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Show DEAD PAUPERS GOODS. SELLING AT AUCTION THE ODD PROPERTY OF SUICIDES. 4 Grewsome Kcene What Itecomet of the Effects Which Paupers Leave Hrhlud When They Take Their Own Lives. They f ind Their Way to the Bowery. "llisery'e auction ealo" took place Tliurfltlny. It wa hold nt 0 Dnane street, nJ though that is not its oflioial namo It oocnrreil to a reportpr who heard it tilled so an a most appropriate one. The auction has n odd and Krcwsorne origin. When a inun commits miicido by pistol or knifa the coroner takes pos-t-sfion of the weapon. If tho man haa Bo friends or relatives, and leaves no will, hi clothes ami any personal effects that ho may have po with it, I After the. unfortunate is laid beneath tho sod of Potters field. mid all tho legal formulas have bet-u observed, the coroner coro-ner hands nil thesa things over to the public administrator. Tho lnr.KO number num-ber of suicide in this bit; city, tho mysterious mys-terious doatha of unknown men and women mid tho deaths in tho poor garrets gar-rets servo to swell this oflieial'n interesting interest-ing collection of estates and heirlooms to euchusize that a special man is kept busy looking after them. Should any of these articles be valuable valu-able they uro placed in the offlco safe or else sent to a sufo deposit company. But the bulk of the r.hiff that falls into the dtuinisti-ator'8 hands is of little value, consisting mostly of chenp furniture, clothes, bedding, revolvers, knives and oilds and ends, of which every man possesses pos-sesses his sharo. These things are sent to the storehouse at 5 Dnane street, adjoining ad-joining the Newsboys' Lodjfinir house, and thi;ro they accumulate until the pilo grows too bis fof the place, when they are auctioned off to the highest bidder. THE AUCTION KOOM. When the reporter entvrod the place tho sale was iu progress. The auctioneer's auc-tioneer's pulpit like stand wan in the middle of the room, and that functionary, function-ary, in a silk hat, was deeply engaged in overcoming the objections of a poorly dressed, stout Irish woman to buying a Cheap watch that might have been silver or steel. Tho room was filled with a motley gathering of men and women. It was a poor looking crowd, although here and there a scintillating spark betrayed be-trayed a diamond on the jterson of a Chatham street "curiosity" dealer. Many people who daily pass the curiosity shops on the Bowery have wondered where all the odds and ends displayed in the windows win-dows come from. Had they attended this auction they would have known. There were perhaps a dozen of those dealers present, and they bought largely. Then there were many women, poorly dressed creatures, who stopped bidding when the article passed the dollar point. Where they came from, or what they wanted the stuff for, nobody knew save themselves. The auctioneer got his money he didn't care. The curiosity dealers shrugged their shoulders it was none of their business. The stock offered of-fered was scattered about the room. It included knives, umbrellaa, old clothes, bedsteads, rusty bayonets, billiard balls, carjteuters' rules, peddlers' outfits, - chromos, revolvers, chairs, tables, stove pipes, etc., all mingled in rusty, dusty con fusion. Che sale proceeded after this manner, the auctioneer saying: "How much d'ye bid? Forty, forty, forty forty-five? Fine silica umbrella. Maybe a duke owned it; maybe a duchess; maybe a bum stole it. Forty-live! Forty-live! Once, twice, down she goes. Mrs. Mulligan, that's the name, isn't it? Forty-five cents. Now we have lot No. 258 a saber. How much d'ye" and so on. There was a story connected with every one of these articles, a romantio one untioubtedly in many cases, but no one there knew it or evinced tho least desire to learn anything about it. UNROMANTIO BIDDERS. A suit of clothes was held up by tbe boy. How much d'ye bid?" Those nearest the stand felt the cloth and examined the clothes carefully, then a bid was offored, and another, and so on nntil tho hammer felL Mrs. Mulligan Mulli-gan must own a second hand clothing (tore, for she bought a great deal of clothing. ... "Lot No. 347 one coat and vest How much d'ye bid?" came the monotonous formula of the auctioneer. "Lemma see, cheviot orwhat? What's it inado ofr" asked Mrs. Mulligan.'. Sha examined it closely for a moment with an eatrer face. Then sho said in a disappointed dis-appointed way: "It's got a hole in it." Yes, buto enough, there was a small bole in the cout, right above the upper outside pocket. The auctioneer pressed his linger on the spot for a moment and j then remarked in a matter of fact voice: "I guess tltat'a where the bullet weut through." Tho coat and vest were sold, and when Homo poor fellow buys them he will never know that a bullet once pierced his coat and reached a man's heart. "Where's lot 380?" asked the auctioneer. auc-tioneer. The assistant banded up a package wrapped in a dirty piece of yellow paper. It waa untied, and with a clattering noiso a lot of revolvers and knives fell out on tho table. Big revolvers, little revolvers, old fashioned ones, self cocking cock-ing affairs, Colts, Smith & Wessons, bulldogs, American and European makes, daggers, bowie knives, stilettos, bright, rusty, all kinds and in all conditions, and the sight was enough to send a chill through a man. The people who were gathered in that room, however, did not see anything snggeetiv" in this, and offered of-fered their bids on each weapon as it j was put up a3 though it wera an every day occurrence with them. ? j Then pawn ticket?, for small amounts i pe ncraliy, were sold for twenty-five and ' thirty cents apiece. When tho last ar- i tide had been fold tho auctioneer said: "Tho sale, is ended, ladies and geutle- men. Thank you for your courtesv. I : hope to see yon soon again. "--New York j Sun. ! |