into sight.
they rap Loudly with their hatchets on the
water pipes in front of their stores. The
sharp, resonant sound can be heard for
blocks, and in answer to the call the He
brews come tumbling from all directions
in mad rush to get as near as possible
TO the boxes as they are unloaded They
pull, haul, and shove each other, and even
Jostle the big auctioneer who fetches the
nearest offender a slap on the head with
as much uneoncern as though he were
striking at a box of fish. The truckman
pitches the first box down among the
clamoring ones. 1t may be filed with
pike, perch, whitefsh. carp. or white bass.
With clip Of the Ratchet off comes the
head of the box, and the buyers crowd and
push, craning their necks to get a look
at the vendibIe. Those on the outside
lean upon the shoulders of those in front:
all who can reach in and feel of the fish.
How much am l ofered?'' calls the
auctioneer
Ugh, no good" grunts one merchant.
Skinny. says another. TOO much ice,
very little fish," protests a third. stretch
ban in
tioneer.
Nail it up and Jerk it inside" orders
the man with the Ratchet. DO you think
I'm giving it away?'
The boys with the hammers start to
fasten down the cover with great show
of disgust.
Il give you so cents shouts PoIack
on the outside. Il give you dollar" ex-
cltedly answers a big man with his hands
still in the box, pulling as though TO take
it. Fifty cents more" from the Polack.
who is now trying in vain to push his way
in.
'Dog," mutters the big man, glaring
over the bobbing heads at his rival. But
the bidding is started. and the price is run
up to $500 amid groans and jeers.
'One hundred and forty pounds of perch
to Yankel, the killer. at six-sixty." shouts
the auctioneer to his bookkeeper who is
inside lie store. The box is nailed up and
chalk-marked for '-Yankel the killer" and
set to one side, while the same wrangle
gees on over each succeeding box that is
offered.
''Hokey-Pokey." an odd little man. with
a limp, who pebbles candy and cake in the
summer and fish and coal in the winter,
buys the next two boxes. 'Lippey, from
Newark" supposed to be the richest mer-
chant in his quarter, but who doesn't look
it gets the next three Then Ida the
queen" a woman merchant, who does a
commission business. pushes into the
group, fighting her way to the aucticneer,
where she buys several boxes. Thus the
sale goes on, until the load is exhausted
and then the Hebrews draw off in groups,
where they fight the battle over again.
away al each other like lot
Of sparrows.
Marketmen who speak and understand
the Yiddish tongue say that in these ex-
cited discussions the Hebrew merchants
accuse each other of all kinds of sharp
practice. rake up old tales about each
others business, and form combinations
among themselves to fight each other over
the next load OF fish that is sold under
the hammer.
When the last load had been sold. the
Hebrews collect their mornings pur-
chases They pile their boxes together
and sit upon them, waiting for their
fruckmen to come and cart them away.
They do not deal with South Street team
sters. The Hebrews have their own
truckmen from their own quarter and
they ride away on the team themselves.
To this the Y:aiish teamsters do not OBJ
ect. because the merchants say. Sure,
We ride-we have to watch cur boxes all
he way home"