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Show TENANTS OF DUMPS. Tribe In Washington More rictnresqne Than Ragplrkers. The work at reclaiming, the low-' low-' lands, where once stood famous Berry's Ber-ry's row the despair of, missionaries and the nightmare of the police goes merrily on, and from the city's waste grows up, like the famed phoenix rising ris-ing from its own ashes, the most unique village ever found by an anthropologist an-thropologist , says the Washington 1 Post, Here on the bare stretch cf ashy waste exists a tribe more picturesque by far than the Paris ragipekers, famed in story, and the adored model of the amateur artist in the Latin quarter. Right within sight of the cbpitol and the historic part of Washington is the most unique village, peopled- by the most unique inhabitants- to be found on the globe. The Digger Indians, the lloundbuiidsrs, nor, in fact, any of the queer peopla of this or other countries, coun-tries, can compare with these. Their life and their occupation prove beyond doubt that there 13 a use for everything on the face of the earth, save the city foundling. A cempany for the promotion promo-tion of tenement districts could not draw a- quarter of a cent dividend off the tenants of the dumps. They pay neither rent nor tax, nor yet is the reservation allotted to them by the government. They just pitch their tin houses where they like, and while the only signal for Sunday is the cessation of carts and tumbledown wagons backing back-ing up, there is yet a profound respect shown for the rights of each inhabitant. inhabit-ant. There may be no lock on the door or fence about the yard, but every man can depend upon his pile of scrap iron, old bottles, rags, and so on remaining re-maining intact without a bull dog tied to it. There is always a scurry like unto a football contest over every load cf ashes, but once the contest is won, every fellow respects the champion's rie-hts. Nn one cnnld well calculate the revenue from this part of the city's waste, but it is large, men, women and children all plying the trade with a vengeance. The men sell all that they rescue from this source, while the-women work to keep their children warm and maybe also do laundry. The children chil-dren toil bck and forward, their little backs forever bent under the burden of the bag, or groping" and scratching among the refuse. Many of them Warm whole families in this way, while almost al-most the entire colored population -in the vicinity of the dump depend. upon it for fuel. - |
