Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-13
FROM RUBBISH | } HEAPS
Many Persons Sustain Life
by Pickings at Market.
DECAYED VEGETABLES
REFUSE GATHERED BY THOSE
ABLE TO BUY BETTER.
Strange Phase of Life in the City Of
Washington - Fraternity
of Rockers.

That trite and true saying, "One-half Of
the world does not know how the other half
lives finds many apt illustrations in this
city of picturesqueness and plenty. One CT
the most striking of these illustrations is
furnished by the refuse heaps which on
market days line the roadway in the rear of
the farmers and truckers stands along B
street Immediately south of Center market.
The heaps in question consist of cabbage
leaves, decayed or partly decayed tomatoes,
apples, potatoes, turnips and other vegeta-
bles and fruit, which have been thrown
away by the country dealers while sorting
their wares. These refuse heaps furnish
certain food supply to a class of people
who are variously termed by the dealers
''hookers, rangers and "scratchers." The
great majority Of these refuse gatherers
are, of course, those who are compelled by
grim poverty to procure subsistence for
themselves and families as best they may.
There are others, however, who are we'll
TODD in this worlds goods, and who rake
over the refuse piles for partly decaye1 veg
etables from sheer misery motives.
One of the latter class, woman, was
pointed out to the writer by George NJ. Hen
ault of Forestville. Md, who has for years
occupied stand on the country line along
thin. sharp features and gray hair, and
was attired in faded black costume. When
attention was called to this woman she was
bending over a pile of cabbage leaves, kale
and discarded vegetables. With deft fingers
she selected such of the leaves, potatoes,
turnips or apples she wanted and placed
them in covered basket which she carried
on her arm. Thus she went from heap to
heap picking and scratching over the re-
fuse, until her basket was heaping full
THAT woman" said Mr.. Henauit, ''is en-
ployed in one of the government depart
mentS at fairly good salary. She also
owns several houses in this city, as have
learned upon good authority. She is not
content with de1ving into the rubbish piles,
but while passing the stands of the coun-
try folks should she see onion, tomato
or apple which has fallen from the tray or
barrel to the sidewalk she will stoop quick
ly, seize and place 1t in her basket or in
that black bag she carries. We have great
sympathy for the really poor persons who
seek for their food in the refuse piles, but
for such that woman we have only con-
tempt"
The Fraternity of Rockers.
A conspicuous member of the fraternity
of "hookers'' or "scrat cheers Is an old
white man who is known to the market peo-
pie as Soup Bone Charlie" He wears a
soiled and ill-fitting suit of clothes, but the
expression of his face betokens that he has
seen better days and that he is a man of
more than ordinary Intelligence Those who
know this old mans history say he was in
his palmy days proprietor of several gam
bling establishments in and about Wash
ington in years gone by, his last place of
business being 9Th street He was put
out of business by the police, and since
then has been going down the scale until
he has now nearly reached the last notch,
and finds himself compelled to delve In the
refuse heaps about Center market in order
to provide subsistence for his frail Old
body
IT,
words and goes about his task of collecting
provender silently and with the earnest APP
plication of one pursuing a legitimate line
of work. He carries small sack into
which he puts the refuse vegetables he COL
lects. When the sack is full he proceeds to
the butchers stalls and skirmishes around
until he has secured soup bone or small
piece of meat. Then he proceeds to his
Kitchen" as he terms it. to prepare his
meal His kitchen consists of a small pile of
bricks on the Potomac flats near the Long
bridge, in which he builds fire. The pre-
Vailing high price of fuel has no terrOrs for
| the old man. He has a seemingly unfail-
| ing supply of driftwood which is gathered
| from the beach along the flats.
The tides and waves are good to me
| supply runs low they wash up more for
| me-
| A colored man who watched Charles pro-
| cess of making soup, said the ingredients
were cabbage leaves, bee tops, two Irish
| potatoes, an onion, red pepper pod, to-
I matoes, turnips, beef bone and a piece of
| mutton, none too fresh
Never Begs for Money.
Those who know Soup Bone Charlie"
well say he disdains to ask any one for
money, and will suffer rather than do so.
| Several years ago he sold fish to a few Sc
| lect customers in West Washington. His
| fish were always fresh and prime, and he
| received good prices for them. Suddenly he
| ceased serving his customers, and one of
| his former patrons meeting him on the
| street asked him why he had not made his
| early morning rounds with fish, as had
| been his practice.
Il am out of the fish business now"
| Charlie replied They caught me-
When pressed for an explanation he said
| he had secured his fish supply from the
| government fish ponds near the Washing
| ton monument in the early mornings, and
! that Waterman had caught him in the
| act of angling for Uncle Sans pscatorial
| products and warned him that his next Of
| tense would land him in jail. He had
| thereupon desisted and gone out of the fish
| business.
| Gee but did a land office business while
| / was at it," remarked the old man. de-
| scribng his experience as a poacher on the
| governments fish preserves. THE fish
| would bite as fast as could drop my line
in the pond and 1 caught a bag full every
| morning before sunup. They were thicker
| in those ponds than Cinnamon in Pekin"
Where this queer old man sleeps Is
1 Y.
place he gazes qnzzically at his interroga-
| tor and replies:
The birds of the air have nests; the
| beasts of the fields have dens, but burrow
like a rat and the police can't find me,
| either" ssqs s-s e rs,
Among the others who find the refuse
heaps profitable places are certain itinerant
lunch vendors, particularly an aged colored
| woman who conducts an open-air dining
room Her speciality !; is billed cabbage"
which she procures in it's raw state from
| the piles along b street. She carefully Sc
| lects such cabbage leaves as she wants
from the heaps and ,hoils them with hog
face" On market days this old woman
sells heaping dishes of ''b'iled cabbage" at
| 8 cents each, but her, customers are prob
| ably not aware that. they are being fur
nished provender from the refuse piles of
| the market. ~ ID
Not Conducive to Health.
| "a serious menace to health" said Mr..
Henault sis the practice of certain persons
of carrying away from the market unsound
! fish, When the garbage man comes along