Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1921-07-28
QUAINT OLD CHARLESTON.
Street Vendors Add Pict uresque
ness to States Chief City.


peculiar kind. Nowhere through
out America can quite s,ich an
other be found, one that retains
amid the hustle of up-to-date
commercial activity so much of
an old world flavor or of pietur-
esqne features. Parts Of the city.
with the quaint houses turned
gable ends to the street. others of
the dignified Old-time Georgian
type: the narrow winding streets
and high walls surrounding the
gardens; the exquisitely wrought
iron balconies and gateways-all
these give to the old city mel
loWneSs. a picturesqueness all its
own. But for the newer and mod
ern buildings that rise here and
there. one could well imagine
himself III some old city Of the
mother country.
Charlestonians have been Iowa!
TO their English ancestry through
all the centuries since, the place
was settled by the English cob
Ony under William Sayle. There
is still King street. Queen
street and Princess street in
Charleston
One feature. however. that is
quite distinct from ANY Of the
mother country is that of the ne
gro vfnders who throng Charles
ton Is streets. especially during
! The ehrly morning hours. While
in other cities of tho South this
custom has long ago to a eonsid
cradle extent become q thing of
the past. il is still much in evi.
drncr in the old city by the sea.
The succeeding generations Of
negroes have followed naturally
IL the footsteps of their street
vending ancestry.
Charleston is rated as having
about the largest percentage. As.
CT negro population of any city
IN the country. If the population
Ct the adjacent islands 've~e in
cluded. the percentage of negroes
would be larger than that of
whites.
1t is on these neighbormg is-
lands that most of the vegetables
sold i'll Charleston are raised. al
most the year round. owing to
ting mild climate, as well as ber-
r.es and melons i'll season. The
more well:to-d0 negro farmers
have horsf-drawn conveya4ces in
Which the produce is taken into
harsrstpn hit by far the ma
| JorI'y Of the yenders transport
their wares by means. uf push
carts or great baskets balanced
upon their heads. The bulk of
the island produce is taken to
the city by boat. The vendors
throng the wharves at the com.
ing of the boats in order to pur-
chase the supplies for their street
sales. BY Sunup, or shortly there
after, the vemderS are vending
their way through the streets,
each with his or her own special
cry TO advertise the quality as
veil as the character of the wares
Tor sale. While many of the
cries are little more than med
ley of meaningless words, yet,
When rendered in the deep. mel
low negro voice, some of them
are quite musical
There is nothing more quaint
y ATTRACTIVE to the Northern Wis
it.r 10 Charleston than these pie
n!rr>que street vendors, and the
odd cries by which they seek to
a.tract the attention of prOspec-
tive buyers. Some of the cries
are considered sweet, pitched in
II high voice that in the ease of
th" aged is usually quavering
and which often ends in d mourn
FIJI cadence long drawn out.
The vegetable sellers, many of
them women. strong shouldered,
big hipped, move easily along.
a huge basket of produce, 60 to
40 pounds in weight, balanced
with the greatest ease upon the
hrud.