The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-03-11
JUST JUNK

NM hLN the SOuLn street man was
w asked: What is junk 2" he con-
centrated his attention on it for a
time, and said: Junk is ANYTHING
and everything that is supposed to
be worn out and useless, but really
isn't. 1t is stuff that, having lived
one life, comes here and begins an
other. For instance, here are these
ships sails. They've lived their life
aboard ships, they've been all over
the oceans, and now they are to set
tie down on land.
What will they do7"
BE useful as coverings for build
ers' materials, or for wagons and
their goods, or they may go to sea
again on small schooners."
What good is this old roper"
Some of that is bought by yes
sells. Such as is too far gone for
such use goes into paper stock"
well, now here's an old Spanish
bell, big and fine toned. Where did
you get that and what will you do
with it?"
That is from Porto Rican church.
1t was brought in as old metal, for
the tongue was out. Still, it was
easy to put tongue in, and so the
duty was saved"
"And which of our officers stole &
church bell?"
at wasn't stolen. 1t was lying In
a storehouse there where our troops
&C = % Porto Rico. 1t had hung in
the belfry of a church that had been
torn down, / think"
What use Is this rusty old chain p
There are some boats that buy
nothing except secondhand material,
so those chains sell to them. When
they are too rusty they go for old
iron"
What sort of people buy these
lamps and lanternsf'
"Those are ships lanterns.
Wealthy people buy them for curios.'
What is the difference between
junk and antiques ."
"Ah! You'll have to ask the Fifth
avenue art dealers about that.
many and many battered bit they
get from US for song and sell for a
fancy figure. but you're in the
wrong shop to learn about junk Go
round and see the man in Front
street. He's got the greatest collec-
ton in New York. This place is half
ship chambers"
Junk, sir; no. sir, this isn't junk
shop. Far from it, sir" said the man
in Front street. "A junk dealer is a
man who goes about in small boat
and buys cast-off things from vessels.
Junk dealers have to obtain licenses,
and the police can search their places
at any time"
"Well, what would you call this es,
tablishment?"
The Front street man thought for
awhile before he replied: Il would
call it a curio emporium"
$50! And may ask what in the
world you do with guns that are as
old and as rusty as these in curio
emporium"
"Those are not so bad as they look.
They can be cleaned up and will kill
just as well as they did during the
civil war"
''Who buys them2"
IAN sorts of behind-the-age peo-
pie. Take one of those guns into
the mountains of Virginia, an it will
be modern. They're still using flint
locks there. All through south
America and Africa there's sale for
such guns, and in many parts of Asia.
too. / sold 200 of them last week to
a man in the China trade. His firm
has eight ships, and they're aiming
the crews against the pirates that
now infest Chinese waters"
"But some of these are rusted to
pieces"
"Well, they either serve as curios
or as old iron. When they're too bad
for anything else, they are melted
down and begin hfe over again"
What guns are those with the long
barrels?"
Arab. Notice the broad butts.
They seem senseless, but there's a
good reason for them. They're made
like that so that the weapons won't
sink in the sand when being loaded.
This weapon with the enormously
thick barrel is an elephant gun. 1t
weighs 25 pounds, and is made so
thick in order to lessen the force of
the recoil from the heavy charge of
powder. Yop see that it's in perfect
condition. A man rushed in with it
the day before yesterday. l didn't
think anything of it; wouldn't even
give him two dollars. He said he
would leave it with me anyhow. Well,
that gun turned out to be the very
weapon a Montclair IN. j. man was