The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1912-07-24
FV Y0RK BIC bake OVEN DURING HOT WAVE

other city in the world can show.
With many people, young and old,
living through the sitting night is a
struggle that leaves them weak and
i'll. The heat is like an invisible,
impalpable enemy that chokes out
their lives Each street is full OF It's
tragedies. everywhere everyone Isl
gasping for breath, some on the pave
ments, some on the fire escapes,
some in the small and crowded
rooms where the torment of the heat
is most acute, Black Holes of Calcut-
ia, from which there is no escape.
All night long the streets are
crowded. In the early evening the
swarms of people move about list
lessly, spending a penny now and
then on a thin slice of watermelon,
glass of lemonade or an ice cream
cone. Later in the evening, when
the blanket of WEAKNESS covers all
in addition to the blanket of heat,
people begin to seek their resting
places for the night. There is no
such thing as retiring in this part
of town. Here and there you see
beds improvised on the very side
walks. The stones are hot, but there
is not much else to lie upon. Men,
women and children lie about scant-
lily clad. When they drop off to
sleep they toss restlessly.
Choice Sidewalk Bedrooms.
Down on the sidewalk the choice
spots are over the gratings that COW
err the stairway leading down to
noisesome cellars and Easements.
The gratings are preferable because
the iron bars lose their stored heat
quicker than the pavement stone az
ter the sun goes down. Therefore,
the careful mothers of families pre-
empt the gratings early in the even
ings.
In this region where humanity is
packed so closely it is the custom for
every small shopkeeper to lodge him.
self and family in the back of the
room that is his shop or store. IN
such cases they are the last to go to
bed because the shop must be kept
open as long as there is a possible
chance of a customer. Even Wnen
everyone lies down to sleep the door
still stands open. The wife and the
little ones lie sprawled out ON the
sidewalk Just outside the threshold.
The father seeing them as comforta-
bly, disposed as possible takes what
is left. He lies down in the door OF
his shop. Sometimes it is his feet
that one sees sticking out OF the
door; sometimes his head. In each
case, no doubt, the man has careful
~ calculated just which arrangement
will give him the most comfort.
UTp above the street every fire es-
cape is a bedroom. The overflow has
to be content with the tiny 3 hlng
dens within. Some of the fire es-
capes are curtained, but this S rare,
for when there is little air stirring
che .hirsts for every mouthful Of lis
freshness it is possible to get. UP
on the roofs there are almost as
MANY sIeepers as on the streets be-
low. Lower New York, viewed from
high in air on summer night, looks
like an Oriental city where the life
after shutdown is centered on the
| housetops.
When il comes to beds, there IS a
great variety. Here and there one
NAV see a narrow iron with nest
full of children. Mattresses are heavy
to move about, but they keep the
heat from the stones from being felt,
| md SO mattresses line the narrow
, ,qnes that are left along the pave
ments. But anything will do for
he'd on a hot night-an old shawl,
coat. a bundle of what looks like
rags. anything that will ease ones
tired bones little and shut off
little of the all-pervading heat.
Not Even Darkness Given Them
There is not even darkness in the
narrow sitting streets. The white
arc lamps flare and sputter all night
long, like brilliant incandescen'
moons. When one happens to burn
low for a time there is sign OF
relief from the wakeful ones in the
neighborhood and they curl them-
selves up to try to fall asleep before
it blazes up again.
The saloons-and there are DIS
many of them as the law allows
do a rushing business on these still
ling summer nights. They are the
only places where there are electrlc
fans. and children linger about the
doorways to get a Whit of the stale
GOODNESS that blows out now ana
then. The line of persons waiting
with pals to have them filled with
beer is far greater than the other