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ANCIENT VIEW OF THE PRESENT JUNCTION OF PEARL AND CHATHAM STREETS.                         * *
A. Catiemuts Hill.  B. The Fresh Water.  C. The Fresh Water Bridge.  1) The Jews' Burying Ground.  E Rutgers' Fariieot.se.
F. The Bowery Road.  G. The Road to the Ferry (present Pearl Street).  H Road to the City.  I. Road to Rolck Ponc
J. The City Commons.  K. Walpherts Meadow,
IFONTISPIECE.-NeW York, Vol. Two.




THE


AMERICAN METROPOLIS
From Knickerbocker Days
to the Present Time


NEW YORK


CITY LIFE


IN ALL ITS VARIOUS PHASES
BY
FRANK        MOSS, LL.D.
of the New York Bar, Counsel to the Society for the Prevention
of Crime, Trustee of the City Vigilance League,
President of the New York Board of Police, etc.


WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
REV. CHARLES H. PARKHURST, D.D.
AN HISTORIGRAPH OF NEW YORK
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
Jn abrte bolumes-bolume oo
NEW YORK
PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER
-1897




COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY P. F. COLLIER..
F'
(2)




a


CONTENTS
VOL UME TWO
CHAPTER FOUR
HEROIC    HISTORY: THE       OLD   CITY  HALL - WALL
STREET AND BROAD STREET
Three Centers-Important Events at the Old City Hall-Trial,
Conviction and Execution of Governor Jacob Leisler for
Vindicating the Rights of the People and Accepting Authority from them in a Troublous Time-Movements of
the Common People-The first People's Movement-Patriotism of the People-The first Government of, for, and
by the People-Leisler called a Rebel-Civil Strife-Hatred of the Aristocrats-A Vicious old Governor-Alliance
between Governor and Aristocrats-Leisler Arrested and
Convicted by a Packed Court-The Fraudulent Death
Warrant-Sad Execution-"Robert Livingston, I will implead thee at the bar of Heaven for this Deed"-"Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do"-The
Masaniello of New York-Trial of John Peter Zenger-The
first Battle for Freedom and Free Speech-Proclamation
of Cosby the Tyrant-Zenger's Appeals-His Counsel Debarred by a Specially Constructed Court-Andrew Hamilton's Eloquent Address-Victory-Popular RejoicingsInteresting Extracts from the Proceedings-1. The Libel;
2. Debarment of Attorneys; 3. The Trial and Speeches;
4. Counsel's previous Offense-Deposing of Judge Morris
3
348469




CONTENTS
by Governor Cosby for a Righteous Judgment-Act of
Parliament Exonerating Governor Leisler's Memory from
the charge of Treason-Trial of Col. Bayard and the Barbarous Sentence imposed on him-Trials of Negroes in the
Scare of 1741-Execution of Ury, and his Remarkable
Prayer-Negroes not included in the Spirit of Fair PlayAppeals by Poor Debtors-The Stamp Act Congress of
1685 —Great Uprising of the People-Declaration of
Rights -Trial of Levi Weekes for Murder in 1800-Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and Brockholst Livingston
for the Defense-Memories of the old City Hall-On
through Broad Street-The Sheep Pasture-Ancient Improvements on Wall Street-The Hogs and their Moder
Representative-Sheep Shearing on Wall Street-The
Flocks, the Shepherds, and the "Bell-Wethers"-Gambling Devil-Some of the "Shepherds" and Bell-Wethers
-Poetic Pictures by E. C. Stedman-Henry Clews' Disinterested Defense of Wall Street and his Unconscious
Exposure of its Rascalities-The Stock Exchange-Back
to old Times-Ancient Advertisements-Curiosity Shops
-Relics of Dutch Docks and Ships-At the old Fort
again....                                 11
CHAPTER FIVE
MARVELS: BROADWAY FROM THE FORT TO THE
COMMON
The Breede Weg or Broad Way from Bowling Green to Wall
Street-First Sidewalk in 1790-Paving in 1707-Origin of
Bowling Green-Washington's Wooden Statue-The Fort
a Center of Activities-The first Graveyard-Indian Massacre-Standard Oil Company-First Dwellings-Vlettenberg-Arcade Building-Trinity Church and Graveyard
4
j -i  K   ^




CONTENTS
-The Great who lie in its Tombs-Hamilton-GallatinLiberty Boys-Royalists-Soldiers-Eminent CitizensVictims of British Prisons-Three Widows-Trinity's
Work and Influence-Great Men-Financial Powers close
to Hamilton's Grave-Banks-Trust Companies-Subtreasury-Insurance Companies-Wonderful BuildingsBanks half a Century ago-Burns' Coffee-House-Bryant
-A Ridiculous Block on Broadway-St. Paul's Church
and Graveyard-Occupants of its Tombs-MontgomeryMontagne's' Tavern-Astor and the Astor House-St.
Peter's the first Catholic Church-Washington Hall-A.
T. Stewart-Hetty Green-Colt Murder-Stokes and Fisk
-End of old Broadway-American Retreat of 1776 -General Grant....                      127
CHAPTER SIX
THE RISE OF THE PEOPLE: NEW             YORK    COMMON,
THEIR FORUM
Its Heroic History-First Fight for Freedom-Down with
the Press-gang-Assemblies of the People-Defiance to
the Governor-The People demand the Stamps-They
Hang the Governor in Effigy-They beat against the Fort
-King Sears-The Stamps surrendered to Mayor Cruger
-Great Popular Rejoicing-Wideawake Liberty BoysTrouble with the Soldiers-Battles around the Libertypoles-Defense of the Symbol of the People's RightsAgitation for Independence-Protest against the Truculence of the Legislature-Indignation Meeting-McDougall-The Liberty Boys deal with Merchant Cooley and
Emissary Rogers-New York's Tea Meeting-Battle of
Lexington-Committee of Public Safety-Declaration of
Independence read to the Army-King George's Statue
5




CONTENTS
Demolished-Judge Jones' Amusing Discussion of the Patriots-The old Jail-Cunningham-American Prisoners
of War-Atrocities-Rescue of a Spy-Nathan Hale-Present Appearance of the Neighborhood-The City HallWar of 1812-Celebration of Victories-De Witt Clinton
-Erie Canal-Bread Riot-Croton Water-Fernando
Wood-Ancient History of the Common-The Bridewell
-Tweed Ring-Political Conditions-Reform..   243
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE FIVE POINTS: A        WANING    CRIMINAL    CENTER
Grewsome Features-Vicious Compounds-Ancient Executions-The Bowery Region-The Tombs and the Criminal
Courts-Brooklyn Bridge-Park Row, its Distilleries, Eating Houses and other Institutions-Dooley's Long-room
-Fierce Politics-Isaiah Rynders and Con Donoho-Gentle Humors of Bowery Life-Chatham Square-The Dangerous Classes and their Resorts -The Pressure of Life-A
Bowery Youth fights live Indians-Manufacture of Tramps
-Famous old Drinking Saloons-Bowery Drama-Bull's
Head Tavern-Italians witness "Hamlet"-Chinatown:
Mysterious Life, Societies, Religion, Gambling, Eating,
Amusements-Chinese Theater-Squabbles and Scratches
-Poor old Ireland-Vice-Contrarieties —Scenes from
Life........... 357


6




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME TWO
Ancient View    of the Present Junction of Pearl and Chatham            Streets.
-FRONTISPIECE.
Rip  Van  Dam.................................................................   48
Dutch Cottages at Broad and Garden Streets, 1800.......................... 83
Mills Building, on the Site of the Dutch Cottages............................ 84
Paddy Gleason..............................................................        85
Jim  Fisk..................................................................   92
Jay Gould............................................................... 94
Russell Sage................................................................  95
Wall Street during the Panic.................................................. 103
Daniel Drew...............................................................  116
Old Map of New York................................................. 128
Old Map of New Amsterdam..............................................130
Royal Exchange...........................................................  137
Produce Exchange............................................... 137
No. 2 Broadway, corner Marketfield Street............................... 139
The Old Grace Church at Rector Street and the Present Grace Church at
Tenth Street................................................... 142
Colonel Noah L. Farnham........................................   158
Graves of Sidney Breese and of Michael Cresap............................ 165
The 'Chesapeake" and "Shannon"...................................... 167
Monument to the Commander of the Frigate "Chesapeake," Trinity
Churchyard........................................................... 169
Old Tombstones in Trinity Churchyard..................................... 171
The Oldest Tombstone in Trinity Churchyard, dating from 1691-1696........ 171
Ruins of Trinity Church after the Great Fire in 1776....................... 172
Tomb of Alexander Hamilton, Trinity Churchyard........................ 173
Union Trust Company....................................................... 176
United States Trust Company, Wall Street.................................. 177
Mutual Life Building................................ 178
Manhattan Life Building................................................. 179
Tallest Buildings in New York and Chicago Compared.................'.   182
Provincial Arms............................................................. 187
The "United States" and "Macedonian"..................................  189
S.W. Corner of Broadway and Cortlandt Street, 1846..................... 191
Plan for the Relief of Broadway presented to the Common Council, October
4,  1852...................................................  193
Pulpit in  St. Paul's  Church..................................................  197
General Richard Montgomery.............................................. 200
Residence of Mayor Philip Hone............................................ 205
7




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Mayor Philip Hone........................................................ 206
John  Jacob  Astor.............................................................  211
Site of the Fifth Avenue Hotel...........................................     215
City  Hospital..........................................................  216
Departure of the Seventh Regiment, April 19, 1861.-View of Broadway,
corner Cortlandt Street............................   216
Corner of Broadway and Murray Street, 180..........................  217
The "Hornet" sinking the "Peacock"........................................  218
Mutual Reserve Fund Building......................................... 224
Edward S. Stokes................................................. 227
The East Side of Broadway, between Duane and Pearl Streets, 1807.......       229
The Stone Bridge, 1800................................................ 230
West Side of Broadway, corner of Spring Street, 1820......1...........    31
Block on West Side of Broadway, between Prince and Houston Streets, 1823. 231
Junction of Broadway and Bowery, 1828..................................         232
Tavern on Broadway and Twenty-Second Street........................... 233
Original New York Hall of Records................................ 296
Present Hall of Records...........................  296
M ayor Fernando W   ood..................................................... 328
George W. Walling.................................................. 329
First Poorhouse, City Hall Park............................................. 335
Execution of the Negro, Goff, on the Common...................                 336
The Old Bridewell....................................................   338
Brooklyn Bridge, seen from 67 Wall Street................................... 372
Brooklyn Bridge, from New York Side....................................... 373
Upper Chatham Street (Park Row).......................................... 374
Lower Chatham Street (Park Row)...............................  375
Distillery on the Bowery........................................ 376
Steve Brodie's Saloon on the Bowery....................................... 377
Callahan's Saloon on the Bowery........................................... 378
Corner of Duane and Center Streets...................................... 380
A Row in the Sixth Ward....................................      380
Five Points in 1827..................................... 381
An Eminent Magistrate and the Effect of an Offender's Defiance of him.... 382
Looking West from Chatham       Square....................................... 386
Looking South from Chatham Square...................................         387
The Bowery, looking East from Chatham Square............................ 388
Mott Street, looking West from Chatham Square........................... 389
Looking toward the "World" Building from Chatham Square.............. 390
He Fought a Wooden Indian................................................ 394
The  Robber  Band.................3...........................................  396
Bull's Head Tavern, Site of New York (Bowery) Theater................... 400
The Italian Audience.................................................... 401
The  Ghost and  Hamlet.....................................................   402
Chinese Joss House...................................................  407
Sketches of "Chinatown," Mott Street........................................ 414
Game Open    Day  and  Night................................................ 426
Chinese Gambling House Notice........................................... 427
8




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS
FROM KNICKERBOCKER DAYS
TO THE PRESENT TIME




CHAPTER FOUR


HEROIC HISTORY: THE OLD CITY HALL-WALL
STREET AND BROAD STREET
Three Centers-Important Events at the Old City Hall-Trial,
Conviction and Execution of Governor Jacob Leisler for
Vindicating the Rights of the People and Accepting Authority from them in a Troublous Time-Movements of
the Common People —The first People's Movement-Patriotism of the People-The first Government of, for, and
by the People-Leisler called a Rebel-Civil Strife-Hatred of the Aristocrats-A Vicious old Governor-Alliance
between Governor and Aristocrats-Leisler Arrested and
Convicted by a Packed Court-The Fraudulent Death
Warrant-Sad Execution-"Robert Livingston, I will implead thee at the bar of Heaven for this Deed"-"Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do"-The
Masaniello of New York-Trial of John Peter Zenger-The
first Battle for Freedom and Free Speech-Proclamation
of Cosby the Tyrant-Zenger's Appeals-His Counsel Debarred by a Specially Constructed Court-Andrew Hamilton's Eloquent Address-Victory-Popular RejoicingsInteresting Extracts from the Proceedings-1. The Libel
-2. Debarment of Attorneys-3. The Trial and Speeches
-4. Counsel's previous Offense-Deposing of Judge Morris
by Governor Cosby for a Righteous Judgment-Act of
Parliament Exonerating Governor Leisler's Memory from
the charge of Treason-Trial of Col. Bayard and the Barbarous Sentence imposed on him-Trials of Negroes in the
Scare of 1741-Execution of Ury, and his Remarkable
Prayer-Negroes not included in the Spirit of Fair PlayAppeals by Poor Debtors-The Stamp Act Congress of
1685-Great Uprising of the People-Declaration of
Rights -Trial of Levi Weekes for Murder in 1800-Alexalder Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and Brockholst Livingston
for the Defense-Memories of the old City Hall-On
through Broad Street-The Sheep Pasture-Ancient Improvements on Wall Street-The Hogs and their Modern
Representative-Sheep Shearing on Wall Street-The
Flocks, the Shepherds, and the "Bell Wethers"-Ganmbling Devil —Some of the "Shepherds" and Bell Wethers
-Poetic Pictures by E. C. Stedman-Henry Clews' Disinterested Defense of Wall Street and his Unconscious
Exposure of its Rascalities-The Stock Exchange-Back
to old Times-Ancient Advertisements- Curiosity Shops
-Relics of Dutch Docks and Ships-At the old Fort
again
10




NEW YORK CITY LIFE
IN ALL ITS VARIOUS PHASES
CHAPTER FOUR
HEROIC HISTORY: THE OLD CITY HALL — WALL
STREET AND BROAD STREET
THE old Fort, the Old City Hall, and the Common were pivotal points on which turned the destinies of the colony and perhaps of the nation.
The Fort was the center of European ideas and
monarchial control, the Common was the center of
popular agitation and power, the Old City Hall was
the center where the conflicting forces met, and
where the rights of the people were first put into
definite and organized operation. At so important a
place as the site of the Old City Hall, we must
stop to gather up the recollections of important
events that preceded Washington's inauguration.
Let us consider, first: The Trial of Governor
Jacob Leisler, and his Conviction and Condemnation for Vindicating the Rights of the People
and Accepting Authority from    them  in a Troublous Time.
The history of old New York is remarkable for
the numerous and important occasions when the com11




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


mon people, as distinguished from the landed and
aristocratic parties, moved with a common impulse,
with directness, and with more or less wisdom, to undertake the defense of popular rights, and to protect
the City and its citizens from the invasion of enemies.
Although the merchants frequently demonstrated their
patriotism and their willingness to sacrifice their peculiar interests for the general good, they were (and still
are) a conservative class; the landed class also was
afraid of the governing powers, which could do much
to injure them in their possessions; but the Common
People, led by the Sons of Liberty-few   of whom
were men of large means, or of large mercantile
or landed interests-held our City in the front rank
of the communities that stood for freedom, and led
the way to independent government. The Leislerian
movement was the forerunner of people's move
ments, designed to protect the City and its interests, when the regularly constituted authorities failed
to serve the people. All hope for good in the
future of New York is based upon the disposition
of the common people to rally together, not only for
the support, but for the enforcement of the principles of popular government. "The popular movement in New York in 1688 had no connection with
the Pilgrim spirit of the East, nor with what Burke
called the arrogant love of liberty of the Cavaliers
at the South. The people of New York were concerned with the interests of their own City, and
realized that their condition as individuals depended
largely upon the condition and the government of
12




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the City. It was a popular uprising to defend the
City, which was then essentially Protestant, against
the usurpations and the dreaded proscriptions of a
Catholic invasion which necessarily would be hostile
to a Protestant community. It was an uprising to
sustain the cause of William of Orange, as against
the, dubious and uncertain policy of the officials and
the aristocratic classes!"  The common people had
been provoked by the bad conduct of the contemptible governors who had been imposed upon them,
and they believed that there would be a better order of things under William of Orange.   The air
was full of rumors that soldiers were being gathered in neighboring colonies to seize the fortifications of New York, and to hold this important colony, no matter what should take place in England.
The officials of the City were strangely indifferent
to these rumors, and it was believed by many that
prominent members of the government and of the
aristocracy were ready to deliver New York to the
friends of James, even though William of Orange
should become king. Leisler was deeply interested
in commerce, owning many ships. He was entirely
out of politics.  He remained one of the People,
and they realized that he understood their needs
and was close to them. He was captain of one of
the militia companies.  Nicholas Bayard, the commander of the regiment, was an adherent of James.
A movement of forces on Long Island, friendly to
James, produced a spontaneous rising of the common people, who acted with perfect unanimity, and
13




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


called upon Leisler to lead them to the Fort, which
they determined to seize.  They found him at his
house, disinclined to join in such serious procedure;
but as the movement grew and the people flocked
to him, and finally the militia appeared, only awaiting his leadership, the enthusiasm of the moment
seized upon him, and his hesitation yielded to his
convictions of the duty of the hour.  From   that
time until Governor Sloughter appeared with the
commission of William, Governor Leisler occupied
his difficult post, restraining his antagonists, who
made no secret of their loyalty to James, and keeping the City in a condition of defense against outside attacks. There is little doubt that the zeal and
watchfulness of Governor Leisler prevented the occupation of the City by a force of armed partisans
of James and by his friends in the government of
New York, who would have forcibly repressed the
people. This was the first government of the people, for the people, and by the people, that ever
arose on the shores of the New World; for Governor Leisler received his commisison from the people and acted for them, and with the consent of
their representatives, through the entire course of his
administration. If it was a revolution, it was different from any other revolution, because King James,
under whom the governor and. his council were acting, was far from maintaining his own position in
England, and it was most uncertain to whom, as
king, the people of New York City should give
their allegiance. Governor Leisler had no intention
14




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


of doing more than to hold the government safe
from the attacks of the foes of the people until it
should be known who was the lawful sovereign of
England and who was the duly appointed governor.
The news of Governor Sloughter's appointment was
brought by Richard Ingoldsby, a captain in the
English army, who was promptly seized and converted by Leisler's opponents.  He demanded the
surrender of the Fort to him; but Leisler, true to
his purpose of delivering the Fort only to the properly accredited representative of the king, and no
doubt fearing for his personal safety should he do
otherwise, refused to comply with the demand, be
cause no authority for it from the new governor
was shown. Governor Leisler issued a proclamation,
notifying the people of the appointment of Governor Sloughter, and saying that the Fort and the
government would be surrendered to him   upon his
arrival, and requiring the people to receive his representative, Captain Ingoldsby, and his soldiers, with
respect and attention.  Captain Ingoldsby insisted
upon his demand, and as Governor Sloughter's ship
did not arrive, he began to think that it might
have gone down in the tempest which had separated them, and that he might himself take hold
of the government of the City, with the assistance
of the powerful faction that was opposed to Leisler.
Leisler found it necessary to warn the people against
Ingoldsby's intrigues, and he accused him of calling
out and superintending the militia, though he bore
no commission except that of captain-of-foot, with
15




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


orders to obey the governor for the time being.
Ingoldsby called Leisler a rebel, and Leisler issued
another proclamation, in which he said that he and
his associates would "not be turned from their duty
to God and the king by fear of the term 'rebel,'
hurled against them for fairly offering that all things
should remain until the arrival of the governor or
further orders from  England."  He went on to denounce the violent and arbitrary acts of Ingoldsby
and his soldiers, and concluded with these words:
"Wherefore, we not being willing to deliver ourselves and our posterity to such slavery, do hereby
resolve, to the utmost of our power, to oppose the
same by joining and assisting the governor and one
another to the hazard of our lives."  This proclamation was joined in by the council and by Pieter
De la Noye, the first mayor that was ever elected
by the freeholders and freemen of New York. Ingoldsby made an attack on the Fort, and Governor
Leisler defended it, killing and wounding several of
the attacking party. In the midst of all this confusion Governor Sloughter arrived.  He proved to
be a vicious, broken-down spendthrift, who cared
nothing for liberty and the People, but who had
high hopes of replenishing his exhausted means in
his new station. Leisler's enemies got the start of
him, by waiting on the new    governor before he
landed, and they plied him so effectively with denunciations of Leisler, and with the prospects of
gain by being allied to the rich men of the colony,
that he came to the settlement of this question, that
16




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


boded so much of good or evil to Leisler, with
prejudgment of Leisler and contempt for his friends.
As soon as the new governor's council was sworn
in, and Leisler was certain that all was ready, he
addressed a communication to the governor, explaining his conduct and desiring him to take possession
of the Fort. In this letter was this significant language:
"The joy I had by a full assurance from Ensign Stoll of your Excellency's arrival has been
somewhat troubled by the detention of two of my
messengers. I see now well the stroke of my enemies, who are wishing to cause me some mistakes
at the end of the loyalty I owe to my gracious
King and Queen, and by such ways to blot out
all my faithful service till now. But I hope to have
cause not to commit such error, having, by my
duty and faithfulness, been rigorous to them.
"Please only to signify and order the Major, in
relieving me from his majesty's fort, that, when
delivering up to him his majesty's arms, and all his
stores, he may act as he ought with a person who
shall give your Excellency an exact account of all
his actions and conduct; who is, with all respect,
your Excellency's most humble servant."
He received no answer; but was arrested and
thrown into the guard-house, and kept there as a
common prisoner for several days before the governor would make any examination of the case.
Then Sloughter named a special court of eight men,
17




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


composed of his own friends and Leisler's enemies,
to sit in judgment upon Leisler and his associates,
who were arraigned on the charge of treason. Leisler and his son-in-law Milbourne were quickly convicted and condemned to die, and their property
was confiscated.  Leisler's enemies had  now   triumphed, and they thirsted for his blood. Only one
step more was needed to gain that end-the securing
of the governor's signature to the death warrant.
Sloughter hesitated; he feared the resentment of
Leisler's friends, and he feared the censure of King
William. He expressed his contempt of Leisler, but
said that he did not know that it was necessary
to hang him. The satanic act that followed was
worthy of old England in the days of the Tower.
The noble aristocrats provided a feast for the governor and overcame his reason and his fears with wine
and spirits. They caroused all the night long, while
a dreary storm beat against the windows. It was
a revel of Death and the Devil.      The governor
signed the fatal warrant; and while the orgy proceeded, the sheriff and a strong detachment of Ingoldsby's soldiers took Leisler from his cell in the
City Hall, and hanged him   on the Common (Printing  House Square), within sight of    his  home.
Though   it was very early in the morning, the
place of execution was thronged with sobbing people,
for the dreadful news had spread with wonderful
speed; but the soldiers restrained them and they
could do nothing for their old leader. The storm
beat upon him, his enemies gloated over him, and he
18




NEW YORK CITY LIISE


was roughly and quickly prepared for the gallowsbut he met his fate calmly and heroically. Milbourne, full of anger and defiance, turned to
Livingston and uttered these awful words: "Robert Livingston, I will implead thee at the bar
of Heaven for this deed." The remains of Livings
ston, against whom this frightful invective was so
tragically delivered, still lie in the Trinity churchyard. Leisler, earnest and active when there was
opportunity for work, had, at this crisis, no thoughts
of vengeance. His grand soul in that trying moment towered above his pitiless enemies. Turning to
Milbourne, he said: "'Why must you die? You
have been but as a servant doing my will, and as
a dying man, I declare, before God, that what I
have done was for King William and Queen Mary,
the defense of the Protestant religion, and the good
of the country." He then submitted and prostrated
himself before his Redeemer with hope.- He doubted
not that he had committed errors, some through
ignorance, some through jealous fear that disaffected
persons would act against the government, some
through misinformation and misconstruction of people's intentions, and some through rashness or passion.  He asked pardon for each offense, first of
God and next of all persons offended. He prayed
that all malice might be buried in his grave, and
forgave his enemies. He repeated, "Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do"; and
again declared that his purpose had been. for the
good of his fellow-creatures, according to the best
19


'90




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


of his ability and understanding. He concluded by
praying for the good of the province and for his
family, and then turned to the sheriff, saying, "I
am  ready."   Milbourne, made gentle by Leisler's
spirit, said: "We are thoroughly wet with rain, but
in a little while we shall be rained through with
the Holy Spirit." Then the crime was quickly
performed, and two noble lives went out, a sacrifice
to the great principle of popular government. As
the bodies swung in the air, the screams of women
were heard in every direction. Some of the people
were carried away senseless, and "some rushing forward, almost ere the life of their beloved ruler was
extinct, cut off pieces of his garments as precious
relics, and his hair was divided, out of great veneration, as for a martyr. His enemies, in the bitterest
spirit of vituperation, surnamed him 'THE MASANIELLO OF NEW    YORK'"   (Hoffman).
[See references to Leisler in Chapter I. and Act
of Parliament, hereinafter quoted.]
Is there not heroic history in New York?
Has not popular government been paid for with
martyr's blood?
May the people learn to treasure the rights for
which men have valiantly contended with tyrants,
and for which have been sacrificed the comfort,
property, peace, liberty and life of the good and
brave of other days!
May they have the spirit of sacrifice, without
which liberty cannot be maintained.
(This sentiment may be all out of place at
20




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Albany, perhaps may be a mirth-provoking platitude;
but if it gets a fair revival in Greater New York,
we may enjoy a renaissance of the days of miracles.)
TRIAL OF JOHN PETER ZENGER, I735.
The agitations for free speech and popular government in New York City, and the important steps
taken here to demonstrate the truth and justice of
the People's Cause, occurred no later than similar
circumstances in Boston, and there were some very
significant occurrences here, before definite positions
were taken there.  There were many Tories and
many very conservative Patriots in New York, as
there were bound to be, and yet the people never
lacked for brave men and enthusiastic exponents
of Liberty. It is time that the people of our great
City should take such a pride in the exploits of
those who fought the first battles of freedom in her
own halls and her own streets, that the world shall
not be permitted to believe longer that there was
no Common save that of Boston, no Tea-party excepting that in Boston Harbor, no Cradle of Liberty
besides Faneuil Hall. New York's Charter of Liberties, dated October 30, 1683, is eight years older than
the Bill of Rights of Massachusetts, and five years
ahead of England's. The violation of that charter
was among the assigned grounds for revolution.
New York's Petition to the King, her Memorial
to the House of Lords, and her Representation and
Remonstrance to the House of Commons, antedated
the Declaration of Independence almost a year.
21




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The first hard battle for free speech occurred
here in the old City Hall, in the trial of John
Peter Zenger, editor of the "Weekly      Journal."
Reasonable liberty for the press involved the right
of free speech and fair criticism of the public
authorities, and our editor Zenger was a man who
dared to put the colonial governor, William Cosby,
into a public pillory more galling than the rough
wooden gallery on Broad Street, that he could see
from the council chamber. What would become of
the editors of newspapers in our days if they were
not free to criticise public officers? Indeed, the freedom of criticism which is allowed in deference to
the general love of free speech is unduly and unfairly strained in wild reaches after humor and
sensationalism, and greatly debased by spleen and
conscienceless party service.  Zenger and his associates were keen observers and sharp writers. They
found vulnerable places to attack, and they expressed
their opinions in such a clear and pungent manner
as to make the governor wince, and the people
applaud. The "Journal" fired a steady fusillade of
paragraphs and sarcastic squibs and verses.  It is
a pity that the sketch-imp had not then arrived
with his devilish art. Zenger was rightly deemed
to be dangerous to the existing order of things, and
the governor resolving to crush him, a criminal
complaint was made, and he was arrested for libel.
Chief-justice Delancey first called the attention of
the Grand Jury to the objectionable articles in the
"Journal,  saying: "Sometimes heavy, half-witted
22




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


men get a knack of rhyming, but it is time to
break them when they grow insolent and mischievous
with it." Then the governor's council denounced
certain copies of the "Journal" as seditious, and
ordered that they should be burned by the hangman, and ordered various city officers to attend to
the  burning.  These officers refused to obey the
order, and even prevented the hangman from doing
so, and that portion of the order was performed by
a servant in front of the City Hall.
The first proclamation was published in this form:
" A  PROCLAMATION.
"Whereas by the Contrivance of some evil Disposed and Disafected Persons, divers Journals or
Printed  News-Papers (entitled  The  New    York
Weekly Journal, containing the freshest Advices,
foreign and Domestick) have been caused to be
Printed and Published by John Peter Zenger, in
many of which Journals or Printed News-Papers
(but more particularly those Numbered 7, 47, 48,
49) are contained divers Scandalous, Virulent, False
and Seditious Reflections, not only upon the whole
Legislature, in general, and upon the most considerable Persons in the most distinguish'd Stations in
the Province, but also upon his Majesty's lawful
and  rightful Government, and   just Prerogative.
Which said Reflections seem contrived by the Wicked Authors of them, not only to create -Jealousies,
Discontents and Animosities in the Minds of his
Majesty's Liege People of this Province, to the Sub23




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version of the Peace and Tranquility thereof, but
to alienate their Affection from the best of Kings,
and raise Factions, Tumults and Sedition among
them. Wherefore I have thought fit, by and with
the Advice of his Majesty's Council, to issue this
Proclamation, hereby Promising a Reward of Fifty
Pounds to such Person or Persons who shall discover the Author or Authors of the said Scandalous, Virulent and Seditious Reflections contained
in the said Journals or Printed News-Papers, to be
paid to the said Person or Persons discovering the
same, as soon as such Author shall be convicted of
having been the Author or Authors thereof.
"Given under my Hand and Seal at Fort
George, in New York, the sixth day of
November, in the 8th year of his Majesty's Reign, Annoq. Domini, 1734.
"W. COSBY.'
The New York "Gazette" of November 25, 1734,
told of the second proclamation and of Zenger's arrest in these words:
"The other proclamation was issued by his said
Excellency, by advice of his Majesty's Council, and
pursuant to an Address to his Excellency by the
late Grand Jury, Promising the sum of 201. to such
Person as should discover the Author of two late
scandalous Songs or Ballads, Printed &  dispersed
in this City, &c., highly defaming the Administration of his Majesty's Government in this Province, tending greatly to inflame the Minds of his
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Majesty's good Subjects, and to disturb the Public
Peace.
"On the 17th Instant John Peter Zenger was
taken up and committed to Gaol by virtue of an
Order of Council, for Printing and Publishing the
above mentioned Journals, or News-Papers, &c., and
on the 20th instant he was brought by a Writ of
Habeas Corpus before the Honourable James DeLancey, Esq., Chief Justice, at his Chamber where
the Writ was Returnable, who ordered the Argument of that Matter to be at the City Hall on
the 23d in the afternoon.  At which Place, after
a long Debate (the City Hall being crowded with
People) the Chief Justice was pleased to order
that the said John Peter Zenger shou'd be admitted to Bail, himself to be bound by Recognizance in the Sum of 4001. & two Sureties, in
2001. - each, for his Appearance the next Term;
and Remanded him to Prison for want of such
Recognizance; which   we   don't hear is as yet
enter'd into."
In order to prevent further issues of the journal
its editor was not allowed to have writing materials. During this time his royalist opponent Bradford, who was managing the "Gazette" in his toilsome way, made various sorry attempts at witticism
over Zenger's hard fall; but the patriot editor was
not prevented from making tart responses, for he
managed to communicate his ideas to friends who
visited him, and who saw that they were printed.
These specimens are submitted:
B-2                 25




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"To all my Subscribers and Benefactors who take
my weekly Journall; Gentlemen, Ladies and
Others:
"As you last week were Disappointed of my
Journall, I think it incumbent upon me, to publish
my Apology, which is this.  On the Lord's Day,
the Seventeenth of this Instant, I was Arrested,
taken and Imprisoned in the Common Gaol of this
City, by Virtue of a Warrant from the Governour,
and the Honourable Francis Harrison, Esq., and
others in Council, of which (God willing) you'l have
a Coppy, whereupon I was put under such Restraint that I had not the liberty of Pen, Ink, or
Paper, or to see, or speak with People, till upon
my Complaint to the Honourable the Chief Justice,
at my appearing before him upon my Habeas Corpus on the Wednesday following. Who discountenanced that Proceeding, and therefore I have had,
since that Time, the Liberty of Speaking through
the Hole of the Door, to my Wife and Servants,
by which I doubt not you'l think me sufficiently
Excused for not sending my last week's Journall,
and I hope for the future by the Liberty of Speaking to my Servants thro' the Hole of the Door of
the Prison, to entertain you with my weekly Journall as formerly.
"And am your obliged,
"Humble Servant,
"J. PETER ZENGER."
-New York "Weekly Journal," Nov. 25, 1734.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


"From my Prison, December 20th, 1784.
"Oh, cruelty unknown before
To any barbarous savage shore,
Much more when Men so much profess
Humanity and Godliness.
"It is no new Thing for even a Man of Vertue
to fall under Distress; but to mock him when distress'd or under Misfortunes, is what has been accounted a Vice among the more civilized Heathens;
however it is my case at present, and. my Adversaries are not content with my Imprisonment, but I
am made their laughing Stock.
"There is a great Noise made in that ridiculous
Letter in Mr. Bradford's last Gazette about setting the Province in Flames, raising of Sedition
and Tumults, &c. I know of none, either past or
intended; if my Adversaries know of any, they'l do
well to discover them and prevent ill Consequences.
I have printed some Complaints to the Public, those
complain'd of had a Remedy to answer without coming to me; and had they come to me, they would
have found the same Fidelity some of them experiene'd before; They may tax me with Weaknesses
accident to human Nature; but it is out of their
Power (and I hope ever will be) truly to prove me
guilty of any premeditated Wickedness.
"That Author begins the Confession he would
have me make with a very puny Witticism on my
Address to my Readers; by saying It sounds like
the Language of the Prizefighter or Poppet Show
Man.   I can assure him    that many    Gentlemen
27




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and Ladies read my Journals; there is also some
others, and among them some S ---— s, witness that
Author.  I might tell him  that the Whole of his
Performance sounds too much like the Language of
a bankrupt Vinter or ---—., &c.
"That I was brought over at the charitable Expence of the Crown is the only Truth that groaping Fumbler found when he studied that clumsy
Performance. I acknowledge it; Thanks to Queen
Anne, whose Name I Mention with Reverence, her
Bounty to me and my distress'd County Folks is
to be gratefully remembered.  If that Author has
contributed any Thing towards it, I begg to be informed.  I assure him  that my Acknowledgement
shall not be wanting, notwithstanding his ill Treatment: If he has not, I begg leave to tell him, that
it is mean for him to twit me with Benefits that
I am no ways beholden to him for.
"That my Friends are pretendedly so, will (I
hope) prove as false as my Enemies are malicious;
whatever some of my Adversaries may be, I believe
my Friends to be Men of Honour and Probity.
And if they even should forsake me, I would say
of them as Cicero said in Answer to the Notion
the Epicureans had of a God, fi tales sint Amici,
ut nulla gratia, nulla hominum, charitate teneantur valeant, I'll trust to the Laws of the Realm
and my country, and still retain my Integrity: FOR
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY.
"My Sword was never intended to protect me
against a sworn Officer in the Discharge of his
28




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Duty: But since this Scribler must needs make himself merry with it, I think it may not be amiss to
tell jny Readers a serious but true Story. About 8
Weeks agoe the Honourable Francis Harrison, came
to my House, and swore by the God that made him
he would lay his Cane over me the first Time he
met me in the Street, with sume other scurrilous
Expressions more fit to be uttered by a Dray Man
than a Gentleman. Against such Assaults my Sword
not only could but would have protected me, and
shall while I have it, against any Man that has
Impudence enough to attempt any thing of that Nat.
ure-Veni vi repellore licet.
"What private Orders the Sheriff had concerning
me are best known to himself. This I know that
from the time of my being apprehended till the Return of the Precept by virtue of which I was taken,
I was deny'd the Use of Pen, Ink, and Paper; Alterations were purposely Made on my Account, to
put me into a Place by myself, where I was strictly
confin'd above 50 Hours that my Wife might not
speak to me but in presence of the Sub Sheriff; to
say this was done without Orders is Lybelling the
Sheriff, and I hope he will resent it.
"To conclude, I begg of this indifferent Gentleman (indifferent indeed, but how impartial!). That
if he needs will continue Author, to write Ballads
for Children if he has the Knack of Versiefying; if
he has not, then let him write some Thing in Imitation of Tom  Thum, Jack the Giant Killer, or
any Thing, the more nonsensical it is the better it
29




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will suit his Genius; let him bring his Lucubrations
to me, and on the Word of an honest Man, I'll
earn his Money as faithfully as any Printer in
America: But let him leave Lampooning of me, a
Task equally mean as wicked, for I think no honest Man can be guilty of deriding his Fellow mortal when he sees him struggling in the Waves of
Adversities. Laughing is catching, what has hapned to me may befall him, & perhaps with double
Weight.               I am,
"J. PETER ZENGER."
-New York "Weekly Journal," Dec. 23, 1734.
The Grand Jury would not indict the editor, so
Attorney-general Bradley filed a complaint, alleging
that the "Journal" contained false, scandalous, malicious and seditious libels upon the government. The
two leading lawyers of the City, James Alexander
and William Smith, appeared for the defendant, and
catching the inspiration from their client, they boldly
attacked the constitution of the Court, claiming that
the judges were not qualified to sit. The point was
well taken legally, but it brought dire vengeance
upon the heads of the eminent counsel; for the
Court in a burst of fury debarred them, throwing
them not only out of the case, but out of the practice of their profession. They refused to recede from
their position, heroically losing their means of livelihood for the principle's sake. The Court assigned
John Chambers to the defense, and he privately conferred with the debarred lawyers, who threw them30




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


selves body and soul into their client's cause and
worked for him out of court, going into the clubs
and to the prominent men of the City and urging
support of Zenger.
Perhaps no trial ever stirred our City so thoroughly as did this of Zenger. Governor Cosby had
deprived himself of all popular support and was left
with few real friends. The people knew   that the
alleged libels were true. They adopted them as
expressions of the common mind. It was perfectly
clear that if the truth of the governor's misconduct
could not be shown without subjecting its publisher
to accusations of sedition and bringing upon him all
the weight of the criminal machinery, then there
was really no such thing as English liberty and
Rights of the People in New York. No one thought
that the seeds of revolution were being planted; the
rights that were demanded in this case were claimed
to be only the rights of Englishmen. The people
were surprised and delighted at the unexpected appearance, for their champion, of Andrew    Hamilton, the ruddy, white-haired, and eloquent old advo'cate of Philadelphia, who brought into the case not
only the wisdom of years but the generous ardor
of a noble character, which age had not chilled but
rather had warmed and ripened. The defendant
cleared the case of all technicalities by admitting
that he had published the article. The district-attorney then claimed that nothing was left to do but
to find him guilty, because the words were clearly
libelous. Mr. Hamilton said they were libelous if
31




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not true; but he proposed to show that Zenger's
words were true, and, therefore, not false, seditious
and libelous, as charged. The judge laid down the
rule that the truth of a libel could not be proved,
and would not allow the defendant to make good
his offer of proving the truth. Finally, it was
left for the jury to decide, whether the words
were libelous or not, irrespective of the question of
their truthfulness. Then the great lawyer launched
out upon his celebrated speech to the jury, in
which, shrewdly evading the legal pitfalls about
him, he appealed to their own knowledge of the
truth of Zenger's charges, and under an ingenious
veil of words and figures, urged them to take the
question which had been submitted to them as a
matter of form, and to do justice to Zenger by
finding him not guilty-even though it might involve
them in the criticism of not understanding the English language sufficiently to see the libelous character of his language.   The chief-justice endeavored to nullify Hamilton's effort, but his charge
did not' accomplish its purpose, for after a very
short consultation a verdict of "Not guilty" was
rendered, and the whole crowded audience responded
to it with cheer upon cheer. The Court, chagrined
at its defeat and flushed with indignation, denounced
the tumult, and declared that if any one could be
singled out as responsible for it he would be imprisoned. Promptly Admiral Norris's son stepped to
the front, and, in the full view of the Court, called
for three more cheers, and instantly the audience
32




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


responded to the invitation. The people surrounded
Zenger and his counsel, and the grand old lawyer
was lifted to the shoulders of strong men and carried down the stairs. The spirit of the people and
their determination to support free speech, and to
insist on Englishmen's rights in America, was ominous of the Revolution which was then nearly fifty
years distant. Mr. Hamilton was not left to the
embraces of the populace alone, but the Common
Council went through the ancient form of presenting
him with the freedom of the City, with this significant expression, "Under a careful sense of the
remarkable service done by him to the City and by
his learned and generous defense of the rights of
mankind and the members of the press." The news
of this trial traveled through the colonies. The boldness of Zenger and his counsel was a stimulus to
independent thought, and the whole circumstance
has been justly regarded as the dawn of American
Freedom,
About this time the Sons of Liberty were organized.
The prison, the court, the governor's chamber,
were all in the City Hall, at Broad and Wall
Streets.
Many will enjoy the opportunity of reading the
most important papers and proceedings in this cause
celebre. They are intensely interesting. Let us read
them while our attention is fastened on this historic
Wall Street corner.
33




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"Extracts from toe proeeedir0s if Zeiqer's Trial.
"1. THE LIBEL.-(To the Governor) Your appearance in print, at last, gives a pleasure to many,
though most wish you had come fairly into the
open field, and not appeared behind retrenchments
made of the supposed laws against libeling: these
retrenchments, gentlemen, may soon be shown to
you and all men to be very weak, and to have
neither law nor reason for their foundation, so cannot long stand you in stead; therefore, you had
much better as yet leave them, and come to what
the people of this city and province think are the
points in question. They think, as matters now
stand, that their liberties and properties are precarious, and that slavery is like to be entailed on
them and their posterity if some past things be not
amended, and this they collect from many past
proceedings. One of our neighbors of New Jersey
being in company, observing the strangers of New
York full of complaints, endeavored to persuade
them to remove into Jersey; to which it was replied, that would be leaping out of the frying-pan
into the fire; for, says he, we both are under the
same governor, and your assembly have shown
with a witness, what is to be expected from them;
one that was then moving from New York to
Pennsylvania, to which place it is reported several
considerable men are moving, expressed, in terms
very moving, much concern for the circumstances
of New York, and seemed to think them very much
34




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


owing to the influence that some men had in the
administration; said he was now going from  them,
and was not to be hurt by any measures they
should take; but could not help having some concern for the welfare of his countrymen, and should
be glad to hear that the assembly would exert themselves as become them, by showing that they have
the interest of their country more at heart than the
gratification of any private view of any of their
members; or being at all affected by the smiles or
frowns of a governor; both which ought equally
to be despised, when the interest of their country
is at stake. You, says he, complain of the lawyers,
but I think the law itself is at an end. We see
men's deeds destroyed, judges arbitrarily displaced,
new courts erected without consent of the legislature, by which it seems to me trials by juries are
taken away when a governor pleases; men of known
estates denied their votes, contrary to the received
practice of the best expositor of any law. Who is
there in that province that can call anything his
own? or enjoy any liberty longer than those in the
administration will condescend to let them do it? For
which reason I left it, as I believe more will."
2. DEBARMENT OF ZENGER'S ATTORNEYS.-James
Alexander and William Smith having filed exceptions to the commissions of the judges; first, to the
tenure, which should have been during good behavior, rather than at the will and pleasure of the
appointing power; second, to their investiture; third,
to the form of their appointment; fourth, to the
35




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want of evidence that the council concurred with
the governor in their appointment-the attorneys
presenting these exceptions and asking them that
they be filed, the Court warned them that serious
consequences to themselves would follow such action.
One of the lawyers said: "I am so well satisfied
of the right of the subject to take exception to the
commission of a judge if he thinks such commission illegal, that I will stake my life on the point.
The validity of the exceptions in the present case
is another matter. I am ready to argue the point
when the Court will hear me."   Chief-justice Delancey responded: "We will neither hear you nor
allow the exceptions to be filed. You think to gain
popularity and the applause of the people by opposing this Court. The matter has come to the point
that we must leave the bench or you the bar. "
The Court then struck their names from the roll
of attorneys.
TIhe Trial ar~d tee 8peee1tes.
THE TRIAL having begun on August 4, 1735,
before Chief-justice Delancey and second Justice
Frederick Felipse, and the defendant having pleaded
not guilty, Mr. Hamilton said: "I cannot think it
proper for me, without doing violence to my own
principles, to deny the publication of a complaint,
which I think it is the right of every free-born subject to make, when the matters so published can be
supported with truth; I do for my client confess
that he both printed and published the two news36




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


papers, and I hope in so doing he has committed
no crime." Attorney-general Bradley then said: "I
think then the jury must find a verdict for the
king; for supposing they were true, the law says
that they are not the less libelous for that. Indeed,
their being true is an aggravation of the crime."
Mr. Hamilton then insisted that the words themselves must be libelous; that is, false, scandalous,
and seditious, as alleged in the complaint. The attorney-general then made a long argument upon the
law of libel, saying in substance that libeling was
an offense against the law of God as well as the
law of man, and quoting St. Paul in Acts xxiii.
5, "I wist not, brethren, that he was the high
priest, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil
of the rulers of thy people"; and again, at 2 Peter
ii. 10, "Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are
not afraid to speak evil of dignities." The application of these texts were made by showing that the
governor was the magistrate of the province. Mr.
Hamilton  then  showed  that, conceding the  rule
claimed out of St. Paul's writing, the governol
was only a subject of the king of a little higher
grade than the common people, and that he had
attempted to usurp the functions of the king in an
illegal and oppressive way to the detriment of the
king's subjects, and that it was no dishonor to the
king to complain of the bad conduct of his deputy,
illustrating his claim by the proposition that the
Lord Mayor of London had not ever put in a claim
to the sacred rights of majesty.  He claimed that
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Mr. Zenger and those associated with him showed
their loyalty all the more by pointing out the illegal
acts of the king's false representative. At the close
of the argument on this point Chief-justice Delancey
said: "You cannot be admitted, Mr. Hamilton, to
give the truth of a libel in evidence. A libel is not
to be justified.  It is nevertheless a libel, if it be
true."  Then ensued a long debate between Mr.
Hamilton and the Court, the Court quoting certain
authorities.  Mr. Hamilton said: "These are Star
Chamber cases, and I was in hopes that practice
had been dead with the Court." This evidently provoked the Chief-justice, who said: "Mr. Hamilton,
the Court have delivered their opinion, and we expect you will use us with good manners; you are
not to be permitted to argue against the opinion of
the Court." Mr. Hamilton said: "With submission,
I have seen the practice in very great courts, and
have never heard it deemed unmannerly to-" when
the Court interrupted him, saying: "After the Court
have declared their opinion, it is not good manners
to insist upon a point in which you are overruled,"
to which Hamilton responded: "I will say no more
at this time; the Court, I see, is against us on this
point; and that, I hope, I may be allowed to say."
The condescending answer was: "Use the Court with
good manners and you shall be allowed all the liberty you can reasonably desire." It will be noted
how wisely Mr. Hamilton led the Court to declare
its unyielding opposition to Mr. Zenger and its subservience to the tyrannous governor. In the presence
38




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


of the jury, and in the great crowd of Zenger's
friends, Mr. Hamilton was an expert in creating an
"atmosphere"-an art which is still practiced in the
criminal courts of New York City by both prosecutors and defenders. Mr. Hamilton, having compelled
the Court to declare itself, and to arouse against it
the same feeling that had arisen against the governor, turned to the jury and skillfully called their
attention to the fact that they were his last hope,
that he was not allowed to present evidence, and
that the suppressing of evidence ought always to be
taken for the strongest evidence. Mr. Hamilton then
asked the attorney-general to define libel, which was
done; the staid official taking the opportunity to air
his pedantic abilities to such an extent as to leave
many weak points through which Hamilton's flashing sword pierced. The chief-justice, finding that
the State's attorney was overmatched, rushed to his
rescue, just as certain criminal judges in our own
times have favored   district-attorneys, bringing  to
them a luster and a reputation which they did
not sustain when away from their judicial preceptors. This all gave Mr. Hamilton the opportunities
which he desired, and we are bound to believe that
vigorous expressions of the rights of the people
made at this time, when all the City was watching, and everything was at red heat, shaped the
public mind to a knowledge of popular rights and
the way to obtain them. Mr. Hamilton said: "I
own it to be base and unworthy to scandalize any
man, yet I think it is even villainous to scandalize
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a person of public character, and I will go so far
into Mr. Attorney's doctrine as to agree that if the
faults, mistakes, nay, even the vices, of such a person be private and personal, and do not affect the
peace of the public, or the liberty or property of
our neighbor, it is unmanly and unmannerly to expose them either by word or writing. But when a
ruler of a people brings his personal failings, but
much more his vices, into his administration, and
the people find themselves affected by them, either
in their liberties or properties, that will alter the
case mightily; and all the high things that are said
in favor of rulers, and of dignities, and upon the
side of power, will not be able to stop people's
mouths when they feel themselves oppressed-I
mean in a free government. It is true in times
past it was a crime to speak truth, and in that
terrible Court of Star Chamber many worthy and
brave men suffered for so doing; and yet even in
that Court, and in those bad times, a great and
good man durst say, what I hope will not be taken
amiss of me to say in this place, that the practice
of informations for libels is a sword in the hands of
a wicked king, and an arrant coward, to cut down
and destroy the innocent; the one cannot, because
of his high station, and the other dares not, because of his want of courage, revenge himself in
another manner." This magnificent statement of
truth angered the attorney-general, who pointed the
sword of prosecution directly at Mr. Hamilton's
heart, saying: "Pray, Mr. Hamilton, have a care
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what you say; do not go too far either; I do not
like those liberties." The great crowd of people in
the court-room could hardly contain themselves in
this dialogue, and the flashes of their eyes and the
muttered imprecations created an influence that no
jury of the -people could possibly withstand. Hamilton went on to say: "I cannot see the meaning of
Mr. Attorney's caution; my well-known principles,
and the sense I have of the blessings we enjoy under his present majesty, make it impossible for me
to err, and I hope, even to be suspected, in that
point of duty to my king. May it please your
honor, Il was saying, that, notwithstanding all the
duty and reverence claimed by Mr. Attorney to men
in authority, they are not exempt from observing
the rules of common justice, either in their private
or public capacities; the laws of our mother country know no exemption. It is true, men in power
are harder to be come at for wrongs they do, either
to a private person or to the public; especially a
governor in the plantations, where they insist upon
an exemption from answering complaints of any kind
in their own government. We are indeed told, and
it is true, they are obliged to answer a suit in the
King's Courts at Westminster for a wrong done to
any person here; but do we not know how impracticable this is to most men among us, to leave their
families, who depend upon their labor and care for
their livelihood, and carry evidences to Britain, and
at a great, nay, a far greater, expense than almost
any of us are able to bear, only to prosecute a gov41




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ernor for an injury done here.  But when the oppression is general, there is no remedy even that
way; no, our Constitution has (blessed be God!)
given us an opportunity, if not to have such wrongs
redressed, yet by our prudence and resolution to prevent in a great measure the committing of such
wrongs, by making a governor sensible that it is
his interest to be just to those under his care; for
such is the sense that men in general (I mean freemen) have of common justice, that when they come
to know that a chief magistrate abuses the power
with which he is trusted for the good of the peo
ple, and is attempting to turn that very power
against the innocent, whether of high or low degree, I say mankind in general seldom fail to interpose, and, as far they can, prevent the destruction
of their fellow subjects. But I pray it may be
considered of what use is this mighty privilege if
every man that suffers must be silent, and if a man
must be taken up as a libeler too? And (speaking
of the New York Assembly) what redress is to be
expected for an honest man who makes his complaint against a governor to an assembly who may
properly enough be said to be made by the same
governor against whom the complaint is made? It
is a right which all freemen claim, and are entitled
to complain when they are hurt.    They have a
right publicly to remonstrate against abuses of power
in the strongest terms, to put their neighbors upon
their guard against the craft or open violence of
men in authority, and to assert with courage the
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


sense they have of the blessing of liberty, the value
they put upon it, and their resolution at all hazards
to preserve it as one of the greatest blessings Heaven
can bestow. Will any one say that all or any of
these good ends are to be effected by a governor's
setting his people together by the ears, and by the
assistance of one part of the people (the Assembly)
plaguing and plundering the other? The commission
which governors bear while they execute the powers
given them, according to the intent of the royal
grantor, expressed in their commissions, requires
and deserves very great reverence and submission;
but when a governor departs from the duty enjoined
on him by his sovereign, and acts as if he was
less accountable than the royal hand that gave him
all that power and honor which he is possessed of,
this sets people upon examining and inquiring into
the power, authority, and duty of such a magistrate, and to compare those with his conduct; and
just as far as they find he exceeds the bounds of
his authority, or falls short in doing impartial justice to the people under his administration, so far
they very often, in return, come short in their duty
to such a governor. For power alone will not make
a man beloved, and I have heard it observed that
the man who was neither good nor wise before his
being made a governor, never mended upon his preferment, but has been generally observed to be
worse; for men who are not endued with wisdom
and virtue can only be kept in bounds by the law;
and by how much the further they think them43




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selves out of the reach of the law, by so much the
more wicked and cruel men are. I wish there were
no instances of the kind at this day. And wherever
this happens to be the case of a governor, unhappy
are the people under his administration, and in the
end he will find himself so too; for the people will
neither love him  nor support him."  Mr. Hamilton
made a deep and skillful thrust at the judges themselves, when he said; "I make no doubt but there
are those here who are zealously concerned for the
success of this prosecution, and yet I hope there
are not many.    There are some who are under
strong obligations, and those are such as are in
some sort engaged in support of a governor's cause
by their dependence on his favor for some post or
preferment. But I can with very just ground hope
from those men, whom I will suppose to be men
of honor and consciences too, that when they see
the liberty of their country is in danger, either by
their concurrence, or even by their silence, they
will, like Englishmen, freely make a sacrifice of
any preferment or favor, rather than be accessory
to destroying the liberties of their country, and entailing slavery upon their posterity." Mr. Hamilton's
discussion of the law, which followed these words, has
been criticised; but his enunciation of the rights of
the people has never lost its force. The humorous
element, but one that strengthened his contention
nevertheless, was introduced in these words: "This
is the second information for libeling of a governor
that I have known in America; and the first,
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


though it may look like a romance, yet, as it is
true, I will beg leave to mention it.   Governor
Nicholson, who happened to be offended with one of
his clergy, met him one day upon the road, and,
as was usual with him, under the protection of his
commission, used the parson with the worst of language, threatened to cut off his ears, slit his nose,
and at last to shoot him through the head. The
parson, being a reverend man, continued all this
time uncovered in the heat of the sun, until he
found an opportunity -to fly for it; and coming to
a neighbor's house, felt himself very ill of a fever,
and immediately writes for a doctor; and, that his
physician might be the better judge of his distemper, he acquainted him with the usage he had received; concluding that the governor was certainly
mad, for that no man in his senses would have behaved in that manner. The doctor unhappily shows
the parson's letter; the governor comes to hear of
it; and so an information was preferred against the
poor man for saying he believed the governor was
mad; and it was laid in the information to be false,
scandalous and wicked, and wrote with intent to
move sedition among the people and bring his excellency into contempt. But by an order from the
late Queen Anne, there was a stop put to that prosecution, with sundry others, set on foot by the
same governor against gentlemen of the greatest
worth and honor in that government."     Coming
more closely to the duty of the jury, Mr. Hamilton said: "Gentlemen, the danger is great in pro45




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portion to the mischief that may happen through
our too great credulity.  A proper confidence in a
court is commendable; but as the verdict (whatever
it is) will be yours, you ought to refer no part of
your duty to the discretion of other persons.  If
you should be of opinion that there is no falsehood in Mr. Zenger's papers, you will, nay (pardon me for the expression), you ought to say so;
because you do not know whether others (I mean
the Court) may be of that opinion.    It is your
right to do so, and there is much depending upon
your resolution, as well as upon your integrity.
"The loss of liberty to a generous mind is worse
than death; and yet we know there have been those
in all ages, who, for the sake of preferment, or
some imaginary honor, have freely lent a helping
hand to oppress, nay, to destroy, their country. This
brings to my mind that saying of the immortal
Brutus, when he looked upon the creatures of
Caesar, who were very great men, but by no means
good men. 'You Romans,' said Brutus, 'if yet I
may call you so, consider what you are doing; remember that you are assisting Ceesar to forge those
very chains which one day he will make yourselves
wear.' This is what every man that values freedom
ought to consider; he should act by judgment, and not
by affection or self-interest; for where these prevail
no ties of either country or kindred are regarded;
as, upon the other hand, the man who loves his
country prefers its liberty to all other considerations,
well knowing that without liberty life is a misery.
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"I am  truly very unequal to such an undertaking on many accounts. And you see I labor under
the weight of many years, and am borne down
with great infirmities of body; yet, old and weak
as I am, I should think it my duty, if required, to
go to the utmost part of the land, where my service could be of any use in assisting to quench the
flame of prosecutions upon informations set on foot
by the government to deprive a people of the right
of remonstrating (and complaining too) of the arbitrary attempts of men in power. Men who injure
and oppress the people under their administration
provoke them to cry out and complain; and then
make that very complaint the foundation for new
oppressions and prosecutions. I wish I could say
there were no instances of this kind. But to conclude; the question before the Court and you, gentlemen of the jury, is not of small nor private
concern, it is not the cause of a poor printer,
nor of New York alone, which you are now trying: no! it may, in its consequences, affect every
freeman that lives under a British government
on the main of America. It is the best cause;
it is the cause of liberty; and I make no doubt
but your upright conduct, this day, will not only
entitle you to the love and esteem of your fellow
citizens, but every man who prefers freedom to a
life of slavery will bless and honor you, as men
who have baffled the attempts of tyranny, and,
by an impartial and uncorrupt verdict, have laid
a noble foundation for securing to ourselves, our
47




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posterity and our neighbors, that to which nature and the laws of our country have given us
a right, the liberty both of exposing and opposing arbitrary power in these parts of the world
at least, by speaking and writing truth."
The   attorney- general replied  briefly  to  Mr.
Hamilton's address, and the chief justice made a
short charge to the effect that, as the defendant
had confessed the publication of the words complained of, the question for the jury was whether
the words were libelous, and this being a question
of law, they might leave it to the Court. The intention, obviously, was to secure a special verdict;
but Hamilton had been careful to impress the jury
with the necessity of bringing a verdict of "not
guilty," and that was what the jury did.
This stirring event occurred on the very spot
where George Washington became the first President of a free people, whose government was
based on the very ideas that were put forth
by the eloquent champion of the people in a hazardous conflict with tyranny
and oppression.
William  Smith and James
Alexander, who were debarred
-         by the Court in this case, had
previously given great offense
/  to the governor and his imt'          mediate friends in their defense
RIP VAN DAM.
A Typical Knickerbocker. of the eminent citizen, Rip Van
Dam, against the    same  Governor Cosby.    The
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governor proceeded against Van Dam, who fought
back, and their controversies came before Chiefjustice Lewis Morris, who   delivered  an  opinion
in favor of Van Dam in the same old courtroom. It greatly irritated Cosby, and all the more
so because Morris caused his opinion to be printed
in the New York "Gazette." The opinion was accompanied with this open letter, signed by the brave
judge.
Copy of morris' letter.
"This, sir, is a copy of the paper I read in
court. I have no reason to expect that this or anything else I can say will be at all grateful, or
have any weight with your Excellency, after the
answer I received to a message I did myself -the
honor to send to you concerning an ordinance you
were about to make for establishing a court of
equity in the Supreme Court, as being, in my opinion, contrary to law, and which I desired might
be delayed till I could be heard on that head. I
thought myself within the duty of my office in
sending this message, and hope I do not flatter myself in thinking I shall be justified in it by your
superiors, as well as mine. The answer your Excellency was pleased to send me was that I need
not give myself any trouble about that affair;
that you would neither receive a visit nor any
message from   me; that you could neither rely
upon my integrity nor depend upon my judgment;
that you thought me a person not at all fit to
be trusted with any concerns relating to the
C-2                 49




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king; that ever since your coming to the government I had treated you, both as to your own
person and as the king's representative, with
slight, rudeness, and impertinence; that you did
not desire to see or hear any further of or from
me. I am heartily sorry, sir, for your own sake, as
well as that of the public, that the king's representative should be moved to so great a degree of
warmth as appears by your answer, which I think
would proceed from no other reason but by giving
my opinion, in a court of which I was a judge,
upon a point of law that came before me, and in
which I might be innocently enough mistaken
(though I think I am not), for judges are no more
infallible than their superiors are impeccable. But
if judges are to be intimidated so as not to dare
to give any opinion but what is pleasing to a governor, and agreeable to his private views, the people of this province, who are very much concerned
both with respect to their lives and fortunes in the
freedom and independency of those who are to
judge of them, may possibly not think themselves
so secure in either of them as the laws of his
Majesty intend they should be.
" I never had the honor to be above six times
in your company in my life: one of those times
was when I delivered the public seals of the province of Now Jersey to you on your coming to that
government; another, on one of the public days, to
drink the kdng's health; a third, at your desire, to
wait on my Lord Augustus Fitz Roy, with the




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


lawyers, to tell him we were glad to see him in
New York; and, except the first time, I never was
a quarter of an hour together in your company at
any one time; and all the words I ever spoke to
you, except at the first time, may be contained on
a quarto side of paper. I might possibly have been
impertinent, for old men are too often so; but as
to treating you with rudeness and disrespect, either
in your public or private capacity, it is what I cannot accuse myself of doing or intending to do at
any of the times I was with you. If a bow, awkwardly made, or anything of that kind, or some
defect in the ceremonial of addressing you, has occasioned that remark, I beg it may be attributed
to the want of a courtly' and polite education, or to
anything else, rather than the want of respect to
his Majesty's representative. As to my integrity, I
have given you no occasion to call it in question.
I have been in this office almost twenty years. My
hands were never soiled with a bribe; nor am I
conscious to myself that power or poverty hath
been able to induce me to be.partial in the favor
of either of them; and as I have no reason to expect any favor from you, so I am neither afraid
nor ashamed to stand the test of the strictest inquiry you can make concerning my conduct.       I
have served the public faithfully and honestly according to the best of my knowledge, and I dare,
and do, appeal to it for my justification.
"I am, sir, your Excellency's most humble
servant,                       LEWIS MORRIS."
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Chief-justice Horsmanden also felt the governor's
heavy hand. Although he sided with England's
cause When war began, he was a sturdy opponent
of the tyrannous policies of the governor, and there
were serious conflicts between him  and Governors
Clinton and Colden, which at one time led Clinton
to suspend him from his functions as a judge, and
led Colden to consider a similar course. This doughty
old judge, who, though he could face down a tyrannical governor, would not desert his king, slumbers
in the graveyard of Trinity Church within sight of
the place of his labors.
Justice Morris was removed from his office in
1733, immediately after the publication of his letter,
and Delancey was appointbd in his stead. The trial
of Zenger before Delancey, in 1735, followed the
removal of Morris, very naturally.
These newspaper accounts of Governor Cosby's
death are interesting:
"New   York, March 15.-Although in our last
Week's Paper we gave an account that since the
Impostume  in  his Excellency's breast had been
lanced, his Cough was ceased & there was a great
Prospect of his Recovery, which account was according to the opinion of his Physicians and Friends
about him. Yet since that it appears that it was
only an enlivening before Death; for on Wednesday
the tenth of this Instant his Excellency Coll. Wiliam Cosby, Governor of the Province, departed this
Life, after a severe Illness of almost sixteen; and on
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


SC&turday following he was decently interred in his
Majesty's Chappel in the Fort, his Corps being attended by the Gentlemen of the Council, the Cleugy
of the City, the Physitians that attended him in his
Illness, and most of the principal Gentlemen and
Merchants who from an affectionate concern for his
Death, voluntarily assisted in paying their last Duty
to his Remains. The Grief and Affliction of his
family, the Concern and Regret of all that Knew
him, is a testimony that he was, in relation of
Life, a valuable man. " —New York "Gazette," March
15, 1736.
"MR. ZENGER-Mr. Bradford in Observance of his
constant Respect to Falsehood and Dislike of Truth,
was pleased in his Gazette of last Tuesday to inform his Readers That His Excellency (our then
Governor) was in a fair Way of Recovery. Upon
which I shall only take Leave to add, that on
Wednesday last, between the Hours of One and
two in the Afternoon, William Cosby, Esq., resigned with His last Breath His Ensigns of Power
and Op....   n; what will be his Fate in that
Place where (we are told) there is no Respect of
Persons, belongs not to me to determine: But as
a true Lover of this Province, I can't help wishing
that the Measures of his Administration may rather
serve as Beacons of Danger and to be avoided, than
as Examples to a future Tyrant; in this very much
depends the Quieting of the Minds of a People
long distressed with arbitrary Power. Therefore, as
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Providence has already interposed in their Favour,
we are to hope she will not leave the Work unperfected, but will in due Time deliver us out of the
Hands of all those who have either in the first or
more remote Instances contributed to these Distresses.
"Characters are in general, but more particularly
of Great Men, not easily to be drawn, for the same
Reason that an absolute Impartiality and clear Judgment falls to the Share of a few. The indulgence
of the World has sometimes admitted of them from
the nearest Friends, and in this there seems to be
the greatest Candour and Generosity.
"A worthy Gentleman (of what great Man he
best knows) has formerly said:
"Notre Chef est un Drole, sans Amitie ou Sincerite, qui ne regard ce qui fait on dit.
"Which for the Benefit of your English and
Dutch Readers I beg Leave to translate.
"Our Chief is a Comical Fellow, without Friendship or Sincerity, who has no Regard to any Thing
he says or does.
"Ons Opper-Hoofd is cen aardige Quant, souder
Eer of Dengds wie niet en acht wat by segd
of doet.
"And as that worthy Gentleman is supposed to
have been under very great Obligations to, and
even at that Time depending on, we are
bound to suppose, if he has erred, it has been
through Friendship, Interest and Partiality. Yours,
&c., PHILO  PATRIA."- New    York "Weekly Journal," March 15, 1736.
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Jacob Leisler had been tried for treason and convicted in 1691 at the Old City Hall on Pearl Street,
and several years after his execution, which is elsewhere mentioned, the finding of the Court was practically reversed by an act of Parliament which contained these words:
"Whereas, in the late happy revolution, the inhabitants of the province of. New York did, in their
General Assembly, constitute and appoint Captain
Jacob Leisler to be Commander-in-chief of the said
province, until their majesties' pleasure should be
known therein; and the said Jacob Leisler was
afterwards confirmed in the said command by his
majesty's letter dated, &c., and, the said Jacob
Leisler having the administration of the said government of New York, by virtue of the said power
and authority so given and confirmed to him as
aforesaid, and being in the exercise thereof, Captain
Ingoldsby, arriving in the province in the month of
January, A. D. 1690, did, without producing any
legal authority, demand of the said Jacob Leisler
the possession of the fort at New York; but the
said Jacob Leisler, pursuant to the trust in him
reposed, refused to surrender the said fort into the
hands of the said Richard Ingoldsby, and kept the
possession thereof until the month of March following; at which time Colonel Henry Sloughter, being
constituted Captain-general and Governor-in-chief of
the said province, arrived there in the evening; the
said Jacob Leisler, having notice thereof the same
night (though very late), took care to deliver the




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said fort to his order, which was done very early
the next morning.-Anno sexto et septimo Gulielnmi III. regis."
This finding exonerated Leisler from every charge
that was made against him, and branded his conviction and execution as murder.
BAYARD'S TRIAL.
While speaking of celebrated trials that occurred
on this interesting corner, we may mention the trial
of Colonel Bayard for high treason in 1702.
Colonel Bayard was the commander of the regiment of five companies of militia, which, with its
captains, had unanimously deserted him because he
was.a leader among those who were supposed to
favor King James. Immediately after the execution
of Leisler his son Jacob devoted himself to the filial
duty of obtaining a reversal of the judgment of
treason which had stained his father's memory. He
labored constantly and incessantly in America and
in England, and finally secured the action which
has just been mentioned. Among those whose sympathy and assistance he secured was Lord Bellomount, who became Governor in 1698.
Bellomont found that Bayard and Livingston,
and their friends who had been concerned in the
killing of Leisler, were suspected of complicity in
the scourge of piracy which he undertook to suppress, and he turned indignantly from them and
made his associations with the popular party, who
loved the murdered governor and revered his mem56




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ory. A rumor became current that Lord Cornbury
would probably succeed Bellomont, and the aristocrats began to hope for an opportunity to regain
the ascendency.  Bayard signed addresses to the
King, to the Parliament and to Cornbury, making
serious charges against Bellomont, Lieutenant-governor Nanfan, and other officials. Bellomont died,
and Nanfan became acting-governor. In 1691, when
B&yard and Livingston were conspiring to secure
Leisler's death, they caused a law to be enacted
which provided that, "Whenever any person by any
manner of ways, or upon any pretense whatsoever,
shall endeavor by force of arms, or otherwise, to
disturb the peace of government, he shall be deemed
a traitor." This polished guillotine, which Bayard
had designed and operated for the decapitation of
Leisler, was turned against his own devoted person
by Lieutenant-governor Nanfan. The authorities extended. no more mercy to him than he had shown
to Leisler.  They convened a special court, forced
the trial out of its order, intimidated the grand
jury, choked off the pleas of the defendant's counsel,
and forced a conviction. Chief-justice Atwood pronounced sentence in the following words: "I am
sorry to find you so impenitent of your crime,
which is so heinous and abominable in the sight
of God and man. You have lately made reflections
upon the proceedings of this court against you, as
if it had been a design to do the job; comparing
your case to that of Naboth's vineyard. But I hope
God will open your eyes, that you may be con57




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vinced, and repent of the crime. It is considered by
the court here, that you be carried to the place
from whence you came; that from thence you be
drawn- upon a hurdle to the place of execution;
that there you be hanged by the neck, and being
alive you be cut down upon the earth, and that
your bowels be taken out of your belly, and your
privy members be cut off, and, you being alive,
they be burned before your face; and that your head
be cut off, and that your body be divided into four
quarters; and that your head and quarters be placed
where our lord the King shall assign. And the
LJord have mercy upon your soul."
"I desire to know," demanded the prisoner,
"whether I have leave to answer your Honor's
speech, made before sentence?" "No." "Then," hb
exclaimed, "God's will be done!" and was immediately removed to prison. Lord Cornbury had not
yet arrived, and the execution of this horrid sentence being deferred until his arrival, Colonel Bayard
was saved, for Cornbury openly avowed himself the
friend of the aristocrats, and Chief - justice Atwood
and Solicitor-general Weaver were forced to flee to
England. Bayard was reinstated in all his honor
and estate.  Lord Cornbury, like the ancient kings
of Israel, was worse than those who had gone before
him, and served a useful end in continuing the
demonstration to the people of the impossibility of
securing good government under the king, and in
compelling the factions that had been tearing at
each other's throats to forget their animosities, and
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


to come together in one common cause. These important movements had much to do with the growth
of the general desire for the establishment of an
independent nation.
In November, 1702, it was ordered that the
"arms of Earl Bellomont and Captain Nanfan be
pulled out of the City Hall and the space filled
up."
THE NEGRO TRIALS.
The trials of the negroes who were accused of
the arson plots in 1712 and 1741 occurred in the
Old City Hall at Wall Street. In February, 1741,
the house of a merchant named Hogg was robbed
and  burned.  John Hughson, a tavern-keeper on
Greenwich Street, who catered to the negro population, was suspected, and hit servant, Mary Burton,
made a confession that implicated him. At about
this time various buildings caught fire under such
circumstances as to indicate incendiarism. The negro
population, composed mostly of slaves, was intensely
excited, because a number of negro seamen, on a
Spanish prize vessel that had been brought into
New York harbor, had been condemned and sold as
slaves. Great inducements were made in shape of
rewards and offers of immunities for testimony.
Mary Burton's confession implicated various negroes,
including Caesar, Prince and Cuffee, together with
Hughson, his wife, and Peggy Carey, a disreputable woman, in a plot to burn the City and to
take control of it. She enlarged her confession, aad
others joined with her, and thus a large number of
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negroes were implicated in the charges. The Court
summoned all the lawyers of the City for consultation.  Messrs. Alexander and Smith had been restored to practice, for they were among the lawyers
who responded to the summons. The first trial was
that of Cuffee and Quack, who were convicted and
condemned to be burned, and were persuaded to
make a confession after they had been chained at
the stake (in the present City Hall Place, near
Duane Street). The clamors of the people who had
gathered to see the execution were so great that,
notwithstanding the confession, they were burned.
In June, 1741, Hughson, his wife and daughter,
and Peggy Carey were tried. Hughson's daughter
confessed and her life was spared. Peggy Carey
confessed, but retracted her confession, saying that
she had falsely accused her associates, and she was
accordingly executed. This was an example of heroism hardly to be expected in a woman of her character and associations.  The three were condemned
and executed. On June 8th, six negroes were convicted and condemned to be burned. On June 10th,
four more negroes received the same sentence. On
June 13th, five more were convicted, and on June
17th another five. On June 19th a pardon was offered to all who would confess before July 1st. The
terrified negroes eagerly rushed into this door of
hope, and many others were implicated in their
statements. Before the 15th of July, forty-six negroes had pleaded guilty. Others were arrested, until the prison was overcrowded. Mary Burton and
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William Kane, a soldier, testified that John Ury, -a
Catholic clergyman, who was not preaching, but simply teaching school, was concerned in the plot, and
he was directly charged with having incited the
negro Quack to set fire to the king's house in the
Fort. He too was found guilty, it being testified
that he went so fax as to swear the negroes Bastian, Chsar, Prince and Quack on the sign of the
Cross. Ury was executed on the gallows on August
29, 1741, at Magazine Island (Pearl Street, east of
Broadway). He made this pathetic address to the
crowd just before his death:
"Fellow Christians, I am now about to suffer a
death, attended with ignominy and pain; but it is
the cup that my Heavenly Father has put into my
hand, and I drink it with pleasure; it is the cross
of my dear Redeemer, I bear it with alacrity, knowing that all that live godly in Christ Jesus must
suffer persecution; and we must be made in some
degree partakers of His sufferings, before we can
share in the glories of His resurrection; for He
went not up to glory before He ascended Mount
Calvary; He did not wear the crown of glory before the crown of thorns.  I am to appear before
an awful and tremendous God, a being of infinite
purity and unerring justice; a God who by no means
will clear the guilty that cannot be reconciled either
to sin or sinners; in the presence of that God, the
possessor of heaven and earth, I lift up my hands,
and solemnly protest I am innocent of what is laid
Io my charge. I appeal to the great God for my




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non-knowledge of Hughson, his wife, or that creature that was hanged with them. I never saw them
living, dying, or dead; nor ever had I any knowledge or confederacy with white or black, as to any
plot; and, upon the memorials of the body and
blood of my dearest Lord, in the creatures of bread
and wine, in which I have commemorated the love
of my dying Lord, I protest that the witnesses are
perjured; I never knew them but at my trial. But
for a removal of all scruples that may arise after
my death, I shall give my thoughts on some points.
"First, I firmly believe and attest that it is not
in the power of man to forgive sin; that it is the
prerogative only of the great God to dispense pardon for sin; and that those who dare pretend to
such a power, do in some degree commit that great
and unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy
Spirit; because they pretend to that power which
their own conscience proclaim to be a lie.
"Again, I solemnly attest and believe that a
person having committed crimes that have or might
have proved hurtful or destructive to the peace of
society, and does not discover the whole scheme,
and all the persons concerned with him, cannot obtain pardon from God. And it is not the taking
any oath or oaths that ought to hinder him from
confessing his guilt, and all that he knows about
it; for such obligations are not only sinful, but unpardonable, if not broken. Now a person firmly believing this, and knowing that an eternal state of
happiness or misery depends upon the performance
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or non-performance of the above-mentioned things,
can not, will not, trifle with such important affairs.
"I have no more to say by way of clearing my
innocency, knowing that to a true, Christian, unprejudiced mind I must appear guiltless; but, however, I am not very solicitous about it. I rejoice,
and it is now my' comfort (and that will support
me and protect me from   the crowd of evil spirits
that I must meet with in my flight to the region
of bliss assigned me), that my conscience speaks
peace to me. Indeed, it may be shocking to some
serious Christians that the holy God should suffer
innocency to be slain by the hands of cruel and
bloody persons (I mean the witnesses who swore
against me at my trial); indeed, there may be reasons assigned for it, but as they may be liable to
objections, I decline them; and shall only say that
this is one of the dark providences of the great
God, in His wise, just, and good government of this
lower world.
"In fine, I depart this waste, this howling wilderness, with a mind serene, free from all malice,
with a forgiving spirit, so far as the Gospel of my
dear and only Redeemer obliges and enjoins me to,
hoping and praying that Jesus, who alone is the
giver of repentance, will convince, conquer and enlighten my murderers' souls, that they may publicly
confess their horrid wickedness before God and the
world, so that their souls may be saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus'."
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We are not in position at this late day to fairly
judge this terrible occurrence.  We do not feel the
terror and apprehension that moved the whole populace, even the judges and the lawyers, so that it
was impossible to find counsel for defense. We cannot appreciate the many indications of guilt of the
accused, and the danger of the City that so mightily convinced and moved the entire population, so
that not one was left to speak a good word for the
defendants. The records of the trials are meager,
and give us only a faint indication of the circumstances that created the general conviction of danger, guilt, and the necessity of extreme measures.
So far as the records illuminate the situation, it
seems that the danger was greatly exaggerated, that
the people were so excited that they accepted every
accusation as true, and that very many of those
who suffered the extreme penalty of the law, inflicted in its severest manner, were guiltless of actual crime; especially does it seem that an awful
mistake was made in the case of the clergyman
Ury, and we cannot overcome the feeling that his
religious professions, which were of a kind that
were hated by the great mass of people, deprived
him of sympathy and fair play. This dismal affair
made an indelible stain upon the fair name of our
City, less black and inexcusable only than those
which marked the persecution of Quakers. and alleged witches in other parts of the New World.
A circumstance that sheds light upon the early
history of our City, and that helps to reveal the
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


great and blessed improvement that has taken place,
is this: In the very City and in the very courthouse where the rights of the people had been so
magnificently demonstrated, there was no one to
ask, much less to demand, fair play and just treatment for these poor terror-stricken, ignorant, unadvised negroes, unable to defend themselves, and prosecuted by the entire bar of the City and by the
Court itself. Even Smith and Alexander, who had
bravely suffered the penalty of debarment from
practice for defending  the right of Mr. Zenger,
were in the ranks of those who willfully prevented
the negro defendants from having the rights accorded to the meanest criminals. The difference was
this: The defendants were slaves, they belonged to
a despised race, they were hardly deemed to have
souls, many denied that they were human creatures. They were looked upon as fierce animals from
whom the community must protect itself, regardless
of means and measures. If they were fierce and
vindictive, if there was a negro plot, if houses were
burned and lives were destroyed, we can hardly
blame the ignorant, outcast, neglected blacks; some
of whom had come into port as free men, though
prisoners of war, and had been sold into slavery.
The story of their wrongs and sufferings in old
New York would make as black a picture as has
been shown in the slavery of any part of the civilized world in modern times. We cannot claim    for
our City an absence of the dark story of slavery;
but this we can claim: that New York was among




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the first communities that discontinued slavery; that
in New York heroic work was done to end the
slave traffic; that the people of New York have
responded to all the efforts to improve the conditions of the negro, and that no city in the Union
is freer from prejudice against the black men, and
no city affords better facilities for their improvement.
That the negroes of New York City are more
prosperous and more highly developed than in any
other city of the nation is a statement that will not
be contradicted.  The contrast between the trial of
Zenger and the trials of the negroes is very great;
and the improvement in judicial spirit, and in popular feeling, is manifest in the difference in position
between the negroes of 1741 and the negroes of today. The tolerant spirit of New York was extended
to the negro long before the war of the Rebellion,
notwithstanding the peculiar race hatred of a section
of our foreign-born population that was illustrated in
all hideousness in the draft riots of 1863.
poor Debtors.
These old advertisements show a side to the life
about the Old City Hall that is not without its humor, as well as its pathos.
"City Hall, March 10, 1751.-To all Charitable
Gentlemen and Ladies: We poor unfortunate Prisoners in the City Hall of New York humbly beg
leave to acquaint you that we, besides our misfortune of confinement, are under great necessity for
want of firing, not having at this Time one Stick
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NEW Y ORK CITY LIFE


to burn, nor have not for several Days, and the
greatest part of us Intire strangers in the Country
so that we are destitute of Friends, as well as of
all necessaries of life, and unless we are relieved
by some charitably disposed persons, we must unavoidably perish in this place. Such persons as will
relieve us in this one great necessity of firing, we
shall not only return our grateful thanks, but shall
as in duty bound ever pray that our misfortunes
may be doubled in blessings on you and yours. I
am for self and rest of my fellow prisoners, Gentlemen and Ladies, your most obedient and humble
servant, EDWARD DAILEY."
"March 18.-We poor and unfortunate prisoners
of the City Hall of New York now humbly beg
leave to return you our most grateful Thanks for
your benevolence which we have received to our
great comfort of this necessity.
"Received we have Firing, Meat and Pence,
May others follow your Benevolence,
When -we in Prison were you came to see
What was our want and sad extremity.
We cold and hungry, sick and naked were,
But you us comfort gave, while we were there;
Take your reward, which is eternal Bliss,
For you relieved us when in great distress.
For this our thanks to you we freely give,
Pray God may on you double Blessings flow.
He that unto the Poor doth freely give
He double-fold shall of the Lord receive.
I hope Prosperity may never fail you.
I am your humble servant.
"EDWARD DAILEY."
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THE STAMP ACT CONGRESS, 1765.
Massachusetts and Virginia have contended for
the honor of having inaugurated Intercolonial Correspondence, but in this, as in some other matters,
it appears that New York has the honor, even
though her people have not seemed to prize it. The
first act of this kind was the appointing of a committee by the New York Legislature, of which Robert R. Livingston was chairman, in 1764. The Assembly itself adopted a protest to the House of
Commons against the Stamp Act, which had then
been introduced in that body, and this committee
was expected to correspond with Robert Charles,
INew York's agent in England, and "with the several Assemblies or committees of Assemblies on this
continent."  This committee was in the field six
years before Massachusetts, and nine years before
Virginia, made any similar movement.     Promptly
upon the passage of the Stamp Act, New York's
committee called for a convention of the representatives of the different colonies. Governor Colden endeavored to prevent a proper representation from
New York by proroguing the Assembly, but while
his action prevented the appointment of instructed
delegates, it did not prevent the representation of
New York in the Congress; for the Committee of
Correspondence claimed the right to represent New
York and was admitted. Massachusetts was the first
province to respond to the invitation, and she did
so in the heartiest and most unequivocal manner.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The delegates assembled on October 7, 1765, less
than a month before the time fixed for the Stamp
Act to go into operation.  Our Old City Hall on
Wall Street was the place of meeting.     Twentyseven delegates from  nine States attended.  New
Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia
were in sympathy with the convention, but for various reasons were unable to send representatives.
This is the roll of the gathering which became historic, and has been called the Stamp Act Convention:


Massachusetts
Rhode Island.
Connecticut.
New York..
New Jersey.
Pennsylvania.
Delaware..
Maryland...
South Carolina


James Otis, Oliver Partridge, Timothy Ruggles.. Metcalfe Bowler, Henry Ward..Eliphalet Dyer, David Rowland,
William Samuel Johnson.
Robert R. Livingston, John Cruger
(Mayor), Philip Livingston,William Bayard, Leonard Lispenard..Robert Ogden, Hendrick Fisher,
Joseph Borden.. John Dickenson, John Morton,
George Bryan.. CEesar Rodney, Thomas McKean.. William Murdock, Edward Tilghman, Thomas Ringgold.. Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge.
of England's arbitrary right of


The question


taxation had been thoroughly discussed in the colonies, and the minds of the people were settled.
Governor Cosby, whose tyrannous acts were the
occasion for some of the historic scenes on this very
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


spot, had proposed a stamp act as early as 1734,
and various other governors had advised the English government to raise revenue in that way.
The great mass of the people were incensed at the
deprivation of their rights  as  Englishmen, and
although the convention was in session for three
weeks, there was no doubt at any time that some
sort of protest would go out from  it.  One of its
first acts was the adoption of a Declaration of
Rights, which was written by John Cruger, Mlayor
of the City of New     York.  An Address to the
King was prepared by a committee composed of
Robert R. Livingston, William S. Johnson and
William Murdock; an Address to the House of
Lords by a committee consisting of John Rutledge,
Edward Tilghman (Tilghman of Exchange Place is
his descendant), and Philip  Livingston, and an
Address to the House of Commons by a committee
composed of Thomas Lynch, James Otis and Thomas
McKean.   These Declarations and Addresses were
written in a lofty and temperate tone, and contained the statements of the rights of the colonies,
and of the principles upon which those rights were
claimed, that became the foundation of the Revolution. The Address to the King contained this sentence, which may serve to indicate the tenor of all
the documents: "The invaluable rights of taxing
ourselves and trial by our peers, of which we implore your Majesty's protection, are not, we humbly conceive, unconstitutional, but conferred by the
great charter of English liberty." Two members of
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the Assembly dissented from its action: Ruggles,
who became a Tory, and was commissioned as a
general in the English army during the Revolutionary War, and Ogden of New Jersey, who was
known as a half-hearted Tory during the struggle
for Independence. These men were rejected by their
constituents, and Ogden was removed from his position as speaker of the New Jersey. Assembly.
The acts and declarations of this body, so long
before that immortal convention which adopted the
Declaration of Independence, were of great signifi.
cance, and of great value in fixing the principles
upon which the different colonies could and would
stand together as a unit. In this gathering,The
Union began. That inspired idea, in which trembled
the germ of the greatest modern nation, found voice
in such exalted sentences as those expressed by
Christopher Gadsden, of South Carolina, who said:
"A confirmation of our essential and common rights
as Englishmen may be pleaded from charters safely
enough, but any further dependence upon them may
be fatal. We should stand upon the broad common
ground of those natural rights that we all feel and
know as men, and as descendants of Englishmen.
I wish the charters may not ensnare us at last, by
drawing different colonies to act differently in this
great cause. Whenever that is the case all will be
over with the whole. There ought to be no New
Englandman, no New    Yorker, known on the continent, but all of us as Americans.  Union io most
certainly all in all."
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How   the nation was stirred, how the City of
New York was thrilled, by the reiteration of that
very sentiment, on this very spot, in the great war
meetings held during the Rebellion! And when the
orators of the North shook their sympathetic audiences, and moved their hearers to throw their lives
into the scale of battle, by noble appeals for the
preservation of the Union; when they quoted the
immortal words of the Massachusetts Lion-"Liberty
and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!"
-they said no more than did Gadsden of South
Carolina, who preceded them, in 1765.
This deliberative body was surrounded by influencs that tended to bring out all the points of the
controversies, and to lift it to the highest expressions of the rights of the people. Governor Colden,
the stanchest, most uncompromising representative of
the British government, protected by the great power
of England and surrounded by soldiers who craved
the chance to force the stamps down the people's
throats with their swords (as Major James put it),
was in the Fort, only a few    blocks away.   On
the other hand the State representatives and the
Mayor and the other City officials were substantially a unit in their opposition to the measure, and
the great mass of the people, led by the Sons of
Liberty, clamored about the building on Wall and
Broad and Nassau (then Kip) Streets, alternating
shouts of approval of the convention with imprecations upon the government and the governor. The
City was in a ferment while the convention was in
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE
session. The ship carrying the stamps arrived in
the harbor and was put under the protection of the
English cannon. The Stamp Act, printed under the
title of "The Folly of England and the Ruin of
America," was circulated among the crowds of people, who had no thought for anything else. John
Morin Scott's essay was scattered abroad in the
same way, and the bold stand of the writer was
applauded in every direction. Among other things
he said:
"If the interests of the mother country and her
colonies cannot be made to coincide, if the same
constitution may not take place in both, if the welfare of England necessarily requires the sacrifice of
the most natural rights of the colonies-their right
of making their own laws, and disposing of their
own property by representatives of their own choosing-if such is really the case between Great Britain
and her colonies, then the connection between them
ought to cease; and sooner or later it must inevitably cease. The English government cannot long
act toward a part of its dominions upon principles
diametrically opposed to its own, -without losing itself
in the slavery it would impose upon the colonies,
or leaving them to throw it off and assert their
own freedom. There never can be a disposition in
the colonies to break off their connection with the
mother country, so long as they are permitted to
have the full enjoyment of those rights to which
the English Constitution entitles them.... They
desire no more; nor can they be satisfied with less."
D-2                 73




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A paper called "The Constitutional Courant" was
issued with Dr. Franklin's "Unite or Die" device
at its head.
Placards appeared in the public places in this
language:
"pro patria.
"The first man that either distributes or makes use
of stamped paper, let him take care of his House, Person
and Effects.
"(Signed)            Vox POPULI,
"We dare."
(Scott's tomb is in Trinity churchyard, close to
Broadway, north of the entrance.)
Even the poet got in his fine work, and gave
the people this song to sing:
"A strange Scheme of late has been formed in the State
By a knot of Political Knaves,
Who in secret rejoice that the Parliament's voice
Has condemned us by law to be Slaves: Brave Boys!
Has condemned us by law to be Slaves.
"With the Beasts of the Wood we will ramble for Food,
And lodge in wild Deserts and caves,
And live poor as Job on the skirts of the Globe
Before we'll submit to be Slaves: Brave Boys!
Before we'll submit to be Slaves."
The excitement culminated in angry and warlike
demonstrations of the people, who assembled in the
Fields (the City Hall Park), at the call of the Liberty Boys, and hanged the governor in effigy, and
marched down to attack the Fort and seize the
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


stamps; and in the surrender of the governor, who
delivered the stamps to the mayor. at the City Hall.
The deliberations of the Stamp Act Congress, and
the addresses issued by it, together with the firm
stand of the people in New York City and elsewhere, forced the British Government to repeal the
act; but that repeal only delayed a little the inevitable Union and Independence that spoke out so
strongly in the deliberations and resolutions of the
convention.
Is there a place in America more nobly connected
than this with the cause of American Independence?
Deelaratior) of RFilbts aid Qrieuaoees,
ADOPTED BY THE STAMP ACT CONVENTION AT THE
CITY HALL ON WALL STREET.
"I. That his Majesty's subjects in these colonies
owe the same allegiance to the Crown of Great
Britain that is owing from his subjects born within
the realm, and all due subordination to that august
body, the Parliament of Great Britain.
"II. That his Majesty's liege subjects in these
colonies are entitled to all the inherent rights and
liberties of his natural born subjects within the kingdom of Great Britain.
"III. That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them but
with their own consent, given personally, or by
thezr representatives.
"IV. That the people of these colonies are not;
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and, from their local circumstances, cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great Britain.
"V. That the only representatives of the people
of these colonies are the persons chosen therein by
themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or
can be, constitutionally imposed on them   but by
their respective Legislatures.
"VI. That all supplies to the Crown being free
gifts of the people, it is unreasonable and inconsistent with the principles and spirit of the British
Constitution for the people of Great Britain to grant
to his Majesty the property of the colonists.
"VII. That trial by jury is the inherent and
invaluable right of every British subject in these
colonies.
"VIII. That the late act of Parliament, entitled
An act for granting and applying certain stamp
duties, and other duties, in the British Colonies
and Plantations in America, by imposing taxes on
the inhabitants of these colonies, and the said act,
and several other acts, by extending the jurisdiction
of the Court of Admiralty beyond its ancient limits,
have a manifest tendency to subvert the rights and
liberties of the colonists.
"IX. That the duties imposed by several late
acts of Parliament, from  the peculiar circumstances
of these colonies, will be extremely burdensome and
grievous; and from the scarcity of specie, the payment of them absolutely impracticable.
"X. That as the profits of the trade of these
colonies ultimately center in Great Britain, to pay
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


for the manufactures which they are obliged to take
from thence, they eventually contribute very largely
for all supplies granted them to the Crown.
"XI. That the restrictions imposed by several
late acts of Parliament on the trade of these colonies will render them unable to purchase the manufactures of Great Britain.
"XII. That the increase, prosperity, and happiness
of these colonies depend on the full and free enjoyment of their rights and liberties, and af intercourse
with Great Britain mutually affectionate and advantageous.
"XIII. That it is the right of the British subjects in these colonies to petition the King or either
House of Parliament.
"Lastly, That it is the indispensable duty of
these colonies, to the best of sovereigns, to the
mother country, and to themselves, to endeavor, by
a loyal and dutiful Address to his Majesty, and
humble application to both Houses of Parliament,
to procure the repeal of the Act for granting and
applying certain stamp duties, of all clauses of any
other acts of Parliament whereby the jurisdiction
of the Admiralty is extended as aforesaid, and of
the other late acts for the restriction of American
commerce. '
TRIAL OF LEVI WEEKES, i8oo.
The time came when New York had a Hamilton
of her own, whose voice was heard in this timehonored court room at Wall Street. It was consid77




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ered one of the sights of New York to see him on
his way to Court with his papers and books. Many
were the famous cases in which he was engaged.
In one of these cases, the trial of Levi Weekes for
the murder of Gulielma Sands, in March, 1800, he
was associated with Aaron Burr. Hamilton, Burr
and Brockholst Livingston worked together for the
defense with no suspicion in their minds of the
tragic relations which Hamilton and Burr were to
sustain in 'a few years.  This cause created such
interest in its day that it still retains its hold on
popular interest. Miss Sands lived with Elias and
Catherine Ring, her uncle and aunt, in Greenwich
Street near Franklin, when the population of the City
did  not exceed  sixty thousand.  Weekes was a
boarder in the family. He was a brother of Ezra
Weekes, owner of the famous City Hotel, on the
site of the Boreel Building, 111 Broadway. Weekes
and Miss Sands kept company, and it was believed
that they were engaged. On a Sunday in December,
1799, Miss Sands left her home with Weekes and
was never seen alive afterward. In the next month
her body was found in the Manhattan Well, which
was used for the water supply of the Manhattan  Company which Burr organized.     This well,
long since filled up, was then in the open meadow,
and was situated about one hundred feet north of
Spring Street and one hundred feet east of Green
Street. It was eighty feet deep. The people were
greatly excited over the murder, for the appearance
of the body left no room for doubt, and there was
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


a general opinion that Weekes was the murderer.
Spectral lights were seen hovering over the well by
impressionable people whose vision was prepared by
looking through the bottoms of tumblers. Weekes
was arrested and indicted, and his trial began on
the thirty-first day of March, 1800. Chief-justice
Lansing, Mayor Richard Varick and Recorder Richard Harrison formed the Court, and a rare jury was
made up of Garrit Storm, Robert Lylburn, Simon
Schermerhorn, George Scriba, Richard Ellis, James
Hunt, John Rathbone, William  Wilson, William G.
Miller, Samuel Ward, William  Walton and Jasper
Ward. The prosecutor was Attorney-general Cadwallader D. Colden. The trial was a continuous display of the abilities of the extraordinary array of
lawyers on both sides of the case. Hamilton took
the notes of the testimony with his own hand, filling in the names of the witnesses as they were
sworn, in old-English letters. Burr used these notes
in common with his associates and made some interlineations of his own.
There is a tradition connected with   the case
which is borne out by a statement found in Parton's "Life of Aaron Burr,"    "He used to say
that he once saved a man from being hanged by
a certain arrangement of candles in a court-room.
As the trial proceeded, suspicions arose against the
principal witness, and Colonel Burr became convinced
that the guilt lay between the prisoner and the
witness. Hamilton had addressed the jury with his
usual fluent eloquence, confining his remarks to the
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vindication of the prisoner, without alluding to the
probable guilt of the witness. Colonel Burr in turn
rose. He set forth the facts which bore against
the man, and then seizing two candelabra from the
table he held them up toward the witness and exclaimed: 'Behold the murderer, gentlemen!' Every
eye was turned upon the wretch's ghastly countenance, which seemed to wear the very expression
of a convicted murderer. The man reeled, shrunk
away, and rushed from the room. The effect of
this incident was decisive. Colonel Burr concluded
his speech, the judge charged, the jury gave a
verdict of acquittal, and the prisoner was free."
There is another tradition that when the verdict
was rendered Mrs. Ring denounced Hamilton, saying: "lf thee dies a natural death I shall think
there is no justice in Heaven!"  Four years later
Burr killed Hamiltot, and twenty-nine years after
Judge Lansing disappeared and was never again
seen.  The acquittal of Weekes left the murder a
mystery, and it remains so to this day.
The removal of the seat of government from
Wall Street to the Common marked a distinct period
in the development of the City out of its colonial
condition and into its cosmopolitan character. There
were many simple old people who were part of the
life of New York in its narrower sphere. While
they moved along with the rapid advance of the
City, they did not lose their individualities, and as
the rapid strides of progress changed customs and
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general characteristics-so that the young people
looked and acted unlike their progenitors-these old
figures, surviving in antique quaintness, became not
only picturesque but interesting and lovable. With
the rising generations, who in a short time looked
on pre-Revolutionary manners and customs as antiquated, the memories of some of these worthy
people long survived. Among them was Peter Bogart the biscuit-maker, at Broadway and Cortlandt
Street. Notwithstanding the progressive art of the
haberdashers, the cordwainers and the clothiers, he
persisted in his small clothes, his long stockings,
and his big hat, his knee-buckles and shoe-buckles
and sleeve buttons, his powdered hair, long cue and
stock. He was a gentle sight, as he sat each evening on the porch in front of his house, dreamily
nodding to the people as they passed by, while his
inner eye watched the revolutions of the honest old
windmill that many years before had made flour at
that very spot for his predecessors.  He  had  a
counterpart in Mr. Skaats, the custodian of the City
Hall, and Mrs. Skaats presented a most entrancing
picture of the sober, sensible, and very respectable
Dutch housewife. This excellent pair of simple Dutch
people remained in charge of the old building as
long as it was devoted to public uses, often entertaining the judges, the lawyers and the councilmen
at their table, on which survived all the Hollandish
delicacies which now remain to us only in printed
descriptions. When the new City Hall on the Common was finished, these dear old Dutch people be81




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came its keepers and remained such until Mr. Martling, the provider for the appetites of the braves
of Tammany in its infancy, succeeded them in the
care of the City Hall. Mr. Martling, as keeper of
the City Hall and feeder of Tammany Hall, founded
an illustrious line of feeders and keepers; nor did
he realize how they would wax great in riches and
power, and would feed such hordes of desperadoes
as would leave without a memory the Hessians of
Revolutionary days, with their ferocious mustaches,
polished with shoe-blacking, and their awe inspiring
cues stiffened with flour paste.
Our route from Wall Street to the Fort will be
through Broad Street. Fires have swept the street
clear of every relic of the days when it was the
Heere Gracht of the Dutch city, and its old time
picturesqueness has departed. Now there are splendid buildings on each side of the street, and its
width and its gradual sweep and rise to the no-:
give a magnificent view of the Treasury building
and  the structures which  surround it.  But our
thoughts go back with pleasure to the time when
it was unpaved, and the creek ran through it, receiving its little tributary, the Beaver Gracht, and
when the sheep grazed upon the slopes. Where the
Stock Exchange stands, the sheep used to congregate, and at appropriate times they were sheared,
just about where the outside public now is allowed
to peep from the gallery at the mysteries. Another
favorite place for the sheep to meet was on the
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


east side of the street, about where Henry Clews
permits the amiable populace to stimulate its curiosity by watching the quotations on his blackboards. From that point it is said that the sheep
were often driven to slaughter; for even in those
days the flesh of rams, ewes and lambs was held


Dutch Cottages at Broad and Garden Streets, 1800.
in high favor. The bleating of lambs, and the odor of
broiling chops, has never departed from Broad Street.
The original owner of the sheep pasture was
Dominie Drisius, whose land bounded on Jan Jansen Dam's farm, which ran northward from it.
The first improvements on the sheep pasture were
the cottages which were built in 1690 at the northeast corner of Exchange Place and Broad Street,
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now  occupied by the Mills building.   The sheep
pasture was included within Wall, Beaver, New
and William  Streets.  Cornelius Groesens occupied
the land west of New Street fronting on Broadway.
He was killed by the Indians in 1655, and with

Mills Building, on the site of the Dutch Cottages.
out doubt was buried in the graveyard at Morris
Street and Broadway. When the town was surrendered to the English in 1664 these were the improvements on Wall Street:
1. The shanty of Dirck the wool-spinner.
2. The house of Jan Jansen.
3. The tap-room of Van Langendyck.
4. The shanty of Abram   Kermer.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


5. The shanty of Grietze the chimney-sweeper.
6. The tap-room of Jan Tunison.
7. A small house of Jan Videt.
8. A small house of Dirck Van Clyff.
9. A shanty of Pieter Jansen.
10. A general store kept by the great man of
the street, Jacob Jansen Moesman.
Thirty-six years afterward the southeast corner
of Broad and Wall Streets (now Drexe], Morgan &
Company's corner) was sold for one hundred and
sixty-three pounds, which was considered to indicate
a phenomenal rise in real estate values. One hundred and fifty years ago, this region of palaces
was filled with shanties and squat cottages. Hogs
roamed the streets, and
the "necessary houses,"
as they were called, had             -;
"underneath  entrances "
from  the roads for the             A
use of the swine (as the.
arrangement still is in
some parts of the country). The hogs were important members of the          A     god.
community then as now,
and they had their friends.
Manifest destiny, operating
through various city-father
boards, closed up the underground passages, restricted
the liberties of our grunting relatives, pushed them
beyond the City lines, and finally transported them
to Hunter's Point (Long Island City), where they


85




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


are all insanely clamoring for admission to Greater
New York, and Death:-Death to the Hogs and
Death to their Illustrious Representative, who has
shown to the wondering world what an enterprising Hog can do under the uplifting and broadening influences of our free institutions.
That the Pig Reform in Wall Street did not succeed without a mighty struggle may be seen from
this plaintive wail, extracted from one of the newspapers of the transition period:
"August 27, 1744.
"To the Publisher of the 'Weekly Post Boy.'
" I am a poor widow, and have often set forth
the deplorable state of my case to the Alderman of
the ward; but he turns a deaf ear to all 1 can
say; I must, therefore, beg you will give this a
place in your paper, as an appeal to the publick
for the justness of my cause. My husband died
about three years ago, left me with three small
children, a large score to pay off at tippling houses,
for beer, punch, and cordials, occasioned by his too
great attention to politicks and neglect of his cordwainer's occupation. After his death, I followed
washing, making soap, candles, and some other
small matters, which brought me in, now and then,
a ready penny, enabling me to pay my husband's
debts, and save enough to maintain my family,
which I did in a frugal manner, having for some
years past raised my own pork in my yard; but
I am debarred from doing that by a law of the
Corporation, lately passed, for banishing all hogs
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


out of the City, to the great damage of the poor
widow and orphan; which law, I have been informed, was obtained at the earnest request and by
the indefatigable industry of a certain city M --—,
famous for his consummate ----- if carrying points
in publick communities.  Had that gentleman considered the benefit accruing to the publick by the
hogs, the injustice of depriving the inhabitants of
their company, I am  apt to think he would not
have been so precipitate in an affair of that consequence.  In the first place, the refuse in a family
would raise a hog or two, which must now be
thrown in the streets, and, of consequence, become
a nuisance, much greater than after concoction.
The using of hog's dung in medicine the poor will
now be debarred of, and obliged to use foreign
druggs for native distempers; for my doctor informs me (who, by the bye, is a famous one, having all his knowledge by inheritance) that it is
good for stopping of blood, excellent in a scald
head, very good for the scurvy, extraordinary good
for a cholick, steeped in rum with mullen and
summer savory; for reducing a cancer, nothing like
hog's fat, sugar cookies and strong beer, made into
a poultice, applyed warm to the part affected; but
he asures me it will be of no service to the
Jews, because they are not allowed to have anything to do with them, by the Law of Moses.
"I must further observe that if they are to banish all nuisances, why don't they banish the dogs,
the cats, drunken husbands and wives, the tubs of




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


their necessary houses, introduce in the room of
them vaults? These things, I am of opinion, would
contribute more to the health and welfare of the
community than sending into exile that profitable
creature, the hog.  Consider him in all his parts:
his bristles serve the shoemaker and brushmaker,
his blood and guts make black puddings and sausages, his fat fries fish, boils olicooks, bakes pancakes, greases wooll, makes soap, excellent to eat
with sappan, and good for pomatum. Gammon and
cheek of bacon with spinage, a leg of pork with
turnips, is a fine dish, none of the community can
deny, except some that think it not consistent with
the laws of God.
"If this will not prevail upon the magistrates to
repeal the law, nothing, I fear, will. But I would
propose one exception to be added to the law, and
that is, that every person that will fat hogs in
their bedrooms, parlours or garrets shall not be
seemed or esteemed to be within the meaning of
this law, which only prohibits raising them in
yards, anything to the contrary notwithstanding;
and I don't doubt many that are not more nice
than wise will readily comply with so reasonable a
clause, rather than suffer the hogs to remain in
perpetual exile. And for so noble an addition, I,
as in duty bound, for the enlargement of their capacities, will ever pray.    DEBOBAH SE - - - E."
As late as 1817 there were at least twenty thousand hogs running at large in New York.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The shearing of the various grades of mutton is
not done at intervals in Broad and Wall Streets as
it is by the rustic shepherds of the bright green
hills and the brook-laved dells, but the bleating of
the meek animals, when the shears snip their sensitive hides, has its counterpart in groans of anguish,
none the less real because the Wall Street sheep
of these days habitually walk on their hind -feet.
Then, too, the modern Wall Street lambs are like
their prototypes in this, that, starting as mutton,
they ever remain mutton.    Even in   death they
persist in a certain rankness of flavor. The lambs
who have been joined to the sweet flocks which
frisk over the fields of the Goulds, the Vanderbilts,
the Sages and their neighbors, under the shadow
of Trinity's spire, never get away from  the old
"bell-wethers,"  who, though  less lamb-like  than
the rest, are still not above tinkling for their masters, and giving the lambs something to do, with
an occasional mouthful of grass, while the wool
grows for the shearing.
Thousands of clerks, tradesmen, small heirs, and
faithless trustees, of whom many do not know the
difference between guaranteed bonds and preferred
stocks, snap up the sure pointers that are left out
of doors at night by the cappers of big operators,
and when the wheel turns round, in a day, a week
— a month, maybe- pass their margins into the
pockets of the big "shepherds."    There is more
pathos than humor in this spectacle.   Out of it
come bad business habits, wreck and ruin, death
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and dishonor. It is no small matter that a vast
number of our people, who are ordinarily honest
and well-principled, are trying to make something
out of nothing, much out of little, by the turning
up of chances that they can no more understand
or figure upon than they can the chances that are
offered at the gambling table. It was not so when
the foundations of our commercial State were laid,
close to this very neighborhood. The immense business of the exchanges, done on "margins" and
64puts and calls," is a menace to the integrity and
the honor of the nation, and more than anything
else robs the poor to bloat the rich.  It increases
constantly the disproportions of wealth, for it is an
axiom that the ordinary Wall Street speculator is
bound to "go broke."     The men who run the
market in Wall Street cannot be outdone in the
whole world for greed and rapacity, and their
stony hearts would make a granite mountain. Some
of the grandest of them have promptly and notoriously sacrificed their friends, their promises and
their reputations, to increase their vast hoards of
wealth.  For them, black monuments of ruined
homes, wrecked men and lost souls are rising.
The devilish ingenuity of these money worshipers
has perfected "corners" and "panics," which are
made to order, and which frequently involve great
communities in financial disasters, that reach far
beyond the pastures and the flocks of Wall and
Broad Streets.  If we investigate and study the
cyclones which, sometimes start out from this neigh.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


borhood, we will surely find that the center of the
storm is in some rich man's office, and that it is
serene and peaceful at the center. The lowering of
ordinary standards of morals has progressed so far
that, in the full light of day, men, who are esteemed as being in {he front ranks of society, deliberately plan to put the government into a hole
for lack of specie, to supply the specie at a good
profit, and then speedily to re-extract it, and so to
renew the distress, regardless of the suffering that
comes to the poor and the middle classes by the
uncertainties in the money market which result. Or
reputable and religious founders of great trusts play
with national legislatures and produce misleading
popular impressions that affect the quotations of
their stock and their commodities, and then defy
the half-hearted investigation of Congressmen, who
dare not investigate, putting the process of the
government in contempt before the whole people.
Yes, there is a past and a lpresent in this neighborhood that inspires us and that causes us to realize greatness and grandeur; but there is here,
too, a living and growing gambling devil, which
involves and threatens both individual and national
honor.
Don't let any one suppose that we have forgotten the "bulls" and the "bears." They are not
forgotten; but as they are unreal-mere bogiesthey are not worth talking about.    The "taural"
and  "ursal" properties are simply hides, put on
"to make medicine," as the Indians would      say.
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Every big operator's office has a choice assortment
of skins of both sorts.  The only realities are the
shepherds and the sheep-and the shears.
Close attention to the business of '"shepherding"
the flocks, as well may be imagined, does not tend
to the development of a high grade of character.
There was Jim   Fisk, for instance, who, when he
laid his heavy hand down, was not accustomed to.w
';1
JIM FISK.
lift it up because it hurt anybody.  He differed
from most of his compeers, in being round and
well fed, and open to such blandishments as appealed to his animal instincts and his love of show
and parade. So we find him posing as a brave soldier in showy uniform striped with gold lace and
topped off with a brilliant pompon; but when he
is called upon to lead his regiment in the face of
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


a howling mob, and to defend property and the honor of
the City, his raw young soldiers are left to fight or ran,
as they please, while the round and brilliant colonel
makes quick time for a place of safety through back
yards and over fences.
Mr. Clews' chapter headings indicate to us the judgment of an acknowledged expert upon the acts and the
characters of many of Mr. Fisk's friends and rivals, the
kings of Wall Street. There was one whose piety was
undoubted and whose conduct met all the tests of morality, except where he struggled in the maelstrom of
finance.  There he "did" others, and in turn was
"done." One little incident will reveal a phase of the
"Battle of the Street." He had been pounded by a set
of speculators with whom he decided to get even. Waiting his chance, he met a number of them, and taking
out his handkerchief, dropped therefrom a scrap of
paper. One of the precious lot picked it up. On it was
carelessly written, "Buy me all the Oshkosh stock you
can, at any price you can get it below par. " After consultation between these honorable financiers, they resolved to make a pool to buy "Oshkosh," and they
loaded up with 30,000 shares; but it speedily fell, and
kept tumbling. They found too late that they had
bought the stock from their intended victim, and they
paid a heavy forfeit for their misplaced confidence.
This odd and imposing figure fell down before the
onrush of another gladiator, of whom it has been said,
"His touch was death;" for in the savage warfare that
specially distinguished those days, none measured swords
with him and lived, excepting perhaps that Croesus, who,
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLTS


after victories and sham battles and some defeats, withdrew from Wall Street with a great fortune, which he
devoted to the development of his railroad properties and
to the consequent enriching of the State and the nation.
Another went down to fame as the most successful
water purveyor of modern times. He was deeply interested in an Oregon railroad which was menaced by the
Northern Pacific. He captured that railroad by inducing his friends to see a fortune in it, to join a blind pool
and purchase it, and to elect him president. After a
period of apparent prosperity it was discovered that
$20,000,000 of the subscriptions had disappeared-there
was nothing to show for them. This shortage was covered by issuing stock of the Oregon company. That
company's real assets amounted to $3,500,000; but by the
watering process its stock and bonded liabilities mounted
up to $21,000,000, of which not less than $9,000,000 was
"water"-that is, stock issued for nothing. This "king"
started with nothing, by the methods of the street obtained $3,500,000 of railroad assets, and in five years
controlled $1,000,000,000 of property; but, failing, he
missed sainthood. There was another man who just
escaped deification-his plans miscarried-but he got so
far as to be styled a "Napoleon of finance." We have
not time or space to illuminate further this galaxy of
brilliant, daring and relentless operators, the most of
whom have passed away.
One more may be mentioned who is with us still.
He is most befittingly lean and bloodless.  Being
confronted suddenly with the prospect of swift ending by dynamite, he drew in front of him, with
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the unusual cordiality of a handshake, a young man
who had been sent to him on business, and who
was entirely ignorant of the threat of the crackbrained man who stood beside him. The bomb was
dropped, and the dreadful explosion blew the poor
Wall Street fool to pieces.. It tore its way through
the body of Mr. Sage's living shield, not killing


RUSSELL SAGE.


him, but making him a wreck and a living pain.
Without doubt, Mr. Sage's life and person were
saved by the sacrifice of this young man. Did
that incline his feeble heart to the man who was
doomed to bear his sufferings through life? Oh, no!
In bar of the legal and moral claim he answered
that he did not draw the young man between him
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and the explosion, and that he was not responsible
for the act of Norcross or its results. Trial after
trial was had, and the great millionaire seemed to
be entirely careless of the lamentable spectacle he
presented while refusing to make life more tolerable
for the man who was carrying his wounds and
bearing his pains. After several trials and appeals
the legal obstacles were beaten down and a verdict
for forty thousand dollars, rendered by a jury, was
sustained by the appellate court.
A good example of the "bell-wethers" we have
referred to is a greasy Greek familiarly known
"on the Street" as "Tin-pan-onions," who has the
unhappy faculty of impressing callow and unsuspicious young storekeepers and business men with
the certainty of making fortunes in Wall Street
providing the margins are placed in his hands and
he is given carte blanche to manage them.      He
settles all doubts of his standing by exhibiting communications which he receives or pretends to receive
from great operators. He doesn't let go of his
dupes until they have invested all their spare money
in margins, a large part of which fall into the
pockets of the "shepherds," and    the balance of
which he manages to secure on plausible pretexts.
He has been charged in court and sued more than
once, but has always turned the tables on his accusers.
It is well-known that some of these men (and
one of them in recent years stood high in certain
social and so-called religious circles) purchase stocks
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


and produce freely on the margins of their customers, and charge the purchases against their customers when there are losses, and appropriate them
when there are gains. The only men that come
out ahead in Wall Street are the "great shepherds," the "bell-wethers," and the brokers who do
strictly  a commission  business.  The  others fail
sooner or later, unless a kind calamity takes them
from earth in the midst of a lucky streak.
Here are a few advertisements clipped from the
daily newspapers and reprinted gratuitously.
WHY stay poor when great fortunes are made every
day in Wall Street and Chicago Board of Trade? The
great wealth of Vanderbilt, Armour, Gould, Rockefeller
and other millionaires came from small beginnings; $1 is
enough to start with; no bucket shop nor fraud; legitimate speculation; particulars free; send postal, with
name and address. -American Investment and Security
Co., 96 Broadway, New York.
SPECULATION.-My position gives me full view of
manipulations of one of the most active stocks on Stock
Exchange; discreet party can make favorable terms for
profitable speculation.-X., 112 "Herald."
EITHER McKinley or Bryan, you will make money.
Party holding confidential relations to one of the leading
Wall Street stock manipulators would like to meet person with few thousand dollars to use this information;
large profits to liberal person, regardless of course of
coming election. — Confidential, 149 "Herald" downtown.
IF you trade in stocks I can furnish you (if quick) a
point worth knowing regarding movement of a certain
stock; profits divided.-Address Lazard, 162 "Herald"
downtown.
E-2                 97




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


PARTY informed on course of sugar stock from inside
source wishes to meet solid operator.-Address Confidential, 39 "Herald" downtown.
A CLERK employed in confidential capacity in prominent Stock Exchange House will furnish inside information on certain stocks to discreet party with $1,000 for
share of profits. -Wall Street, 228 "Herald" downtown.
Do you speculate? " Guide to Successful Speculation" mailed free. Wheat, Provisions, Cotton and Stock
speculation, on limited margins, thoroughly explained.
Correspondence solicited. - Warren, Ford & Co., 11
Wall Street, New York.
To LADIES!-A well-informed stock broker's clerk
will explain to you how to be successful with small capital in speculating on the Stock Exchange; strictly confidential.-E. B., 231 "Herald" downtown.
A DISCREET party with $1,000, who will share profits
with advertiser, can get the inside track on stock deal,
now pending, whereby handsome profits will be realized.
-Wall Street, 109 "Herald."
ABSOLUTELY positive inside information furnished on
certain stocks by Wall Street trader to party who will
trade immediately; divide profits.-Hartshorne, "Herald" downtown. -(He calls it trading!)
There is no end of such transparent devices in
the newspapers. W e cannot forbear a look at two
concerns which are destined to rival Gould in his
success, and to turn out Vanderbilts from their
clientage.  That these two confident prophets do
not quite agree is of no particular consequence.
They will get along all right.
A MAN speculating in any form of property, whether
real estate, merchandise, stocks or bonds, should take a
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


decided position and act on it. At the present time there
can be no question where a man of money should place
himself as to the outcome of the situation.  W e have
passed beyond the time when one should be advised to
buy this or buy that for 5 or 10 points' advance, to that
broader field where investments may be made to run
through a period of three or four years, and where accumulations of stocks should be made on the profits resulting from small original investments. All of the accumulation of wealth in this country and all the interests
of foreign investors that are centered here in our securities and properties are arrayed on one side of the market.
It has been frequently stated during this period of
stagnation which we are just emerging from that among
the active stocks dealt in there would be another LAKE
SHORE, another JERSEY CENTRAL; in other words, that
there would be a stock which would go from bankruptcy
to extreme prosperity, and that some security that during the depression sold at from $5 to $10 per share would
ultimately reach par and become an investment dividend
paying stock.
We have given this subject considerable attention and
have studied the situation thoroughly, seeking, if possible, to discover which particular stock it would be, and
we think we have found it.
We are preparing a letter on this subject, giving full
details, and will mail it upon application.-E. D. THORNBURGH & Co, Bankers and Brokers, 30 Broad Street,
New York.-Branch Office, N. W. corner Broadway and
31st Street.-Telephones, 1,401 Broad; 1,153 38th Street.
-Commission 1-16 per cent.
THE feeling seems to be well settled among those interested in speculation that a Sound Money Victory awaits
the country in November, and there prevailed last week
a strong tendency to discount this Victory by booming
the Market.  This movement was aided by the ease of
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


the money market and the better feeling that prevailed
in commercial and manufacturing circles. London has
not been detected as taking any especial interest in our
market, owing to European complications, consequently
the advance in prices which is almost sure to come
may be interrupted by profit taking and short selling.
On the 13th of this month, we published in this paper,
"WHEAT has just commenced showing a strength that
will soon result in much higher prices and within the
next 30 days make persons wonder why they did not
buy at the low prices now prevailing."
December WHEAT closed on the 12th at 59g. On last
Sunday we said, "So long as the stream of gold flows
from Europe in the direction of this country, WHEAT will
advance in price, and as the engagements for import are
among the largest in recent years, we may continue to
expect very much higher prices for this Cereal."
December WHEAT closed the night before at 61;
since then December Wheat has sold at 67g. Those who
followed our advice have reason to congratulate themselves; those that did not can always obtain our views
regarding the market by writing for them.
We have issued a little booklet entitled, "The History
of Money and Banking," which will be found of especial interest during the present political campaign. We
will be glad to send a copy of this to any one on applica.
tion. We execute orders for securities, for investments
or on margin. Write for our "Vest Pocket Stock and
Grain Statistics" and our daily 4 page market letter.
Stocks, Bonds, Cotton, Grain, Provisions. Commodious customers' room, careful attention to orders. Courteous treatment. Bank References.-JAS. E. TAYLOR
& Co., 55 Broadway, New York.
But this man, evidently, does not agree with them.
ALL Country Investors should fully inform themselves of the Advantages of the Bear Side, if tired of
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


buying, remargining and losing, Daily Opportunities
now in Wheat stocks. —Geo. M. Wood, 6 Wall Street.
We have quoted the published advice of Thornburgh
& Co. and Taylor & Co. to buy stocks for a sure rise.
A week later J. R. Willard & Co. advertised: "At Week
of Losses; losses for- nearly everything"; and the news
columns of the press announced: "Further Drop inStock Prices. More Gloomy Talk Depresses Securities."
This gave prominence to the advertisement of another
genius, who makes money for his clients no matter how
the market goes.
READ.-Whether prices go up or down, we make
money on the "Fluctuation System."  153t per cent net
profits have accrued to those who have left their dividends to be compounded since July 1. 92i per cent net
profits paid. "Slow but sure and safe as a Savings
Bank."  Send for pamphlet free.-W. E. Forest, 50
Broadway, N. Y.
Meanwhile the papers teemed with advertising bait.
The columns of one number of the "Herald" showed
these precious inducements:
INSIDE INFORMATION ON STOCKS.-A party, holding
important confidential position in prominent brokerage
house, which has charge of the manipulation of certain
active stocks, would like to meet solid, discreet speculator who can handle from 300 to 1,000 shares, and will divide profits; no bucket-shoppers need apply.-Sugar, 146
"Herald" downtown.
WILL furnish information for half profits to person
furnishing money; sure fortune. -Wall Street, Post-office
box 2,110.
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


WALL STREET.-I have inside information of a movement of 10 per cent in a certain stock; will impart knowledge to reliable party who will divide profits.-L. Z.,
108 "Herald" downtown.
ADVERTISER, Wall Street operator, possessing valuable information, requires capitalist with $10,000; lifetime opportunity. - Schermerhotn, " Herald " down-town.
MONEY QUICK, QUICK MONEY.-We have inside information on certain stock; large profits assured.-Address Quick, 110 "Herald."
WILL a shrewd business man give me a personal interview? One self-reliant, trustworthy, quick judgment
and decision, who can command a few thousand dollars
for immediate use, not for investment; no risks; I am
on inside of lawful operation, yielding thousands weekly;
unfair discrimination justifies my action; a capable man
under my direction can make a fortune by January 1.
Only a gentleman who can be thoroughly trusted to hand
me half the proceeds.-Addresss Bank References, 208
"Herald."
The public poured out its "margins" under the skillful manipulation, as doth the guileless aphis under the
shrewd operations of the thrifty ant.
If we have done injustice to the workers of Wall
Street, let Bergen & Mills, of 44 Broadway, correct us.
They say:
GENTLEMEN-It is an old adage, as trite to-day as
when first put forth, that "all things come to those who
wait," and patience in Wall Street means success.
Surely, they know.
What a demoralizing farce the whole business is!
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WALL STREET DURING THE PANIC.
Nw o
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


From the " World"-(editorial).
Wall Street yesterday bought and sold 116,835 shares
of stock, of the par value of $11,683,500, but when it
came to buying any such real security as the $400,000 of
bonds of the City of New York, that is when it came to
buying something that had to be paid for in real money
and opened no door to speculative manipulation for gambling profits, Wall Street did not have a cent to put up.
Only $121,000 of the bonds were bid for-all by outsiders.
-September, 1896.
We cannot forbear quoting two of E. C. Stedman's excellent pictures of Wall Street life.  The
first, "THE HOUSE THAT VANDER BUILT," describes
conditions; the second, "ISRAEL FREYER'S BID FOR
GOLD," describes the critical point in the panic of
Black Friday, which brought disaster into all parts
of our nation.  This story has a tragic interest.
Speyer did not bid on his own account entirely,
but the manipulator of the panic had set his price.
He did as he was told, but the architect of destruction betrayed his tool and left him stranded,
a gibbering idiot in a babel of voices the meaning of which was lost to him.
(From the "Independent.")
Tbe house tbat lVader Built.
A BROAD STREET NURSERY TALE.
BY EDMUND C. STEDMAN.
This is the House that Vander built!
A wonderful work it was to build it!
The walls of paper, the ceilings gilt,
And Harlem stock was the Malt that filled it.
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


This is the gray old Erie Rat,
That ate the Malt that lay in the vat.
And this is the Dog that worried the Cat
That "cornered" the Rat and killed it.
Great is the power that riches bring!
Long on the ocean Vander was king;
At last, to govern one kingdom more,
He left the sea and bestrode the shore,
And vowed to build him a house so high
Its pinnacle point should reach the sky,
Like Nimrod's Tower of BabelSo spacious that all the bulls of mark,
Like the Happy Family in the Ark,
To dwell in it should be able.
Ten times more quickly than Cheops did
He would rear this modern Pyramid
On its base four-square and ample;
The lucky fellows within should hold
More wealth in greenbacks a hundred-fold
Than all the ivory, silver and gold
Of the priests in Solomon's Temple,
And their grand Consolidated Shares
Outnumber the pillars and flights of stairs
In the corridors of Saint Peter's.
Nor yet of stone would he shape its walls
As our Councilmen build the City Halls
(Those mighty robbers and eaters);
Nor pattern it after the Coliseum;
Nor-what would try his skill moreCopy the Boston Tweedledeum
And borrow a hint from Gilmore.
Its walls should be of paper alone,
Painted to look like iron and stone,
As ribs of plaster resemble bone
When Professor Hawkins sets on his throne
A monster Plesiosaurus;
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


And over its entrance-door should stand,
With a brazen ewer in either hand,
A brazen image, erect and grandKing Vander, the great High Taurus!
King Vander brought together a court
To do his 'bidding," and make him sport:
None of your grave and learned sort,
The wise, the good and the humble.
Why waste one's favors on folk so queer,
While faro-dealers can financier,
While roughs and jockeys are always near,
And the Long Room lobbies rumble?
To enter the speculator's heaven,
Drive on "the road" from five to seven,
Play "double-dummy" from eight to eleven,
To you shall the inside "points" be given
When the shares go up and tumble.
This is the House that Vander built!
A wonderful work it was to build!
A thousand fortunes were made and split;
'Twould sink a ship to carry the scrip
Which plastered the wall and filled it.
Soon, as it towered above the ground,
A furious warfare raged around;
Morn and noon to the conflict came
The builders, shouting their master's name.
There was Frank, to do the contract work;
Morrissey, bearded like the turk;
Horace and Peter, to ring the bell;
And Dick and Gus, with their shot and shell.
Before the battle was over,
There were scores of Maidens all forlorn,
Whose lovers were Men all tattered and torn,
With losses that somehow vanish, when born,
One's thoughts of kissing and clover.
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Huge from the earth the fabric grew,
In spite of Fisk, or Woodward, or Drew;
And at last a cataract of water
Brought the oldest, boldest bears to slaughter.
(You'd have thought such a flood would drain
forever
The current even of Hudson River!)
King Vander's palace stands complete,
While they sprawl and drown about his feet.
Two hundred and seven cubits high,
Its Central flagstaff greets the sky;
A little lower on either side,
The Hudson banners are flaunting wide;
From far and near his people wait
To worship the image above its gate.
Why shouldn't Vander, like AlexanderThat ancient monarch and commanderBuild him a monument of brass
For all to marvel at who pass:
A sign, perennius Erie,
To answer Posterity's query?
This is the Statue Vander built!
A wonderful work it was to build it!
Copper and spelter, glare and gilt;
And (since to pay for this kind of sport
Would empty the purse of King Vander's court
Faster than Central profits filled it)
'Tis said that he counted the money down
From the private Treasury of the Crown.
Be this as it may, our tale shall close
With the noontide when the curtain rose
In the sight of a goodly companieBurghers of high and low degree,
Courtiers and dames, the guard, the band,
The money-changers that held the land
And the toiling hands that tilled it.
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A Poet, fed on golden Corn,
Was the musical Cock that crowed in the morn,
And waked the Priest all shaven and shorn;
For the Priest all shaven and shorn was there,
To christen the image and make the prayer
Ere proclamation was read by the Mayor.
But where was the Farmer that sowed the corn
That fed the Cock that crowed in the mornThe Farmer whose wheat must pay the freight
To keep King Vander and court in state?
Smoking his pipe at home, they said,
Counting the cost and scratching his head
As if he were stupidly puzzlingPuzzling his rustic wits to know,
With taxes so high and grain so low,
What use in shouting and guzzling.
Now, what shall King Vander's statue teach,
With its silent, metalliferous speech,
To thousands the Mayor's will scarcely reachThe people of future ages?
The workman's triumph, the sculptor's fame?
The gracious philanthropical name
That earned a blessing wherever it came?
The victor's meed or the sage's?
Rather, methinks, that the way to grow rich
Is to seize the golden liquor which
Has been brewed from others' honey,
Mix it with water, oft and well,
Portion by portion the compound sell
For the true original hydromel,
And double or treble your money.
But those who sing "Long live the King,"
And trust to his strong protectionWho tenant his Castle in the Air,
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Two hundred cubits from earth-beware,
Lest a final deluge to pieces dash
Houses, tenants and all, in one huge crash,
With no hope of a resurrection.
(From the New York "Tribune.")
Israel Freyer's Bid for Gold.
Friday, September 24.
Zounds! how the price went flashing through
Wall Street, William, Broad Street, New!
All the specie in all the land
Held in one Ring by a giant handFor millions more it was ready to pay,
And throttle the Street on hangman's-day.
Up from the Gold Pit's nether hell,
While the innocent fountain rose and fell,
Loud and higher the bidding rose,
And the bulls, triumphant, faced their foes.
It seemed as if Satan himself were in it,
Lifting it-one per cent a minuteThrough the bellowing broker, there amid,
Who made the terrible, final bid!
High over all, and ever higher,
Was heard the voice of Israel FreyerA doleful knell in the storm-swept mart"Five millions more! and for any part
I'll give One Hundred and Sixty!"
Israel Freyer-the Government JewGood as the best-soaked through and through
With credit gained in the year he sold
Our Treasury's precious hoard of gold;
Now through his thankless mouth rings out
The leaguers' last and cruelest shout!
Pity the shorts? Not they, indeed,
While a single rival's left to bleed!
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Down come dealers in silks and hides,
Crowding the Gold Room's rounded sides,
Jostling, trampling each other's feet,
Uttering groans in the outer streetWatching, with upturned faces pale,
The scurrying index mark its taleHearing the bid of Israel FreyerThat ominous voice, would it never tire?
Five millions more! —for any part
(If it breaks your firm, if it cracks your heart)
I'll give One Hundred and Sixty!"
One Hundred and Sixty! Can't be true!
What will the bears-at-forty do?
How will the merchants pay their dues?
How will the country stand the news?
What'll the banks-but listen! hold!
In screwing upward the price of gold
To that dangerous, last, particular peg,
They have killed their Goose with the Golden Egg!
Just there the metal came pouring out,
All ways at once, like a water-spout,
Or a rushing, gushing, yellow flood,
That drenched the bulls wherever they stood!
Small need to open the Washington main,
Their coffer-dams were burst with the strain!
It came by runners, it came by wire,
To answer the bid of Israel Freyer,
It poured in millions from every side,
And almost strangled him as he cried"I'll give One Hundred and Sixty!"
Like Vulcan after Jupiter's kick,
Or the aphoristical Rocket's stick,
Down, down, down, the premium fell,
Faster than this rude rhyme can tell!
Thirty per cent the index slid,
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Yet Freyer still kept making his bid"One Hundred and Sixty for any part!"The sudden ruin had crazed his heart,
Shattered his senses, cracked his brain,
And left him crying again and againStill making his bid at the market's top
(Like the Dutchman's leg that could never stop)"One Hundred and Sixty-Five Millions more!"
Till they dragged him, howling, off the floor.
The very last words that seller and buyer
Heard from the mouth of Israel FreyerA cry to remember long as they liveWere, "I'll take Five Millions more! I'll giveI'll give One Hundred and Sixty!"
This gold story should be recalled. During 1869
Jay Gould, of the firm of Smith, Gould, Martin &
Co., in close association with James Fisk, Jr.,
bought seven or eight million dollars' worth of gold
and loaned it out on demand notes. Outside of the
United States Treasury, there was not over twenty
million dollars' worth of gold. A wild speculation
had been going on, and the apparent transactions
were greatly in excess of the supply.  Gould and
Fisk wanted to create a financial disaster and to
gather up the wreckage.  It was important to prevent the Treasury from selling gold. Fisk owned
the Grand Opera House at Twenty-third Street and
Eighth Avenue.   President Grant was entertained
there and elsewhere by Gould and Fisk, and they
worked their points to get the President to promise
not to issue gold. The President was followed to
Newport and to Washington. He seemed to yield
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to their views. The great speculators then bought
more and more, and the price steadily rose. Gould
feared the releasing of the nation's gold, for the
business men were begging the Secretary of the
Treasury to sell gold. He turned bear without advising Fisk, and, while urging him to buy, he began to sell. In this condition the dramatic inci ent
of Speyer's bidding occurred in-the gold room. Fisk
was so deluded that he offered to bet fifty thousand dollars that gold would rise to two hundred,
and no one would take the bet. Fisk and Gould
were supposed to be jointly represented by Speyer,
and the boldness and the arrogance of the ring
frightened the brokers. A number of moneyed men
combined on the other side to sell gold as it was
demanded. The schemers forced the prices upward,
nobody selling. The corner began to squeeze. The
merchants sold half a million at one hundred and
fifty, then half a million at one hundred and fiftyfive, then a million more at one hundred and sixty.
Then a stranger sold a million at one hundred and
sixty-two, and then smashed the market by meeting the offer of one hundred and sixty three and
one-half for five millions.  It was Gould.  Selling
became fast and furious, and the rout of the bulls
was completed by the letting out of the Treasury
of four millions worth of gold. Rapidly the price
fell to one hundred and thirty-three. Fisk was too
valuable to Gould to be left to ruin. Gould showed
him how to repudiate his contracts; and when the
two were in imminent danger of being killed by
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ruined operators, they retreated to the Opera House,
barricaded it, surrounded it with an armed force of
ruffians, and defied all comers.  Their deliverance
was completed by the action of judges, who were
their creatures and serfs.  May New  York never
again know such days of financial chaos and corruption as those were.
Henry Clews has done more than any other
operator to advertise Wall Street to the public, and
to lead young men into the maelstrom.    He has
published a history of his life in Wall Street, with
the evident design of meeting criticisms and of convincing his readers that they need not be ashamed
or afraid to deal in Wall Street-if they take his
advice. He says:
"Many good and pious clergymen are under the
impression that Wall Street is a name for the sum
total of all kinds of infamy, and solemnly exhort
their flocks not to touch the unclean thing... The
business activity of the country, and the spirit of
intercourse being so rapidly infused throughout all
ranks of the community, have demonstrated that
this antipathy to Wall Street has been simply an
unworthy prejudice, in spite of the high moral authority from which it has emanated... The Rev.
T. DeWitt Talmage has perhaps done more than any
other clergyman to make our speculators, investors
and business men ridiculous in the eyes of the rest
of the community and in the estimation of John
Bull, in whose dominion his so-called sermons are
extensively read. Talmage has employed his flash112




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ing wit and mountebank eloquence to bring financial disgrace on the business methods of the whole
country by the manner in which he has ignorantly
vilified Wall Street."
There is much more in the same strain. Then
follow some practical points for evading the designing "advice" that is pushed out by ordinary operators, illustrated with this touching incident:
"One day, for instance, a man gave me an order to buy a thousand shares of Erie, without limit. The order was executed at 94. I had no sooner
bought it than the stock went down. My customer
returned in a short time and ordered the stock to
be sold. It was then 92i. In half an hour he returned  again  and ordered it bought back again,
without any limit as before.  It was bought back
at 95. After consulting with some friends for some
time he ordered it sold again. The market by that
time was 90. He then came back the fifth time
and said: 'I first saw one man who told me to
buy, and then another who told me to sell. I understand one is called a "bull" and the other a
"bear."  About these names I don't know much,
but I do know I am a -- jackass.' This affords
a good illustration of the way the average speculator is managed-and perplexed in Wall Street."
He cites Generals Grant, Winslow, Porter, Wilson and Gordon as examples of bright men who
were hoodwinked and proved to be mere babes in
dealing with Wall Street men, and a little further
on tells of the queer impressions that came upon
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him in times of danger, yielding to which he was
saved from being wrecked, yet he urges bright
young men to boldly enter "the Street." The book
is very interesting reading, as may be seen from
these chapter headings, which will serve further to
condemn Wall Street by its defender's pen.
" THE COMMODORE' S CORNERS:
The Great Hudson Corner-Commodore Vanderbilt the
Boss of the Situation-The Corner forced upon himHow he Managed the Trick of Getting the Bears to
turn the Stock and then caught them-His able Device of Unloading while forcing the Bears to Cover
at high Figures-The Harlem Corner-The Common
Council Betrayed the Commodore, but were caught
in their own Trap and lost Millions-The Legislature
attempt the same Game and meet with a similar
Fate. "
"DANIEL DREW:
Drew, like Vanderbilt, an Example of great Success
without Education-,.Controlled more Ready Cash
than any man in America-Drew goes Down as
Gould Rises - His touch is Death - Prediction of
Drew's Fall-His Thirteen Millions Vanish-How
he caught the Operators in 'Oshkosh' by the Handkerchief Trick [A Petty Swindle]-The Beginning of Uncle Daniel's Troubles-The Convertible
Bond Trick-The Corner of 1866-Millions Lost and
Won in a Day-Interesting Anecdote of the Youth
who Speculated outside the Pool and was fed by
Drew's Brokers." [A Dastardly Breach of Confideuce.]
4 "DREW  AND VANDERBILT:
Vanderbilt Essays to Swallow Erie and has a Narrow
Escape from Choking-He tries to make Drew Commit Financial Suicide-Manipulating the Stock Mar114




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


- ket and the Law Courts at the same Time-Attempts
to Tie up the Hands of Drew-Manufacturing Bonds
with the Erie Paper Mill and Printing Press-Fisk
Steals the Books and Evades the Injunction-Drew
throws Fifty Thousand Shares on the Market and
Defeats the Commodore-The Corner is Broken and
Becomes a Boomerang-Vanderbilt's Fury knows
no Bounds-In his Rage he Applies to the CourtsThe Clique's Inglorious Flight to Jersey City-Drew
Crosses the Ferry with Seven Millions of Vanderbilt's
Money-The Commodore's Attempt to Reach the
Refugees-A Detective Bribes a Waiter at Taylor's
Hotel, who Delivers the Commodore's Letter which
brings Gould to Terms-Senator Mattoon gets Boodle
from both Sides."
"DREW AND THE ERIE CORNERS:
A Harmonious Understanding with the CommodoreHow the Compromise was Effected-An Interesting
Interview with Fisk and Gould in the Commodore's
Bedroom-How Richard Schell Raised the Wind for
the Commodore-Drew's Share of the Spoils-He
Tries to Retire from Wall Street, but Can't-The Settlements Cost Erie Nine Millions-Gould and Fisk
Water Erie again to the Extent of Twenty-three Millions, but leave Drew out-Uncle Daniel Returns to
the Street-He is Inveigled into a Blind Pool by
Gould and Fisk-Loses a Million and Retreats from
the Pool-He then Operates alone on the Short Side,
and throws away Millions-He tries Prayer, but it
'Availeth not'-It's no use, Brother, the Market still
goes up-Praying and Watching the Ticker-Hopelessly Cornered and Ruined by his former Pupils and
Partners."
"THE TRUE STORY OF BLACK FRIDAY:
Advising Boutwell and [President] Grant to sell Gold
-The Part Jim Fisk Played in the Speculative
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Drama —Gone where the Woodbine Twineth-A
general State of Chaos in Wall Street-How the
Israelite Fainted-' What ish the Prish now?'-Gould
the Headcenter of the Plot to Corner Gold-How he
Managed to Draw Ample Means from Erie-Gould
and Fisk Attempt to Manipulate President Grant and
to Compromise him and his Family in the PlotScenes and Incidents of the great Speculative Drama
-Grant Repudiates the Fisk-Gould Gang."'


DANIEL DREW.


The startling headlines are more than verified in
the details of the chapters, and other chapters on
the Tweed Ring in Wall Street, George I. Seney,
John C. Eno, Ferdinand Ward, Addison Cfanmack,
and others are added.
What have we here in the shadow of Trinity's
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


spire and within sight of the graves of Hamilton
and Gallatin! These kings of "the Street" have
employed all the methods of the confidence man, the
bunco steerer and the card sharp. Lying, swindling, stealing, corrupting councilmen and legislators,
debasing the courts, wrecking railroads; grinding
out fraudulent securities and evading court injunctions; playing the highwayman on each other and
on thousands of luckless individuals that got in their
way; wrecking and ruining each other where they
could, and "absorbing each others' piles"; and even
conspiring to use and ruin the President of the
Nation so as to further their schemes! When we
realize the strength of these men and their successors, their importance in the social and business
world, and their national influence-and that their
methods and their successes are emulated by those
who are drawn into the business of Wall Streetwe cannot help feeling that the whole institution
is a curse.
The Stock Exchange, the medium through which
Wall Street operates, is apparently a simple, innocent institution conducted on the plainest and honestest principles. It is not incorporated. It refused
the charter that Tweed's Legislature tried to force
upon it (and thereby saved itself from legislative
investigation). Its origin was in a simple agreement made in 1792 under a buttonwood tree (at 60
Wall Street), by twenty-seven brokers, that thenceforward they would charge a uniform rate of onequarter of one per cent on transactions in public
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stocks, and would give each other a preference in
negotiating. Daily meetings and the regular call of
stocks did not begin until 1820, and the transactions were conducted in a very conservative way
until after the panic of 1857, when many young
men forced themselves into the business and inaugurated what they called modern methods;-the perfect fruit of which is represented by the notable
men whose names we profanely have dared to touch
in these pages.
As we pass down Broad Street on our way back
to the Fort —considering, as we go, the primitive
character of the first settlement (in which it was
the principal thoroughfare), and trying to picture
the simple structures that sufficed for homes and
stores-the mass of towering buildings and the terrific rush of life that have succeeded the plain
wholesome living of the past overpower our calculation and our imagination. Between Exchange Place
and Beaver Street we turn around and look up the
Broad Street hill, as did several thousand happy
people on the day of Washington's inauguration.
They saw Federal Hall, a few small houses, trees
and grass, unpaved lanes, and a great expanse of
sky. We see no trees, no grass, no ground, a little sky, and a confused plexus of lines, curves and
angles-of stone, glass, iron, wood and brick-intersecting, bisecting and vivisecting each other.  They
are set in a maddening color scheme. The heterogeneous mixture of builders' materials and archi118




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


tects' vagaries is full of windows-square, arched,
flat, bowed, recessed, bayed, scrambled and fricasseed. As we gaze, our eyes ache, our brain
grows dizzy, and our esthetic sense reels as with
a vertigo. The Treasury is sedate, solid and majestic, and some of the other piles that have risen
about it are individually noble; but Union-oh, where
is it? Confusion reigns supreme! While we try to
comprehend this mass of Ionic, Doric, Corinthian,
Romanesque,   Byzantine,  Renaissance,  Composite,
Utilitarian, and Crazy architecture, a sudden gust
of wind presses us sidewise, and involuntarily we
cry out; for having changed our point of vision, we
have disturbed the whole architectural situation, and
as we move, the pillared top of the nmushroom on
the Nassau Street corner seems to yield to the
gale and to begin to slide off its uncongenial base
toward the Treasury. Standing still, we see that
we are mistaken; and as we remember that the
masters who planned these puzzles are infinitely superior to the creator of the abused but substantial
post-office, we  begin to be reassured.  But our
strained nerves are completely shattered when a
three-horse fire-truck dashes down the hill, with
bell clanging, firemen struggling into coats, and the
axles almost snapping as it crashes over the breaks
in the asphalt pavement. We dodge the flying
wheels, and speed down the street away from the
Architectural Insane Asylum.
In the simple old days the whole fraternity of
architects and builders could not imagine or dream
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such an atrocious conglomeration as is manifest here
at the centering of four blocks.
A number of the Colonial mayors lived in the
neighborhood; among whom may be mentioned Ebenezer Wilson, Thomas Delavall, corner of Broad
Street and Exchange Place; Nicholas De Meyer,
Stone Street east of Broad; and William  Peartree,
Beaver Street near New.
The closing of the creek ended the trade which
was supplied by the boats that came up nearly to
Wall Street, but large numbers of retail dealers
opened stores to meet the daily needs of the population. This may be noticed in the advertisements,
such asThomas Brown, Cutler, is now removed from Hanover Square into the House of Mr. Brandt Schuyler in
Broad Street, the Corner of Stone Street near the Long
Bridge, where any Persons may be supplied as usual
with all Sorts of Ironmongery and Cutlery Ware by
Wholesale or Retail, also Razors and Surgeon's Instruments ground in the best manner at reasonable Rates.
John Chapman Makes and sells a Smelling-Mixture
that intirely cures the Itch or any Breaking Out of what
kind soever, even if they have had it from their Birth: It
is to be had at his Lodgings, at the Widow Bayley's near
the Jews Alley in Broad Street with Directions.
Simon Franks, Peruke Maker, from London, now
living next Door to the Sign of the Leopard at the Northwest corner of the Great Dock, Makes and Sells all sorts
of Perukes after the best and newest Fashion, cuts and
dresses Lady's Wigs and Towers, after a manner performed much better than is pretended to be done by some
others.
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The "towers," worn by extremely fashionable women of that day, were most elaborate in their makeup,
and were made to last for several weeks. Their fair
owners could not lie on ordinary pillows, but had to use
small round wooden pillows under their necks. The towers were sometimes invaded by the gray horse cavalry,
who had to be expelled by "smelling ointments" and the
like.
That there were great burglaries before our new police administration is evident from this advertisement.
Whereas a short fat, Mean-looking woman in an Ordinary Dress came into a shop last Thursday noon and
asked for fine Thread, and stole about four Yards and a
half of Lawn, with a ticket hanging to it marked Gs.
and another Letter and 15 s. as the price: If offer'd to
be pawn'd or sold please stop it, and give Notice to the
Printer that it may be had again and you shall receive
Ten shillings Reward.
The next shows how dull care was driven away.
A concert of Musick, Vocal and Instrumental will be
performed in the Court Room of the City Hall on Thursday the 12th October Instant, to begin precisely at 6
o'Clock. LThis was early candle light.] Tickets to be
had at the Merchants' Coffee House and at Mr. Quin's
Lodgings opposite Mr. Hogg's on Broad Street: Price
Five Shillings each.
Again:
This is to acquaint the Curious, That the effigies of
the Royal Family of England and the Empress Queen
of Hungaria and Bohemia, and others to the Number of
Fourteen Figures in Wax (the Particulars of which are
too numerous to be inserted here), are to be seen from 7


F —2


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in the Morning to 6 in the Evening. Price One Shilling
and Six Pence each Person: None to be admitted without
paying. Our Time in this Town will be but short. And
likewise: By Punch's Company of Commedians will be
acted this Week, the Play of Whittington and his Cat,
showing how he came to London a poor Country Boy
and was taken into a rich Merchant's House as a Scullion under the Cook Maid, with the hard Usage he received from her, for which he was going to leave his
Master; but hearing Bow Bells ring, he thought they
told him to return; and by sending a Cat for a Venture,
he came to be three Times Lord Mayor of London; to
Conclude with a Musical Clock: Front Seats Two Shillings, Middle seats One shilling and six pence, back seats
one shilling.
These advertisements are from the "Post Boy."
This is to give notice that Elizabeth Boyd is going to remove next door to the widow Hog's, in Broad Street near
the Long Bridge and will continue as usual to graft Pieces
in Knit Jackets and Breeches, not to be discerned, also to
graft and foot stockings and Gentlemen's gloves, mittens
or muffatees made out of old stockings or runs them in
the Heels. She likewise makes Children's stockings out
of old ones at a very reasonable Rate. -"Weekly Post
Boy," April 1, 1750.
There is lately come to town a man who keeps at
Scotch Johnny's up the Dock who would teach a Latin
School and desires not above fifteen or twenty scholars
at most: If any Gentlemen incline to encourage such a
school they are desired to consult the affairs with the
man himself, who is to be spoken with at the place above
mentioned.-" Weekly Post Boy," Jan. 21, 1751.
This is to acquaint the Public that there is lately
arrived from London the Wonder of the World, an hon12.2




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


est Barber and Peruke-Maker, who might have worked
for the King if his Majesty would have employed him.
It was not for the want of money that he came here, for
he had enough of that at home: nor for the want of Business that he advertises himself, but to acquaint the ladies
and gentlemen that such a person is in town living near
Rosemary Lane, where gentlemen and ladies may be
supplied with goods as follows: Tyes, Fullbottoms, Majors, Spencers, Fox-tails, Ramalies, Tucks, cut and bob
Perukes: Also Ladies Tatematongues and Towers after
the manner that is now worn at Court. By this humble
and obedient Servant,             JOHN STILL.
-New York "Gazette," May 21, 1750.
In time Dirck Wiggerse and Jan Coeley Smit
gave way to Mr. Hogg and Mr. Quin; the open
air gathering of merchants to dispose of the
produce brought in by boats gave way to retail
stores and to the Chamber of Commerce gatherings at Fraunces' Tavern; and now   all of these
are gone, except the modernized taverns. In their
place are the Mills building, the Drexel building,
the Wilkes building, the Edison building, the Morris
building, the great building at Exchange Place, the
Stock Exchange, and other hives, that defy counting and understanding and describing.
There are some odd places near this busy neighborhood. At Number 27 Front Street, which is
east of Broad Street, there is a mouldy old store
and building. It is unpretentious indeed, but its
proprietor could promptly fit out an army of ten
thousand soldiers and several respectable vessels.
Where the demand for his goods comes from is a
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mystery. Perhaps the agents of some of our turbulent South American neighbors could give us information. The weapons of every country and of
every period can be found here, and many of the
articles possess historic interest. A little further up
Front Street, at Number 61, is a quaint old store
of a similar character, known as "Westminster Abbey." It is a real "Old Curiosity Shop," established
about seventy years ago by one Westminster Abbey
of Albany. Here can be purchased relics of bygone
years, old tapestries, ancient armor, guns, flintlocks,
muskets used in the Revolution, and almost every
weapon used in ancient and modern warfare. Ascending a rickety pair of stairs, the second floor is
reached, and through a narrow, dusty, paint-be.
daubed door, the visit or is introduced to a picture
gallery which is often visited by connoisseurs in
search of art gems.    The  collection is of great
value, aggregating many thousands of dollars. A
ladder-like staircase leads to the third floor.  Here
is stored old-fashioned furniture, and a painting
representing the Falls of Niagara, four hundred feet
long and forty-five feet wide, by Paul Phillipoteaux, which cost twenty thousand dollars. One of
the most interesting curios is a section of the monster chain that was stretched across the Hudson
River from West Point to Constitution Island in
1778. Each of the seventy links weighs three hundred pounds and is three feet long.  Several thouwsand pounds of the chain have been purchased by
historical societies. It was sold by the government
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as old iron at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, its historical value not being known at the time. The ore
from which the chain was made was taken from
the Sterling mines, now owned by ex-Mayor Hewitt.
This chain was not passed by the English fleet, as
was the one stretched across the Hudson River in
1776 from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's Nose.
That was swept away twice by the strong currents,
and a third one was destroyed by the British in 1777,
who then went up the river as far as Kingston.
The West Point chain was much heavier than the
one used at Fort Montgomery. Among the curiosities are live animals of the tropics, such as leopards
and mountain lions.
On Front Street, just east of Broad, is a large
new building which belongs to one of the surface
railroads. When the excavation was made for its
foundation about two years ago, the timbers of an
old ship were found, fairly well preserved in the
wet ground. Various kitchen utensils were discovered within the frame work, where the galley was
located. The vessel was of an ancient type, and
there was much speculation about its origin. The
answer to the questions of the curious was very
simple. As we have already seen, the council of
the early Dutch city caused a basin to be constructed at the foot of old Broad Street, into which
the Heere Gracht discharged, and which formed a
harbor for the Dutch craft, which were there protected from the eddying currents of the "Capsey."
The outer bulkhead was semicircular in form, with
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a comparatively narrow entrance, and a long dock
ran out into the basin from the shore. This is the
"long dock" referred to in one of the advertisements which we have quoted.     The vessels which
used the basin paid wharfage to the City. In time
the basin was all filled in with earth.  Several of
the blocks at the southerly end of Broad Street consist of made ground included within the ancient
bulkhead which was covered by the filling. The ship
that was dug up was some Dutchman's craft, which,
becoming worn out, was abandoned or allowed to
sink in the basin, and was covered up with the filling.  In 1863 workmen excavating for a sewer at
Whitehall Street opposite Water Street unearthed the
foundations of the old dock.
A few steps more bring us to the new water
front on South Street, where are wharfs and slips
and transportation companies, and ferries and vessels
of all descriptions, and where are accumulations of
merchandise such as no Dutchman of the old days
would have dreamed of after his heaviest feasting
and his deepest drinking.
Turning toward the point from which we started
out so long ago, we pass the ferry that will take
us close to the scene of the battle of Long Island,
and just beyond that the old Staten Island Ferry.
Two blocks more, along Whitehall Street, bring us
to the old Fort, from which we have been absent
so long.


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CHAPTER FIVE


MARVELS: BROADWAY FROM THE FORT TO THE
COMMON
The Breede Weg or Broad Way from Bowling Green to Wall
Street-First Sidewalk in 1790 -Paving in 1707-Origin of
Bowling Green-Washington's Wooden Statue-The Fort
a Center of Activities-The first Graveyard-Indian Massacre-Standard Oil Company-First Dwellings-Vlettenberg-Arcade Building-Trinity Church and Graveyard
-The Great who lie in its Tombs-Hamilton-GallatinLiberty Boys- Royalists-Soldiers-Eminent CitizensVictims of British Prisons-Three Widows-Trinity's
Work and Influence-Great Men-Financial Powers close
to Hamilton's Grave-Banks-Trust Companies-Subtreasury-Insurance Companies-Wonderful BuildingsBanks half a Century ago-Burns' Coffee-House-Bryant
-A Ridiculous Block on Broadway-St. Paul's Church
and Graveyard-Occupants of its Tombs-MontgomeryMontagne's Tavern-Astor and the Astor House-St.
Peter's the first Catholic Church-Washington Hall-A.
T. Stewart-Hetty Green-Colt Murder-Stokes and Fisk
-End of old Broadway-American Retreat of 1776 -General Grant
BROADWAY below     Wall Street is one of the oldest Dutch   streets.  It had its origin in the broad
way, or, as the Dutch called it, the breede weg,
that led from   the entrance to the Fort up to the
gate at the northern limit of the City, at Wall
Street. The governor's farm and gardens were on
the west side of Broadway, the homes of the people were on the east side.      The southern    end of
the street was broad, so that the soldiers stationed
in the Fort might have room       to drill.  When the
Dutch named it Breede weg, they called it just
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Il
E:


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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


what it was, and without any idea that it would
be narrowed and extended many miles. This explains the apparent contradiction between the name
and the appearance of Broadway.
For so old a City, one in which there was such
important colonial and revolutionary history, there is
a remarkable absence of venerable buildings. Some
of the surroundings of Trinity and St. Paul's
churches have an ancient appearance, but the
churches themselves are surprisingly smart and
bright. Between the old buildings soon to be demolished, just north of the Standard Oil Company's
great structure, and the row of weather-beaten
houses at Duane Street, there is no building which
appears to antedate the fifties, and few seem to be
as old as that. When we speak to Europeans of
ancient buildings in New York City, we make them
smile; for with them a house that is less than five
hundred (or a thousand) years old is hardly ripe;
but the difference between such old residences as 19
Pearl Street and 122 William Street and the palaces
in which our modern gentry live is so great. that
five hundred years of European growth would not
account for the advance. There is a distance of
many centuries between the comfortable and aristocratic Dutch cottages which, with their simple adjuncts, occupied the corner of Exchange Place and
Broad Street two hundred years ago and the present Mills building on the same site, with the enormous and complicated business and social systems
which' surround it. We may go to the City of
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Quebec, on our own continent, and find many
houses more ancient than any in New York, but
there is no startling difference between them and
the newer buildings, and they are easily adapted to
the requirements of the city's present condition.
Bowling Green Park was originally a part of
Broadway.
In  1732 the council conceived the extravagant
idea of making a park (at Bowling Green), so as
to improve the appearance of the City.  At that
time there were no sidewalks. The first sidewalks
were built on Broadway, between Vesey and Murray
Streets, in 1790. They were made of brick, and
were just broad enough to allow two moderately
wide persons to pass each other, and if two very
ample people met one had to step off.  They were
considered to be evidences of great public spirit.
The middle of Broadway had been rudely paved
with rough cobble stones as far as Trinity Church
in 1707, and it had been leveled as far as Maiden
Lane in 1709. In 1732 this resolution was adopted:
"Resolved, That this Corporation will leave a piece
of land lying at the lower end of Broadway fronting the Fort to make a Bowling Green there, with
walks therein for the beauty and ornament of said
street, as well as for the delight of the inhabitants
of this City." The privilege of operating the game
of bowling was let by the corporation to John
Chambers, Peter Bayard and Peter Jay for eleven
years at the annual rent of one pepper-corn.,That
this great piece of enterprise met with favor and
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


encouraged the good old game is evident from the
advertisement published in 1745, as follows: "The
Bowling Green near the Fort being to be new laid
with Turff and rendered fit for Bowling this Summer, whoever inclines to do that service may leave
their proposals with the printer hereof."
The statue of King George, which, as every one
knows, was pulled down by the patriots in 1776
and melted into bullets, was set up in 1770. The
iron balls on the circular fence that incloses the
Green were broken off and sent to King George
like the lead bullets, but in a louder and more emphatic way. The fractures are still apparent.
Shortly after General Washington was inaugurated as President, a heroic representation of the
great patriot was made in wood, shaped and colored
to imitate the rosiest glow of life. It was the best
that New York could do a hundred years ago. The
marvelous production remained in the Bowling Green
Park for many years. In 1843 the City's art critics
had advanced so far as to allege that the brilliant
statue was not really a work of art, and in deference to their views it was removed and sold to a
collector of antiquities, who kept it for forty years,
and quietly died. His effects were sold, and the
statue was auctioned to the highest bidder at the
price of three hundred dollars.   It was forgotten
until a few years ago, when it was placed on top
of the wooden arch at Washington Square that preceded the present marble structure, where it remained until the celebration of 1889. It is now in
131




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a cigar store on 125th Street.  One of its owners
discovered that it was hollow, and he found in it
certain valuable memoranda, which he mysteriously
refuses to disclose to public gaze until some one
will buy "the General" from him. So it happens
that this old statue of General Washington, dedicated in a formal manner as a memorial of his inauguration, has been knocked around, and has
slipped down from the high pedestal that it once
occupied, until now it fills the position usually accorded to the wooden Indian in a cigar store. Its
owner wants five thousand dollars for it.
It is our purpose to start again from the old
Fort, making our excursion this time up Broadway,
the most famous street in the New World, as far
as the Common (the City Hall Park), from which
place we will return again to our starting point by
some other interesting route.
We have become so familiar with the appearance
of the neighborhood of Bowling Green, and with
the smallness and lumbleness of its beginning, that,
as we pursue this interesting journey of observation, we may perhaps be able to make an estimate
of the progress and the spirit of progress which
have given to the City its wealth, magnificence
and business power. We will recognize the fact,
too, that what we have here now is not the
result of any revolution or of the    overturning
of the little commercial state that was founded
at this starting-point in the early days, but that
132




PRODUCE EXCHANGE.                           I ' c^
New York, Vol. Two, p. 137.  '
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a~
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


all we have and all that we are likely to have in
the future are the natural growth of the vigorous
and sturdy old plant. Devotion to business, the recognition of business and social morals, political liberty, religious freedom, and a wise tolerance of all
things and all persons, so long as they do not directly interfere with absolute rights, have produced
these results; and the possibilities of growth and
expansion are far from being realized. Our journey
up this great artery of the City's life will necessarily be slow; for as we go we must recall the
people, the buildings and the occurrences of colonial
days and of the revolutionary period, and must try
to observe their relation to what we shall see.
Pearl Street, Broad Street, and even Wall Street,
important as they were in other days, have shrunk
into insignificance as compared with modern Broadway. Along this street we can find nearly everything that tends to the honor and glory of the
City, and examples of most of the tendencies to
shame and dishonor. Let us start, then, keeping our
eyes open to the sights and our ears attuned to
the sounds of the present, and refreshing and quickening our philosophical spirits by historical recollections.
We begin at once with the imposing structure
at Number 1 Broadway, the Washington building,
which is at once a monument to the great general
whose first plans and operations in the war for independence had their inception on this very spot,
and a temple of commerce and business, giving ae133




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


commodation to the directors of numerous and vast
enterprises. First on this corner was the little Dutch
tavern of Peter Kocks; then the substantial residence which became the headquarters of General
Washington and his officers; and then the headquarters of Lord Howe and the English commanders; then, years after the war, as the City developed and choicer residence sites were developed uptown, it was the famous Washington Hotel, which
in its turn became antiquated and was distanced by
newer and better hotels; and then came this splendid Washington building, which seems well calculated to meet the requirements of the neighborhood
for many years to come. We have already familiarized ourselves with the houses and associations of
this notable block.  Morris Street, at the northern
end of this first block, was originally a lane leading to the brewery of Balthasar Bayard, a relative
of Governor Stuyvesant, who purchased the residence of Dominie Megapolensis at the present southwest corner. The windows of this house had a sedate outlook over the first Dutch cemetery, which
extended northward about one hundred and fifty
feet above Morris Street.   In this cemetery were
buried hundreds of the early settlers of Manhattan
Island. Those who carved this imperial trading site
out of a wilderness untrodden by civilized man, and
who held it under all the discouragements and obstacles of poverty, sickness, isolation and opposition;
those who fell in the inevitable struggles between
the settlers and the savages that hung on the out134




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


skirts of the little town, and at times descended
upon it, were buried here. Many a strong man
who succumbed to the perils that beset the colonists was followed to his grave in this once sacred
spot by his bereaved family and by his fellow colonists, whose hearts grew heavy as they looked
over their thinning ranks and thought of the warlike prospects before them. The Fort was a center
of activities, which radiated from it and subdued
the land and its resources to the uses of the growing population; the graveyard was the place where
hopes were buried, where families ended, where men
and women who had lived out their time, and used
themselves up in establishing the life which is present
and noticeable all about us now, were laid to rest.
There were other graveyards, where the early colonists were buried, but this was the first, and.this
ground received the bodies of those who performed
the first labors and made the first sacrifices for the
establishment of this great City. They could not
foresee what was to come, they had no view of
Broadway   and  of New   York; but, surely, they
planted the City and established its growth. The
ground at this point was low, and when Broadway
was graded it was necessary to level it up. Earth
brought from the surrounding hills was deposited
on top of this graveyard, and the graves and the
bodies, so far as they have not been disturbed in
building, are still there; but they have been disturbed, and the disjointed, decayed bones have been
scattered and tossed about, as building after build135




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ing has been constructed, and occasionally such relics have been carelessly gathered together and deposited somewhere else-that is all that can be said.
Just above this graveyard, on the west side of
Broadway and below Trinity Church, were the
homes of Sheriff Van Dyke and his neighbor, Burgomaster Vandiegrist. It was in 1655 that Van Dyke
shot the Indian woman who was stealing peaches
in his orchard, and that two thousand Indians, in
revenge, descended upon the little settlement and
tomahawked Van Dyke and Vandiegrist (who went
to his assistance), and were driven off by the people who hastily gathered for defense.  No doubt
the woman, the sheriff, the burgomaster and the
Dutchmen and Indians who were killed in the battle were buried in this graveyard. The burgomaster's ground extended about one hundred and fifty
feet north of the graveyard, and his house was afterward occupied by Major Francis Rombouts (1679)
and Mayor Dr. John Johnston (1715). [Among the
mayors who lived in this part of Broadway were
William  Dyer (1680), near Pine Street; Gabrielle
Minville (1684), below Morris Street; and Philip
French (1714), below Wall Street. The Colonial Governor Clarke lived just south of Exchange Place.]
We pay so little attention to the history of our
own City that it is not likely that one of the tenants who occupy the beautiful Columbia building on
the northwest corner of Morris Street and Broadway has the faintest idea that the building stands
in the middle of a graveyard, and that to give it
136




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


accommodation the pioneers of civilization on Manhattan Island were turned out of their graves. The
transformation was begun way back in 1677, when
the hogs were rooting up the old graves, and it
was resolved that, "Ye old graveyard or late burying place in ye Broadway be layed out in foure
lots twenty-five feet front and sold to the highest
bidder."  In  1850 the memory of this graveyard
had passed away; for when skulls were found by
workmen engaged in excavating for building, the
Royal Exchange.
people generally were horrified, supposing that the
relics were evidences of murders committed by the
English garrison during the Revolutionary War. On
the opposite side of Broadway were once the simple residences of the old settlers, and then later the
homes of men prominent in the early life of the
City; but now there is the Produce Exchange, the
center of a vast traffic in the grain and other
products of our Western States.  There is a great
contrast between the solid, towered, red building
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


now used by our produce merchants, which cost
them over three million dollars, and the little shed
under which the merchants first met at the bridge
crossing on the Broad Street Canal. The elevators
of this great building carry an average of 28,000
passengers a day; and the business of the exchange
averages over $15,000,000 a day.
Next to the beautiful Wells building on the next
block is the home of the Standard Oil Company
(26 Broadway).   This building is remarkable for
wonderful engineering achievement. It was desired
to add several stories to it, but the Building Department did not consider the walls strong enough;
so a narrow adjoining lot was purchased, and the
massive addition erected thereon is made to bear
the weight of the superstructure on the whole frontage by an adaptation of the cantilever plan.
In these great buildings are the offices of men
who could buy the old Dutch city over and over
again.  While a few   of the rich men of this
locality find an opportunity to shine in social life
through their ability to trace their ancestry back
to the Dutch period, they know next to nothing
about what occurred in their own busy neighborhood, and have never concerned themselves about
the sacred spot where their ancestors, or the men
who ate and drank with them, were buried and
then ruthlessly hauled up to the light.
The Standard Oil Company is called the "Octopus," because it seizes everything (oily) within the
reach of its great tentacles and converts it into
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


"Standard   Oil."  The money value of the interests that have been welded, combined, co-ordinated,
amalgamated, appropriated (or whatever may be the
proper term), is not less than one hundred million
dollars, and includes everything, from oil wells to
railroad cars and ships for the transportation of
their product. Refineries are maintained at Baltimore, Bergen Point, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chicago,
Lima and Philadelphia; at Oswego it runs the larg-.................
No. 2 Broadway, Corner of Marketfield Street.
est lumber mill in the world; its cooperage department uses a hundred million feet of oak every year.
Its wells are mostly in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, and there are some in New    York and West
Virginia. Its crude product is pumped through pipe
lines many miles long   direct to the refineries.  It
controls vast markets in Europe, having shut out
the Russian producers in many places. While it
has compelled nearly all other oil industries to come
139




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


within its folds, it has attended strictly to business.
Its owners and directors have resisted the temptation to speculate with its stock after the manner of
the Wall Street "shepherds," and it has benefited
the public by giving good oil for a reasonable
price; indeed, it has contributed largely to civilization by bringing cheap and good light into the
homes of the poor in many parts of the world.
Rockefeller is the great name here.
In this region of beginnings we naturally expect
to find the spot where the first dwellings were erected
on Manhattan Island. In 1612 traders on two vessels, the "Fortune" and the "Tiger," were sent by
Dutch merchants to buy furs from the Indians of
the Hudson River region. The ships were commanded by Captains Christiaensen and Block. They succeeded well, and Block made another trip with the
"Tiger." While the ship was lying at anchor in
the Hudson River she took fire and burned to the
water's edge. That compelled Block to "pull for
the shore," and to go into winter quarters.  He
erected four little huts in the neighborhood of 39
and 41 Broadway, where the beautiful Aldrich building now stands, and those were the first habitations
built by white men on our Island. The Indians
were kind to the unfortunate mariners, who during
the winter accumulated a store of furs. In the
spring, Captain Block built a yacht, which he
named the "Restless," and taking the furs that
he had bought, he sailed up the East River, through
Hell Gate into Long Island Sound, and made his
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


way to Connecticut, discovered Block Island, met a
Dutch trading vessel, and returned to Holland. The
observations and the experiences of Block led to the
fitting out of other trading expeditions, and ultimately to the establishment of the trading post
which grew into the City of New Amsterdam.
General Washington's second    residence  in  New
York was close to this spot, in General Macomb's
mansion, Number 39 Broadway.
Exchange Alley on the west side of Broadway,
just above Morris Street, small and insignificant as
it is, has borne a number of curious names. First
it was a little path leading to a battery on the
water's edge, just east of Greenwich Street.  The
eminence on which this battery stood was called
by the Dutch "Vlettenberg," which may be freely
translated as a "flat hill." It could not be expected
that the English would appreciate this Dutch name
any more than they did other names which they
corrupted. They called the hill "Flatten-Barrack,"
which was as near as they could get to the Dutch
of.it.  They had no doubt that "barrack" was
right, for the soldiers lived in the little battery
house; so "Flatten-Barrack" it was, of course;
and then   the pathway became "Flatten-Barrack
Alley." Later it was plain Barrack Street, then
it was called Oyster Pastey Alley, and after that
Tin  Pot Alley.   It is such   a  ridiculous little
street that the people have had fun with it, and
now, under the commonplace name of Exchange
Alley, with the two old cannons removed from the
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Broadway corners, we have almost forgotten it. In
1737 a lot on the southeast corner of Exchange Place
and Broadway, 34x75 feet, brought ninety-five pounds.
Rector Street, so
named   because the
Iit, has had many interesting associations.
1FI ^  ner was the first Lutheran Church, which
Bwas de1tryed in the
resid                        fire of 1776, that swept
tor of                      over Trinity Church
The etThe Old G race Church at Tenth Street.   t  s
That was    eee                 e s  ta blishe d upon
it, has had many inbuilding at  th Street and        e Broadway was erected
in 1844, and was hougt to be very far uptown
over Trinity Church
The Present Gerace Church at Tenth Street. at the same time
That was succeeded in 1808 by the first building
of Grace   Church.   The present beautiful church
building at 10th Street and Broadway was erected
in 1844, and was thought to be very far uptown.


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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The successor of the interesting old churches at
Rector Street is the Arcade building, which has not
an ancient history, and has no imposing front, but
will long be remembered by New Yorkers of this
generation, even though a greater building is now
rapidly rising. The plans for the new building
show that it will be twenty stories in height,
and  that it will cost one million dollars.  It is
estimated that seventy thousand elevated railroad
passengers passed through the hall of the Arcade
building every day. It was originally known as the
Empire building, and was first occupied by the
founders of the great wholesale dry goods trade of
the City, such as Phelps, Chittenden & Bliss.
When the dry goods center moved further up
Broadway it was occupied principally by oil and
mining companies, who did an immense business in
the great excitement that followed the opening of
oil wells and silver mines. It was bought by the
Charter Oak Life Insurance Company in 1882. The
building was offered to Orlando B. Potter, whose
estate now still owns it, at seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars; but Mr. Potter refused to pay
more than seven hundred and twenty-five thousand
dollars. A real estate operator named Siegmund
Myer, learning of the condition of the negotiation,
slipped in and bought the property at the Charter
Company's price.  When   Mr. Potter bought the
building from  Myer he had to pay one million dollars. It became worth two million dollars. It has
always had famous tenants. They have included the
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Manhattan Railway, Jay Gould, Morrosini, Connor,
Navarro, and Sage, who have all conducted their
immense operations in the plain offices of this unadorned old building. Through its hallway every
morning and night, in the jostling crowds, the
greatest financiers and business operators have passed
to and from the Rector Street station of the elevated
railroad.
The Union Trust Company, now occupying the
notable building at Number 80 Broadway, for many
years had its office and counting-room in the Arcade building overlooking Trinity churchyard, and
there it grew until it became a leading financial institution. Just above the rooms which were occupied by the Trust Company was Russell Sage's office,
where Norcross exploded the dynamite bomb when
Sage refused to give him a million dollars, blowing
himself to pieces, and shattering the body of young
Mr. Laidlaw, who acted as buffer for Mr. Sage,
and whose suit against Mr. Sage has been referred
to. The old building was so solidly constructed that,
while the explosion smashed windows in every direction, tore the furniture to pieces, and wrecked
the walls and ceiling of the office, no damage to
the main structure could be found.
The neighborhoods of Broad Street and Pearl
Street are especially rich in historical associations of
the Dutch, the colonial and the early revolutionary
period, and that through which we are now passing is full of such memories, but it speaks to us
more thrillingly of the momentous events connected
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


with the later colonial and the revolutionary periods.
It differs from other historic neighborhoods in this,
that it has not been neglected, has not fallen into
decay, and has not been turned over to commonplace
uses; but, on the contrary, in it the wealth, the
magnificence, the enterprise and the spirit of boundless development, for which the City is pre-eminent,
are all exemplified.
In the midst of the bustle and rush of Broadway and Wall Street, there rests quietly the cemetery, filled to overflowing with bodies of those who
participated in the struggle for national independence. Amid all the eloquent indications of prosperity and thrift lie the tombstones of those who made
these things possible. Among the graves and out
of the graves rises the grand old Gothic building of
the church, which, more than any other religious
institution, worked itself into the life of the early
English city, and contributed an uplifting and ennobling influence to it. In this inclosure, so peaceful and quiet, where one may quickly withdraw
himself from the care and noise of business, and,
walking among the tombstones, insensibly be carried
back into the heroic days; in this cemetery, standing at the head of Wall Street-which embodies
and exemplifies the sordid and materialistic tendencies of our day-there rest the bodies of not
less than one hundred and fifty thousand of the
people of old New York! The first settlers are not
here; they are at Morris Street, and their graves
are unmarked, unknown, forgotten and lost; but
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the sleepers here in Trinity's ground include the
highest and the lowest, the richest and the poorest,
the royalists and the patriots-the actors in the
most heroic period of the City. While we may recognize the sepulchers of many of these sleepers, the
great majority of them cannot be distinguished from
the earth into which they have been resolved. Standing on the sidewalk in front of the church entrance
we look down Wall Street.     It is filled with an
army of busy people, and each one of the army
acts as though he was carrying the burdens of the
universe - burdens  which  preclude  reminiscences.
Our eyes note the interesting spots through which
our earlier journey ran. The Presbyterian Church
near Broadway, the City Hall at Broad Street, and
the Federal Hall of the nation, with its flood of
recollections, Colonel De Peyster's beautiful gardens,
the stocks, the cage, the pillory, the slave market,
later the meal market, near the foot of the street,
the sugar-house and patriot prison, the old Merchants' Exchange, the Tontine Coffee-house:-these
places, long gone, come before our minds so that
we almost see them and the men of other days
who frequented them.   We fancy too that we can
see and hear the fierce roaring flames of the conflagrations that swept over this district. While we
cannot conjure these reminiscences into actual life,
our senses are deeply impressed by stupendous buildings, and throngs of people, and interesting and
thrilling life-scenes. The time was, and very recently too, when the beautiful steeple behind us,
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


reaching two hundred and eighty-three feet above
the pavement, was the highest object in New York,
and the one that above all others caught the attention of those who approached the City by water;
but now to the right, and to the left, and close
upon us, are surpassingly beautiful structures that
tower above the old steeple of Trinity. No one can
risk conjecture upon the appearance of this part of
Broadway fifteen years from now. Vast buildings
to cost fortunes are being planned for many places.
The building of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company at the southeast corner of Wall Street
is a good example of a fine financial house of 1840.
In 1880 the United Bank building was erected
on the northeast corner of Wall Street and Broadway. The cost of the land and the building was
$1,300,000. Its value now is not less than $2,300,000. That building when erected was considered a
marvel in size, strength and dignity. It was familiarly called Fort Sherman. There was nothing to
divide the honors with it excepting the Equitable
building, which, at that time, did not occupy the
whole Broadway front. Now it is commonplace,
and nobody looks at it twice.
Past us dash the cable cars, which have succeeded the lumbering old stages that until 1886
were the only vehicles of travel on Broadway. Our
eyes glance from scene to scene, and we lose control of our thoughts as they leap from period to
period, forward and backward, defying our efforts
to compel them into methodical lines. Perhaps it
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is the chiming of the bells in the steeple that calls
our excited thoughts from the scene in front of
us; perhaps it is the sonorous tone of the old organ, making its way through    the ringing stone
arches, that causes us to turn. We see the noble
building that cannot be made insignificant by all
the palaces that may be erected about it, standing
on this sepulcher of one hundred and fifty thousand, who used to walk these streets as we do
now; and its impressive finger points quietly, fixedly, persistently to the skies. Every day the multitudes surge about its base, every day the thousand noises of vast business beat against its walls,
every day the sighs and groans of those that
are weary and hard-pressed in the battle of life
are carried on the winds and eddied around its
portals; within the sound of its bells, plans for good
and plans for evil, without number, are laid and
hatched, and the springs of finance which reach
to every corner of the nation are touched by master hands; sometimes terrible panics rage about it,
and men grow frantic and lose their reason; great
pageants and celebrations pass beneath its shadow.
In winter and summer, in storm and sunshine,
when the people respond to the calls of duty, and
when they forsake the call of truth; unerringly,
unfailingly, that monument calls us to remember
the past and those who failed and those who succeeded; it reminds us of the virtues that made
men noble and the State great; and its finger
points upward. In this inclosure, which has been
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steadfastly kept sacred to the precious dust that it
incloses against all the demands of a utilitarian age,
we find ourselves among names that are familiar to
every student of New York history, and some of
them are known throughout the nation and the
world. In the church and all around it, so that
we must perforce walk upon them, are the stone
mementos of the good old New York families.
As we walk about the church and through the
burying-ground, we cannot but condemn the ruthless
spirit that has sacrificed all the graveyards of old
New York, except Trinity's and St. Paul's. To the
south of the church are the sepulchers proper. That
which is first sought out is the one that contains
the remains of Alexander Hamilton, who reposes in
sight of the fields of his labor and the places of
his conquests. It seems fitting that this man, whose
powers of construction and development were so
transcendent, and who contributed so much more
than any of his associates to the strength and
the power of growth of the nation, should rest
in this center of enduring and vital structures,
both tangible and intangible. Close to Hamilton
is Albert Gallatin, whose services to the young
nation, when its finances were great problems,
were only a little less than those of Hamilton's.
In thinking of Hamilton, who lies here close to
the place of his greatest labors and his greatest
services to the country, we may recall the fine
eulogy of Mr. Webster at the dinner given in
his honor in New York City in 1831.     He said:
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" He struck the flinty rock, and copious streams of
revenue flowed from  it.  He touched the lifeless
corpse of public credit, and it sprang upon its feet,
a living body; the fabled birth of Minerva was not
more sudden than that of the system of finance
which his head produced." Mr. Gallatin was Hamilton's political rival, but he said: "All secretaries
of the Treasury after Hamilton enjoyed a sinecure,
the genius and labors of Hamilton having created
and arranged everything that was requisite and necessary for the successful operation of the department." In the church entrance, and near Hamilton's remains, is the grave of Davis, the friend and
admirer of Aaron Burr, who accompanied him to
the duel, and who, remaining true to him, supported him when other friends left him, and buried
him when his. fitful life had run its course.
When Hamilton graduated from college, he intended to return to the West Indies, where he was
born, but the Sons of Liberty, who had been thrilled
by his masterly refutations of Dr. Cooper's tracts,
and whose hearts had been warmed by his burning
speech on the Common, begged him to remain in
New York, and to take his place with them in
fighting for the cause which he had espoused. He
had for some time drilled with a volunteer corps
called the " Hearts of Oak, " in St. George's churchyard in Beekman Street, so that in a simple way
he had learned some of the rudiments of war. He
said to his friends: "If you are determined that I
shall remain among you, and take part in your
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just and holy cause, you must raise for me a full
company of artillery." The company was supplied
him, and he used his slender means to assist in
their equipment. It was this company which General Greene saw him drilling on the Common when
he became impressed with the genius of its commanding officer. Hamilton was drilling his company
when the British warship "Asia" began to fire upon
the City to overawe the Sons of Liberty. He had
a horse and cart engaged in removing his baggage,
when he learned that the committee of One Hundred had sent Captain John Lamb, with a small
force of soldiers and some of the Sons of Liberty,
led by Isaac Sears, to seize the cannon in the
shore battery near the old Fort. He quickly abandoned his baggage, joined the force, and hitched
his horse to the cannon. Notwithstanding the hurtling missiles of the "Asia," the cannon were removed. Hamilton and a number of the college students buried two of them in the college green, in
spite of old Dr. Cooper. These cannon were in the
gateway of the college when it was torn down in
1856. From the outset Hamilton's heart and brain
were devoted to the American cause, and he moved
in perfect accord and sympathy with the Sons of
Liberty. How he became acquainted with General
Washington, and how he stood by his side and
aided with his counsel in all the eventful days of
the war, has been fully told in the histories. His
bravery was shown in the attack on the English
lines at Yorktown, which he led in person. When
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Hamilton was permitted to resign from   the office
of Secretary of the Treasury, on coming out of the
Presidential mansion he met several members of the
official family, to whom he said: "Congratulate me,
my good friends, for I am no longer a public man;
the President has at last consented to accept my
resignation, and I am once more a private citizen.
I am not worth exceeding five hundred dollars in
the world. My slender fortune and the best years
of my life have been devoted to the services of my
adopted country. A rising family hath its claims."
Noticing a copy of the Constitution on the table,
he said: "Ah, this is the Constitution! Now, mark
my words: So long as we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument will bind us together in
mutual interests, mutual welfare and mutual happiness; but when we become old and corrupt it will
bind us no longer."
A brief outline of Hamilton's work as Secretary
of the Treasury may be interesting. Immediately
upon his entry into the office, he urged that the
war debts of the nation and the States be funded and
paid dollar for dollar, and that the outstanding Continental money be included, the national credit to
be pledged for their payment.   These debts then
amounted to seventy-five million dollars, and it
seemed to the timid statesmen about him that he
must be mad to attempt to saddle such a load
upon the struggling little nation; but he foresaw
the greatness of the country and its commerce, and
he realized the importance of giving it an honorable
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financial standing among the nations. He triumphed
over the violent opposition which his suggestion
created, and established the principle of rigid honesty in the nation's finances which the great majority of Americans have ever since loved to sustain, deeming it to be the very foundation of prosperity. The nation was threatened with bankruptcy,
and many feared that the results of the great struggle would be lost by failure to recover from* the
depression caused by the war. Every night, during
the pendency of his important proposition, at his
home in Wall Street he discussed the matter with
those legislators whom he had convinced, and supplied them with facts and arguments. The removal
of the seat of government from New York to Philadelphia was a part of the arrangement by which
the necessary votes were secured to authorize the
funding of the debt. He drew a detailed and perfect act for the collection of the revenue, and laws
for the levying of duties on foreign imports, and
on certain luxuries of domestic production, which
were calculated to protect and foster our own industries, and which won the hearty approval of the
people. His ready mind was then applied to the
problem of commerce, and he proposed an act
providing for duties which discriminated in favor
of American shipping, and which, being enacted,
operated strongly to extend the commerce of the
nation. He formulated the bill for the establishment of the United States Bank, and for the transmission of the moneys of the government to the
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various parts of the country. There was, first, the
act providing the method for collecting customs;
then the acts for collecting revenue; then the
scheme of shipping duties and the establishment of
marine commerce; then the bank for receiving the
national funds and distributing them; and finally
he brought about the establishment of a mint to
coin the nation's money at Philadelphia, which has
everosince remained there.  He labored incessantly,
was subjected to misrepresentations and malicious
criticisms, and was embarrassed by the lack of a
sufficient personal income to maintain his family;
but he proceeded steadily, over all obstacles, until
he had firmly established the nation in a financial
system that was marvelously adapted to its needs,
and that has proved capable of indefinite expansion
as the nation has grown. He did not give up this
conscientious and patriotic work until he felt that
the system had been perfected, and then he turned
to supply his own pressing wants. Hamilton was
one of the first of our great men who felt the
weight of the opposition of Tammany Hall.    His
relentless enemy, Aaron Burr, manipulated its machinery through his friend William Mooney, the
founder of the society; and the secret of the wonderful devotion of Matthew L. Davis to Aaron Burr
was the close relation into which they entered
through Davis' important official position in Tammany Hall. The opposition of that organization to
Mr. Hamilton was virulent and vindictive, so much
so that when the news of his murder was received
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at the headquarters in Martling's Tavern there was
a unanimous rejoicing, and toasts were drunk to
Aaron Burr, who had removed the antagonist they
feared and hated.  It was only a fear of popular
resentment that caused the leaders of Tammany
Hall to join formally in the funeral ceremony. The
leaders of Tammany thought they had good cause
for hating Hamilton from the beginning, for he announced that the portion of Washington's Farewell
Address which denounced certain "political combinations and associations" was directed primarily
against Tammany, and the reproof was felt more
keenly when it became known that Hamiton had
drafted the heads of that document and had afterward retouched it.
When Gallatin became Secretary of the Treasury
under President Jefferson, the latter said to him:
"Your most important duty will be to examine
the accounts and records of your department in or
der to discover the blunders and frauds of Hamilton, and to ascertain what changes will be needed
in the system. This is a most important duty, and
will require all your industry and acuteness. To do
it thoroughly you may employ whatever extra service you may require." Gallatin reported to the
President: "I have, as you directed, made a thorough examination of the books, accounts and correspondence of my department from its commencement.
I have found the most perfect system ever formed.
Any change would injure it. Hamilton made no
blunders, committed no fraud, did nothing wrong."
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It is not generally remembered that the very
pair of pistols used in the duel between Hamilton
and Burr had been previously used in a duel between Robert Swartout, a partisan of Burr's, and
De Witt Clinton, who, though an original member
of Tammany Hall, left it when Burr gained ascendency in its councils.  According to an account
of the duel, the first two fires. were ineffectual.
Clinton then inquired if the challenger was satisfied, but Swartout insisted on another exchange of
shots, and succeeded in piercing Clinton's clothes.
Clinton then said: "Colonel Swartout has spoiled
my coat; is he now content?" but he was not content, and on the fourth fire Clinton wounded Swartout's left arm. Still Swartout was unsatisfied. On
the fifth fire Clinton again wounded him, and then
asked: "Now has he got enough of it?"   Swartout
still insisted on another fire. Clinton then said:
"Let him   go to   -  for satisfaction, for I shall
give him no more of it," and turned and walked
away.   Two of Tammany's sachems, Davis and
Van Ness, accompanied Burr to the ground of the
duel with Hamilton, and John Swartout, brother
of Robert above mentioned, and other members of
the society, were stationed at various points to learn
the result of the duel, and to bring the news to
Tammany Hall. While speaking of De Witt Clinton, we may be reminded of the great and continuous battle waged between him and Tammany Hall,
and of the formidable opposition which Tammany
made to his Erie Canal project.  This battle con156




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


tinued for many years, each side alternating in victories and defeats, and only ended when Clinton
died. One of Tammany's newspaper organs sang
this song concerning the canal:
"Oh a ditch he would dig from the lakes to the sea,
The Eighth of the World's Matchless wonders to be,
Good Land! how absurd! But why should you grin?
It will do to bury its mad author in."
When Clinton triumphed, one of his newspapers responded:
"Witt Clinton is dead, St. Tammany said,
And all the papooses with laughter were weeping;
But Clinton arose and confounded his foesThe cunning old fox had only been sleeping."
Laight, Walton, Bleecker, Ogden, Alexander,
Apthorpe, Hamersley, Mesier, Desbrosses, Stuyvesant, Rutherford, Jay, De Peyster, Lispenard, Van
Zandt, Hoffman: these famous names we see all
about us in the cemetery.   Here are buried the
wives of Governors Clarke and Cornbury (Baroness
Clifton), Mayors John Cruger and Marinus Willett,
Generals Matthew Clarkson and Morgan Lewis, the
Royalist judges Delancey, Horsmanden and Jamieson, and Captain Tollemache, killed in a duel at
the City Hotel. The Earl of Stirling, who sacrificed a coronet to draw the sword of freedom, lies
in a tomb in the southwest corner, marked "James
Alexander, 1783." John Morin Scott, the famous
leader of the Liberty Boys, and delegate to the
Continental Congress, lies close to Dr. Charles Mc157




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Knight, chief surgeon of the American army, and
Captain Richard McKnight, his son, just north of the
church entrance. Captain William Stone Montgomery
of the Ninth Royal Infantry, son of a baronet, lies
close to Colonel John Ward of South Carolina.
With the bodies of the Livingstons rests Robert
Fulton. Here is Robert Livingston, whom Jacob Mil

COLONEL NOAH L. FARNHAM.
bourne impleaded for his murder at Heaven's bar.
In the tomb of the Watts family lies the body of
the gallant General Philip Kearney, hero of wars
in Mexico, in Africa, in Egypt, and a dashing cavalry leader in the War of the Rebellion. Colonel
Farnham and General Kearney remind us -of the
great struggle of 1861. The ground north of the
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church contains thousands of unmarked graves.
Many tombstones were marred or destroyed by the
fire of 1776, and even now the marks of that fire
may be seen on some of the older stones.   When
the English took possession of New York in 1776
they devoted the ground north of the church to
the uses of a public burying ground, and people of
all conditions and occupations were promiscuously
interred there. British soldiers and sailors, the wives
and children of the garrison who died through the
exposures and hardships of the severe winters; and
last, but not least, hundreds of patriot prisoners
who died in the old jail (now the Register's Office),
in the hospital that was conducted in the old French
Church in Pine Street, in the Sugar-house and in
other places, were buried in trenches.  In  1852
Jacob Boorman, an owner of real estate on Greenwich Street, led a movement to have the public authorities extend Albany Street across the buryingground. Trinity Church and over three thousand
persons actively opposed the effort. It was claimed
by the church that the ground that would have to
be taken contains the bodies of many martyrs of
the Revolution, but the assertion was denied by Mr.
Boorman. A meeting of prominent citizens was held
at the City Hall on June 8, 1852, and it adopted
this memorial:
"At a meeting of the Citizens held at the City
Hall of the City of New York, June 8, 1852, the
following preamble and resolutions were adopted:
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"Whereas, The remains of a large number of
those heroic men who sacrificed their lives in achieving the independence of the United States, many of
whom died while in captivity in the old Sugarhouse, are interred in Trinity Churchyard in this
City, and from the uniform attention and respect
to the dead which Trinity Church has observed, it
is believed on suggestion it will cheerfully erect a
suitable monument to their memory. Therefore:
"Resolved, That the erection of a becoming
monument with appropriate inscriptions to the memory of those great and good men by the church
will be an act gratifying not only to the attendants
at this meeting, but to every American citizen.
"Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting
be communicated to the Vestry of Trinity Church.
"A. C. KINGSLAND, President.
"CHAS. W. SANFORD, Vice-President."
Among the citizens who concurred in this Memorial were John McKeon, W. H. Havemeyer, Daniel
F. Tieman and William M. Tweed. There were seven
Mayors, five Recorders, and all the members of the
Common Council.
The Recorder made this statement, based upon
tradition and family knowledge:
"I believe it is established that large numbers
of those who are interred in the North section of
Trinity Churchyard  died in the Sugar-house on
Liberty Street. The remains of many others of the
brave men who were in that great struggle lie there
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also. It is said that a portion of the yard where
most of those brave men lie was below the present
surface some sixteen feet, about opposite Pine Street,
and by successive fillings, as the ground became full
of human remains, it reached its present height;
that in fact in that part of the yard for more than
sixteen feet deep the ground is composed of human
remains quite decomposed and reduced to dust.   So
peculiarly consecrated ground, thus formed, of all that
is of past generations, including not only those who
in the ordinary paths of life had their votaries for
their virtues, but those also distinguished for their
devotion to their country and their sacrifices even
unto death to secure its present blessings, surely is
emphatically holy, and the many memories associated with it truly sacred."
Much testimony concerning the history of that
part of the graveyard was given by those who had
actual or traditionary knowledge. It appeared that
in the northwestern section the original graves were
as much as thirty feet below the surface of the
graveyard, and that in order to make the street
there would have to be removed hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of earth, which was so thoroughly mixed with human remains that the whole
mass would have to be given proper and respectful
burial in some other cemetery. The names of many
of the soldier dead were discovered. It was said
that from eight to fifteen bodies were buried daily
from the Liberty Street Sugar-house; being thrown
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into trenches in their ordinary clothing.  Salmon
Moulton, who had been a prisoner, gave the names
of Captain Mc~arter, Sergeants Peter Haack and
John Hincks, Privates Henry Hoff, Hugh Dubbins
and David Parker. When excavations were made
for the monument, a row of bodies was easily located. This interesting letter appeared in the "Courier and Enquirer":
"PHILADELPHIA, March 26, 1854.
"To the Editor-It is with considerable interest
I wait daily for the carrier to bring your paper, in
which I may know all that is said and done relative to the desecration of Trinity Churchyard.  In
Chester County of this State, a few miles from
where the Pavoli monument stands, during the Revolution resided a farmer too far advanced in life to
take part in the struggle for independence then going on; his son, however, at his expense, raised a
company of eighty men, who fought at the battle
of Brandywine, and    being  attached  to General
Wayne's brigade, went with him to reconnoiter the
enemy.  A few nights after the battle of Brandywine was fought the old farmer was waked up by
several men at his door who were wounded and
claimed his well-known hospitality. The massacre of
the Pavoli had taken place and these few had
escaped the terrible butchery.  Shortly after, their
commander came home, and after seeing the remnant of his company fed and secreted, retired for
the night. While they were sleeping a girl of tender years kept watch through the night. The next
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day they started for the camp. At the battle
of Germantown the captain of this little band was
wounded, taken prisoner, carried to New York,
died of his wounds, and was buried or pitched in
the North side of Trinity Churchyard.  That man
was my great-grandfather, the little girl my grandmother. In June, 1853, in this City there was an
old lady then in her 85th year; by her side stood
a youth who said, 'Grandma, I am going to New
York to-morrow, what shall I bring you?' Putting
her hand on his head, she said: 'Bring me a twig
from one of the trees which overshadow Trinity
Churchyard. The dust of my father, who died in
defense of the blessings you now enjoy, lies in
that spot. Your father tells me that the church
guards with a jealous care that sacred spot, and
may Heaven reward them for the act. I will never
see the spot again, for I will soon be called home
to my Heavenly Father; but when you visit the
City always go and see the place where more than
one of your ancestors lie buried, and never forget
what the heroes of the Revolution did for you and
your Country.' This old lady was the little girl of
the Revolution, the boy your Humble servant.   I
cannot help feeling a deep indignation for the men
who would desecrate a holy spot, and hope you
will never tire in your efforts to show the Vandals
in their true light, who would scatter to the winds
the dust of those who gave up their lives for the
benefits we enjoy.        Yours truly,
"J. WAYNE."
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The tombstones, planted thickly as they are now,
give but slight indication of the great army of the
dead who were buried in this place. Occasionally the vaults on the south side of the church
are opened; then the neighbors in the Arcade building are deeply interested; and they tell some weird
stories of the crowded shelves of those old vaults.
It would not do for persons of tender sensibilities
or of marked veneration for graves to dig in the
grounds north  of the church.   Those who were
buried in unmarked graves before 1776, when the
records were destroyed by the fire, are lost to all
recollection. Those who were buried in large numbers during the terrible days of the British occupation
cannot be named. The victims of cholera and yellow fever, which came often in the days when there
were no quarantine and sanitary devices, are also
in the great army of the unknown. But about
them, above them, and mingling with them, are
many whose names still remain on the tablets of
stone, often with quaint devices and curious epitaphs; and some of these are famous and worthy
of note. There is William  Bradford, the first printer, whose press was on Pearl Street, where we
passed some time since. Sidney Breese, ancestor of
S. F. Breese Morse, inventor of the telegraph, rests
here under his own curious tombstone. Michael
Cresap, whose war with the Indian chief Logan
made him famous, lies under another rude stone.
We will find the name of Faneuil, the father of
Boston's Faneuil, and of a number of others who
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


were conspicuous among the French Huguenots that
formed an important element in the early life of
the City. Governors
Sir Henry Moore, Osborne, and Delancey,
lie here. Among the
heroes of the Revolu~~dneyf  Stion are Marinus Willett (there is a tablet
commemorating one of
his achievements on
the Morris building
on Broad Street), and
brave General John
Grave of Sidney Breese.  Lamb, organizer of
the Liberty Boys, commander of West Point when
Arnold turned traitor, and general-in-chief of artillery
at Yorktown.    The
honorable Francis Tillou, in speaking of
John Lamb and recounting his services          -i.
to the country, said:
" On the arrival of
news of the passage
of the Stamp   Act,
Lamb was most prominent in opposing it
and in forming public     Grave of Michael Cresap.
opinion against it, and he was persistent in his attacks
upon it. He was prominent on the committee to pro

165




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pose articles of confederation to the other colonies; he
was active in forming the non-importation league; he
was a prominent leader of the Sons of Liberty; he was
zealous in the struggles to maintain the Libertypole, in his resistance to the Mutiny Act and the
Bills of Credit Acts, and the tea and tariff laws;
he was efficient in reproving the derelict citizens'
committee of 51, when they failed to come promptly
to the support of Boston in the crisis of the Boston
Port Act; he was prominent in the Congress of
1775; he was prompt in closing the royal Custom
House on the breaking out of hostilities, and in
organizing the committee of 100 for the defense of
New York City; he led the expeditions that resulted
in the capture of the ammunition of war at Turtle
Bay near 47th Street, and in the removal of the
guns from the battery in the fire of the English
ship 'Asia'; he was a captain of artillery in 1775,
was present at the siege and capture of St. John's
and Montreal, at the battle of Quebec, where he
was badly wounded; he was in the battle of Compo,
Connecticut; he was commander of artillery at West
Point at the time of Arnold's treason; he took
a large share in the battle of Yorktown, cmnmanding the American artillery in trenches; and
at the close of the war he was Vice-President of
the Order of the Cincinnati Society and Collector
of Customs of New York City." During the agitation over the attempt by the English governor to
force the landing of the cargoes of tea a British
officer told Lamb that the governor had resolved on
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landing the tea, even it it were necessary to sprinkle
the blood of the inhabitants on each successive chest
as it was discharged from the vessel, and he replied:
"Tell the governor from me that the tea shall not
be landed, and if any attempt be made by him to
secure its disembarkation by force the governor's
blood shall be the first to flow on the occasion."
General Lamb died in 1800 greatly honored, but
all of his property went to satisfy a bond which
he had given for a Custom House clerk who defaulted.
Philip Livingston and Francis Lewis, who signed
the Declaration of Independence, are buried here.
The oldest tombstone is that of Richard Churcher,
who   died  April 5, 1681, aged  five  years, five
months. The sister of this child was buried near
him  on May 16, 1691; and, as Felix Oldboy remarks:   "This was the very day on which Governor Leisler was hung." Near Bradford's tomb
is that of the wife of Governor Cornbury, who was
of royal birth. The sainted Bishop Moore is buried
on the south side of the yard. The quaint carvings and inscriptions of the old stones have long
been subjects for humorous comment. One of the
most conspicuous monuments about the church is
that of Captain James Lawrence, the commander of
the "Chesapeake," who spoke the famous words,
"Don't give up the ship."  Captain Lawrence and
Lieutenant. Ludlow, buried near Lawrence, were
given a remarkable funeral. There was a procession of six thousand persons, who marched four
167




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abreast from the Battery through Greenwich Street
to Chambers Street, then to Chatham Street, then
to Broadway, and thence to Trinity Church, taking
three hours to pass a point.    There were thirty
thousand spectators. The gallant officers were buried
in the flags that draped their coffins, and a volley
was fired over the grave, The present monument is
the second that was erected over Lawrence's grave.
There is an interesting connection and coincidence
between Trinity and St. Paul's graveyards. Alexander Hamilton died July 12, 1804; his wife (General
Schuyler's daughter) survived him until November 9,
1854 (fifty years), and then her body was interred by
his side. She was then ninety-nine years old. Captain Lawrence died on June 1, 1813; his wife survived him more than fifty years, and it was not
until September 15, 1865, that she was laid to rest
beside her husband's remains. General Montgomery,
who is buried beneath St. Paul's Church, died in the
assault on Quebec in 1775; and his wife, the daughter of Chancellor Livingston, survived him fifty
years. It is a curious coincidence and full of touching suggestions that these three men, so conspicuously
heroic and useful to their country, buried so close
together, should have left their widows to mourn
so many    years.  These women   were affectionate
wives, and they treasured the memories of their
husbands and their heroic deeds, and, though many
years elapsed, they died in the freshness of their
early love.
We may enter this old cemetery of Trinity
168




MONUMENT TO THE COMMANDER OF TIlE FRIGATE "CHESAPEAKE," *, '
TRINITY CHURCHYARD.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 169.




I
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Church in the busy hours of the day, or pass
around it after night has fallen, or we may wander
through its paths in the early hours of Sunday,
when the crowds have deserted the streets, and we
will always find gentle associations, sweet thoughts
and helpful lessons. Here we can truly see the
connection between the present and the past. From
the crude carving and lettering on the monuments,
even of those who were rated as wealthy and refined, to the exquisite carvings on the white buildings across the street, there is a wonderful development of taste and ability, though the lapse of time
is substantially but a few years; but it cannot be
said that men are truer and nobler than they were
in those days, or that the essentials of character
have changed, or that the laws of development
have altered. We reap, where these sowed; and if
we are true and noble as they were, we shall not
only reap but we shall also sow; and it may be
that in years to come there will be noble developments of life in our City, and perhaps refinement
in other than materialistic lines, which will be the
result of true planting, begun by those who have
preceded us, continued by ourselves, and passed on
to our successors.
AN OLD ADVERTISEMENT.
"Taken out of Trinity Church between Wednesday the 25th August and Sunday the 30th Instant,
1730, a new Common Prayer book, cornered and
clasped with Silver marked L. R., and in the book
H-2                169




'THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


written Win. Ricketts. Whoever has taken the aforesaid book, are desired to return it again and no
Questions shall be asked; and whoever shall discover the said Silver or Book and give notice thereof to said William Ricketts or the Printer hereof
they shall be well rewarded for their pains."-From
the New York "Gazette."
We have said that Trinity Church early made
itself an essential part of the life of New York. It
established other churches, some of which have become   strong  independent bodies.  It founded  St.
George's in 1753, St. Paul's in 1776, St. John's in
1807, Trinity Chapel in 1856, St. Chrysostom's in
1869, St. Augustine's in 1877, and St. Agnes' and
St. Luke's in 1892. It is the wealthiest church in
the United States, and enjoys an income of half a
million dollars from lands obtained under royal grant.
It expends its entire income, using its means generously in supporting its chapels and various schools
and other charities.  It employs seventeen clergymen, and at the present time assists these churches:
St. Luke's, All Saints', St. Clement's, Holy Martyrs', Epiphany, St. Peter's, Holy Apostles', St.
John Evangelist's, St. Ann's (for the deaf and
dumb), St. Ambrose's, St. Philip's, All Angels',
Nativity's.
In 1692 one of the bastions of the Wall was here
at the northeast corner of Broadway, where "Fort.herman" stands; it was called "Zealandia"; an170




OLD TOMBSTONES IN TRINITY CHURCHYARD.


THE OLDEST TOMBSTONES IN TRINITY CHURCHYARD,     ~ ' ^,
DATING FROM 1691-1696.              '  '
New York, Vol. Two, p. 171.




CI:...
I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


other called Hollandia was at the northwest corner
of William Street. At the same time there was a
block house at Fulton Street and Broadway.
Another indication of the influence of Trinity
Church in the period subsequent to the Revolution
is the large number of streets which were named
after ministers and prominent officers of the church.
Among these streets are Vesey, Barclay, Murray,
Warren, Chambers, Reade, Jay, Harrison, North
Moore, Beach, Laight, Desbrosses, Vestry, Vandam,
Watts, Charlton, King, Hamersley, Clarkson, Leroy,
Morton, Barrow, Rector and Church.
On the spires of Trinity Church, the greatest
men of our City and State and Nation have gazed,
and past its graveyard they have walked. No spot
on this continent has been the focus of so much
admiring attention.
From  the beginning, the men who have impressed their great characters upon the life of the
City, and those few New Yorkers who have attained commanding national reputation and influence,
and the greatest men of the land, drawn here by
their interest or by the magnetism of New York's
supremacy, have rested their thoughts on Trinity;
have looked over her acre, and have been impressed
with her solemn and uplifting influences.
The earliest settlers, the Dutch and English governors, the great men of the young colony, all lived
and moved about this place. Here were Governors
Stuyvesant, Nicolls, Dongan, Leisler, Bellomont,
Montgomerie and Clinton, as well as tyrannical
171




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Cosby, and Tryon the last shadow of monarchy.
Bogardus, Van   Dam, Vander Donck, Steenwyck,
Bayard, Van Cortlandt, De Peyster, Beekman and
their associates; Bradford, Livingston, Schuyler,
Morris, De Lancey, and those of their times, knew
this spot well. Here the Revolutionary heroes met.
Generals like Washington, Schuyler, Putnam, Knox,
Montgomery, Lafayette; and patriots like Willett,
Sears, Scott, Lamb, were here associated.
Among the national characters that have often
passed by and through Trinity's precincts are:
Peter Zenger and William Bradford, pioneers of
free speech; Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, creators of finance; Aaron Burr, De Witt Clinton, Thurlow  Weed, John Jay, and Rufus King;
Morgan Lewis and Gouverneur Morris; Robert Fulton, John Ericsson, Samuel F. B. Morse, and Cyrus
W. Field; James Monroe and Martin Van Buren;
Generals Worth, Scott, Wool and Kearney, of Mexican War fame; Irving, Audubon and Cooper; Edgar A. Poe, Bayard Taylor and William Cullen
Bryant; George William Curtis and Carl Schurz;
Horace Greeley and Henry J. Raymond; William
M. Evarts, David Dudley Field and Charles O'Connor; Horatio Seymour, Samuel J. Tilden, Hamilton
Fish, William  H. Seward and    Roscoe Conkling;
David G. Farragut, Ulysses S. Grant and William
T. Sherman; Henry Ward Beecher and Matthew
Simpson; Fremont, Kosciusko and Garibaldi; Chester A. Arthur, Chauncey M. Depew, Grover Cleveland and Levi P. Morton; the great merchants and




.    I..
I.




.~'' ' '.'.'" - 1,........
_,...   '........ L-.:..r"'
~.... *  *11 --: ^....
-*"-  '    -'-    J


I,.


RUINS OF TRINITY CHURCH AFTER THE GREAT FIRE IN 1776.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 172.




TOMB OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON,:
TRINITY CHURCHYARD.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 173.




t.




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


financiers like Astor, Stewart and Vanderbilt: we
may name them over in what order or lack of order we please, and add to them or subtract from
them as we please and on whatever plan of relative eminence, and we may add to them the giants
of other States, who drew much of their inspiration
from New York's marvelous life and opportunities,
like Webster and Sumner; they were all here or
are here, and here they have all resorted or do
resort.
Hamilton's tomb is close to the scenes of his
busy and brilliant life, and is surrounded by the
institutions which he founded or which grew on
foundations that he constructed. Let us look for a
moment at some of the financial features of the
neighborhood.  Where Hamilton stood with Washington at the first inauguration of a President, there
is the Sub-treasury building, where two-thirds of the
direct public business of the government is conducted. The amount of money handled there in the
course of a year is in the neighborhood of $2,500,000,000. The amount of coin deposited in the vaults
varies from $125,000,000 to $225,000,000.
Hamilton's bank, the Bank of New York, has
many other associates and competitors besides Burr's
bank.   The banks have increased so in number,
and have found their interests to be so intertwined, that they have had to form what he never
saw, a   clearing-house association.  The clearinghouse has   a  membership of sixty-three banks.
Those banks and the others outside of the clear173




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ing - house have a capital of nearly $90,000,000,
which, as every one knows, bears no proportion to
the actual assets and financial strength of those institutions, the capital stock of which in many cases
commands fabulous prices. The surplus of the clearing-house banks is about twenty per cent greater
than the capital.  The surplus of the banks and
trust companies amounts to over $110,000,000.  A
conservative estimate of the amount of money directly invested in banking is $250,000,000, no calculation being made for private banks. The average
deposits in the National and State banks in New
York City amount to $550,000,000, which, added to
the amounts held by the trust companies, give a
total of nearly 800,000,000. These deposits, added to
the money invested in the institutions, amount to over
$1,000,000,000; but they do not include the resources
and deposits of the savings banks, which come close
to $400,000,000. According to a recent computation,
"The total amount of money deposited in National,
State and Savings Banks and Trust Companies of
New York City is $1,141,414,592," which was 24k
per cent of all the money on deposit in the United
States. The clearing-house in Cedar Street near
Broadway, built at a cost of $1,100,000, is a place
where the great majority of the banks daily adjust
their transactions; and when it is realized how many
checks are deposited in the various banks daily, and
on how many banks they are drawn, the plan and
the machinery that have been devised to allow of
the daily adjustment of these involved transactions
174




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


is more than a wonder. The New York ClearingHouse Association was first suggested by Albert
Gallatin, whose grave is close to Hamilton's. A
computation made in 1893 showed that its transactions at that date had aggregated $1,041,209,050,209.
A total of $200,000,000 of transactions in one day
is not unusual. By the report made in October,
1896, it appeared that the association contained sixtythree banks, and that its transactions during the
year amounted to $31,194,184,122.53, and its balances to $1,843,289,238.66. Its average daily transactions amounted to $102,276,013.51. This is a tremendous business to have grown from the beginning that was made when Alexander Hamilton,
with his own hand, drafted the Constitution of the
Bank of New York, organized, as we have said, in
1784 at the Walton House on Pearl Street, moved
in 1788 to Number 135 Pearl Street (or 11 Hanover Square); and in 1798 to the corner of Wall
and William Streets, where it still stands. The net
deposits of the old bank exceed $15,000,000.  Close
by Hamilton's bank is Aaron Burr's bank, the Manhattan Company, chartered in 1799, and still holding a prominent place among the great institutions.
The third was the Merchants' National Bank,
founded in 1803, and still on the same site where
it was established, Number 42 Wall Street.   The
Mechanics' National Bank, which was the fourth
New York bank, was organized in 1810, and still
occupies its old site, upon which once stood Hamilton's dwelling house. The Bank of America has
175




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


occupied its present site, on the northwest corner of
Wall and William Streets more than eighty years.
The National City Bank at 52 Wall Street, incorporated in 1812, is another of the banks which never
removed from the site of its first office. The Gallatin National Bank at 36 Wall Street was founded
by John Jacob Astor in 1829, who, in consideration
of completing the capital stock, was allowed to
name its president-Albert Gallatin.  This bank too
is on its original site.  It is interesting to notice
how these banks that have grown so great in resources and business power have remained on the
spots where they were planted, and have continued
true to the principles established by the founder of
banking in New York; and it seems to be more
than a coincidence that their immense development
should occur so close to the simple little memorial
that covers Hamilton's dust.
The Stock Exchange and similar bodies were not
founded by Hamilton, and their manner of doing
business would startle such conservative old fogies
as he and Gallatin. Its transactions have amounted
to nearly one and a half million shares of stock in
a single day (mostly on paper). The privilege of
membership, when it can be had, costs not less
than $20,000.  There is considerable difference between the Stock Exchange and the Produce Exchange, even though some of the methods of the
Stock Exchange have been followed in the Produce
Exchange.
We will mention a few of the great financial
176




-;.:  le 1.   1  ",
I    11
"




UNION TRUST COMPAN Y.
New vYork, Vol. Two, p. 176.




-1,
~"i~13 r, 7.?


UNITED STATES TRUST COMPANY, WALL STREET.
New York, VcI. 'w,9p. 177.




I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


institutions of the locality which are closely allied
to the banks. The Union Trust Company is located
at Number 80 Broadway. The building cost $1,000,000. Its resources are over $35,000,000; its capital is $1,000,000; its surplus is over $4,000,000; and
its stock is worth not less than $800 a share. The
United States Trust Company is located at Number
45 Wall Street.   It is the greatest trust company
in America. Its assets are over $50,000,000. While
its capital is but $2,000,000, its surplus is more
than $8,000,000. It does no banking business, but
receives trust deposits and acts in fiduciary capacities.
It is likely that New York will grow in grandeur
and in resources no less rapidly in the future than
it has in the past; and it is probable that the
buildings of the future will excel the magnificent
structures of the present, at least in richness and
elegance; but it will be very many years before
the building of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, standing on the site of the Middle Dutch
Church on Nassau Street, will be eclipsed.    It is
solid, rich, durable and elegant. The company which
it houses is one of the largest and most prosperous
life insurance companies in the world. Through
all the temptations to wild speculation which have
wrecked so many insurance companies, and the yielding to which has lessened the faith of the people
in life insurance, it has steadily grown, continuously
prospered, and never has lost the confidence of the
people. Its present assets are over $175,000,000. It
177




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


has over 250,000 policies in force, insuring over
6750,000,000. In fifty years it received more than
$450,000,000 for premiums, and paid out for death
claims, endowments and surrendered policies nearly
$350,000,000.
The Manhattan Life Insurance Company at 64
and 66 Broadway occupies one of the most interesting buildings of the City. Its height from the sidewalk to the foot of the flagstaff is 350 feet, although the base of the building is only 67x125 feet.
It is supported on piers sunk through the soft and
wet earth down to the solid rock, 55 feet below the
surface of the street.
The building of the American Surety Company,
at Pine Street and Broadway, divides with the Manhattan building the honors of looking down on Trinity. The rapid growth of this company is well expressed in this great building so recently finished
and occupied. It is 306 feet tall and accommodates
an office population of 2,000. The rental value of
the offices, excluding the company's rooms, is $220,000
a year. The Surety Company is a great invention,
making it possible for any person of integrity and
business capacity to occupy positions of trust which
require the giving of security.  Before these companies were organized, people who were named as
receivers, trustees, administrators, etc., had to persuade friends to mortgage themselves by giving
bonds for their faithfulness, and these friends were
put in embarrassing positions by their desires to be
obliging, and their very natural fears of the conse178




NEW, YORK CITY LIFE


quences of kindness. These companies have proved
to be great boons to the business community, in furnishing bonds as a matter of business, and so relieving friends, in making it possible for worthy
people to perform fiduciary duties and in providing
for absolute security in the event of the betrayal of
trust. Their extension and growth, and the infrequency and insignificance of their losses through the
misconduct of those for whom they become responsible, is a pleasing indication of honesty among the
people. There are many such evidences of business
integrity. A very large proportion of the immense
business of our City is founded absolutely on faith.
The Equitable building, which occupies almost
the entire block between Pine and Cedar Streets,
Broadway and Nassau Street, is as graphic an illustration of modern New York as Trinity's cemetery
is of the older periods. Let us take a hasty glance
over this building, and we may note some of the
evidences of growth in our City. First, the Equitable Life Assurance Society. It was organized in
1859; in 1872 it dared to erect a portion of its
present great building; its business grew steadily;
it survived all the financial shocks and panics; its
assets to-day are over $200,000,000, and its outstanding insurance is over $912,000,000. Life insurance is
a kind of business that our ancestors did not conceive. Intangible as it seems to be, it is founded
upon business values, and is made possible by the
business activities of the  people.  It is a great
scheme for getting the value of a man's life out
179




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


of his descendants.  By it the future is made to
minister to the present.  This truth is even more
apparent in the co-operative insurance that is carried on by such companies as the "Mutual Reserve" and the various benevolent social orders; for
in those it is reasonably certain when a young man
takes out a policy that his life benefit ultimately
will be paid by those who have not then been insured. The rapid growth of this company and the
constant increase of its vast business and resources
is a wonder of the century, and it is no less a
wonder that so many other institutions have developed and grown in like ratio. There is no office
building in the City which excels this great building. The immigrants passing up Broadway used to
assume that Trinity Church was the cathedral, and
the Equitable building the palace. The community
of people who inhabit and daily resort to this building in their financial and social standing, their business importance, the variety of their occupations,
and the extent of their influence, cannot be exceeded by the tenantry of any other of the great
buildings. Once in their offices in the morning they
are practically independent of all other places, and
have such facilities at their command that no matter
what they may have to do they hardly need go
out of the doors until they leave for home. Aladdin's lamp and his ring and all of his genii have
been captured and impressed into the service of the
favored people of the Equitable building. It has
banks, safe deposit vaults, telegraph and telephone
180




I  I'.   ~
Ir C




0


IE


I A


MUTUAL LIFE BUILDING.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 178.






t


It


I


i


I N
II


MANHATTAN LIFE BUILDING.
New York, Vol. Tw%-o, p. 179.




II




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


offices, law library, parlors and consultation rooms,
cafes, stores, barber shop, messengers-every thing
and every device for the transaction of business.
Its tenants comprise lawyers, doctors, bankers, builders, architects, surveyors, engineers, and men in many
other occupations.
The New    York   Life Insurance  Company, at
Broadway and Leonard Street, must be mentioned
among the greatest of these companies. Its surplus
is over $24,000,000. Its income for 1895 was nearly
$38,000,000, while its disbursements were about $25,000,000; so that the excess of income during the
year was over $13,000,000.    Its policies in force
amount to $800,000,000. When its new building is
complete it will have cost $3,000,000.
The life insurance companies now transacting business in New York are thirty-three in number, with
assets  of over  $1,000,000,000, of which  amount
nearly three-quarters is represented in New  York
companies. These companies, by reason of their vast
accumulations of funds, and their relation to the business of the City in their investment and management of these funds, are in the very front ranks
of the great factors of commercial life that must
be considered with the banks and the railroads.
Great express companies, too, have grown up in
Trinity's shadow. It is not very long ago that there
was no express business, and when letters were carried by primitive means.
Three years ago a gentleman riding down Broadway on the front platform of a cable car, listened
181




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


to the   remarks of two     draughty   citizens of  Chicago.   They admitted    that New    York was a great
city, but they loudly declared that it could not
equal Chicago, and triumphantly compared our important buildings with the towering structures of
vs                   ir rr   ' oJg   4
Ivins Syndicate Building, 386 feet  Masonic Temple, 300 feet to apex
fccc e;cc ttS.cc 6r           I p
high, 29 Stories.               of roof, 20 Stories.
Tallest buildings in New York and Chicago compared.
their own    city.  Recently a table    has  been   compiled, which makes a comparison between the tall
buildings of the two cities:
1 GG CUMU  Sil g.                    I
NEV YORK     BUILDINGS.
Stories. Feet.
Ivins Syndi cate....        29 386t
Manhattan Life, including tower...            348
St. Paul..26 313
8Ivins Syndicate
high, 29 Stories.               of roof, 20 Stories.
182




NEW YORK CITY LIFE
American Surety........21 312
Pulitzer, including dome......  16  309
American Tract Society......21 306
Commercial Cable........20 304
Gillender...........19 300
Standard Oil (remodeled).. 19 280
Bank of Commerce........19 264
Home Life Insurance, including tower.16 257
Washington, including tower..  13  250
New York Life, including tower.  12 244
S. L. Mitchell estate.......15 230
Mutual Life..........14 230
Manhattan Hotel........16 225
Produce Exchange, including tower.  9 225
Bowling Green.....16 224
New Netherland Hotel.....16 220
Central Syndicate........15 219
Hudson........... 16 218
Lord's Court.......... 15 214
Johnston.......15 212
Syndicate...........15 207
Continental Insurance.......14 215
Postal Telegraph........13 192
Havemeyer..........14 192
Mutual Reserve.........13 184
Silk Exchange.........13 180
CHICAGO'S REPRESENTATIVE HIGH BUILDINGS OVER
180 FEET.
Stories. Feet.
Masonic Temple, to apex of roof.... 20 300
Auditorium, including tower....  17  265
Fisher, including attic.......18  235
Old Colony.......... 17  213
Katahdin and Wachusetts.....17 206
Unity............17 210
Marquette.....16 207
183




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Monadnock...
Ashland Block..
New Great Northern
Manhattan
Reliance....
Security....
Title and Trust.
Woman's Temple
Champlain....
The railroads and
immense capital and....... 16  215....... 16  200....... 16  200....... 16  197....... 14  200....... 14  200....... 16  198....... 15  197....... 15  189
other institutions that employ
keep the great currents of


money in circulation are represented in the vicinity.
Commanders of foreign navies will think many
times and will wait for positive instructions before
they drop shells here.
Going back just fifty years for a contrast, we
find that there were twenty-five banks with an aggregate capital of $27,908,980, and twenty-five insurance companies with an aggregate capital of $8,995,000. The principal banks were:
The Bank of Commerce..... $3,447,389
The D. & H. Canal Co...... 3,844,000
The Manhattan Co....                2,050,000
The Bank of America......           2,001,220
The Bank of the State of New York. 2,000,000
The Phoenix Bank....... 1,500,000
The Mechanics' Bank...... 1,500,000
The American Exchange Bank... 1,154,400
The Merchants' Bank...... 1,190,000
The Bank of New York..... 1,000,000
The principal insurance companies were:
The Farmers' Loan and Trust Co... $2,000,000
The New York Life Insurance Co... 1,000,000
184




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


At that time the annual tax-budget was $6,321,451.40, and the City debt was $12,881,750.42, which
was nearly all incurred for the building of the Croton Aqueduct.
We must continue our journey.
The Boreel building, on the block next to Trinity Church, a very interesting structure in itself,
stands on historic ground. The magnificent residence of James Delancey stood here, and Thames
Street was his carriage road. The mansion became
the Burns Coffee House, where the merchants and
the public men assembled and discussed the conditions and the prospects of the province.  In that
old tavern, as may be seen by the tablet upon
the Boreel building, the merchants met and signed
the Non-importation Agreement, which was the first
measure of retaliation against the tyranny of England. This act of the New York merchants had a
peculiar signifiance in the fact that New York was
essentially a commercial city. Her commercial character had caused the patriots of Massachusetts to
distrust her, and had caused the politicians of England to hope that she could be separated from the
other colonies and maintained as a royal stronghold.
The action of the New York merchants was a surprise and a disappointment to England and an inspiration to the other patriots of America.  The
Burns Coffee House was succeeded by the City
Hotel, which for many years was the chief hotel
of the City, the resort of the leading people, both
185




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


residents and visitors, and the place where nearly
all public receptions and celebrations were held. It
was connected with nearly all that was important
in public life for many years after the Revolution.
At the old building, when it was called the
"Province Arms," the directors of the New York
Library Society met on their organization, as did
the officers of the King's College (Columbia's predecessor), the Masons, and the St. Andrew's Society. The first host of the "Province Arms" was
Edward Willet, whose announcement is now copied:
"Advertisement, April 15, 1754.
"Edward Willet who lately kept the Horse and
Cart Inn in this City, is remov'd into the house of
the Honourable James Delancey, Esqr, Lieutenant
Governor, at the sign of the Province Arms in the
Broadway near Oswego Market. This house is not
only the best accommodated with stables. and all
things necessary for the entertainment of travellers,
but is the best situated of any house in that business in this city, being nearest the centre and in
a direct line with the eastern road, and very handy
for the North River, Staten Island, and Long Island ferries; where all gentlemen travellers may depend on due attendance for themselves and horses
by said Edward Willet."
George Burns succeeded to the management in
1763, and the Non-importation Agreement was signed
in his long-room by more than two hundred merchants. John Adams and the New England dele186




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


gates to the Colonial Congress stopped there.  It
escaped the fire of 1776, and became the center of
the social and military life of the British occupancy.
It was there, and during that period, that the duel
occurred between Captain Tollemache, commander of
the ship "Zebra," and Captain Pennington of the
Coldstream  Guards.  Pistols were first used, then
swords. Captain Pennington received seven wounds
and survived, but Captain                  g
Tollemache was killed, and
was buried in Trinity churchyard. John Cape, a patriotic
landlord, finally became the
proprietor, and had the honor
of replacing the "Province
Arms" with the "State Arms
of New York," and of entertaining Washington and
his generals at the peace   l*               I
celebration on December 2,    _
1783. It was at this tavern
that the military and the     Provincial Arms.
civic parades halted on Evacuation Day. In 1792,
the tavern passed into the hands of the Tontine Association, which built the City Hotel in its place. In
1819 the 14th Regiment gave a grand ball to General
Andrew Jackson; in 1825 the Lafayette reception
was held; and there, in 1832, the reception to
Washington Irving was given. On these occasions
the most eminent people of the City were present.
The visit of General Lafayette was the occasion for
187




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


some of the pleasantest interchanges of fraternal
feelings that have ever been known in New York
City. He had been absent for thirty-nine years,
and in that time had taken part in stirring scenes
in his own country. It was he who sent to General Washington the key to the Bastile, which may
be seen among the relics at the Mount Vernon
mansion.  He was sixty-seven years old, and most
of the great men with whom he had associated in
the struggles for American independence had passed
out of existence. He was unprepared for the royal
welcome which he received, and as he proceeded
up Broadway from the Battery under military escort,
and saw the indications of coming greatness in the
nation which he had helped to found, we can
imagine a little of the emotion that filled him. The
hearts of the people went out to him, and as he
looked out on either side, he could see the tears
flowing down many cheeks. Among his old companions in arms whom he first met were Colonel
Marinus Willett, Colonel Varick and General Anthony. When he left for Albany there was a great
festival at Castle Garden, which was decorated with
flags and streamers and illuminated with candles.
Among the party which proceeded with him up the
river were Mrs. Hamilton, the widow of Alexander
Hamilton and the daughter of General Philip Schuyler, who survived her husband so many years. At
the famous Manor House of Chancellor Livingston
near Clermont, which was one of the places where
the party landed, a ball was given, and General
188




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Lafayette opened it, leading out the blind and aged
widow of General Montgomery. Lafayette visited
other cities in the Union, and received the same
cheering demonstrations of affection; and when he
returned to France in 1825 he took with him pictures of the success of the new nation and memories of the gratitude of her people that cheered
him to the end of his days.
One of the happiest gatherings ever held at the
old hotel was the banquet in honor of Bainbridge,
Hull, Decatur and Paul Jones, in 1813, when they
gloriously maintained the honor of the nation on the
seas. Five hundred guests were present, and Mayor
De Witt Clinton presided. Shortly after that Decatur
brought his victorious ship, the "United States," and
his prize, the "Macedonian," into our harbor, and
his crew were feted and dined at the hotel. The
"Macedonian's" guns are at the Brooklyn    Navy
Yard.
Sometimes the business of the City Hotel was
rudely interrupted by pestilence, and cholera and
yellow fever drove the guests away; then with the
banks and stores it closed its doors, while business
people hurried away to Greenwich Village in the
Ninth Ward and to other distant settlements.
On the south side of Maiden Lane, running
down to about Number 20, was the Oswego Market
of 1772, which was originally called the "Old Swago
Market." The original Broadway Market obstructed
the thoroughfare, and became such a nuisance that
it was denounced by the grand jury and was torn
189




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


down by the authorities. The Oswego Market succeeded it. This market was notable for its vegetables and fruit, which were raised on Manhattan
farms by the progenitors of some of our greatest
estate holders. A good specimen of the stand-keepers was Mrs. Frances Banta, a daughter of Philip
Minthorne, and a sister of Mangle Minthorne. This
name is well-known to conveyancers. "Aunt Frankey," as she was called, grew her market truck on
her portion of the Minthorne farm at Third Street
and Bowery, and she drove her own market cart
from that point at night, having her produce ready,for customers at the market before daylight. Another interesting woman was Mrs. Jeroloman, a
genuine Dutch woman from Bergen, who sold hot
coffee at threepence a cup and doughnuts at a
penny apiece, and was herself called "The Large
Doughnut."   Many   of the  Dutch   farmers from
Bergen met at this market, and they persisted in
using the Dutch language, much to the discomfiture
of the modernized people of Manhattan.
On the east side near Liberty Street, was the first
"out of town tavern." It was called the "Blue
Boar. X
In the early days, Jan Jansen Damen, whose
house was about where the Equitable building
stands, and who killed bears there in 1646, owned
the land on the west side of Broadway from about
Pine Street to Fulton Street, and on the east side
from about Pine Street to Maiden Lane. After his
death in 1651 the laud was divided among his heirs,
190




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one of whom, Tunis Dey, is remembered in the
name of Dey Street; and another, Oloff S. Van
Cortlandt, in the name of Cortlandt Street. Van
Cortlandt lived on the site of the Trinity building,
and had a sugar-house in the rear. Van Cortlandt
was one of the "Nine Men" who so resolutely opposed Governor Stuyvesant and insisted upon the
people being represented in the government.   His
closest associates were Vander Donck and Van DinckS.W. Corner of Broadway and Cortlandt Street, 1846.
lagen. The Vans made things hot for Stuyvesant
and succeeded in their spirited contest.  We bless
their memories, and continue to honor them. South
of Cortlandt Street were the stores of two great
merchants-John Bowie Dash, ironmonger, and John
Jacob Astor, furrier. A picture of those old times
may be seen by any one who will take the trouble
to go to the corner of Old Slip and Front Street, the
office of the Holland Coffee Company. On the door
is Bowie Dash's sign, and standing in the doorway
191




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


may be seen one of New York's old merchants come
to life. Tall and spare he is, with furry beaver hatbroad at the crown, choker about his neck, genteel
black suit, smooth-shaven face, and keen twinkling
eyes. Don't stare at him, but just walk by and
admire him. Van Tienhoven owned the next plantation on the east side of Broadway, extending to the
point where Broadway turned into the Bowery road.
It was a portion of this plantation that the shoemakers acquired. John Harberding, the head of the
shoemakers' fraternity, owned a large section of this
land and lived on the Broadway front of it. It
was he who, though wild in his youth, became
a pillar of the Dutch church and gave his fortune to it.  John Street and Fulton Street (then
called Fair Street) were opened across his land. Mr.
Harberding's house at Broadway and Maiden Lane
was sold in 1732 for 120 pounds.
The corner of Fulton Street, occupied by the
"Evening Post," calls up tender memories of William Cullen Bryant, who only a few years ago, it
seems, could be seen daily walking down Broadway
and into his office on the Fulton Street side of the
old building. No paper in New York has so consistently maintained an upright position in public
matters as this paper has done. Its various managers have all been sustained by the same high
view of public duty. It was established in 1801,
as an organ of the Federal party. Jay and Hamilton were among its founders. By a curious coincidence its first editor was William Coleman, once
192




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the partner of Aaron Burr, who held his. position
for twenty years, and was succeeded by Bryant.
Bryant's successor was Carl Schurz; and, since his
withdrawal, Horace White and Edwin L. Godkin
have been managers. While it claims to be independent in politics, it runs strongly to free trade,
which tendency has caused it to be allied with the
"Mugwumps."     No doubt this tendency, which is
not at all popular in New York, has prevented it
from receiving the general support to which it is
entitled for its clean and fearless attitude in the
public affairs of our City. The opposite block on
Broadway is the most ridiculous block in the City.
Two elaborate and pretentious structures are on it,
and between and around them are little nondescript
houses which, no less ugly than their great neighbors, bring out the humor of the situation by their
disparity in size. The top of the Western Union
building once had as much ginger-bread work upon
it as its neighbor, the "Mail and Express" building, now has. The tempting display provoked the
fire fiend, who one day licked it all off. His ravages were repaired and the top of the structure
was rebuilt; but how was it done? A new house
of a different style of architecture and of a different shade of color was set down upon the lower
half of the old building. Now the windows below
are square, those above are arched; the lower windows are divided by pillars, those above are clear
and open; the lines below are broken with white
stone, those above are unrelieved. Between the hyI-2                193




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


brid Western Union, and the aspiring " Mail and
Express, " with its frivolous front and its sedate
rear looking like an antiquated belle, is an old
brownstone relic which is almost hid under the stirring announcement, "SHIRTS."   Four heavily burdened females carry the immense " Mail and Express" front upon their necks. They impress the
sympathetic beholder with their very evident disdain of the stock-in-trade of the brownstone building, and with the tantalus-torture which condemns
them to rigidity, while Hudnut's sparkling streams
of soda-water flow so close to them. Just above the
entrance are two tired stone eagles, evidently put
there to guard the ethnological exhibit below them,
and to report any inattention to business.  They
turn disdainfully from a deluge of stone fruit and
flowers that is falling out of the middle window,
and one of them invites the other to fly off his
perch and try a glass of the VIN    TOKA   KOLA,
which, according to a conspicuous announcement, is
good for the nerves. Way up in the air is a pair
of lions, whose tails wave in graceful scrolls (they
don't need any hind legs with those tails). Further
up still are the grimmest lion heads you ever saw;
but the builder kindly put them up so high that
they do not scare any one. Is it the lions' heads
up in the air that the ladies are so steadfastly holding? Oh, no; not so. Look closely and you will
see shields, and scrolls, and tablets and panels, on
which some day there will be graven the names of
the good young men of the "Mail and Express."
194




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


When those are filled, then the great design will
stand out. Till then we must wait with patient
expectation. The brazen little upstart on the corner
is clearly a modern "mansard-roof," and it is very
evident that its owner was so much in love with
it that he compelled the newspaper to sacrifice the
opportunity for putting a really elegant building
upon that corner. When we compare the Broadway front with the face of the Fulton Street wing
we see what we     have   missed  in  architectural
grandeur by somebody's dog-in-the-manger policy.
With a uniform of the brownstone shirts, after the
fashion of the New Woman, and with feet showing and properly dressed with Hanan's shoes from
the store on the corner, the four classical figures
might be brought down from   their absurd dignity.
But we must not let the architectural absurdity of
this block cause us to overlook the great institutions which they shelter. What more wonderful system  of communication is there in the world than
that which is operated from this Western Union
building? Twenty-one thousand offices all over the
country are centered upon this Broadway corner,
with seven hundred and fifty thousand miles of
wire! These and connections with other lines bring
us into contact with the whole civilized world, and
a small stipend puts this enormous machinery at
our service. The "Mail and Express" very justly
calls itself the "Leading Evening Newspaper of
New   York."  Its managers have the courage to
give daily a clean sheet, free from the indecencies
195




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and the disgusting details which disfigure some of
its rivals. It is a clean and upright paper, which
no one need fear to send into his home. The paper
is a fitting monument to Elliott F. Shepard, who
impressed upon it those very characteristics.
In 1831 William Cullen Bryant, editor of the
"Evening Post," attacked William  L. Stone, editor
of the "Commercial Advertiser," with a cowhide on
Broadway near Park Place, and after a sharp struggle they were separated by friends. The editors
don't fight that way nowadays.
Now we have arrived at a point which became
somewhat familiar to us on a previous journey.
We have reached the site of Spring Garden and
Hampden Hall, where the Liberty Boys met and
made their plans; the spot which Barnum made
famous; and where the New York "Herald" rose
to pre-eminence among our City newspapers.    It
must have been pure patriotism that fired the Liberty Boys of Hampden Hall; for, according to the
proprietor's announcement, the refreshment was limited to tea, rolls, cakes and mead. This point was
the end of old Broadway, and the spot where it
turned into the old Bowery Road, which in the
earlier days was the thoroughfare of travel out of
the City.  On the other side of Broadway is St.
Paul's Chapel, to which our thoughts and our feelings have been turned ere this. There is the old
building just as it stood in Colonial days, with all
of its memories of the past, and surrounded by
the dead who once were such important factors in
196




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the building of the City. (Also with its statue of
St. Paul, which used to get down and walk on the
saint's birthday, if tradition may be believed.) When
we go into the building we will see the pew which
Washington occupied while President, and the pew
which was reserved for the State governors, and in
which Governor George Clinton publicly worshiped.
It is not hard for us when inside of these venerable walls to picture the men of old who worshiped
here. Before 1776 the English governors attended
service here. When the fire of 1776 destroyed old
Trinity, and the conquering redcoats seized the City,
it became the Church of State for Lord Howe and
all of his retinue of officers and advisers. The midshipman who became William   the Fourth, King of
England, was a regular attendant.
While the fire and desolation about
Trinity churchyard made it for years
an uninviting place of burial, many
of the officers and prominent per-   7
sons identified with the British cause li
were buried in St. Paul's churchyard. It escaped the crowding that
occurred in Trinity's acre. When
the English left New York the old
temple received General Washington
and his associates. On the canopy
over the pulpit is the last relic of the
Pulpit in saint Paul S
British occupancy-the gilded arms  P   hurchit.
of the Prince of Wales-which escaped the destruction that visited all other royal emblems, when the


197




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


patriots repossessed the City in 1789. We have read
how the President and Congress came here after
Washington took the oath of office, and how they
joined in simple but impressive religious ceremonies.
These are the very walls and this the very roof
which received the great men of other days, and
which echoed their voices as they presented themselves and the objects of their care and solicitude
to the God of Nations. Lord Bellomont, who succeeded the corrupt Governor Fletcher, and who wore
his life out in trying to defeat the corruptionists
and to restore honest dealings in public life, was
buried here. When the old Fort was demolished,
his body was found in a vault under the church.
The silver plate of the coffin was given to Mr.
Van Zandt, and his successors converted it into
spoons. Among the British officers who were buried
here are Colonel Campbell and Captains Wolfe,
Gibbs, Walker, Bond, Talbot, Logan, Norman, Horton and Wilcox. A number of Hessian officers lie
with them. Of American officers there are Major
Lucas and Major Sumner, father of Senator Charles
Sumner of Massachusetts, who lie under one monument, which bears this inscription:
"This Tomb is erected to the Memory of Major John
Lucas of the Georgia Line of the Army of the Revolution, who died in this City, August 18, 1789, aged 38.
"And this Tomb contains the remains of Major Job
Sumner of the Massachusetts Line of the same Army,
who died in this City, September 16, 1789, aged 33.
"Alike in arms they ranged the glorious field,
Alike in turn to death the conquerors yield."
198




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


One of our French allies, the Sieur de Rochefontaine, lies under a monument with this inscription:
"This monument, which Madame Catharine Gentil
has erected to the memory of a worthy and virtuous
Father, is by no means the proud labor of an earthly
vanity. It is a monument of Filial Piety. 0 that the
vows of a pious daughter could be elevated to the throne
of the Almighty and draw down the divine pity upon
the respectable object of these sad regrets."
Among the important families of older New York
represented in this graveyard are the Somerindykes, Ogdens, Nesbitts, Rhinelanders, Thornes, Cornells, Van Amridges, Gunnings, Bogarts, Onderdonks,
Treadwells, Cutlers and Waldoes. Colonel Beverly
Robinson, who is buried here, is the same at whose
house Benedict Arnold met Major Andre.
Here is an inscription that attracts attention:
"In memory of Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas Kortright,
who departed this life the 20th December, 1789, aged 46.
"The remains that lie beneath this tomb
Had Rachel's face and Leah's fruitful womb,
Abigail's prudence and Sarah's faithful heart,
Martha's care and Mary's better part."
John Price, a midshipman in the English vessel
"Eagle,"  captured by the "Yankee"     off Sandy
Hook, died of his wounds and was buried here
with the honors of war, on July 8, 1813. The
tombs of three eminent Irishmen-Montgomery, Emmett and McNevin-are here. The one whose memory the most stirs up feelings of affection and pa199




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


triotism is General Richard Montgomery.    He was
born on December 2, 1736.    He married the sister
of Chancellor Livingston.  He was chosen one of
the Council of Fifty to raise troops in defense of
American rights, and then was appointed brigadiergeneral. Before accepting his appointment he asked
his wife to make the cockade which he was to wear..:-.: -'',.. /.   L RI    R  MO. TG OMER
~ R      C..... ' ',:'... I.
GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY.


in his hat, saying to her: "Our country is in danger. Unsolicited, in two instances I have been distinguished by two honorable appointments. As a
politician I could not serve them. As a soldier I
can. Shall I, then, accept the one and shrink from
the other in dread of danger?   My honor is engaged." Mrs. Montgomery for answer took up the
ribbon and began to shape it.  He continued: "I
200




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


am satisfied. Trust me. You shall never blush for
your Montgomery." From that time, the short sweet
experience of this devoted couple was broken by the
exigencies of war and service in the field. On December 31, 1775, at four o'clock in the morning, the
General undertook his brilliant attack on Quebec.
The soldiers were few in numbers and reduced by
hardship and exposure, and they made the assault
in a furious snowstorm. Among the brave officers
who participated in this action was Benedict Arnold, then unstained by treason, and with Arnold
was Aaron Burr, who, like Arnold, was destined
to sacrifice his good name. Burr, a mere lad, was
Arnold's messenger to Montgomery. Montgomery
and Arnold led the attack. Arnold fell, wounded,
and was carried from the field. Ljamb, who is
buried in Trinity, then a colonel of artillery, was
wounded and taken prisoner. Montgomery pushed
on with Burr close to his side. He said: " Men of
New York, you will not fear to follow where your
general leads; Quebec is ours,". he shouted, then fell,
shot through the head. Burr seized his body, and, at
the risk of his life, bore it out of the line of fire.
The body was interred in Quebec, and remained
there for forty-three years, when, by arrangements
between the Canadian government and our own
State government, his body was brought to New
York City to be interred under St. Paul's Church.
Mrs. Montgomery was still living, and as the
steamer "Richmond" bore his body down the Hudson River, she stood on the piazza of her house
201




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


near* Tarrytown, alone, and watched the vessel.
Afterward she wrote to her niece these words:
" At length they came by with all that remained of
a beloved husband who left me in the bloom of
manhood a perfect being. Alas! how did he return!
However gratifying to my heart, yet to my feelings every pang I felt was renewed. The pomp
with which it was conducted added to my woe;
when the steamboat passed with slow and solemn
movement, stopping before my house, the troops under arms, the Dead March from the muffled drum,
the mournful music, the splendid coffin canopied
with crape and crowned by plumes, you may conceive my anguish: I cannot describe it." The interment was on July 8, 1818. The monument was
ordered by Benjamin Franklin.' Mrs. Montgomery
lived for seven years after the burial in New York.
The remarkable coincidence of these circumstances
with those of Captain Lawrence and Alexander
Hamilton, buried in Trinity churchyard, links these
two old cemeteries together. Burr, who so distinguished himself at the death of Hamilton, lived on
the opposite corner, where the Astor House stands,
while he was Vice-President in 1802. Across Broadway resided Colonel Duer and his daughter Kitty,
who were important figures in Revolutionary days,
and were the intimate associates of Montgomery.
Even now, when the steeple of St. Paul's is
shaded by the great buildings about it, and the old
graveyard is surrounded by arteries of traffic, through
which a noisy and busy host continually rushes, it
202




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


is a restful luxury to slip into the churchyard
through the iron gate on Vesey Street and to sit
on one of the settees conveniently placed on the
porch of the old building facing away from busy
Broadway. As the leaves rustle above us, we may
easily slip back in retrospective view to the time
when the trees were young, and when the water
rippled on the clean sandy beach (at Greenwich
Street), where the Dutch soldiers landed on the day
that they captured the Fort from the English. This
is the entrance which Washington used. Vesey
Street, now devoted almost entirely to the traffic
of Washington Market, but once a peaceful street
filled with comfortable residences, reminds us of the
first pastor of Trinity Church, for whom it was
named. His first sermon was preached February 6,
1697, and his pastorate continued about fifty years.
The first rendering of an oratorio in our City occurred in St. Paul's in 1825, when Mr. Samuel
Taylor conducted The Messiah. The labor of collecting and drilling the chorus and the orchestra
was almost too much for the devoted leader. Despite his careful personal attention to details, at the
public concert the man who played the "double-bass"
tumbled off his insecure perch into the chorus, and
made the women scream and the men laugh. The
Handel and Haydn society was formed from this
chorus.
The National Park Bank, occupying the plain
white building opposite St. Paul's Church, is the
strongest bank in the City, and   has the widest
203




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


range of business. It was chartered in 1856, and
stood on the site of Temple Court at Theater Alley
and Beekman Street.   It started with a capital of
$2,000,000, and surplus earnings have been added to
it so that it is now $5,000,000. It has the largest
deposits of any American bank, and has many correspondents in foreign countries.
The improvements upon Broadway above Vesey
Street did not begin until after the Revolutionary
War. As early as 1719 the first rope walk was
established between Barclay Street and Park Place.
By 1776 the streets as high as Reade Street were
cut through. This part of Broadway was first surveyed in 1760 by a Mr. Marschalk, whose report
showed that he began at the Spring Garden House
(corner of Ann Street), and continued to the ground
of the late widow Rutgers, starting with a width of
eighty-eight feet six inches, and ending with a width
of fifty feet. This continuation was considered as
a new street, and received the title of Great George
Street, which continued for thirty years. All of the
ground west of Broadway was in the Church Farm,
as it was called, originally used by the West India
Company to produce vegetables for the garrison, and
granted by the English after their conquest to Trinity Church. It was the church that opened the
side streets and divided the blocks into lots.  The
original farmhouse from which this tract was operated was on the site of the Astor House. Its last
occupant was Adam Vandenberg, who turned it into
a tavern, and called it the Drovers' Inn. A brother
204




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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


of this Vandenberg, named Cornelius, sent out the
first Albany Post from this spot in December, 1747.
In 1780 there was here an encampment of negro
slaves who had been inveigled from Virginia by
Lord Dunmore. Many of them     died of smallpox,
and were buried at Chambers Street in unmarked
graves. The most conspicuous features of this part
of Broadway were several public gardens, among
which was that of Mr. Montagne in the neighborhood of 252 Broadway, once General Lee's headquarters. Montagne was succeeded by John Contoit, who was followed by Reuben Peale, with a
museum in 1825. The most interesting establishment
in this extension of Broadway during the Revolutionary period was Montagne's tavern, where the
patriots gathered and drank death and destruction
to King George so zealously that frequently their
patriotism and their potations inflamed them to such
a degree that they recklessly menaced the redcoat
soldiers, whose barracks were close by in Chambers
Street. On the Common in front of this tavern the
Liberty-pole was erected and cut down six or seven
times. Montagne was the last tavern-keeper to own
the famous King's Arm    sign, which had passed
through the hands of several tavern-keepers, and had
hung over buildings in different parts of the City.
He destroyed it. This part of Broadway, between
Vesey Street and the hospital opposite the Common,
developed into a fine residence neighborhood after
the Revolutionary War.  Mayor Philip Hone lived
at Number 235 Broadway. The block occupied by
205k




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


the  Astor House contained   the houses of John
Jacob Astor, John   G. Coster and Jacob Lydig.
The Astor House, which, even at this day, is a
conspicuous and satisfactory architectural feature,
was projected by John Jacob Astor in 1830. Then
it was far uptown, and objection was made to it
on that account. The only store on Barclay Street
MAYOR PHILIP HONE.
was a grocery opposite St. Peter's Church. The retail trade of the City was conducted on the East
River side, and the best stores were on Pearl Street.
The dry goods trade was principally on William
Street, and was all below Beekman Street. Notwithstanding the hotel's location it was a success
from the start, because of the liberal policy of its


206




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


owner, and the consummate ability of its lessee and
manager, General Stetson, who was its host for a
lifetime, and led the way for New York's princely
hotel-keepers. In 1852, the Astor House was still one
of the most notable features of the City.  In that
year a prominent resident of the South, writing of
his visit to New York and condemning much of
what he saw and experienced, said this:
"The Astor! The Monarch of all Hotels! It
looms up before us! What an edifice! How grand
and imposing and how massive! Built 'not for a
day, but for all time,' its huge front of ever-enduring granite presents a striking contrast with the
frail structures of brick and mortar which surround
it. When in May, 1836, it was opened to the traveling public it was regarded throughout the earth
as the eighth wonder of the world.    Among the
various projects which had been developed in Europe for advancing civilization and for the benefit
and comfort of humanity, it had never occurred to
any one that in order to fully promote the commerce of any mart great attention should be given
to the hospitable entertainment of foreign traders.
The City of New York led off with this idea, and
executed it. The Astor House, erected as a hotel,
was built at greater proportionate cost than any
royal palace in Europe.   To this day, no other
hotel of equal magnificence has been erected, and
though possible, it is hardly probable that this age
will produce one. There is but one St. Paul's, one
Niagara, one Astor House!"   He stood in front of
207




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


this world's wonder, and as he did so he communed
with himself, and these were some of his thoughts:
"Here the people worship that Trinity known as
the Golden Eagle, the Silver Dollar and the Copper
Cent, with an idolatry equaled only by a faithful
follower of Mahomet, and the features of this Triune Deity can be seen in their every act."   His
soliloquy continued thus: "The City of New York
may be justly compared to a human being, the
City Hall being the heart, the Tombs the stomach,
the Five Points the Bowels, the Park the lungs,
Broadway the nose, the Piers the feet, Wall Street
the pocket, the hotels the mouth, the theaters the
eyes, the Bowery the aorta, the avenues the veins,
and Nassau and Ann Streets the brains." Stewart's
store at Chambers Street, with two hundred clerks
and sales of seven thousand to ten thousand dollars
a day, filled him with awe. "What a stupendous
concern!" was his expression. The Astor House,
built by one of New York's first great men, always brings up recollections of his struggles and of
his successes, and of the times when his fortune of
forty million dollars was far beyond the approach
of any other man in the City of New York or in
the United States. The people of New York City
took an honest pride in the growth of Mr. Astor,
for he grew up in their midst and in their very
sight, and he made his fortune not in the dubious
ways of Wall Street, nor in stock jobbing, nor in
railroad wrecking, but in legitimate trade, which
benefited all that came in contact with it.  The
208




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


John Jacob Astor whose income of five dollars a
minute made him seem the equal of rulers of nations, was the same who beat skins in Gold Street,
and who worked for Mr. Wilson in his hide establishment at Old Slip, and who was a clerk in Robert Bowne's fur establishment. Though not native
born (he was born in Waldorp, Germany, in 1763),
from his earliest days in his adopted country he
was a true American, and. in his success was a
splendid illustration of what our institutions accomplish for worthy young men.    We find from    his
advertisement in the New York "Daily Advertiser"
in 1789 that he was then in business for himself:
John Jacob Astor, at Number 81 Queen Street
(263 Pearl Street), next door but one to the Friends
Meeting-house, has for sale an assortment of PianoFortes of the newest construction, made by the best
makers in London, which he will sell on reasonable
terms. He gives cash for all kinds of furs and has
for sale a lot of Canada beaver and beaver coating,
Raccoon skins, &c.-New York "Daily Advertiser,"
January 2, 1789.
Mr. Astor received with his wife a dowry of five
hundred dollars, and that was a considerable item
in his start in business. In 1848 John Jacob Astor
was deemed to be worth forty million dollars, and
his son was his closest follower with six million
dollars.  Fifty years ago, John Jacob  Astor was
rated at twenty-five million dollars, and William B.
Astor at five million dollars. Their closest competitors were Stephen Whitney with five million dol209




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


lars, Peter G. Stuyvesant with four million dollars,
James Lenox with three million dollars, Peter
Schermerhorn with two million and one-half dollars,
Isaac Bronson, William B. Crosby, Peter Harmony, Mrs. Jacob Lorillard, Francis Pearsall and Herman   Thorn, each with one million    and a half;
Henry   Brevoort, William   B. Furniss, Jonathan
Hunt, Peter Lorillard, Jr., each with one million
dollars; and Cornelius Vanderbilt with one million
and a quarter. These were all of the millionaires
in New York City fifty years ago. To-day, according to the "Tribune" list, there are over eleven
hundred.  At that time it was said of Cornelius
Vanderbilt: "He is of old Dutch root, and evinces
more energy and go-aheaditiveness in building and
driving steamboats and other projects than any other
Dutchman possessed before. It takes our American
hot suns to clear off the vapors and fogs of Zuyder Zee and wake up the phlegm of a descendant
of old Holland." In 1848 Jonathan Goodhue &
Brothers, N. &   B. Griswold, Howland &     Aspinwall, and the Harper Brothers, swept into the million company, and Stephen Allen crowded it closely.
These reminiscences of old New Yorkers who led
the van of New York's wonderful commercial prosperity come to us very naturally as we stand at
the entrance of the Astor House.     It would be
hard to think of a prominent man in New York
City, or of a famous man in the nation, who
has not at some time enjoyed the shelter and
the creature comforts dispensed in this practical
210




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Astor monument. Other hotels and great enterprises
innumerable bear the impress, if not the name, of
the Astor family; but as long as the old Astor
House stands it will be a monument to the founder
of the family; connecting the present with the past,
and speaking constantly of the worth, the good
sense, and the high character of the man who by


Do, eF
JOHN JACOB ASTOR.


strictly honorable means triumphed over the greatest obstacles and raised himself to a world-observed
eminence. Every one who reads this chapter may
make his own list of the great men who have been
drawn to the Astor House and of the important
conferences that have occurred there, and no two
lists will completely agree. At the banquet here ten211




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


dered by the Press of New York to Kossuth, in December, 1851, the presiding officer was William Cullen Bryant, and assisting him were Horace Greeley,
George B. Butler and Julius Froebel.  Among the
guests were George Bancroft, Governor Anthony, of
Rhode Island; Mayor Kingsland, of New York City;
Moses Grinnell, Charles King, President of Columbia College; Simeon Draper, Parke Goodwin, James
Harper, Henry Ward Beecher, Henry Raymond, and
Dr. Chapin. Thurlow Weed had the exclusive use of
Room No. 11 during the last three years of his remarkable political activity; and in that room the
weightiest matters of State were discussed by the
most prominent and astute political leaders. Campaigns were planned, caucuses were had, and governors, ministers, senators, and perhaps presidents,
were made there. Of Weed, Horace Greeley said in
1855: "He is a giant. He is the greatest man we
have, Seward not excepted"; and his judgment
was vindicated as the years went on. In later
years Room No. 1 was a political center. It was
the room which Daniel Webster always occupied
when visiting New York, and there he conversed
and planned with the greatest of his fellows. About
eight years ago it became a "free-lunch room"; and
as such it has been patronized by President Cleveland, the Goulds, Collis P. Huntington, Austin Corbin, Thomas F. Gilroy, Hugh J. Grant, William
F. Sheehan, Lieutenant-governor Saxton, Speaker
Hamilton Fish, John R. Fellows, various judges of
the Civil and Criminal Courts, Thomas Byrnes, Alex212




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ander S. Williams, Peter Conlin, Robert G. Ingersoll, Joel B. Erhardt, DeLancey Nicoll, Edward Lauterbach, Jacob Hess, Edward S. Stokes, and many
more of our New Yorkers who have been distinguished for various virtues and failings. Among the
famous foreign visitors have been ex-Speakers Reed
and Crisp, ex-Governors Campbell, Wertz, Bedell
and Price, and Senators Blackburn, Mills and Jones.
The Raines law once closed the free-lunch counter;
but still the great and the small, the good and the
bad, all classes of active men, met in and about
the Astor House; and its lunch room still accommodates daily a large and fair representation of the
active manhood of New York. Daily you may touch
elb6ws there with lawyers, doctors, judges, brokers, merchants, ministers, politicians, and what not
-many of them     distinguished in their respective
occupations.  Standing  on  the  Broadway   steps,
under the watchful attention of the hotel detective, you may see passing a procession of notables;. perhaps not as imposing in a financial way
as that which appears in lower Broadway, but
much more representative of the many phases of
business and social life. A moment's glance a few
days since showed the eccentric patron of the Chemical Bank, Hetty Green, in dilapidated calico gown,
slinking, unnoticed, across the busy avenue, while
the fiery Southron, Colonel Talliaferro, with his six
feet six inches of gaunt human frame, was marching bravely across in the opposite direction; and
the press of ordinary eminent people was so great
213




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


that neither of these important persons noticed the
other.
Daniel Webster and General Stetson, the proprietor of the Astor House, were great friends.   Few
men in the United States enjoyed Webster's confidence as Stetson did, and few knew the statesman's
inner life as he did. From Stetson's company at
the Astor House Webster made his last trip to his
Massachusetts home. His last letter was written to
Stetson. His birthday was celebrated at the Astor
House for many years.
Abraham Lincoln was a guest at the hotel in
1860, when he made his first New York speech at
Cooper Institute.
General Grant's first visit to it was shortly after
his appointment as lieutenant-general. He remained
there quietly, occupying Mr. Stetson's private apartments.   At the close of the war he came to the
Astor House again, to be present at a reception.
This time the people crowded around the Astor
House, and all sought to do honor to the great general. He made one of his characteristic speeches at
the ovation in Cooper Institute. It was simply, "I
thank you for your kindness." After enduring several hours of fatiguing "exercises," he returned to
the Astor House and retired; but was called out to
receive a salute from a Massachusetts regiment on its
way home from the war. Not less than ten thousand people were there at that hour, all rejoicing in
the presence of the man who had rendered signal
service in the preservation of the Union.
214




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


One of the odd characters of the hotel was
Jones the baggage master, who received no salary,
but saved $75,000 out of tips; made friends with
Van Buren, Taylor, Buchanan, Pierce, Webster,
Linclon, Grant, Farragut, and many other eminent
men; lived in a stylish brownstone house, and died
at the age of seventy years, respected and honored
by the many who knew him.
The peculiar privilege of housing the great political leaders when they visit New York, long since.il- In i..
Site of the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
passed from the Astor House to the Fifth Avenue
Hotel; but still the Astor House is well supported,
and feeds a multitude of the best and brainiest men
of New York every day.    It will remain a monument of Astor and of the period of our City's development in which it rushed into the front rank of
municipalities.
Looking down Barclay Street we see St. Peter's
Church, the first Roman Catholic church in New
York. This building was erected in 1836, but the


215




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


original building on the same site was built in 1786.
Its cornerstone was laid by the Spanish embassador,
and Charles III. contributed to the cost of the edifice. The City Hospital was on the west side of
Broadway and faced south, overlooking the negro
graveyard in the neighborhood of Chambers Street
and the public graveyard below it. The first reg

City Hospital.


ular night policemen in the City patroled the neighborhood of this graveyard, for the purpose, as it
now appears, of protecting the graves from medical
students. It was at this hospital that the famous
"Doctors' Riot" had its origin, in the thoughtless
act of a student who shook an arm that he was
dissecting, at some boys in the street. The simple
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


people of the neighborhood imagined that their
friends who were in the hospital for treatment were
being cut up by the doctors, and they did their best
to tear the detested hospital from its foundations.
While Number 221 Broadway, on the corner of
Vesey Street, was occupied in 1802 by Aaron Burr,
Vice-President, Edward Livingston, Mayor of the
W"ii lil^ """:..:N::."N.
-.........
Corner of Broadway and Murray Street, 1820.
City, lived in John Jacob Astor's house, at Number 223.
One of the famous buildings in this part of
Broadway was Washington Hall, which      stood on
the site of the Stewart building, north of Chambers
Street. Chambers Street was run across the negro
burying ground. Washington Hall was built as a
headquarters for the Federalists and the opponents
of old Tammany Hall. There were several clubs
and associations which met in the building. Among
J-2                217




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


them was the Bread and Cheese Club, of which
James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, FitzGreene Halleck and Daniel Webster were members.
Bread and cheese were used in balloting for candidates, a piece of bread being a vote for admission
and a piece of cheese being equivalent to a blackball. At Washington Hall, on May 4, 1813, the
City Corporation gave a banquet to Captain Lawrence, who, in command of the "Hornet," had defeated and sunk the "Peacock" in fourteen minutes.
Less than a month afterward he was killed in the
battle between the "Chesapeake" and the "Shannon."
Aaron Burr's office was on this site. It was on this
block that Alexander T. Stewart, the dry goods
king, began his business. One of the wooden houses
on the block was divided into two stores, each about
twelve feet wide, and Mr. Stewart occupied one of
those stores.  It was his splendid marble building
which succeeded Washington Hall.
The life and the achievements of A. T. Stewart,
the horrors and the tragedies that followed his death,
and the failure of his projects when they passed
into other hands, would furnish material for the
most "realistic" novelist. When he reached America
he was without means, and earned his first money
by teaching in a private school on Roosevelt Street,
then the center of fashion. While there he inherited
from his grandfather ten thousand dollars, and then
he married Cornelia Clinch.  From   that moment
Stewart expanded. A friend called his attention to
the opportunities in linens and laces, showing him
218




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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


how cheaply they could be bought in Ireland and
what prices they would bring in New York. He
put his money into those fabrics, opened a little
shop, and went to work. When he died, his shop
had grown so that it filled a whole block, he owned
mills in various parts of the country, which were
all working for him, and he had agencies in all
parts of the world; he owned lots and plots, houses,
hotels, churches, theaters, and a city; there seemed
to be no limit to his possessions. In the fullness of
his greatness and wealth he died.   He had not
lived like Astor or Vanderbilt; there was no son
to take up the work of the father; when his hand
fell lifeless, there was none who comprehended the
constructions which he had made nor the plans
which were under them. Friends there were, but
apparently they had been more friendly to Stewart
the millionaire than to Stewart the man, and had
thought more of his money than his purposes. His
wife was bewildered, dazed and undone; her shoulders were not made to carry any of his burdens.
As soon as the poor body was committed to the
earth, dry-rot began to spread through the enterprises
which he had set in motion. The tomb in St.
Mark's Churchyard was rifled, and heartless robbers
turned the decaying body into filthy money. The
great fortune was invaded and the secrets of the
man's life were made to do duty in prying out and
seizing portions of his wealth. There was no poor
man in all the City of New York who was not
constrained to pity the poor merchant prince. From
219




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


the time of his death, Blight set her tooth in everything that belonged to him. It would be a dreary
work to trace the lines of disintegration through the
creations of his genius. To those who received or
obtained the most of the fortune came the heaviest
burdens of care, anxiety and heart-ache; and over
their fair name the curved finger of popular distrust has pointed and continues to point. In time
even the great business at Ninth Street failed. This
was not unexpected, but the headlines in the newspapers shook a million readers.
Stewart's pouse Fails at Cast.
TWO MILLIONS IN DEBT.
Forced to the VWall by Importunate Small Money Creditors on a
Stringent Money Market.
This is Mr. Stewart's first advertisement, which
was published in the "American Advertiser," August
23, 1823:
ALEXANDER T. STEWART.
283 Broadway.
Alexander T. Stewart has opened a store at the above
address, in which he will offer at wholesale and retail
a well selected stock of Linens, Lawns, Diaper. He
hopes to merit patronage by strict attention to business.
From 283 Broadway Mr. Stewart moved to 262
Broadway, then to 257 Broadway, and then back
onto the site of the Stewart building, where he
enlarged his store until he erected the present structure extending from Chambers to Reade Streets.
Stewart's first advertisement was changed in a few
days, as follows:
220




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


NEW DRY GOODS STORE.
283 Broadway, opposite Washington Hall.
A. T. Stewart informs his friends and the public that
he has taken the above store, where he offers for sale at
wholesale and retail a general assortment of fresh and
seasonable DRY GOODS, and a choice assortment of Irish
Linen, French Cambric, Damasks, Diaper, etc.
N.B.-The above goods have been carefully selected
and'bought for cash, and will be sold on reasonable terms
to those who will please to favor him with their command.
In 1856 he advertised in this way:
GENUINE FURS.
A. T. Stewart & Co. will open on Monday, Sept.
29th, their large and well selected stock of every description of Furs, in the latest styles of Cardinals, Victorines,
Muffs, Cuffs, etc., etc., etc.
N.B.-They can recommend these goods to their customers with entire confidence, especial care having been
taken to select the best and most natural skins.
Broadway, Chambers and Reade Sts.
We see how humble and simple was the beginning of this important section of Broadway, the development of which has been within the century.
The rise of Mr. Stewart's business is an illustration
of the tendency of growth. Some of the most powerful and important business enterprises are now conducted in this neighborhood, and some of the most
elegant of the new buildings are here.
The remarkable growth of the Home Insurance
Company, whose pure white building challenges
attention, attracts our interest. It was organized
221




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


in 1860, and has a surplus of about one-fifth of its
assets, which run up into the millions. Nothing can
be finer than the Postal Telegraph building on Murray Street, adjoining the Home Life Insurance building. Its majestic entrance is thoroughly in keeping
with the massive proportions of the building, and is
much more satisfactory than the narrow and contracted openings in neighboring buildings, such as
the Times building. This company has been in
operation, practically, only since 1885, and has so
far progressed as to be an active and successful
competitor of the Western Union Telegraph Company. These buildings occupy the very ground on
which the King's forces and the aroused people
struggled for ascendency a little more than a century ago.
The Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association at
Duane Street must be noticed.    It is the largest
mutual association in the world, having more than
seventy-five thousand members. It has three hundred million dollars of insurance in force. According to Mr. Haswell, the important industry of selling roasted chestnuts was begun on this corner.
The Chemical Bank, at 270 Broadway, has the
distinction of occupying the plainest and smallest
building, and having the most valuable stock of any
of the banks. The price of its stock varies from
$4,500 to $5,000, per single share  of $100.  Its
capital is only $300,000, but its surplus is more than
twenty times that, and its deposits amount to $25,000,000. It has a living curiosity, Mrs. Hetty Green,
222




/a




IMUTUAL RESERVE FUND BUILDING.a
New York, V"Ot. F%'~oo p. 222.




I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the richest woman in America, whose affections are
largely occupied with the care of her accumulated
millions. She is an astonishing sight as she darts
in and out of the bank, going behind the scenes,
managing the officers and pervading the entire place.
With her thoroughly disreputable attire, which she
affects for some reason of her own, her lack-luster
eyes, her assumed indifference and stupidity, and
with her keen, thoroughly disciplined business mind
constantly operating and controlling and directing the
men about her, she is certainly one of the sights of
the City, one of its most interesting and instructive
characters, and one of its strangest developments.
Her usual dilapidated attire and the irresolute unintelligent facial expression which she carries about
with her when on business bent, have often covered
her shrewd and relentless dealings with men far
superior to her in most parts, who have not suspected
her ability until they have felt the strong fingers
which clutched them. One or two of our great railroad magnates in this City can testify to the truth
of this statement out of their own experiences,
though they would have to admit that she only
beat them at their own game. How should any
man be on his guard against shrewdness and consummate ability, when it comes to him in unattractive and uninteresting features, and clothed in the
garments of wretched poverty and personal negligence. We have seen this wonderful woman engaged
in important business transactions, attired in a
faded, stained, bottle-green dress of the cheapest ma223




THE AMERICAN /IETROPOLIS


terial, frayed and patched, made in two pieces to
economize the cloth, with the seam running horizontally instead of perpendicularly, protected against
the cold by newspapers, which showed at her throat
and in the gaps between the buttons of her waist,
and with such a dissolute hat as defies any man's
descriptive powers, asking the silliest questions about
common matters and giving the impression that she
knew just about enough to come in when it rains;
but in the passionless face and vacant eyes there
were occasional unconscious flashes of the genius
that lay behind it all. When she reached home that
night her rags were discarded, her face and eyes
lighted up in the pleasure of her daughter's company,
and she appeared the lady, in a simple but becoming garb.   Those who know her, appreciate    her
ability and power, and even "Joe Choate," upon
whom   she bestows many choice expressions of disapproval, stays out of the reach of her hands, and
of her tongue, which on occasion she can use like
a poisoned dart. The Chemical Bank submits pleasantly to her sway, and does not seem to prosper
the less because she is its chief exhibit, and its
most potent power.   Hettv Green is not the only
woman who is deeply interested in this great bank,
for among its largest shareholders are the Duchess
of Marlborough (formerly Miss Pine and later Mrs.
Hammersley); the Duchess de Dino (formerly Miss
Sampson), and the Comtesse de Trobriand (formerly
Miss Jones): American women who have invested
in royalty.
224




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The gray building at the corner of Chambers
Street looks quiet 'and peaceful now, but fifty years
ago it was a place of awful interest, on account
of the frightful murder of Samuel Adams by his
employer, John C. Colt, brother of the celebrated
pistol manufacturer. Although this horrid deed of
blood happened away back in 1841 it is remembered
to this day. The two men quarreled over a question of money. Adams seized Colt by the neck and
Colt retaliated with a hammer that was lying near
them, and used it so relentlessly that Adams fell
dead. When the heat of passion had passed, Colt,
who was naturally an amiable man, realized the
awful fact that he was a murderer, and the dead
body of his victim lay there on the floor. He could
not confide in anybody, and at the time of all
times when he needed judgment and discretion, reason failed him, and while his heart sunk his brain
whirled with excitement. He walked down to the
City Hotel with some thought of telling his brother
what he had done; but the brother was engaged,
and the unfortunate murderer returned without light
on his course or relief from his frightful situation.
An hour before, life had been without a cloud;
now  he was akin to    Cain.  Blood was welling
from  the wounds; he stanched it. He resolved to
dispose of the body. Finding a box, he packed the
corpse in it, covered it with salt, nailed the lid and
marked it for New Orleans, shipping it by a vessel
which lay at the foot of Maiden Lane. The boat
did not sail as advertised, and in two or three
225




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


days a tell-tale odor attracted the attention of the
captain, who opened the box ahd discovered the
murder. The box was promptly traced to Colt, who
was arrested. The trial was skillfully conducted on
both sides and took some ten days. It resulted in
a verdict of "Murder in the first degree."  Appeals
were fruitless, and Colt was sentenced to be hanged.
He was faithfully attended by Caroline Henshaw, to
whom he was married in the Tombs at noon of the
day fixed for execution. The marriage was solemnized by the Rev. Mr. Anthon, and was witnessed by
Colt's brother, his counsel David Graham and Robert
Emmett, Judge Merritt, the Sheriff, and John Howard Payne, the author of "Home, Sweet Home."
This bride of death was allowed to have one hour
with her husband and then he was left alone until
the time of his execution should arrive. The hour
fixed was four o'clock, but just before that time fire
broke out in the prison. The excitement was intense. The firemen arrived with their engines and
began their work.   Even in the presence of the
dread element, the sheriff was mindful of the duty
that had been imposed upon him, and he started to
perform it; but when he entered the cell he found
that the hangman had been cheated, for in place
of the living bridegroom of twelve o'clock there was
a dead body with a knife in its heart. It was
suspected by many that the body was not really
that of Colt, but that he had escaped, and that a
prepared body had been substituted for him. His
brother declined a year later to answer the direct
226




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


question whether John C. Colt was yet living. The
rooms where Colt committed his crime were used
years afterward for one of Delmonico's restaurants.
In the years 1871 and 1872, Edward S. Stokes was
in the midst of his difficulties with James Fisk, Jr.
At the close of a hearing in the Yorkville Police
Court, on an accusation by Josephine Mansfield


EDWARD S. STOKES.


against Fisk, Stokes and his counsel, John McKeon
and John R. Fellows, drove to this restaurant of
Delmonico's and ate lunch on the same floor where
John C. Colt had killed Samuel Adams. That very
afternoon Colonel Fisk drove from his Grand Opera
House to the Grand Central Hotel where he met
Stokes fresh from his lunch in the fateful restaurant
227




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and was killed by him. Stokes' trial resulted first
in a disagreement, and on a second trial he was
convicted of "Murder in the first degree," and sentenced to be hanged. He declared that Jay Gould's
money had secured his conviction. An application
was made to Judge Noah Davis for a writ of error,
and after much deliberation it was granted and the
execution of the sentence was stayed. The General
Term of the Court denied the new trial, although
Judge Davis dissented; but the Court of Appeals
overruled the General Term, and the new trial came
on before Judge Davis in 1873, after the power of
the Tammany ring had been crushed and Fisk's old
friends had been scattered. This time the jury convicted Stokes of "Manslaughter in the third degree,"
and he was sentenced to hard labor in Sing Sing
Prison for four years. So this grand old building
is connected with tragedies that moved the community most intensely. While Stokes was in prison
he made a statement in which he gave these as
the words of Fisk with reference to an assault that
he (Stokes) had committed upon one Morehead, while
Fisk was trying to ruin him (Stokes). It was at
the end of an interview which was supposed to
have settled their difficulties: "Ed. (said Fisk), this
interview saves you from State Prison. I was at
the bottom of that difficulty you ha{] with Morehead,
and when you assaulted him as you did, I had
you, my boy, sure. It made my blood fly to feverheat. Ed., you don't know what power we hold
here in this city. We rule New York to-day as
228




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


absolutely as Robespierre ever ruled France. Our
touch is cold and clammy to those who cross our
path. When we have the power to drive corporations with millions and millions in terror out of the
State, we can easily put up a job to get you in
State Prison.  I had.the indictment already drawn
against you for felonious assault with intent to kill,
and to-morrow   you were to be indicted. Learning
that the witnesses to the affray were all poor, that
was all I wanted to know; I had them."        (This
*  *...... ' "
The East Side of Broadway between Duane and Pearl Streets, 1807.
statement was made at Sing Sing, February 24,
1874, and the conversation was stated to have occurred on October 26, 1870.)
Across Chambers Street is the National Shoe and
Leather Bank. It occupies an interesting tower-like
building, with the luxury of two massive stone pillars that support nothing except sentiment. This is
the site of the pig pens of 1805. Now, instead of
pig pens there is a bank, with a capital of one
million dollars, and with resources of five and a


229




TrIE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


half millions, and deposits of four and a half millions, occupying an eleven story building.
Broadway was not graded above Duane Street
until 1797. The Broadway Theater on the east side,
between Pearl and Duane Streets, was made famous
by the anti-slavery speeches of Wendell Phillips and
Gerrit Smith, which were delivered there.
Captain Walter Bicker, in the "Christian Intelligencer," told of his recollections of the old stone bridge
LI -
The Stone Bridge, 1800.
at Canal Street and Broadway. He said: "I remember my grandfather's funeral, which must have been
in the year 1800. I was then four years old. Other
little incidents I remember as occurring at this time,
and in 1803 my father's family moved up into Jay
Street, corner of Staple Street.  At this time the
streets in this neighborhood were not paved, hardly
graded. This I remember was the case with Jay
Street. Soon afterward it was paved with cobble
230




NEW YORK CITY LIFE
stones, the sidewalks were laid with red bricks, and
the curb was of oak timbers placed edgewise. About
this time, or somewhat later, an attempt was made....  - -.  -:.::...........
'':'  '.   — '  -   A  _-__
West Side of Broadway, Corner of Spring Street, 1820.
to build St. John's Church (which now stands on
Varick Street, between Beach and Laight Streets),
on the corner of Hudson and Jay Streets.      Some
of the material for the foundation and cellar walls
were put upon the ground, but in digging for the.,.
Block on West Side of Broadway, between Prince and Houston Streets, 188.
foundation the ground was found to be very wet,
the place having been a meadow filled in. The
project was abandoned and the church edifice erected
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where it now stands. At that time Hudson Street
was not opened beyond Laight Street. Leonard Lispenard's house stood very nearly or quite on a line
with the direction of the street (in a full opposition
to the opening of the street), on an eminence which
very properly might be called a hill. Broadway was
not paved beyond 'the stone bridge,' which stood
where Canal Street now crosses Broadway. This
was a famous resort for us schoolboys.     It was
e.; =......Junction of Broadway and Bowery, 1828.
considered 'out of town'; all north beyond as well
as the immediate vicinity was country, post and rail
fences dividing the land into different sized parcels.
This bridge spanned a small stream which conveyed
water from the Collect on the east side of Broadway (where now stands the Tombs) to the west
side, where was an extensive meadow covering most
of the ground from   Broadway to the North River
and from Lispenard Street to Spring Street. There
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were occasional dry spots in the meadow, but mostly
it was an extensive swamp. Across the stone bridge,
northward, extended Broadway to as far as Bleecker
Street, whence (as I think now), following the
course of Bleecker Street, ran a road which connected with Greenwich Lane and thence to Bloomingdale. On the east side of Broadway connection
was had by side streets to the Bowery, which thence
eastward was called the Boston Post Road. ImproveTavern on Broadway and Twenty-Second Street.
ments beyond this are of modern date.     Hudson
Street, from Duane to Chambers, was not opened
till about 1815. The route from my residence on Jay
Street downtown was: Jay to Hudson, to Duane, to
Chapel, to Chambers, to Broadway-any distance to
the Battery. My school was on Nassau Street, between Liberty and Cedar. This was, of course, my
daily route.  At that time, 1805-6, or thereabout,
there stood at the corner of Chambers Street and
Broadway, northwest corner, a row of pig pens,
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and they were there for some time.  On the park,
just inside the Chambers Street line, some fifty feet
from Broadway, was the almshouse, or poorhouse,
as it was most generally called, afterward the City
Museum. Further down, on the Broadway side, between the City Hall and Broadway, stood the Bridewell, and between it and the picket fence, on the
Broadway side, stood the public whipping-post, where
the public flogging was done according to law."
We may not pursue our journey further up
Broadway, for it is time to retrace our steps, and
we will return by way of the Commons. Broadway, from the City Hall Park to the Battery, has
been the scene of many notable movements, demonstrations and parades.  We have already discussed
the assemblages of the people on the Commons and
their tumultuous movements down Broadway to de
mand their rights from the old governors. We have
remembered the heated gatherings of the patriots
when they wrestled with the insolent soldiery. Perhaps the most momentous procession was that in
which our brave Continentals unwillingly took to
their heels, and were saved to fight another day,
after their defeat in the battle of Long Island.
Washington was most anxious to hold the City of
New York. He appreciated the loyalty of its merchants, who were willing to sacrifice their business,
if need be, for the interests of the growing confederation of States.  He realized the material importance of the City to the patriot cause, and he stood
by it to the last moment that there seemed any
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possibility of controlling it.  The disaster at Gowanus did not overthrow him, as was proven by
the successful retreat through which he saved the
best part of his army. The morning after the defeat found some of his bravest officers and best
troops in the lower part of New York, where they
were anxiously watching for pursuit by the British,
intending to protect the rear of the army, which it
was Washington's intention to establish on the high
grounds above the City. General Putnam and General Knox were there; General Lamb, the heroic
"Liberty Boy," was in command of the artillery;
and Hamilton, a mere lad, had charge of one of
the batteries.  These valiant soldiers supposed they
had their faces to the foe, and were in a becomingly defiant mood; but the English general, foreseeing that an important part of the American
army would be left in the lower part of the Island, and knowing that they could not defend themselves against a combined attack on land and water
by the forces which he could control, resolved to
surprise them by secretly moving up the Long Island shore, sending a strong force -across the East
River, and establishing an impregnable line across
the Island, past which they would be unable to
force their way. According to his plans the capture of the garrison in the lower City would then
be a mere matter of detail. In the early morning,
while the Americans were bravely looking southward, a strong force of English troops crossed the
river at Kip's Bay, in the neighborhood of 34th
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Street, scattering the Connecticut troops stationed
there like chaff before a wind. The present population
of that district would gladly annihilate any British
army of invasion; but in 1776, General Howe, without any difficulty, secured the Boston Post Road,
which he rightly believed would be used for a retreat, and he struck out to cover all other roads.
Washington was above this point, and being apprised of the movements of the English, galloped
down the Albany Road (Broadway), to do what he
could to hurry a retreat of the American forces.
He met General Putnam in the neighborhood of
Broadway and 43d Street, and he tried to rally
his cowardly soldiers there, but in vain. He was
pressed so closely by a body of English troops that
he was in danger of being captured. On that day
he came near losing the self-control which was one
of his strongest characteristics. According to reports,
his language was not strictly polite. The English
commander in good time (and as Providence arranged it, the good time was lunch-time) arrived at
the house of Mrs. Murray, on the crest of our fashionable Murray Hill. (The Grand Central Depot is
built on a cornfield of the Murray Hill farm.) Mrs.
Murray was so charming in her hospitality, and the
English general was so sure that his arrangements
were sufficient for his purpose, that he lingered with
Mrs. Murray and her daughters a full hour. During this time General Knox's troops were struggling
up the west side of the Island, being obliged to
shun all the established roads, and. making their
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way through trails which were known to Aaron
Burr, who guided them    and saved them, encumbered with panic-stricken women and children. A
number died from   the heat.  In the last of the
rearguard, in a position from which he was able
to hurl several shots at the enemy, was young
Hamilton, whom Burr, on that eventful day, saved
from the eclipse of an English prison. The American soldiers got safely by before the English general awoke to the situation, and they checked his
plans by whipping his army in a fair fight at Harlem Heights. We say that there was no more momentous movement upon this much traveled thoroughfare-Broadway-than when Washington's veterans proved discretion to be the better part of valor,
and were spared to participate in the battle at Harlem.
Processions and celebrations there have been past
counting and past telling. Some of them, like the
celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal, have
been full of achievements and rejoicings; others,
like those of departing regiments in 1861 to 1865,
have been full of the dreadful uncertainties of war;
still others have told the deep grief of the people
over the loss of great leaders, such as Lincoln and
Grant. There was a remarkable and a blessed contrast between the funeral processions of Lincoln and
Grant. The grief of the City when Lincoln's body
passed through its streets and laid in state at the
City Hall touched the whole world; but there were
in that grief deep resentment and fratricidal divisions, which seemed impossible of healing.   When
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General Grant's body was borne from Trinity Church
up Broadway, on the long march to Riverside, thirty
thousand soldiers, drawn from every State in the
- Union, formed its escort; every governor was there,
and the surviving soldiers of the lost cause were
among the first to do him honor and to testify to
the renewed Union, stronger than ever before, and
made so to a large extent by the wisdom, the generosity, and the magnanimity of him whose remains
they honored. The nation has been blessed in the
settling of the questions that divided the North and
the South, and in the closer union, material as well
as sentimental, that has become possible, and that
has been so largely effected between the different
parts of the nation. New York has borne her part
in the settlement of all these matters heroically and
well; and the record of these events is to be found
in her history. General Grant's funeral was regarded
all over the land as an indication of the renewed harmony of the nation. The great procession had its
counterparts in many other cities. Broadway was
filled from end to end with a vast concourse of people, many of whom had come from distant points.
The assemblage of spectators in the streets was estimated at a million and a half. The route of the procession was very long, so that the army of the people could be distributed along the line. Every feature of the parade indicated the popular desire to
wipe out the bitterness of the memories of the war.
The Confederate general, Fitzhugh Lee, with Major
Smith of his old staff, were members of the staff
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of General Hancock, who marshaled the parade.
The troops of Virginia formed on Broadway, side
by side with those of Massachusetts, and the soldiers of Connecticut and Georgia were grouped together. Among the pallbearers were General Sherman, riding with General Johnston, and General
Sheridan, with his old adversary, General Buckner.
Governor Long of Massachusetts was paired with
Randolph Tucker of Virginia, and William M. Evarts
with General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.
General Gordon of Georgia was close to General
Logan. This great procession, in which were the
leading men of the nation-the president and vicepresident, ex-presidents, senators, congressmen, generals-was of the greatest historic importance.  It
was the last opportunity for the great leaders of
the war for the Union to come together in public.
How soon Grant was followed by Sherman, Sheridan, Hancock and Logan! The "Herald," speaking
of the procession, said: "The procession yesterday
was almost a miracle. Its constituent elements were
such that even history must record the event with
surprise and wonder. That which made the scene
phenomenal was the presence of mourners from all
parts of the restored Union, who vied with each
other to do honor to that great soldier who lived
to see the bitterest enmity change into confidence
and friendship. General Grant discovered the American republic. We had dreamed of the grandeur of
republicanism before, but he revealed to us its omnipotence. We are grateful to him and proud of
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him, not more for what he did for us than for
what, by the inspiration of his genius, he made us
do for ourselves. He believed in the people, and
after years of bloody war the people believed in
themselves. The future, then, is safe, though Grant
is dead; but the teacher of a nation will not be
forgotten  till the  nation  itself  crumbles."  The
"Times" said: "It is speaking well within bounds
to say that the funeral of General Grant was witnessed by one-fiftieth part of the population of the
United States. It is also using soberness of speech
to say that scarcely one of the participants in the
procession, or of the spectators of it, can have failed
to be bettered by what he did or saw. The great
crowds needed no handling. They had gathered to
see the last of the man who by force of character
and circumstance had come, more conspicuously than
any other, to personify the victory of 'government of
the people, by the people, and for the people,' and unconsciously in their own persons they had come to exemplify and to vindicate that government. The occasion was solemnized by the presence of death, yet it
was a sober triumph. It was as if the coffin borne
aloft held the incarnation of the spirit of the American people, and they were doing homage to their
own nationality. And so the curtain falls upon an
act in the great drama.    The period is put to a
memorable chapter in American history that is not
less memorable as a stage in the development of
mankind. Solemn as is the occasion, it is inspiring
also and of great hope."
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Grar)t, tbe tateiorl's Pero.
From the "Hartford (Conn.) Courant."
"There is in existence a photograph of Gen.
Grant which is of pathetic interest at this moment.
It was taken during the last winter of the war,
while the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac were at City Point. The photograph may have
been instantaneous, for there is no appearance of
posing for iU. Grant appears in the door of his tent,
with one arm raised grasping the tent pole. He is in
the simplest field uniform, the coat is unbuttoned, and
he wears the soft hat with the twisted cord of the
service. The face is thin and heavy with care, and
the whole figure denotes self-forgetfulness, if not dejection. The utter absence of parade, the entire simplicity of the attitude, the rudeness of the surroundings, would advise no spectator that this was the
iron commander of great armies, the man upon
whom the hopes of the nation at that moment centered. Upon his skill, coolness, tenacity, unshakable
faith, millions reposed implicit trust.  It was weary
waiting; wealth was wasted in streams, debt was
accumulating, foreign powers were threatening, treason was brewing, precious life was poured out like
water, and the land was full of mourning.      This
general, silent, inflexible, stands there at his tent
door, apparently unconscious of observation, not so
much looking abroad as communing with himself,
bearing in every line of face and figure the impress
of the heaviest responsibility and of vicarious suffer

K-2


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ing. No note of complaint, no sign of relenting, no
consciousness of the show of power, but just at
that moment a patient endurance in his own wasted
person of the woes of an anxious nation. Upon
him, at that instant, rested greater responsibility
than upon any other living man; upon him centered hopes, entreaties, prayers, curses, bitter criticism, brutal disparagement.  He is in the attitude
of bearing it all with the capacity of suffering and
of carrying the burdens of others without complaint,
which is the mark of greatness. Perhaps if he had
failed, perhaps if he had lost his cause and disappointed the hopes set upon him, this picture might
to-day have been more utterly pathetic than it is;
but remembering what the man had endured, and
was still to suffer before the final triumph of the
people through him, this simple figure is not wanting in any of the heroic elements that touch the
hearts of men."


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CHAPTER SIX


THE RISE OF THE PEOPLE: NEW          YORK COMMON,
THEIR FORUM
Its Heroic History-First Fight for Freedom-Down with
the Press-gang-Assemblies of the People-Defiance to
the Governor-The People demand the Stamps-They
Hang the Governor in Effigy-They beat against the Fort
-King Sears-The Stamps surrendered to Mayor Cruger
-Great Popular Rejoicing-Wideawake Liberty BoysTrouble with the Soldiers-Battles around the Libertypoles-Defense of the Symbol of the People's RightsAgitation for Independence-Protest against the Truculence of the Legislature-Indignation Meeting-McDougall-The Liberty Boys Deal with Merchant Cooley and
Emissary Rogers-New York's Tea Meeting-Battle of
Lexington-Committee of Public Safety-Declaration of
Independence read to the Army-King George's Statue
Demolished-Judge Jones' Amusing Discussion of the Patriots-The old Jail-Cunningham-American Prisoners
of War-Atrocities-Rescue of a Spy-Nathan Hale-Present Appearance of the Neighborhood-The City HallWar of 1812-Celebration of Victories-De Witt Clinton
-Erie  Canal-Bread Riot-Croton Water-Fernando
Wood-Ancient History of the Common-The Bridewell
-Tweed Ring-Political Conditions-Reform
TRENCH said: "Oftentimes here, we move up and
down in the midst of intellectual and moral marvels
with vacant eye, and with careless mind, even as
some traveler passes unmoved over fields of fame
or through cities of ancient renown-unmoved because utterly unconscious of the great deeds which
there have been wrought, of the great hearts which
spent themselves there."
Now   we stand on New      York Common.       Everybody has heard of Boston Common, but who hears
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of New York Common?       Only a few days ago a
resolution for the widening of Boylston Street in
Boston was defeated by an overwhelming vote,
because it would take off a slice of the sacred
Common. New York's Common has a longer and
a more interesting and thrilling history than Boston's, and it has been as fully distinguished by displays of heroism and patriotism. JIt has been linked
with every phase of our City's life, yet we have
neglected it and encumbered it with unsightly buildings, and have shown so little veneration for it
that to the great masses of the people it is only
City Hall Park of dubious repute; the place where
the aldermen meet and the politicians gather, and
jobs are given out; the place where the courts
grind and where settees are furnished for tramps.
To the mayor it is a place of torture from    officeseekers, to the job-hunters it is ever a Mecca, to
the aldermen it is a forum for torrid eloquence on
inconsequential subjects, to the lawyers it is a field
for the ground and lofty tumbling of the bar, to
the tramps it is a rest for weary feet, to the Irish
and Italian children of the neighborhood it is a
royal playground, to the street Arabs it is a grand
place for selling papers, blacking boots, and pitching pennies, to the sparrows it is a famous bathing place, to armies of wage-earners it is a short
cut to the Brooklyn Bridge and the elevated railroads, to country sight-seers it is interesting, for it
contains the house that Tweed built, and sometimes
pickpockets and bunco-steerers increase the interest;
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


to a precious few the governor's room in the City
Hall, with its paintings of great New Yorkers and
its Washingtonian furniture, is a place of delight.
Few if any of these throngs of people know anything of the important events that occurred on this
old Common, or of the virtues that have been exemplied upon it. No spot in the colonies was a
more important field for the development of the
cause of American independence. The people of
Massachusetts have never ceased to boast of the
work done by her patriots in the cause of freedom,
and they are to be honored for the honor that
they have never ceased to bestow upon those old
heroes, and for the veneration in which the Common and other similar rallying points have always
been held. It is much to the shame of thrifty
New York that the noble deeds of her Sons of Liberty are not read in the same high roll of fame
with those of Boston, and that her historic spots
are so generally unappreciated. There is no schoolboy in Boston who cannot tell you the history of
Boston's Common and of Boston's men of 1776;
but where, will you find the young people of New
York who can talk of McDougall, Sears, Willett,
Smith, Livingston, Lamb, Scott and Hamilton; and
where will you find the students who can tell of
the important events that happened on the Common
in that critical period of American life?
The fact that there was a large proportion of
Tories and Loyalists in New York, and that the
English, relying upon these elements, labored inces245




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santly to keep New York out of the confederation of
colonies, made the work of the uncompromising and
indefatigable Liberty Boys specially arduous and
praiseworthy. There are indications of a revival of
interest in the affairs of our City and in her
honor and renown; and a new interest in the heroic and romantic side of New York life is beginning to be manifested. When our good people take
a pride in the history and in the advancement of
their own City, then will come the doom of rings
and of corruption in public life. We have noticed that
as long ago as the time of Zenger's trial, in 1735,
the agitation for popular rights had begun to take
shape and the Sons of Liberty had been organized.
There was an irreconcilable conflict between the
policy of the English government in dealing with
the people of the colonies and the spirit of freedom
that was rapidly  growing in America.    The old
habit of loyalty to the king retarded the manifestations of the conflict, and even in the hour of
war caused many who earnestly desired better protection for the rights of the people to refrain from
joining the patriots; but, on the other hand, there
were many ardent spirits who chafed under broken
promises of reforms and improvements, until they
snapped the bond of loyalty to the established government and thought of nothing else than the independence of the colonies. The radicals and the conservatives were well represented in New York, and
the strife between them was often severe and serious.
The conservatives did not lose hope that the king
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and parliament would grant relief, and that a rightminded governor would soon appear, until the warlike course of the extremists brought matters to the
crisis in which England's hand was plainly shown,
and the glove was dropped off, revealing the iron
fingers and the steel sinews.
Long before the Declaration of Independence, the
indignant people of New York met in the Fields
(as the Common was sometimes called), to protest
against the tyranny of British officials. One of the
first significant gatherings occurred in 1764.  Four
fishermen who had brought fish to the City markets
were taken from their vessels by British naval officers and impressed as seamen. The day following
the impressment the captain of the vessel on which
the fishermen had been taken came ashore in his
barge, and a great crowd of the people suddenly
seized the boat at the foot of Wall Street, hauled
it ashore, and dragged it through the streets to the
middle of the Fields, where they burned it.   The
English captain, much alarmed, wrote an order for
the release of the fishermen, and no harm was done
him. The burning of the boat was in full view of
the British soldiers in the barracks on the north
line of the Fields. The assemblage of this company of men was so sudden-they were so well
organized, they did their work so quickly, and dispersed so promptly-that it is believed that they
were an organized body.    It is significant of the
spirit that prevailed among the people in New York
that such an organization existed so long prior to
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the Revolution. In the next year occurred the great
popular meetings on the Common to protest against
the Stamp   Act.   We have already noticed    the
promptness with which the people of New     York
protested against taxation without representation, and
that when the stamps arrived at the Fort, and
were in Lieutenant - governor Colden's possession
there, the people rose en masse, defied the soldiers, beat against the doors of the Fort, and did
not desist from their preparations to attack it until
the governor surrendered the stamps to the mayor.
The Common was the place where the Sons of Liberty gathered the people and stirred them to action.
Isaac Sears was the great leader in this important
movement. The indignation of the people in this
meeting was not confined to ordinary demonstrations,
for they went so far as to hang the governor in
effigy on a gallows which was erected somewhere
in the Common. While the excitement of the people on the Common was at its height, and their
temper was plainly shown by their treatment of the
effigy, and while crowds of them were besieging the
gates of the Fort, regardless of the evident preparation by the soldiers for their destruction, the mayor
and other officials of the City were in anxious consultation at the City Hall on Broad Street. Their
duty to maintain order among the people was perfectly clear, and their inability to do it was equally
manifest, unless they could secure concessions from
the governor, which seemed unlikely.   Messengers
passed back and forth, between the mayor represent248




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ing the People, and the governor representing the
King. Finally Golden offered to put the stamps on
a war vessel which was lying in the river, and to
leave the ultimate determination concerning their
use to the new governor, Sir Henry Moore, who
was soon to arrive. The governor and the mayor
would surely have come to some compromise but
for the third factor, the tumultuous convention on
the Common. Sears was not a governor nor a
mayor, but he fairly earned the title which was
generally given him of King Sears. When the governor's offer was made known to the multitude on
the Common, Sears quickly saw that he could force
an absolute victory for the people, and that, on the
other hand, if a compromise was accepted, the people would lose their opportunity for a great advantage. He shouted to the gathering: "We will have
the stamps within four- and - twenty hours!" and
then turning to the messengers from the mayor,
who were trying to show the advantage of accepting Colden's proposition, he said to them: "Your
best way is to advise the governor to send the
stamps to the inhabitants!"  So the matter stood
on the night of November 2, 1765. Sears and his
fellows did not allow the people to grow cold, but
they posted notices all over the City, urging them
to be resolute, and fixing the fifth of November as
the time when they would be led to attack the
Fort, and requesting that on that day every man
repair to the Fields armed and ready for battle.
Colden had no doubt that an attack would be made,
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and the soldiers made every preparation for its repulse.  Then the good judgment of the mayor
showed itself. He proposed that the stamps be delivered to him. It was evident to the governor and
to General Gage, the commander of the royal
forces, that insurrection and civil war were imminent, and they realized that they had no adequate
force to meet such a crisis.  They accepted the
mayor's proposition, and so gave to the people all
the advantage of a victory.  No doubt Sears was
disappointed in not having had the opportunity of
leading the people to an absolute annihilation of the
king's forces. The new governor, Sir Henry Moore,
used great discretion and conciliated the people, going so far as to remove the guns from the walls
of the Fort and to throw open its gates; but while
the people, generally, received these evidences of
pacific intentions with great demonstrations of approval, the Sons of Liberty were not convinced of
the good faith of England's representatives, and did
not relax their watchfulness. They believed that
stamps would be smuggled into the City and would
be forced upon the people.  On various occasions
they searched suspected vessels, and they actually
found ten large packages of the stamps coming into
the City on a brig. They seized the stamps and
burned them (near Catharine Market). In 1766 the
Sons of Liberty voiced the determination of the people, saying: "If England    does not repeal the
Stamp Act we will repeal it ourselves."    Then
came the great debates in Parliament, when Burke
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


and Pitt and Barre defended the colonies in their
resistance to unjust taxation, and the Stamp Act
was repealed. The citizens had gathered again and
again on the Common during the period between
the defiance to Governor Golden in November, 1765,
and the repeal on March 18, 1766.  The news did
not reach New York until May 20, and then the
people gave themselves up to unrestrained joy. Only
the Sons of Liberty distrusted the government and
still saw the iron hand. They had held New York
well in the front among the colonies, and had surprised England by demonstrating that even in the
commercial City, where war would injure and perhaps destroy the foundations of prosperity, the people would nevertheless insist upon the rights which
the colonies demanded; and while they remained
quiet for a time, their vigilance was never relaxed.
A great meeting was held on the fourth of June,
to give expression to the happiness that prevailed in
the City. The committee of arrangements provided
not only speakers and artillery, but refreshments in
bulk and of strength proportioned to the occasion.
There was a roasted ox, a hogshead of rum, and
twenty-five barrels of ale, which were dispensed
freely as long as they lasted. People rejoiced with
body, soul and spirit in those days. Pain's modern
spectacles were outdone by suspending twenty-five
barrels of tar from an iron pole and letting them
blaze. The tar burned, the rum flowed, the cannon thundered, the band played, and the people
shouted; and the burden of their shouts was, "God
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save the King!"   Why not have a celebration of
this great occasion, reproducing the details on an
enlarged scale? The whole "East Side" would be
there, and could be counted on to give a realistic
representation of the ardor of 1766.
The hearts of the people were still loyal to their
mother country and to the authority which they
had been trained to respect.  The statue of Pitt,
erected at Wall and William  Streets, and of King
George, erected in the Bowling Green, testified to
the popular feeling of satisfaction. (King George's
statue was afterward pulled down by the patriots
and melted into bullets, and Pitt's statue was mutilated by the British soldiers when they occupied
New York during the Revolution; so honors were
even. A portion of the Pitt statue is in the rooms
of the New York Historical Society.) In the jubilation of the people over the repeal of the Stamp
Act they overlooked the enactment of the Mutiny
Act, which in effect quartered the English army in
America upon the people of the colonies, and compelled them to provide for its support. The burden
fell most heavily upon New York, because the headquarters of the army was here. The first action of
the people concerning this vexatious burden naturally
came in the Assembly of New York, in which the
Supply Bill originated. The Assembly did not refuse to grant subsistence, but limited it, and did so
in such a way as displeased the governor and
the king. Delancey finally caused the Assembly to
modify its action, and apparently the difficulty was
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arranged. The Liberty Boys, however, were wide
awake, and they did not permit such a craven and
dangerous compromise to become effectual. This was
the most critical period in our national development.
It was fraught with danger to the cause of freedom, which the organization had championed, and
its leaders had the rare judgment and ability to
appeal to the common people, and to teach them
a passionate love of Liberty, that would not brook
the temporizing spirit of those whose business interests made them timid. The influence of the watchful Sons of Liberty prevented backward movements,
and kept the public mind up to the high mark
which they had set. In our view it is quite possible that, except for the heroic attitude of these keen
and unyielding men, New York might have lagged
in the rear of the liberty-demanding colonies. The
Common was the forum which the Liberty Boys
seized and consecrated to their cause.  They made
their headquarters  at Montague's (Number   252
Broadway), and later at Hampden Hall (St. Paul
building), and they erected their Liberty-pole upon
the Common, where all might see it. Necessarily a
feeling of great hostility sprang up between the soldiers who were compelled to live on the people and
the people who were compelled to support the soldiers. It was this hostile feeling which led to the
fights over the Liberty-poles. The soldiers were insolent and abusive, and could not endure the gatherings of the people to rejoice over the repeal of
the Stamp Act, and to consult together over the
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cause of freedom. The Common was the usual
place of meeting for the people, and the English
barracks, which were on the north side of the Common, were in plain sight of all of these gatherings.
Montagne's tavern, on Broadway opposite the Common, was always filled and surrounded by ardent
Sons of Liberty, whether there was a meeting or
not. The battle of Golden Hill, which we have
noted, had its origin in the warlike conditions that
prevailed in the neighborhood of the Common.
Sears and his associates having their headquarters
at Montagne's, and the troopers being where Chambers Street is, we can imagine what contemptuous
looks and epithets and what fist-shakings were indulged in across the intervening space. There must
have been a scene of wild confusion on that day
when the soldiers went for the Liberty-pole with
saws and gunpowder, and drove Sears and his friends
into the tavern at the point of the bayonet, while
they cut the pole to pieces, and blaste4 it out of
its iron bands. While the Liberty Boys and those
whom they gathered defended their emblem, interposing their own breasts between it and the armed
soldiers of the tyrannous government, the eyes of
the people were riveted upon the conflict between
the representatives of the king and the defenders
of the people's rights, and their hearts grew hot
with indignation, and the spirit of freedom was incarnated in them. The far-famed Boston Massacre
(an opprobrious and extravagant term, according to
Irving) had its origin in a street brawl between




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


arrogant soldiers and individuals who resented their
insolence; but the battles around the Liberty-poles on
the Common in New York occurred long before the
massacre in Boston.   The battle of Golden  Hill,
which was fought to preserve the emblem of freedom (the forerunner of our Stars and Stripes) from
insult and destruction by the soldiers of the king,
occurred two months before the tumult in Boston's
Streets. Those Americans who died in the battle of
Golden Hill, two months before the Boston massacre, died in defense of the Flag then, dimly foreshadowed in the pole with its legend, "LIBERTY
AND PROPERTY."
It was to the Common that the Sons of Liberty
delighted to call the people, there to lead them in
mighty protests against tyrannical government; and
from the Common they sallied forth to spread their
doctrines and to strike blows for Freedom. As one
has said: "No other town in all the American
colonies had so much to lose by a rupture with
the Mother Country, and, except Boston only, no
other entered into that contest with so much avidity and determination." And New York did suffer
greatly by the war, for she lost more than one half
her population, one quarter of her buildings were
burned, her public buildings and churches were desecrated and injured, and her commerce was entirely
destroyed. During the entire war the City was occupied by the enemy, and was a military camp and
prison, and not one substantial house was erected.
The Common, the chosen field of the Liberty
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Boys, was the center of power. We do not question the steady, strong and enduring work of the
great mass of patriotic citizens, performed with fidelity and consecration in the days of actual war;
but it does seem that the credit for fanning the
flame, keeping it alive, and bringing the question
to a crisis, belongs to these men, who more closely
represented the artisans, the tradesmen and the common people than they did the wealth and the "society" of New   York.  It was Sears himself who
precipitated the battle of Golden Hill by seizing a
soldier who was posting contemptuous handbills
against the people and the City authorities just after
the demolition of the Liberty-pole in January, 1770.
(The last known survivor of the battle of Golden
Hill, according to Valentine, was Michael Smith,
who disarmed one of the soldiers and carried his gun
through the whole of the Revolutionary War. le
died in 1847, the last of the New York Liberty
Boys.) When Delancey won the Assembly over to
the governor, so thaf it yielded to his desires in
providing support for the English soldiers in New
York under the Mutiny Act, a call was issued,
signed "A Son of Liberty," requiring the people to
meet on the Common on December 17th. The announcements for these gatherings were posted generally in this unique way: A box was made with
a slide in the back. A small boy, a pail of paste,
and a lot of circulars were put into the box. A
man walked around with this box, resting at intervals, and placing the back of the box carefully, if
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carelessly, against fences and walls. A judicious
combination of boy, slide, paste and circular did
the rest. We furnish a copy of the call for the
meeting.
"To t1e Betrayed lTrbabltarts of tNe QIty an~d QoloQy
of New York.
"My Dear Fellow Citizens and CountrymenIn a Day when the Minions of X Tyranny and Despotism in the mother Country, and the Colonies,
are indefatigable in laying every Snare that their
malevolent and corrupt Hearts can suggest, to enslave a free People; when this unfortunate Country
has been striving under many Disadvantages for
three Years past, to preserve their Freedom; which
to an Englishman is as dear as his life, -when the
Merchants of this City and the Capital Towns on
the Continent, have nobly and chearfully sacrificed
their private Interests to the publick Good, rather
than to promote the Designs of the Enemies of our
happy Constitution; it might justly be expected
that in this day of Constitutional Light, the Representatives of this Colony, would not be so hardy,
nor be so lost to all Sense of Duty to their Constituents, (especially after the laudable Example of
the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and South Carolina, before them) as to betray the Trust committed
to them. This they have done, in passing the Vote
to give the Troops a Thousand Pounds, out of any
Monies that may be in the Treasury, and another
Thousand out of the Money that may be issued, to
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be put out on Loan, which the Colony will be
obliged to make good; whether the Bill for that
Purpose does or does not obtain the Royal Assent.
And that they have betrayed the Liberties of the
People, will appear from the following Consideration,
to wit: That the Ministry are waiting to see,
whether the Colonies, under their distressed Circumstances, will divide on any of the grand Points,
which they are united in, and contending for, with
the Mother Country; by which they may carry
their Designs against the Colonies, and keep in the
Administration. For if this should not take Place,
the Acts must be repealed; which will be a Reflection on their Conduct, and will bring the Reproach
and Clamour of the Nation on them for the Loss
of Trade to the Empire, which their Malconduct
has occasioned.
"Our granting Money to the Troops, it is implicitly acknowledging the Authority that enacted
the Revenue Acts, and their being obligatory on
us. As these Acts were enacted for the express
Purpose of taking Money out of our Pockets, without our Consent; and to provide for the Defending
and Support of Government in America; which Revenue we say by our Grant of Money, is not sufficient for the Purpose aforesaid; therefore we supply
the Deficiency.
"This was the Point of View in which these
Acts were considered by the Massachusetts and
South Carolina Assemblies, and to prevent that dangerous Construction, refuted it.  On this important
258




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Point we have differed with these spirited Colonies,
and do implicitly approve of all the tyrannical conduct of the Ministry to the Bostonians, and by Implication censure their laudable and patriotic Denial.
For if they did right (which every sensible American thinks they did) in refusing to pay the Billeting Money, surely we have done wrong, very wrong,
in giving it. But our Assembly says, they do their
Duty, in granting the Money to the Troops; Consequently the Massachusetts Assembly did not do
theirs, in not obeying the Ministerial Mandate.  If
this is not a division in this grand Point, I know
not what is: and I doubt not but the Ministry will
let us know it to our cost; for it will furnish them
with arguments and fresh Courage. Is this a grateful Retaliation to that brave and sensible People,
for the spirited and early Notice -they took of the
Suspending Act?   No, it is base Ingratitude, and
betraying the Common Cause of Liberty.
"To what other Influence than the deserting the
American Cause, can the Ministry attribute so pusillanimous a Conduct, as this of the Assembly? so
repugnant and subversive of all the means we have
used, and opposition that has been made by this
and the other Colonies, to the tyrannical Conduct
of the British Parliament! To no other. Can there
be a more ridiculous Farce to impose on the People, than for the Assembly to vote their Thanks to
be given to the Merchants for entering into an
Agreement not to import Goods from Britain, until
the Revenue Acts should be repealed, while they at
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the same Time counteract it by countenancing British Acts, and complying with Ministerial Requisitions, incompatible with our Freedom? Surely there
cannot.
"And what makes the Assembly's granting this
Money the more grievous is, that it goes to the
Support of Troops kept here, not to protect, but to
enslave us. Has not the truth of this Remark been
lately exemplified in the audacious, domineering and
inhuman Maj. Pullaine, who ordered a Guard to
protect a sordid Miscreant, that transgressed the
laudable Non-importation  Agreement of the Merchants, in order to break that, which is the only
means left them, under God, to baffle the Designs
of their Enemies, to enslave this Continent.  This
Consideration alone ought to be sufficient to induce
a free People, not to grant the Troops any Supply
whatsoever, if we had no dispute with the Mother
Country, that made it necessary not to concede anything that might destroy our Freedom; Reasons of
Economy and good Policy suggest, that we ought
not to grant the Troops Money.
"Whoever is the least acquainted with the English History, must know, that Grants frequently
made to the Crown, is not to be refused, but with
some Degree of Danger of disturbing the Repose of
the Kingdom or Colony. This evinces the Expediency of our stopping these Grants now, while we
are embroiled with the Mother Country; that so we
may not, after the Grand Controversy is settled,
have a new Bone of Contention about the Billet260




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ting Money; which must be the Case if we do not
put an End to it at this time: for the Colony, in
its impoverished state, cannot support a charge which
amounts to near as much per Annum, as all the
other expenses of the Government besides.
"Hence it follows, that the Assembly have not
been attentive to the Liberties of the Continent;
nor to the Property of the good People of this Colony, in particular. We must therefore attribute this
Sacrifice of the public Interest to some corrupt
Source. This is very manifest in the Guilt and
Confusion that covered the Faces of the perfidious
Abettors of this Measure, when the House was in
Debate on the Subject. Mr. Colden knows, from
the Nature of Things, that he cannot have the least
Prospect to be in Administration again; and therefore, that he may make -Hay while the Sun shines,
and get a full Salary from the Assembly, flatters
the ignorant Members of it, with the Consideration
of the Success of a Bill, to emit a Paper Currency,
when he and his artful Coadjutors must know, that
it is only a Snare to impose on the Simple; for it
will obtain the Royal Assent. But while he is solicitous to obtain his Salary, he must attend to his
Posterity. And as some of his Children hold 'Offices
under the Government, if he did not procure an
Obedience to its Requisitions, or do his Duty, in
Case the Assembly refused the Billetting Money, -by
dissolving them, his Children might be in danger
of losing their Offices. If he dissolved the Assembly, they would not give him his Salary.
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"The Delancy Family Knowing the Ascendency
they have in the present House of Assembly, and
how useful that Influence will be to their Ambitious Designs, to manage a new Governor, have
left no Stone unturned to prevent a Dissolution.
The Assembly, conscious to themselves, of having
trampled on the Liberties of the People, and fearing their just Resentments on such an Event, are
equally careful to preserve their Seats, expecting
that if they can do it at this critical Juncture, as
it is imagined the grand Controversy will be settled
this Winter, they will serve for Seven Years; in
which Time they hope the People will forget the
present injuries done to them. To secure these several Objects, the Delancy Family, like true Politicians; altho' they were, to all Appearance, at mortal Odds with Mr. Coldenr, and represented him in
all Companies, as an Enemy to his Country; yet
a Coalition is now formed, in order to secure to
them  the Sovereign Lordship of this Colony: The
Effect of which, has givea Birth to the Abominable
Vote, by which the Liberties of the People are betrayed. In short, they have brought Matters to
such a Pass, that all the Checks resulting from
the Form of our happy Constitution, are destroyed.
The Assembly might as well invite the Council, to
save the Trouble of Formalities, to take their Seats
in, the House of Assembly, and place the Lieutenant Governor in the Speaker's Chair, and then
there would be no Waste of time in going from
House to House, and his Honor would have the
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Pleasure to see how zealous his former Enemies are
in promoting his Interests to serve themselves. Is
this a State to be rested in, where our all is at
Stake?  No, my Countrymen, Rouse! imitate the
noble Example of the Friends of Liberty in England, who rather than be enslaved, contend for their
Right with the K -- g, Lords and Commons.   And
will you suffer your Liberties to be torn from you
by your own Representatives? Tell it not in Boston; publish it not in the Streets of Charlestown!
You have Means yet left to preserve a Unanimity
with the brave Bostonians and Carolinians; and to
prevent the Accomplishment of the Designs of Tyrants. The House was so nearly divided oh the
Subject of granting the Money in the Way the
Vote passed, that one would have prevented it;
you have therefore a respectable Minority. What I
would advise to be done, is, to assemble in the
Fields, on Monday next, where your Sense ought
to be taken on this important Point; notwithstanding the impudence of Mr. Jauncey, in declaring in
the House, that he had consulted his Constituents,
and that they were for giving Money. After this
is done, go in a Body to your Members, and insist
on their joining with the Minority to oppose the
Bill; if they dare refuse your just Requisition, appoint a Committee to draw up a State of the whole
Matter, and send it to the Speakers of the several
Houses of Assembly on the Continent, and to the
Friends of our Cause in England, and publish it
in the News Papers, that the whole World may
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know your Sentiments on this Matter in the only
Way your Circumstances will admit. And I am
confident it will spirit the Friends of our Cause,
and chagrin our Enemies.   Let the Notification to
call the People, be so expressed, that whoever absents himself will be considered as agreeing to what
may be done by such as shall meet.-And that you
may succeed, is the unfeigned Desire of,
"A SON OF LIBERTY."
"New York, Dec. 16, 1769."
General Lamb presided over the meeting, which
adopted resolutions condemnatory of the Legislature's
act, and appointed a committee to convey the sense
of the meeting to the City officers.  The call for
this meeting was followed by another circular which
condemned the Assembly, and which stirred that
body to the action of declaring it libelous, and of
offering a reward for the detection of its writer.
General Lamb, who presided at the meeting, was
cited to explain his conduct, and to answer for contempt of the Legislature; and he promptly appeared
before it and insisted upon his right to meet with
his fellow-citizens and to speak his convictions. General Lamb was not allowed to bear the burden of
this attack alone, for those who had called the
meeting promptly addressed the Assembly, declaring
themselves "in the same predicament" with General
Lamb. The names signed to this communication
were Isaac Sears, Casper Wistar, Alexander McDougall, Jacobus Van Zandt, Samuel Broome, Jr.,
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Erasmus Williams, Jamies Van Vaurk. The House
failed to convict General Lamb of contempt. The
supplemental handbill which stirred up this action
was sharp and to the point. "To the Public.-The
spirit of the times renders it necessary for the inhabitants of this City to convene, in order effectually to avert the destructive consequences of the
late Base Inglorious conduct of our General Assembly, who have, in opposition to the loud and
general voice of their constituents, the dictates of
sound policy, the ties of gratitude, and the glorious
struggle we have engaged in for our invaluable
birthrights, dared to vote supplies to the troops
without the least shadow of a pretext for their
pernicious grant.-The most eligible place will be in
the Fields near Mr. De La Montagne's; and the
time, between 10 and 11 o'clock this morning,
where we doubt not every friend to his country
will attend." The English governor and his associates determined to secure the composer of these
documents and to make an example of him, and
they did some fine detective work, which resulted
in the arrest of one James Parker, who, it was believed, could tell the author's name. They put such
pressure upon him that he finally gave the name
of Alexander McDougall, who was immediately arrested, charged with the libel, and committed to
the new jail (the Register's office). He refused to
give bail, and gloried in his position as a martyr
to the cause. The Assembly, quick to act, decided
that he had committed a libel upon it; and their
L-2                265




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discussion being entered upon the forty-fifth page of
their record, the words "Forty-five" were seized
upon as a watchword by the Sons of Liberty. McDougall's friends fairly besieged the jail, and almost
drove him wild with their overpowering streams of
sympathy. Holt's New York "Journal" gave this
account of one of the visits: "Yesterday, the fortyfifth day of the year, forty-five gentlemen, real
enemies to internal taxation, by, or in obedience to
external authority, and cordial friends to Captain
McDougall, and the glorious cause of American
Liberty, went in decent procession to the New
Gaol; and dined with him on forty-five pounds of
beef stakes, cut from a bullock of forty-five months
old, and with a number of other friends, who joined
them in the afternoon, drank a variety of toasts,
expressive not only of the most undissembled loyalty,
but of the warmest attachment to Liberty, its renowned advocates in Great Britain and America,
and the freedom of the press. Before the evening
the company, who conducted themselves with great
decency, separated in the most cordial manner, but
not without the firmest resolution to continue united
in the glorious cause." (Holt, the publisher of the
"Journal," was a worthy successor of Zenger, the
apostle of free-speech, and his tomb in St. Paul's
Churchyard reminds us of the heroic position which
he occupied in these troublous days.) Ultimately the
proceedings of the Assembly were allowed to fall,
and were replaced by an indictment of the grand
jury, to which McDougall pleaded not guilty, and was
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then released on bail. He was never tried. These
men vindicated the right of the people to gather
in mass meeting, and to condemn their representatives in the Legislature when they betrayed their
trust. How much some of us, citizens of New
York City, owe to these spirited "Sons of Liberty"
can hardly be known. From the black looks, the
fiery invectives, and the Legislative spite that some
of us have at times endured with tears and smiles,
we can well believe that Lamb and McDougall have
saved us from a second edition of the "Inquisition."
Prior to these occurrences, the Sons of Liberty
had put vital force into the Non-importation Agreement which had been signed by the merchants in
the Burns Coffee House. It was loyally supported
by the merchants generally, but there were some
who violated it, and the Sons of Liberty looked out
for them. They secured evidence that one, Simeon
Cooley, had willfully violated this important contract, and with great wisdom they called a meeting
of the people on the Common, and invited Cooley
to appear and answer for his conduct to the meeting. Cooley was frightened, and sent as an excuse
a message, that, "He did not think it consistent
with his personal safety to meet them there, and
he invited them to talk from his parlor window."
The multitude started at once to oblige him, but
he fled to the Fort, seeking and obtaining the protection of its stout walls and its garrison of redcoats. This settled his guilt with the people, who
sealed their condemnation of him when a squad of
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soldiers under Major Pullain appeared to guard his
house and to vilify the people. Finally, Cooley
broke down and met a committee at the Merchants'
Coffee House, who insisted that he must appear
before the people themselves, whereupon he followed
the committee to the Common, and, according to
Holt's "Journal" and Gaines' "Gazette," he "Publicly acknowledged his crimes, implored the pardon
of his fellow-citizens, engaged to store an equivalent
to the goods he had sold, together with all those
he had in possession that were imported contrary to
agreement, and so to conduct himself for the future
as not to render himself obnoxious to the contempt
and just resentment of an injured people." After
the destruction of the Liberty-pole in January, 1770,
the Liberty Boys applied to the Common Council
for permission to erect another one, which for some
reason was refused, and then the patriots bought
the piece of ground close to the old spot, on which
they planted their fifth pole with the motto on it,
"Liberty and Property."
"To the Sops of Ciberty i) this eity.
"GENTLEMEN-It's well known that it has been
the Custom of all nations to erect monuments to
perpetuate the Remembrance of grand Events. Experience has proved that they have had q, good
Effect on the Posterity of those who Raised them,
especially such as were made sacred to Liberty.
Influenced by these Considerations, a number of the
Friends to Liberty in this City erected a Pole in
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the Fields, on Ground belonging to the Corporation,
as a temporary memorial of the unanimous Opposition to the detestable Stamp-Act; which, having
been destroyed by some disaffected Persons, a Number of the Inhabitants determined to erect another,
made several Applications to the Mayor, as the
principal Member of the Corporation, for Leave to
erect the new Pole in the place where the old one
stood.
"The Committee that waited on him the last
Time, disposed to remove every Objection, apprehensive that some of the Corporation might be opposed
to the Erection of the Pole, from a supposition that
those Citizens who were for its being raised, were
actuated solely by a Party Spirit, offered, when the
Pole was finished to make it a Present to the Corporation, provided they would order it to be erected
either where the other stood, or near Mr. Van
Bergh's, where the two Roads meet. But even
this, astonishing as it may seem to Englishmen,
was rejected by the Majority of the Corporation,
and the other Requisitions denied.  We question
whether this Conduct can be parallelled by any Act
of any Corporation in the British Dominions, Chosen
by the Suffrages of Free People.
"And now, Gentlemen, seeing we are debarred
the Privilege of public Ground to erect the - Pole
on, we have purchased a place for it near where
the other stood, which is full as public as any of
the Corporation  Ground.   Your Attendance   and
Countenance are desired at nine o'clock on Tues269




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


day morning, the 6th instant, at Mr. Crommelin's
Wharf, in order to carry it up to be raised.
"BY ORDER OF THE COMMITTEE.
"New York, February 3, 1770."
About this time the Liberty Boys took offense
at Montagne, whose instinct of gain prevented him
from refusing accommodation to parties that were
desirous of fostering the spirit of compromise. There
was no compromise at all in these Liberty Boys,
and so they bought Bicker's Tavern, on the site of
the new St. Paul building, which spot was their
headquarters until the English seized New York.
"To all tbe Sops of Ciberty.
"Whereas Mr. Abraham De La Montaigne was
applied to for his House, that the Sons of Liberty
in general might there commemorate the Anniversary of the Repeal of the Stamp Act on the 19th
Day of March next, But it appearing that his House
was engaged for a certain set of Gentlemen, according to his Advertisement in the publick News Pa
pers. A number of the Sons of Liberty in this City
were under the Necessity of purchasing a proper
House for the Accommodation of all the Lovers of
freedom on that Day, and for their Use on future
Occasions, in the Promotion of the Common Cause.
"This is therefore to give Notice, that the House
so purchased, is the Corner House in the Broad
Way, near Liberty-Pole, lately kept by Mr. Edward
Smith: And all Sons of Liberty, without Discrimination, who choose to commemorate that Glorious
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Day, are requested to attend at the said House on
the Nineteenth Day of March next, for the Purpose aforesaid. Dinner will be served up at two of
the Clock, and the Bill called precisely at Six.
"N.B.-The Nineteenth Day of March is fixed
upon, as the Eighteenth, being the Anniversary Day
of the Repeal, happens on the Sabbath.
"The Sons of Liberty are desired to meet on
Tuesday Evening, the 20th instant, at the House
near Liberty-Pole, formerly in the Occupation of
Edward Smith."
The frequenters of Hampden Hall, as it was
christened, were led by three famous men, William Livingston, William Smith and John Morin
Scott (whose tomb is covered by a flat stone just
north of Trinity Church facing Broadway). From
this time on, the soldiers of the 16th Regiment
watched for an opportunity to capture the Libertypole, and the Sons of Liberty as zealously watched
the pole to defend it. As has been well said: "It
was not only the emblem of the rights of the people
upon the public Common of the City, but it was
on a portion of that Common which had become
their own private property"; and these brave men
guarded that sacred emblem against double their
number of armed and infuriated soldiers, in the
very presence of a hostile and tyrannous governor.
The redoubtable soldiers of the 16th Regiment, stationed in the barracks north of the Common, who
vindicated the authority of the king and the parlia271




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ment by chopping down Liberty-poles, and clubbing
and bayoneting their defenders, got up counter-circulars which caused no end of trouble. They made
some remarkable references to the Common, in the
sample now given.
"God and a Soldier, all Men most adore,
In Time of Wars and not before;
When the War is over, and all things righted,
God is forgotten, and the Soldier slighted.
"WHEREAS, an uncommon and riotous disturbance prevails throughout this city, by some of its
inhabitants, who stile themselves the S - - s of
L --- —y, but rather may more properly be called
real enemies to society: and whereas the army,
now quartered in New York, are represented in a
heinous light, to their officers and others, for having propagated a disturbance in this city, by attempting to destroy their Liberty Pole, in the
Fields; which being now completed, without the
assistance of the army, we have reason to laugh at
them, and beg the public only to observe, how
chagrined these pretended S --- of L --- —- look as
they pass thro' the streets; especially as these great
heroes thought their freedom depended in a piece of
wood, and who may well be compared to Esau,
who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. And
altho' those shining S --- of L --- —- have boasted
of their freedom, surely they have no right to throw
an aspersion upon the army, since it is out of the
power of military discipline, to deprive them of their
freedom: However, notwithstanding we are proud to
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see those elevated genius's reduced to the low degree of having their place of general rendezvous,
made a (gallows Green,) a vulgar phrase for a common place of execution for murderers, robbers, traitors, and r ----- s, to the latter of which we may
compare  those  famous  L --- —     B - s  [Liberty
Boys], who have nothing to boast of but the flip.
pancy of tongue, altho' in defiance of the laws
and good government of our most gracious Sovereign, they openly and r --- —— y [riotously] assembled in multitudes, to stir up the minds of his
Majesty's good subjects to sedition; they have in
their late seditious libel, signed BRUTUS, expressed
the most villainous falsehoods against the soldiers.
But as ungrateful as they are counted, it is well
known since their arrival in New York, they have
watched night and day, for the safety and protection of the city and its inhabitants;-who have
suffered the rays of the scorching sun in summer,
and the severe colds of freezing snowy nights, in
winter, which must be the case and fifty times
worse, had there been a war, which we sincerely
pray for, in hopes those S - - s of L ---   [Sons of
Liberty] may feel the effects of it, with famine and
destruction pouring on'their heads. 'Tis well known
by the officers of the 16th Regiment, as well as by
several others, that the soldiers of the sixteenth, always gained the esteem   and good will of the inhabitants, in whatever quarter they lay, and were
never couirted neither insolent or ungrateful, except
in this city. And likewise the Royal Regiment of
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Artillery, who always behaved with gratitude and
respect to every one. But the means of making
your famous city, which you so much boast of, an
impoverished one, is your acting in violation to the
laws of the British Government; but take heed,
least you repent too late,-for if you boast so
mightily of your famous exploits, as you have heretofore done, (witness the late stamp-act), we may
allow  you to be all ALEXANDERS, and lie under
your feet, to be trodden upon with contempt and
disdain: but before we so tamely submit, be assured
we will stand in defence of the rights and privileges due to a soldier, and no farther, but we
hope, while we have officers of conduct to act for
us, they will do so, as we shall leave it to their
discretion, to act impartially for us, in hopes they,
and every honest heart will support the soldiers'
wives and children, and not whores and bastards,
as has been so maliciously, falsely and audaciously
inserted in their impertinent libel, addressed to the
public; for which, may the shame they mean to
brand our names with, stick on theirs.
"Signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot."
On August 10, 1766, the soldiers cut down a
pole which had been erected in June. On September 23d, a second pole was cut down; on March
18, 1767, a third - pole on the same site was destroyed.  On the next day the people erected a
fourth p"le, securing it with iron bands and putting
a guard upon it. Two days afterward the soldiers
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attempted to destroy it, and were repulsed by the
guard. On January 13, 1770, the soldiers were
again repulsed in an attack upon the pole. Three
days afterward a successful attack was made, to
which we have alluded, and the pole was sawed
up and the pieces were thrown in front of the Sons
of Liberty headquarters. This pole was replaced by
another one, on which was a topmast with a
weather-vane, on which were the words, "LIBERTY
and PROPERTY." On March 26th some soldiers attempted to unship the topmast, but were beaten off.
The pole remained until the British took possession
of the City, when it was cut down by the provostmarshal, Captain Cunningham.
On May 3, 1770, the 16th Regiment was removed from the Common and sent to other quarters. Shortly after that the vigilant Liberty Boys
discovered that an emissary from Boston, a merchant named Nathan Rogers, claiming to represent
a committee of merchants in that City, was in New
York trying to induce merchants to break the Nonimportation Agreement. So again the people were
gathered in thousands on the Common, and there
they hanged Rogers in effigy on a gallows, giving
him good notice of the kind of treatment his treacherous conduct would call down on himself if he remained in New York. He cleared out at two
o'clock in the morning, and it is not known that
he ever came back. Descriptions of Rogers were
sent to other cities by New York patriots, so that
they might be warned against him. For a time the
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emissaries of England triumphed over the patriotic
men of various portions of the country.   Boston,
Philadelphia and Albany fell away from their high
position. Philadelphia rescinded her Non-importation
Agreement in September, and Boston did likewise
in October. During this crisis, the men of Hampden Hall remained firm, and were the only vital
organization of men who were determined to secure
liberty for the colonies at all hazards; though it is
just to say that there were men similarly disposed
all over the colonies, though not keyed up to the
position which those of Hampden Hall held at
that time. During the next three years there was
a revival of patriotic impulses, the fruit of the faithfulness of our Liberty Boys. The decided action
over the tea ships brought the determination of the
people up again to the striking point. The tea meeting of Boston occurred only two days before a gathering of New York's merchants and people, which
occurred before news of Boston's defiance had reached
New York. The mayor made this announcement to
the meeting: "Gentlemen-I have a message from
the government to deliver to you.   The governor
declares that the tea will be put into the Fort at
noonday, and engages his honor that it shall continue there till the Council shall advise it to be delivered out, or till the king's order or the proprietor's order is known, and then the tea shall be
delivered out at noonday. Gentlemen, is this satisfactory to you?" The meeting answered with a
rousing and unanimous, "NO," and the proposition
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of the government was rejected, while the leaders
of the people undertook to make good the vote. In
April, 1774, the ships "Nancy" and "London" arrived, with tea on board, and turned back without
being able to land their cargoes. The captain of
the "Nancy" was escorted to the wharf by a great
company of citizens, who sent him away with his
tea to the tune of "God save the King!"     Many
sang the national hymn, with the addition of these
words, sotto voce, —"When we get after him!" The
Sons of Liberty managed the tea party of New
York, which, while it was not so dramatic as that
in Boston harbor, was nevertheless as effective and
as important in its results. The men who defied
the government, and who compelled the captain of
the ship to leave the port with his cargo, did not
disguise or conceal their identity in any way. What
they did, they did bravely and openly. There was
not an Indian costume among them.     This determined act was done by Americans in their own
character, and in vindication of their rights as English freemen.  It was no masquerade.   The men
who risked their lives in the doing of this important service to the colonies, deserve as much credit
as those who but a few days before, first disguised themselves and then threw the tea into Boston harbor. In New York no property was destroyed, but the determination of the people not to
receive, at the orders of the king, goods which they
had decided in public meeting to reject, was enforced and emphasized strictly within the lines of
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temperate and honorable procedure. It was not long
before the Non-importation Agreements of the various cities were renewed through the influence of the
vigorous Sons of Liberty, whose organization extended throughout the colonies. Still the merchants
of Philadelphia and New York were in danger of
falling from the high position which was essential
to secure practical results for the people, when England closed the port of Boston, causing great distress to that city.  The most conservative merchants of New York succeeded in getting control
of a meeting at which they appointed a committee to conduct correspondence and communications with other cities concerning this important
matter. It was very plain that this committee was
too conservative to stand by Boston. The Sons of
Liberty, quickly seeing the danger, again convened
the people on the Field of Freedom.   McDougall,
who had seen the inside of the old jail, and was
even then under indictment for his conspicuous service to the people, was the leading spirit in this
convocation. A tremendous crowd gathered on July
5, 1774, and ignoring the conservative and timid
merchants, who were not inclined to come boldly
and fearlessly to the relief of Boston under the
staggering weight of the act of Parliament which
closed her port to commerce, they adopted the ringing and memorable resolutions embodied in this statement:
"The business of the meeting being fully explained by the Chairman, and the dangerous tend278




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ency of the numerous and vile arts used by the
enemies of America, to divide     and  distract her
councils, as well as the misrepresentations of the
virtuous intentions of the citizens of this metropolis,
in this interesting and alarming state of the liberties of America, the following Resolutions were
twice read, and the question being separately put
on each of them, they were passed without one
dissentient:
"1st. Resolved, nem. con. That the statute commonly called the Boston   Port Act, is oppressive to
the inhabitants of that town, unconstitutional in its
principles, and dangerous to the liberties of British
America; and that, therefore, we consider our
brethren at Boston as now suffering in the common cause of these Colonies.
"2d. Resolved, nem. con. That any attack or attempt to abridge the liberties, or invade the Constitution of any of our sister Colonies, is immediately
an attack upon the liberties and Constitution of all
the British Colonies.
"3d. Resolved, nem. con. That the shutting up
of any of the ports in America, with intent to exact from Americans a submission to Parliamentary
taxation, or extort a reparation of private injuries,
is highly unconstitutional, and subversive of the
commercial rights of the inhabitants of this Continent.
"4th. Resolved, nem. con. That it is the opinion of this meeting, that if the principal Colonies
-on this Continent shall come into a joint resolution
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to stop all importation from, and exportation to
Great Britain, till the act of Parliament for the
blocking up of the harbor of Boston be repealed,
the same will prove the salvation of North America
and her liberties; and that, on the other hand, if
they continue their exports and imports, there is
great reason to fear that fraud, power and the
most odious oppression, will rise triumphant over
right, justice, social happiness, and freedom; Therefore,
"5th. Resolved, nem. con.    That the Deputies
who shall represent this Colony in the Congress of
American Deputies, to be held at Philadelphia,
about the first of September next, are hereby instructed, empowered, and directed to engage with
a majority of the principal Colonies, to agree for
this city upon a non-importation from Great Britain, of all goods, wares, and merchandise, until
the Act for blocking up the harbor of Boston be
repealed, and American grievances be redressed;
and also to agree to all such other measures as
the Congress shall in their wisdom judge advancive
of these great objects, and a general security of
the rights and privileges of America.
"6th. Resolved, nem. con. That this meeting will
abide by, obey, and observe all such resolutions, determinations, and measures, which the Congress
aforesaid shall come into, and direct or recommend
to be done, for obtaining and securing the important ends mentioned in the foregoing resolutions.
And that an engagement to this effect be imme280




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diately entered into and sent to the Congress, to
evince to them our readiness and determination to
co-operate with our sister Colonies for the relief of
our distressed brethren at Boston, as well as for
the security of our common rights and privileges.
"7th. Resolved, nem. con. That it is the opinion of this meeting that it would be proper for
every county in the Colony, without delay, to send
two Deputies, chosen by the people, or from the
Committees chosen by them in each County, to hold
in conjunction with Deputies for this city and
county, a Convention for the Colony (on a day to
be appointed), in order to elect a proper number of
Deputies to represent the Colony in the general Congress. But that, if the counties shall conceive this
mode impracticable or inexpedient, they shall be requested to give their approbation to the Deputies
who shall be chosen by this city and county to represent the Colony in Congress.
"8th. Resolved, nem. con.  That a subscription
should immediately be set on foot for the relief of
such poor inhabitants of Boston as are, or may be
deprived of the means of subsistence, by the operation of the Act of Parliament for stopping up the
Port of Boston. The money which shall arise from
such subscription to be laid out as the city Committee of Correspondence shall think will best answer the end proposed.
"9th. Resolved, nem. con. That the city Committee of Correspondence be, and they are hereby
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instructed, to use their utmost endeavors to carry
these resolutions into execution.
"Ordered, That these Resolutions be printed in
the public newspapers of this city, and transmitted
to the different counties in this Colony, and to the
Committees of Correspondence for the neighboring
Colonies."
This was the great meeting which drew out the
maiden speech of Alexander Hamilton, then a student in the King's College. The meeting was filled
with the burning energy of the Sons of Liberty,
and was sustained by the great heart of the Common People;   and the   lightning flash of Hamilton's genius and eloquence came with startling
sharpness out of the dark cloud of popular indignation against the Government for its punishment of Boston.    The   thunder roll which  followed that vital flash did not cease to be heard
throughout the whole of the struggle which culminated in American independence. For a time the
City was full of confusion, and the popular mind
was tossed about between the position taken by the
meeting in the Fields and that of the conservative
committee which had previously acted. Meetings
were held at and around the Common, in which
the various positions of the people were discussed,
and sometimes maintained with great vigor. In one
of these discussions, Cunningham, who afterward became the provost-marshal, was roughly handled, and
to this fact is ascribed the bitterness which was
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shown in his vile treatment of patriot prisoners
that came into his custody at the old jail in 1776.
Later, in 1775, it was ordered by the governor that
the lumber in the barracks, which had been vacated by the 16th Regiment, be shipped to Boston
to house the growing royal army there. Again the
people gathered about the I4berty-pole, and under
the stirring addresses of John Lamb and Colonel
Marinus Willett, who afterward seized the British
arms on Broad Street, they agreed to arm themselves and prevent the shipping of the lumber.
Sears was arrested for his part in this meeting, but
was rescued by the people and carried on their
shoulders inqoriumph. Mr. Rivington published this
account of these remarkable transactions in his Tory
journal, the New York "Gazette":
"MR. RIVINGToN-Be pleased to insert the following in your paper, and if any person conceives
himself injured by any thing contained in it, the
facts shall be publicly proved by the most unexceptionable evidence.
"That the tranquility of this city and province
has long given great umbrage to a set of folks
among us must have been evident from the frequent buzzings of those little harmless insects,
who have at length made a feeble essay to sting
as well as to make a noise. Sensible that in a
calm they must grovel in -the dirt, they have tried
to raise a storm, by which they hope to be elevated into notice.
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"On the instant, the Committee of Inspection
published an Advertisement, in which they declare,
with respect to nails, 'That though the manufacturs
which have been since (the last non-importation)
established, will supply more than sufficient for
our own consumption, we apprehend it would be
imprudent thus rashly to part with what we have
in store; especially as this sudden exportation has
given just grounds for sufficient alarm.'
"No sooner did this notice appear in public than
a certain set, in consequence of it (the direction being to the RESPECTABLE inhabitants), assembled first
at Phillips's beer house, next at Bardin's, then at
the Liberty Pole, and lastly at Van per Water's;
at which several meetings (tremble, Lord lVorth,
and be dismayed, ye Tories!) Mr. Marinus Willett,
yes, Mr. Marinus Willett, and Mr. John     Lamb
were Chairmen.
"Having dispatched the poor Usticks by a vote,
that they were foes to this country entered into
upon the vote of Mr. James Alner, a new and important subject arose for debate. It was suggested
that Mr. Ralph Thurman had been employed in
packing straw, and Mr. Robert Harding in pur.
chasing boards to be sent to Boston. This was a
heinous crime, and a Committee was ordered from
the body assembled to wait on those two traitors
to their country. Mr. Harding was out, so that
he was spared for that night, but unfortunately his
daughter was at home, and, terrified at the formidable appearance, fell into fits. This, however, was
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a trifling consideration to men engaged in the cause
of liberty. -Mr. Thurman, it seems, was so obstinate, and such an inveterate foe to his country,
that he presumed to call in question the power of
this body, to interfere with his private affairs.Unpardonable impudence!
"At this meeting, which was duly notified, very
few attended, but altho' Captain Sears complained
that he was deserted while he was engaged in the
GRAND CAUSE, yet 'tis evident that Fortune conspired to make his glory the more conspicuous, as
if determined that none should deprive him of the
honor of a motion he made, which was, that 'every
man should provide himself with four and twenty
rounds.'
" Another meeting, however, was by adjournment
fixed upon for Saturday the 15th instant at Liberty
Pole. Mean while complaint being made of these
proceedings, as "disorderly and a breach of the law,
the Magistrates issued a warrant against Captain
Sears; he was apprehended and carried before the
MAYOR. Bail was demanded, but this being a violation of liberty, was refused. A Mittimus was
therefore issued, and the illustrious prisoner carried
toward the gaol; but this was the height of arbitrary power, the very quintessence of Toryism; and
as it would doubtless have given Lord North great
pleasure, it was not to be endured; the Captain
was therefore set at liberty from the officers of justice, and led in triumph through the town.
"Accompanied by a number of his friends, with
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colors flying, the Captain proceeded through the Fly,
Wall Street, and Broad Way, to the Liberty Pole.
Among those who were near him were Mr. Ivers,
Mr. Alner, Mr. Richard Livingston, and Mr. Roorbach.
"At six o'clock the Captain, attended with a
large crowd, mounted a rostrum prepared for him
in the Fields; from whence, like the Devil in Milton,
" 'By merit raised
To that bad eminence-'
He opened the business by a circumstantial recapitulation of facts, of which his own merit, the good
he had done, and the evils he had averted, made a
considerable part. At length the following question
was put:
"'Whether a Son of Liberty ought to give bail
or not.' Which was carried in the NEGATIVE. This
occasioned three huzzas, in which Captain Alexander McDougall, who was near Captain Sears, bore
no small part.   It should not be omitted   that
when Captain Sears had done, Mr. Pardon Burlingham mounted the stage, and harangued the people,
and recommended going to the delinquents for satisfaction.
"From   the Fields they repaired to Thurman's
and Harding's, and having endeavoured to extort confessions from them, that they had done wrong, and
to prevail on them to ask pardon: These gentlemen
refused both, insisting that as they had been guilty
of no violation of any law, agreement or association, they would sooner die than ask pardon.
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"For fear of being too prolix, I shall omit the
exploit to Turtle Bay, the march to the Transport
in the North River, in consequence of which she
was cut off from the wharf, and the huzzaing
through the town, and cry of No Boards! at the
Albany Pier; which being on the evening of Cap
tain Lawrence's arrival, doubtless proceeded from
their joy on the good tidings he brought, and is a
mark of their gratitude, and a proof that they are
actuated by nothing but the pure dictates of liberty.
"The above contains a narrative of the transactions which have disturbed the town for a fortnight
past, and which I desire, Mr. Rivington, you will
not omit inserting in your paper; for which the
most seditious and inflammatory papers are. daily
published, tending to alienate the minds of the people from our gracious King (one of which is now
circulating about the city, and read with avidity by
those who have proscribed your paper, because some
of your correspondents presume to think and write
for themselves), a customer claims it as a right to
hold up these matters to the public. While we are
determined to contend against the tyranny of a British Parliament and Ministry, let us not establish
the sway of a mob, which includes despotism, the
most cruel and severe of all others. Many fellow
citizens have been deluded by the cry of liberty,
which has been held up to them as the reason for
these violences. They are now undeceived; but so
daring a violation of the good order and police of
the city, so flagitious an insult on Magistracy and
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contempt of laws, ought not to be passed over with
impunity; for let us remember, the restraints of
the law are the security of liberty.
" ANTI-LICENTIOUSNESS. '
All through 1774, 1775 and 1776 the Common
was the scene of great gatherings of the people,
at which momentous questions were discussed by
patriotic speakers.  Finally the news of the battle
of Lexington arrived, brought by a courier who
dashed down the old Bowery Road, past the Common and into Broadway at Ann Street. Promptly
the leaders of the Liberty Boys gathered the people
together, and proceeding from the great popular
center, the Common, they seized the City Hall on
Wall Street, distributed the weapons, took charge
of the City, and sent information to the other cities
of what they had done. When it came to the time
for resolute action, the conscientious, conservative,
slow-moving merchants were not in the front ranks,
but the Liberty Boys were. Finally all classes of
patriotic people mingled together with one accord,
and the great Committee of Public Safety was appointed to take charge of the City in the interval
which must elapse before confederation and united
action with the other colonies could take place.
On the 9th of July, 1776, a copy of the Declaration of Independence was received by General
Washington at his headquarters, Number 1 Broadway. He promptly issued this order: "The Continental Congress, impelled by the dictates of duty,
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policy, and necessity, have been pleased to dissolve
the connection which subsisted between this country
and Great Britain, and to declare the United Colonies of America Free and Independent States. The
several brigades are to be drawn up this evening
on their respective parades at six o'clock, when the
Declaration of Congress, showing the grounds and
reasons of this measure, is to be read with an audible voice. The general hopes that this important
event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer
and soldier to act with fidelity and courage, as
knowing that now the peace and safety of his
country depend, under God, solely on the success
of our arms; and that he is now in the service of
a State possessed of sufficient power to reward his
merit, and advance him to the highest honors of a
free country."  A brigade of the American forces
which had been gathering in the City was formed
in hollow square in the Common, and with General Washington in their midst (about where the
fountain stands), the Declaration of Independence
was read to them   by one of his aides. The sol
diers of the little army committed themselves to
the declaration of principles by their cheers, which
were taken up and repeated by crowds of excited
people behind the military lines. After the Declaration of Independence was read to the troops, it was
announced to thousands of citizens who had assembled at the City Hall in Wall Street, close to the
Fort in which the English soldiers were stationed,
and the royal coat of arms which had decorated
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the court room was burned in the street, while the
people cheered.  On that night King George's statue
in Bowling Green was pulled down.     This event
was rightly thought by the people to be of great
significance, occurring as it did immediately in front
of the Fort, and signifying that they were forever
done with the sovereignty of the king. The act
was chronicled in these words: "The same evening
the equestrian statue of George III., which Tory
pride and folly had raised in 1770, was by the
sons of freedom laid prostrate in the dirt, the just
desert of an ungrateful tyrant. The lead wherewith
this monument was made is to be run into bullets
to assimilate with the brains of our infatuated adversaries, who, to gain a pepper-corn, have lost an
empire." The last remark had reference to a speech
made by Lord Clare in Parliament, to the effect
that England should maintain the principle of taxation even if she exacted no more than a peppercorn.
It was in the Common that young Hamilton
was drilling a volunteer company from the college,
when General Greene noticed his ability, and formed
that high estimate of him which led to his being
given command of a battery of artillery, and to
his being well considered by Washington when he
noticed the effective arrangement of his guns at the
close of the retreat from New York City. That
battery has never lost its organization, and is now
known   as Battery F, Fourth   Regular Artillery.
Washington Irving quotes these accounts of Hamilton while in command of his little battery:
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"Well do I remember the day when Hamilton's
company marched into Princeton. It was a model
of discipline. At its head a boy: I wondered at
his youth; but what was my surprise when informed that he was the writer and fighter Hamilton of whom so much had been heard." Again:
"I noticed a youth, a mere stripling of a boy,
so small, slender and delicate in appearance, trudging along beside a piece of artillery, with a cocked
hat pulled down over his eyes, apparently abstracted
in thought, with one hand supporting a saber, and
the other resting upon the cannon, patting it every
few moments as if it were a favorite horse or a
pet plaything."
He was then twenty years old.
Chief-justice Jones, who resided in New  York
during all these agitations, and during the British
occupation, and whose dear old Tory heart beat always for King George and the Parliament, devoted
a large part of his memoirs to scolding at the Sons,of Liberty who made their headquarters at the Common; and the malignity which flowed from his gentle quill, when it reached their names, shows his
judicial estimate of the importance of their work in
consummating the "wicked separation of the Colonies from the Mother Country."  Of Sears he said:
"His tune is for mobbing; committees and popular
meetings are his delight; his greatest pleasure his
hobby-horse. A troublesome fellow, seditious, rebel
lious, an enemy to all good government, a lowlived and a complete blackguard." John Lamb he
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treated in this fashion: "John Lamb was the only
son of Anthony Lamb, an accomplice of Jack
Shepard, who was executed; while Lamb, a lad,
was transported to Virginia, where John was born.
John was a mighty leader and haranguer among
the mobility.  He  headed mobs, excited sedition,
talked treason, abused the Loyalists, harangued the
populace, and d —d the Tories."  He called Peter
R. Livingston "Jew   Peter,"  and Dr. Prime "a
most violent and   persecuting  republican."  John
Holt was "a most flaming, notorious republican
printer." William  Livingston, William  Smith, Jr,,
and John Morin Scott were a "triumvirate," associated "to pull down church and state, to raise
their own government and religion upon the ruins,
or to throw the whole province into anarchy and
confusion," which "godly and pious resolution" he
said they made years before the Revolution began.
Of Livingston he said he was "a sensible, cunning, shrewd fellow, well versed in the law, though
a very indifferent speaker: ill-natured, morose, sullen,<
satirical, abusive, violent, bigoted, wanton, cruel,
unfeeling, ungenerous, uncouth, savage and persecuting." His compliments went to Smith in these eloquent adjectives, "artful, close, designing, ambitious,
hypocritical, crafty."  The adjectives running out,
these appellations were tenderly laid like chaplets on
his brow —"a profound dissembler, a noted flatterer,
a great sycophant"; as to features, he has "a
steady, demure, puritanical countenance," and he possesses "a smooth, glib, oily tongue."  Smith he dis292




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posed of by this masterful stroke, "He is a person
who could without the least compunction abandon
his word, his honor, his religion or his friendship
to carry a favorite point, to serve a particular purpose or to gratify his pride, his avarice or his ambition."  Bad, Bad Smith! He was less severe on
Scott, whom  he said was "at first honest and candid, but he became the dupe of others. He forsook
his own religion (French) and abandoned it, and so
became partner with others, with the violence and
acrimony of a mad man, rendering himself despicable." He said that Judge Robert R. Livingston
"energized the mob in its seditious and treasonable
temper, and left the bench in violation of his duty,
his oath and his allegiance." Peter Van Schaack
was "a lad of great duplicity."    He referred to
"Isaac Low of seditious, factious and rebellious
mpmory."    Francis Lewis was    an  "extortioner,"
"a sower of sedition" and "a promoter of faction."
McDougall's friends consisted of "negroes, boys,
sailors and pickpockets"-"the rabble of the town."
He referred to Rev. Dr. Laidlie, one of the patriot
clergymen, pastor of the Middle Dutch Church in
Nassau Street, in these words: "A Scotch Dutch
parson of jesuitical republican and puritanical principles, who herded with the Presbyterians. In his
heart a Presbyterian (awful crime!), in his principles of government a republican; an absolute
enemy of monarchy and a rancorous hater of episcopacy."  He put them   all in a heap as "Tormentors and Demagogues of Rebellio."    In a work so
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complete and exhaustive as his " History" he must
needs refer to Washington. By this time we are
all eagerness to hear his expressive judgment on
this great character. Here it is: "Can Washington
be called the conqueror of America? By no means.
America was conquered by the British Parliament;
Washington could never have conquered it. British
generals never did their duty.  The friends of the
Rebel Chief say he has virtues; I suppose he has.
I say 'Curse on his virtues! They've undone his
country.' "
Thanks, noble Judge Jones! You have supplied
a bright page to this dull book; you have established a reservoir of brilliant adjectives which will
replenish our slender stock; and you have borne an
unwilling and unthinking testimony to the greatness
of our Liberty Boys, and of their work in the cause
of independence.
Hon. Francis Tillon's description of John Lamb,
so -glowingly mentioned by Judge Jones, is worth
reading here:  "His father, Anthony Lamb, was
a native of England, an optician and maker of
mathematical instruments, who immigrated to this
country and here married: his mother was of
Dutch parentage.  He was a man of good education, spoke Dutch and German fluently, and was
well read.  He was a close observer, a forcible,
fearless and ready writer, and an easy and powerful speaker. These powers he applied with effect
whenever the acts of the Crown conflicted with the
rights of the people. From the date of his early
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manhood until the close of the Revolution all his
powers and his thoughts appear to have been in
incessant and energetic action; all his meazn and
resources devoted freely to tLn  goct of the country."  And speaking of the Sons of Liberty, Mr.
Tillon said: 'The Sons of Liberty may be said to
have given form, force, energy and definiteness to
th- great purpose; to have been the inspirators of
the conflict which led to the consummation of the
mighty result.   They  were a   band  of patriotic
heroes, who devoted all their means, their energies,
their time, and many of them their lives, to the
great cause; their sacrifices and sufferings were
great, their perils extreme and incessant; they were
foremost in every danger, in every battle, in every
trial; they submitted freely to every privation, every
exposure,-with patience, perseverance and intense devotion; without reservation, fear, doubt or distrust,
with implicit faith, dedicated themselves and all
they possessed to their country. Their actions were
as a unit, and were unceasing and eminently beneficial; their influence was a concentrated, an organized strength, felt everywhere, and exercised with
unwavering fidelity, and with wisdom, skill and intrepid valor. The band was originated in the City
of New York, but they subsequently extended to
every other city; indeed, had members in most
parts of all the colonies."
A relic of these stirring times exists in the
ancient building now known as the Register's
office.  Though the pillars (quarried at Sing Sing),
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and the front and rear porches, simulating the
temple of Diana at Ephesus, are modern, the
"old gaol" is all there, and the forbidding outlines of its prison rooms cannot be disguised.  For
many years this old building was surrounded by
the customary instruments of punishment. On September 10, 1764, this announcement appeared in one
of the newspapers: "Last Monday the new pillory,
with a large wooden cage behind it, was erected
between the new gaol and the Work-house. The
cage is for disorderly boys who publicly break the
Sabbath."  According to a news item in that year,
"Peg Fuller and Katy Knight were placed an hour
in the pillory for keeping a house of ill-fame." In
more recent days the madames of such houses drove
to court in handsome carriages, and went through
the little formality of giving bail, in the judges
private rooms, screened from the vulgar curiosity of
the gaping crowds. When the British entered the
City in 1776 they took possession of this building as
a prison of war. The infamous Provost-marshal Cunningham, a renegade Liberty Boy, made his headquarters here, occupying the room to the right of
the entrance.  Here his deviltry was manifested
daily, and most unfortunate were those patriots that
were assigned to this particular prison. It was filled
to overflowing, and the upper part, known as Congress Hall, was so crowded at night that the prisoners lying upon the bare floor were unable to turn
without disturbing their neighbors, so that it became
the custom at regular intervals during the night to
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ORIGINAL NEW YORK HALL OF RECORDS.


PRESEN I HALL OF RECORDS.
New York. Vol. Two, p. 296.




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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


give commands to the prisoners to turn over. Cunningham appropriated much of the food that was
provided for the prisoners, supplying them,with the
scantiest and meanest fare, and making a personal
profit out of that which he took to himself.  It is
said that when he was executed in England for
other crimes he confessed that he had starved many
to death by appropriating the food intended for
them and selling it. He caused the well from which
the prisoners were supplied with drinking water to
be contaminated with rubbish, so that they were
denied the common privilege of decent drinking
water. There is some question of the authenticity
of the published confession, but Lossing quotes these
words without hesitation: "I shudder to think of
the murders I have been accessory to, with and
without orders from government, especially while in
New York, during which time there were more than
two thousand   prisoners  starved  in the  different
churches by stopping their rations, which I sold."
We give other extracts from the confession as it
was widely published. "Having rendered myself obnoxious to the citizens of New York, in their infant struggles for freedom, I was obliged to fly on
board the 'Asia,' man-of-war, and from thence to
Boston...  I met General Gage... I was appointed
provost-marshal to the Royal Army, which placed
me in a situation to wreak my vengeance on the
Americans. There were 275 American prisoners and
obnoxious persons executed (at the gaol), of all of
which number there were only about one dozen
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public executions, which chiefly consisted of British
and Hessian deserters. The mode for private executions wag thus conducted: A guard was dispatched
from the provost (the gaol) about half-past twelve
at night to the Barrack Street (City Hall Place),
and the neighborhood of the upper barracks, to order the people to shut their window shutters, and
put out their lights, forbidding them at the same
time to presume to look out of their windows and
doors on pain of death; after which the prisoners
were conducted, gagged, just behind the upper barracks, and hanged without ceremony, and there
buried by the black pioneer of the provost... I beg
the prayers of all good Christians, and also pardon
and forgiveness of God, for the many horrid murders I have been accessory to." In Watson's Annals it is said that Cunningham hanged five or six
a night, until the women of the neighborhood, disturbed by the cries and pleadings of the prisoners
for mercy, petitioned Lord Howe to have the practice discontinued.  In this old jail Ethan Allen,
who captured Ticonderoga "in the name of the
Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," was
himself confined in irons and threatened with hanging. He wrote to the Assembly of Connecticut: "I
have suffered everything short of death. Provided
you can hit upon some measure to procure my liberty, I will appropriate my remaining days and
freely hazard my life in the service of the colony,
and maintaining the American Empire.    I thought
to have enrolled my name in the list of illustrious
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American heroes, but was nipped in the bud."
Some of the "deserters" who were executed were
American soldiers, who had volunteered to enlist in
the English army as spies, and who, when they
had secured valuable information, deserted to get
back into the American lines. Quite a number of
these men were captured and executed, and it is
not known that any of them betrayed his trust.
Among   these heroes was a    member of Washiugton's life-guard.  He was arrested while apparently  deserting  from  the British  army, and
was condemned to die.    At that time    General
Washington was at West Point. Cunningham conducted - his executions at night, so as to avoid the
criticisms of the public as much as possible.  On
the night fixed for the execution, with a file of soldiers and a negro hangman (the black pioneer of
the provost) leading the guardsmen, he set out from
the prison for the place on Gallows Hill. (Northeast from the Register's office, in the neighborhood
of City Hall Place.)  For light they carried two
lanterns on poles. On the gallows the bodies of
two men who had been hanged the previous pight
were swinging. While on the way Cunningham
taunted the prisoner with the failure of his effort
to escape; and the patriot, flushed by the taunt,
boldly avowed that he had enlisted purposely to
escape, and in fact was none other than a spy.
Cunningham, chuckling, said: "All your spying
has come to naught"; but the soldier replied that
he could die content, because just prior to his capt299




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ure he had sent on to General Washington all the
information  that he had collected.  Cunningham
could hardly restrain his impatience to get to the
gallows. When the party arrived, the hangman began to make his preparations, complimenting himself upon his ability to make a knot that would
not slip.  Looking up at the two dead bodies that
were swaying in the wind, he remarked that those
gentlemen had been up long enough and he would
let them down; so he started with his knife to
sever the ropes. The poor prisoner had a faithful
friend, who was nearer to him than he thought: a
soldier who had stolen within the enemy's lines
with the brave design of saving his comrade in the
opportunity that might be furnished at the place of
execution.  This man had been dodging about the
dismal graveyard for an hour before Cunningham's
party arrived. Just as they appeared, he had stumbled into the shallow grave which had been opened
to receive the deserter's body, and had determined
to remain in that convenient place, where he could
watch and wait his chance for a diversion in his
friend's favor. At the moment when the hangman
was using his knife upon the ropes this brave man
was lying in the grave close to the party.  The
negro, with hardened jest, plied his knife, and the
bodies came tumbling down. As fate would have it,
one body fell into the grave where the true-hearted
soldier lay. He resisted the impulse to scream at
the sudden contact of loathsome death, realizing that
the accident brought an opportunity. The condemned
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man asked for five minutes for prayer. Cunningham granted him three. He knelt beside the grave,
and just then his friend revealed his presence, telling him to turn his back to the grave when he
had spent his three minutes and his bonds would
be cut, and that then he must make his way quickly
to the northwest. Time was promptly called by the
marshal, the prisoner turned round with his back
to the grave, and the hangman stepped forward to
adjust the noose. Just then the bonds were cut,
and up rose from the grave what the marshal and
the hangman and every soldier verily believed to
be the ghost of the poor fellow whose body had
fallen into the grave in their presence but a few
moments before. The soldiers and the provost-marshal, terror-stricken, rushed from the place, falling
over each other and stumbling over the rough
ground. The hangman, too much overcome to run,
fell on his knees, saying: "Oh, massa ghost!.Oh,
massa ghost! I'll never hang another soldier!" The
rescued man and his brave friend lost no time in
consoling the repentant hangman-who afterward
compared himself to St. Paul converted by a vision
-but they fled to the northwest, made their way
over the Lispenard Meadows and down to the
river's edge, where a rowboat had been hid by the
loyal friend. They reached the New Jersey shore
safely, and next day General Washington had the
pleasure of making two new lieutenants in his lifeguard.
The spirited statue of Nathan Hale on the other
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side of the Park, near Broadway, commemorates one
who was not rescued in the nick of time, but who
made the complete sacrifice of his life for his country's cause, regretting only that he had but one
life to give.  It is probable that Hale's last night
on earth was spent in the old jail, and that he
was executed under the direction of Cunningham.
If it was not Cunningham, then the English cause
was unfortunate in being served by two such inhuman officials, for this man refused Hale the privilege of having a Bible and of being attended by a
clergyman. He was examined and tried before Lord
Howe in the little greenhouse in the garden of the
old Beekman mansion, in the neighborhood of 51st
Street, east of the present Beekman Place. According to tradition, the execution occurred at a place
in the Rutger's orchard, within sight of the old
Church of the Sea and Land on Henry Street. By
a peculiar coincidence it was Captain Hale's friend
and classmate, Major Tallmadge, who received the
British Major Andre from the men who captured
him, and who prevented his being sent to General
Arnold.  Tallmadge assured him  that the fate of
Hale would be his own. Captain Hale was with
Washington in New York preceding the battle of
Long Island, being connected with McDougall's brigade, which was camped in the Bayard's Hill Fort,
near the present Grand Street and Bowery.    He
was with his regiment at the battle of Long Island, and volunteered to get information for Washington inside of the British lines after the retreat
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and the seizure of New York by Lord Howe. He
had a personal interview with Washington, in which
he received his instructions and became aware of
the special lines of investigation which were desirable for him to pursue. He went up to Connecticut, dressed himself as a schoolmaster, crossed to
Huntington, Long    Island, and  then  entered  the
British lines.  He made observations, sketched the
fortifications, and was on his return when he was
captured. In his last moment he was insulted by
an  English  officer standing  by  him, who said:
"This is a fine death for a soldier!"   His reply
was: "There is no death which would not be rendered noble for such a glorious cause!" The Register's office was the place in which the doctors
found refuge during the "doctors' riots"; it was a
cholera hospital in the terrible epidemic of 1832,
and it was for many years a place of confinement
for poor debtors. Now the historic building contains
the real estate records of the City, going back to
the earliest times; but it is only a questibn of time
when these rapidly increasing records will be removed to more suitable quarters, and when the
venerable building will be demolished.
Let us stand for a moment on the steps of the
City Hall, the only building besides the old jail
which should have been allowed in the Park, and
the only building in the upper part of it that is
in keeping with its situation. The triangle on which
the "Times" and Potter buildings stand was once
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part of the tract; so was most of the ground included in Printing House Square, Park Row and
Center Street.  The ground occupied by the Postoffice and Mail Street was also in the inclosure.
True, no organized armies charged over this ground,
but the battle of ideas was waged here; the common people became independent in thought and purpose, and they moved mightily in the cause of free
dom. The fruits of their world-watched experiment
are all about us. The mobs and rabble of Judge
Jones's day have given way to the most conspicuous forces of modern civilization. At any hour of
the day the streets and the buildings, as far as we
can see them from this point, are throbbing with
life. Broadway on the one side, and Park Row on
the other, contribute great currents of travel which
are bisected by the streams from the Brooklyn
Bridge on the one side, and the ferries and west
side elevated railroads on the other side.  Each
street has its own tide of travel, which ebbs and
flows at regular intervals, like the tides of great
rivers.  Here  the  hurrying  crowds  are divided
among numerous and divers occupations, more so
perhaps than at any other center of the City. No
part has grown so rapidly in large buildings and
office populations. The architecture visible frcn this
point represents every stage of development and
every grade of building, from  the meanest to ths
grandest.  In Chatham   Street are some very old
houses; in Center Street and City Hall Place are
veritable rookeries; down Frankfort Street there are
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


some of the meanest of our tenement houses; on
Park Row are houses built for the business needs
of fifty years ago; on Broadway are many of the
commonplace structures of recent years. The "Tribune" building, pioneer of the tall building type, is
on our left; opposite on Broadway are the Shoe &
Leather Bank, with its massive pillars supporting
baby globes, the Home Insurance building and the
Postal Telegraph building, each in its own way excellent types of the recent advance.  Surrounding
the "Tribune" building are the Pulitzer building,
309 feet from  sidewalk to lantern and 375i feet to
the top of the flagstaff; the Tract Society building,
306 feet high; the "Times" building and the Potter building. In front of us is the great Federal
building, which, when built in 1877, was undoubtedly the greatest and most magnificent building in the City. (Its cost was about seven million
dollars.) Further to the left is the towering St.
Paul building, and the new Park Row building is
rising to overtop all the other structures. We can
easily foresee that in a few years this point of
view will cover the grandest, richest, most expensive, and most varied assemblage of buildings in
the world. It is certain that within a few years
the Broadway blocks which front on the Common
will be covered by buildings similar to the three or
four which are now so conspicuous there, and the
small buildings on Park Row facing the Post-office
must give way to structures like those at either
end of the street. These mighty buildings but faintly
3056




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indicate the immense, complicated and far-reaching
enterprises which they house. The buildings within
the Park limits illustrate the rapid advance of ideas,
resources and power, by showing how the City has
grown away from them. The City Hall when completed was the finest building in the United States;
the old jail when renovated in the fifties, and made
over into the miniature likeness of a heathen temple, was admired and lauded as second only to the
City Hall. The mongrelizing of the County Court
YHose in the eighties, then considered to be something of a mechanical triumph, would now be an
impossibility, because of its manifest absurdity.
There is no more important focus of life in Ihe
City.  Just behind us are the highest State and
City Courts; below us are the Federal Courts and
the Postal service; to our left is the newspaper
center.  A little distance west is the headquarters
of the market business; a short distance above, on
Broadway, is the dry goods district, which is one
of New York's greatest commercial features; to the
east and northeast are the noxious and dangerous
quarters of the slum population, including the Chinese of Mott Street, the Jews of Baxter Street, the
Italians of Mulberry Street, and the inseparable
mixture of James, Roosevelt, Cherry and Water
Streets; south of us but a short distance are the
great business points through which we have been
passing in our previous chapters. The army that
enters and crosses and passes this Park every morning divides up into pursuits and occupations of
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every kind imaginable, and when they retrace their
steps at evening they spread over a territory marvelous in extent and varied in condition. The cities
and hamlets of New Jersey, south, west and north;
of Rockland and Orange Counties, as far as Newburgh; of Westchester County, way beyond White
Plains; and of Suffolk, Queens, Kings and Richmond Counties-all these furnish bedrooms for New
York's workers; and when these workers have
passed on they do not leave the busy place deserted.  All through  the  night Printing  House
Square is a place of activity: the buildings are
bright with lights, people hurry about, and there
go on all the details of preparing and sending out
millions of pages of newspapers. The trains of the
elevated railroad bring down the marketmen who
work at night. The cheap restaurants never close,
and they serve a steady stream of customers. While
the commuters and other suburban    residents are
sleeping and gaining strength for their morning rush
for the trains, their places are taken by these busy
newspaper and market people, who slip out of the
way before they return.
The prospect from the City Hall steps has not
now the rich grandeur of architecture, nor the glow
of financial achievement, that we perceive, almost
with awe, from Trinity's doorway; but it shows us
more of the people and brings us closer to the
masses of population. The City Hall building was
begun in 1802, in the formative period of the nation; and, although it has long since been eclipsed
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in size and cost, it can never lose the charm of its
exquisite proportions, and its true classic lines. No
doubt a larger City Hall will be built in the future; but it is to be, hoped that this building will
be kept where it is and made a depository of histWrical relics. Indeed, the governor's room and the
City library contain what would be a good beginp ning for a splendid collection. Why is it not possible to devote a portion of the building to the exhibiting of pictures of historic acts, occasions and
people? The important events that have occurred'
and that may occur, might be written up and illustrated by persons competent to perform the task
and willing to make it a labor of love. The importance of preserving authentic me mioirs and records grows upon us waith thought. If these works
were projected and maintained in a practical way,
so that they might be easily accessible to the people, they would stimulate the study of our history,
and would engender pride in our City, which is
essential to its development and its best government.
Such a spirit once existed, as may be seen by
reading this extract from a Philadelphia journal of
1815. The little picture gallery in the "Governor's
Room" was more of a public wonder eighty years
ago than the treasures of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art are to-day.
"Among the munificent instances of public patronage which the fine arts have hitherto received in
this country, must be numbered the establishment
of the gallery of portraits of public men, which
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


has, within a few years, been formed by the corporation of the City of New York. This originally
consisted of Trumbull's original large pictures of
Washington and Hamilton, and of his series of the
governors of the State of New York, in full length,
and of the mayors of the City since 1781, in half
length portraits. During the late war, it is welt
known, the corporation have, from  time to time,
voted that portraits of several of our most distinguished military and naval men should be added
to this collection.  Several of these are already
painted, and others are now in hand; among these
are large full lengths of Commbdores Hull, Bainbridge, Perry, Macdonough, and of General Brown,
by Jarvis, of General Macomb, by Waldo, and of
Decatur, by Sully. The full length public or historical portrait, aspiring to rise above the dull commonplace of the family portrait, forms an interesting
link between mere portraiture and historical painting. Our artists have already attained to great excellence in portrait and miniature; and it is with
pleasure and pride that we now behold an opportunity offered them of aiming at a higher and bolder
flight; of rising, from the cold delineation of individual nature, to the dignity and invention of the
higher branches of the art, and aspiring to that
nobleness of conception which, says Reynolds, goes
beyond anything in the mere exhibition even of perfect form-to the art of animating and dignifying
their figures, and impressing them with the appearance of intellectual energy."
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A record of the public events which have been
associated with this building would be entertaining
and instructive. It would show how Mayor Edward
Livingston laid the cornerstone in 1803, and how the
work was stopped by the scourge of yellow fever.
While thousands of the people fled to Greenwich
Village and other suburban places, the mayor remained at his post in the City Hall trying to bring
all the resources of the City government to combat
the plague. He personally visited the hospitals where
the yellow fever patients were lying, and encouraged
the physicians and the nurses. He did not escape
the fever. While he was hovering between life and
death, the populace eagerly waited for news from
the sick-room. When he recovered from  his illness
and was receiving the joyful congratulations of the
citizens, he found that a confidential subordinate had
mismanaged the finances during his illness, and
had brought him hopelessly in debt to the government. He turned over all of his property for the
satisfaction of this debt, and then resigned his office,
which was immediately filled by DeWitt Clinton,
whose services to the young City can never be fully
told.
The building was completed just as the war of
1812 was breaking out, and it is associated with
the stirring events of that period. On June 24,
1812, there was a mass meeting about the City
Hall of which Marinus Willett was secretary and
Henry Rutger president. There had been a great
division of sentiment respecting war with England,
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


a very large and influential part of the community
deprecating such a course, on the grounds that the
situation did not justify war, and that the country
had not recovered from the desolations of the War
of the Revolution. Mayor DeWitt Clinton was one of
the opponents of the war policy. The movements
of the English, the imminence of the conflict, and
a national spirit, brought the people of New York
City together, and they resolved to stand behind the
government as one man, and to prepare defenses
for the City and to forward troops as occasion
might require. The committees appointed by this
meeting were so effective that the fortifications were
quickly completed, and New York City sent out
a force of privateers who preyed most successfully
upon the enemy, while troops were organized and
sent forward in efficient condition. New York's captains were foremost in the glory of the naval contests.
These were some of the resolutions adopted at
that meeting of the people on the old Common:
"1. Resolved, That while solicitous of peace and
ardently attached to its blessings, we believe that
the crisis has arrived when it could no longer with
honor be retained: that we therefore hold our government justified in its appeal to arms against Great
Britain and yiefd to its decision our unqualified and
decided approbation.
"2. Resolved, That as our government has now
appealed to the sword, it becomes the duty of all
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good citizens at such an eventful period to lay aside
all party animosity and private bickerings, to rally,
as becomes brethren equally involved in the welfare
of their common country, round the national standard, and to yield to their government an undivided
support.
"3. We pledge to our government, in support of
our beloved country, 'our lives, our fortunes and our
sacred honor.' "
These resolutions were promptly transmitted to
the President and to Congress, and were most welcome to the severely taxed and bewildered governmbnt, for they showed that while such citizens as
John Jacob Astor and Jacob Barker thought more
of their property than they did of national honor,
and while every city newspaper voiced their timorous complainings, the heart of the people was true,
and New York was as faithful to the common good
of the whole nation as she was true to the general
interests of the colonies in the struggle for independence. Victories on the sea and the lakes were
frequent in 1813. Commodore Perry's great victory
on Lake Erie in October lifted the popular rejoicing to a place where it must have public demonstration.
So again the people gathered about the City Hall,
which was brilliantly illuminated and covered with
the immortal words of Lawrence and Perry, "Don't
give up the ship!" and "We have met the enemy
and they are ours!" But while thrilling victories
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at sea were frequent, there were reverses on the
land, and there was a division among the people
over the Embargo Act. American commissioners
entreated peace, but there was a wild passion in
England for war, and for a reversal of the results
of the Revolution. The northern frontier of New
York was greatly vexed by an invasion of British
troops, and in the absence of any rapid means of
communication the people of New York City were
in constant dread of some sudden descent upon them
of - the British forces. General Scott was hard at
work all about Niagara and the St. Lawrence River,
and the glorious battles of Chippewa and Lundy's
Lane were fought. Fort Erie was successfully defended by New York's General Brown, who was
received by Mayor Clinton and given the freedom
of the City in a gold box. In August an attack
upon New York City seemed imminent, and again
the people met in thousands about the City Hall
and chose their Committee of Defense, which was
composed of Nicholas Fish, John Nitchie, Thomas
R. Smith, George. Buckmaster, Peter Mesier, Gideon
Tucker and John W. Brackett. The people set to
work on the fortifications. Every class of the citizens
was represented and every organization took its place.
Shovels and pickaxes were never before in such demand.   Extensive fortifications were constructed in
the northern part of the City.   The earthworks,
whose lines are still to be seen in the northern part
of Central Park and along Morningside Park, were
thrown up in those days. The old line of fortificaN-2                313




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


tions running across the island in the neighborhood
of Grand Street, all the way from the North River
to Corlears Hook, including Bunker Hill near Grand
and Center Streets, was restored. The lower part
of the City was covered at every point with barricades and earthworks. Printing House Square was
barricaded at every street, and the works were extended along the north side of the City Hall Park
toward the river. Vesey Street, Barclay Street and
the other streets running west from Broadway were
barricaded. If the English had effected a landing
on Manhattan Island they would have been obliged
to fight for every inch of their progress.   The
Masonic Societies went to work in a body; so did
the Washington Benevolent Society, which had been
opposed to the war. The newspapers were stopped
so that the printers might work. The members of
Tammany Hall had their place. Each craft and trade
was represented by an earnest and zealous band of
men. The ministers went with their people. Even
the schoolboys marched in bodies to places that were
assigned to them and worked with their teachers in
throwing up breastworks. While this work was
going on, the English entered Washington and committed their immortal deed of vandalism,-the burning
of the Congressional Library. All the public buildings
in Washington were fired, and the President, and
his Cabinet and Congress, hastily fled. This magnificent call to arms appeared in "The Columbian,"
August 27, 1814:


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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


"To firms! eitizers! To frms!
"Your Capital is taken. 3,000 British troops may
have marched for Baltimore, and before this hour
it may have fallen.   Six days ago the people at
Washington were in perfect security. In six days
the same enemy may be at the Hook, and if they
assail your city with a powerful force by land and
water, what will be your fate? Arise from your
slumbers! Let every citizen arise and enroll himself
instantly and prepare to defend our City to the last
extremity! This is no time to talk! We must act,
and act with vigor, or we are lost."
Then came a call for twenty thousand troops
from New Jersey and New York, and speedily New
York City became a great camp of soldiers. At
this time New York set a magnificent example of
unity in a common cause, which was in marked
contrast to the dissension in other States and even
in the National Government. The people sang:
"Old England is trying to kick up a muss,
I think she'd better not interfere with us.
If she wants to fight us, she'll find it no fun,
She'll git what she got from General Washington."
The great English expedition for the capture of
New York was overwhelmed with disaster on Lake
Champlain, where it met Commodore Macdonough
on the water and our own General Macomb on the
land. Macomb was honored at the City Hall as
General Brown had been. Meanwhile, events were
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rapidly shaping for a decisive conflict at New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson was in command of the American forces. The exploit of New
York's Captain Samuel Chester Reid, detailed elsewhere, came in at this opportune time. The "General Armstrong" was sent to sea in the midst of
the excitement that prevailed in the city, and while
the people were building its fortifications she had
to run a blockade of English vessels at Sandy
Hook. Captain Reid's magnificent defense of his
ship in the harbor of Fayal disorganized and delayed
the British plans for the reduction of New Orleans,
and was justly esteemed as a victory. He, too, was
honored at the City Hall. Among the forts which
were constructed during this period of excitement
were the old fort now called Castle Garden, Fort
Gansevoort, Fort Stevens near Hell Gate, Mill Rock
Fort in the East River, Fort Fish in Central Park,
and Fort Laight in Morningside Park. The city
even issued its own paper currency to raise the
funds which it was impossible to get in due time
from the government aid through banks. While a
convention was being held at Hartford, in which
representative New England men participated, and
from which it was feared declarations hostile to the
government's attitude would issue, it became evident
that preparations were again being made in Canada
for an invasion of New    York.   Then came the
series of brilliant successes on the ocean by Commodore Decatur's squadron, the great victory at New
Orleans, the sudden recession of the English govern'316




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ment from  its insistence that it must have all of
the American territory then occupied by British
troops; and then came the unexpected announcement
of peace. The transition from war and its dangers
and uncertainties, from division of national councils
and the apprehensions which resulted, into the quietness and safety of peace, put the people into an
ecstasy of joy. Again they surrounded the City
Hall, and after services of thanksgiving yielded
themselves to the joy of the occasion. The City
Hall was illuminated and decorated with a liberality
not known before that time.
Many important circumstances in the war of 1812
occurred at the City of New York. The first ships to
go to the war went out of New York harbor, and the
first gun fired by an American ship was fired from
the "President," built at Christian Bergh's shipyard
on Cherry Street. New York sent out a large number of well equipped and well disciplined soldiers, and
she supplied a fleet of daring and successful privateers, and a number of brilliant commanders. Her
people sustained the government and were true to
the national honor in the darkest hours, when other
communities wavered. Her "Essex" made the first
capture of an armed British vessel, the "Dolphin,"
and made the first capture of an English flag when
she took the "Alert," the first vessel captured on
either side. The last vessel captured was the "President." She was taken while trying to run the blockade at Sandy Hook. The news of the treaty of peace
first reached New York, and the treaty itself was
317




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


brought to New York on the ship "Favorite, " and
wlas ratified at New York.
Then New York began to leap forward in commercial development and power. DeWitt Clinton conceived the Erie Canal and forced his plan over all
the opposition of skeptics and political opponents. The
greatness of Clinton's project was only equaled by
the greatness of the storms of abuse and misrepresentation which were hurled against him, and against
which he had to work until the culmination of his
project showed the inestimable boon which had
come to the City. In 1824 Clinton's enemies secured
an advantage in the Legislature and passed a resolution removing him from the office of Canal Commissioner, which had been fittingly bestowed upon
him. This unwise act of his enemies brought his
friends together. The people of the City assembled
in thousands at the City Hall, and in the most
emphatic way, with absolute unanimity, resented
the action of the Legislature. It appointed a committee to stand by the commissioner in the name
of the people of New York City, and the movement resulted in Clinton's election as Governor of
the State.  It may become necessary in the near
future to strike the Legislature in the same emphatic
way. Assemblyman Cunningham addressed the Assembly against the bill to unseat Mr. Clinton, and
his peroration was very significant. He said:
"When the miserable party strifes of the present
day shall have passed by, and the political jugglers
318




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


who now beleaguer this Capitol shall be overwhelmed
and forgotten, when the gentle breeze shall pass
over the tomb of that great man, carrying with it
the just tribute of honor and praise which is now
withheld, the pen of the future historian will do
him justice, and erect to his memory a monument
of fame as imperishable as the splendid works that
owe their origin to his genius and perseverance.
"Sir, I have done; and I have only to beseech
every honorable gentleman on this floor to weigh
well the consequences of the vote he is about to
give on this important question. It is probably the
last that will be given this session, and I pray God
it may be such as will not disgrace us in the eyes
of our constituents."
Promptly on the adjournment of the Assembly
the citizens of Albany gathered at the Capitol and
organized a meeting over which ex-Lieutenant-governor Taylor presided. The Hon. Alfred Conkling
drew resolutions which were presented by Colonel
James McKown.     The resolutions contained  these
clauses:
"Resolved, That the removal of DeWitt Clinton,
confessedly without any  pretense  of misconduct,
from the office of canal commissioner, the duties
of which he had for fourteen years discharged with
distinguished zeal and ability and without any pecuniary reward, is a most flagrant and wanton violation of public trust, and an act of injustice and
319




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ingratitude, revolting to the moral sense of all honorable men, and unparalleled in the political history
of the State.
"Resolved, That the perpetrators of this act of
violence and ingratitude are utterly unworthy of
public confidence, and justly deserve the reprobation
of an injured community.
"Resolved, That William James, Ebenezer Baldwin, Joseph Alexander, Philip L. Parker, Isaiah
Townsend, Israel Smith, Samuel M. Hopkins, Chandler Starr, Elisha Jenkins, Gideon Hawley, Teunis
Van Vechten, John Cassidy, Jeremiah Waterman,
James McKown, Jabez D. Hammond, and Alfred
Conkling, together with the chairman and secretary,
be a committee to express to Mr. Clinton, in behalf
of this meeting, the lively sense which we entertain of his very highly meritorious services, and to
tender to him the tribute of our warmest thanks."
The committee of New York citizens, appointed
at the meeting in the Park, contained Thomas
Addis Emmett, Cadwallader D. Colden, William
Baird, Thomas lHertell, and twenty-two others.
The celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal
in 1825 was one of the most notable events in the
history of the City.  Water was turned into the
canal at Lake Erie at ten o'clock on October 29th.
Cannon had been placed ten miles apart all the
way from Buffalo to New York City. When the
water began to flow at Buffalo, the gun there
was fired, and as the noise of the first cannon
320




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


was heard at the second point, the second cannon was fired, and so along until the noise arrived in New York City, an hour and thirty minutes after the event which was so thoroughly
boomed.   The receipt of the message was telegraphed back to Buffalo by the same means. That
was the most rapid delivery of a message that had
occurred in New York up to that date.    A novel
and heterogeneous flotilla of vessels came down the
canal and arrived at New York on the 4th of November, when the City's celebration began. At this
date many of the features of the celebration seem
childish; but there is no doubt at all of the heartiness with which the people entered into Clinton's
triumph. At that day he had the affections of the
people as Hamilton had them in the days of the
Revolution. The fleet of twenty-nine steam vessels
and accompanying barges seemed to the people to
be an overwhelming display of marine force, and
they watched with breathless attention the maneuvering of the boats. When the squadron reached the
Battery, the land procession began, and it was also
wonderfully composed. The City Hall, New York's
most magnificent building, was the center of all
this enthusiasm, and at night it was actually lighted
with lamps and wax-candles(!). A display of fireworks from the roof completed the festivities of the
day, and set fire to the cupola, around which the
enthusiastic flames playfully leaped, until the cupola
had gone to join Clinton's discomfited enemies.
There were many other occasions when the peo321




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


pie met at the City Hall. Such a meeting was
held after the terrible fire of 1835, when the citizens appointed their committee of one hundred and
fifty to take action to relieve suffering, to restore
business facilities, and to provide for the safety of
the City. Among the resolutions which were adopted
at the meeting was this, which was moved by
James G. King:
"Resolved, That while the citizens of New York
lament over the ruin which has left desolate the
most valuable part of this City, and deeply sympathize with the numerous sufferers, it becomes
them not to repine, but to unite in a vigorous
exertion to repair the loss; that the extent of her
commerce, the number, wealth and enterprise of
her citizens justify, under the blessing of Divine
Providence, a primary reliance upon her own resources.
"Resolved, That we consider it the duty of our
citizens and moneyed institutions, who stand in the
relation of creditors to those who have directly or
indirectly suffered by the late fire, to extend to
them the utmost forbearance and lenity."
Other resolutions were adopted. In this meeting
were gathered the strongest and best men of the
City. Here are the names of the vice-presidents,
the secretaries and the committees:
Cornelius W. Lawrence, Albert Gallatin, Preserved
Fish, Samuel Hicks, Benjamin L. Swan, Dudley Selden,
Jonathan Goodhue, Saul Alley, Prosper M. Wetmore, John
322




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


T. Irving, John Pintard, George Newbould, Samuel B.
Ruggles, James G. King, William B. Astor, George Griswold, Enos T. Throop, Samuel Cowdrey, Thomas J. Oakley, George Wilson, William T. McCown, John G. Coster, Walter Bowne, James F. Boorman, Louis McLane,
Jacob Lorillard, John S. Crary, Jacob Harvey, Reuben
Withers, Ogden Hoffman, Charles King, Edward Sanford, John W. Leavitt, Adam Treadwell, John Leonard,
George G. Robbins, William Neilson, Stephen Whitney,
Joseph Bouchand, Jacob Morton, John Wilson, Mordecai
M. Noah, Philip Hone, William L. Stone, Rensselaer
Havens, Charles W. Sanford, W. Van Wyck, D. F.
Manice, John Kelly, H. C. DeRham, Isaac Bronson,
Campbell B. White, John A. Stevens, James Lee, George
Douglas, Stephen Allen, John Fleming, John B. Lawrence, William B. Townsend, Charles H. Russell, James
Heard, Charles Graham, George Ireland, John Y. Cobra,
Samuel Jones, Charles Augustus Davis, Robert C. Wetmore, James D. P. Ogden, Andrew Warner, David Hall,
James Conner, Robert White, Richard Parnell, Joseph
Blunt, Samuel Ward, Francis B. Cutting, John H. Howland, John Lang, Daniel Jackson, John Palmer, Richard
Riker, James Roosevelt, Jr., James Munroe, Richard
McCarthy, Isaac S. Hone, Peter A. Jay, Amos Butler,
Joseph D. Beers, David Bryson, Samuel Swartwout,
Walter R. Jones, Philo L. Mills, Morris Robinson, Benjamin McVickar, John Haggerty, Charles Dennison,
George W. Lee, William Churchill, George Lovett, G.
A. Worth, Edwin Lord, Benjamin L. Woolley, William
Mitchell, Burr Wakeman, William Leggett, James B.
Murray, Peter A. Cowdrey, John L. Graham, George
D. Strong, Jonathan Lawrence, Cornelius Heyer, James
Lawson, Samuel S. Howland, James Watson Webb, William M. Price, John Delafield, James McCride, M. M.
Quackenboss, B. M. Brown, William B. Crosby, G. C.
Verplanck, William Beach Lawrence, Joseph L. Josephs,
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S. H. Foster, T. T. Rissam, Robert Bogardus, William
Howard, Luman Reed, Robert Smith, Michael Ulshoeffer, Samuel Thompson, Robert C. Cornell, Peter G.
Stuyvesant, David Hadden, Benjamin Strong, William
P. Hall, Isaac Townsend, Charles P. Clinch, Rufus L.
Lord, J. R. Satterlee, David S. Jones, David Austin,
Seth Geer, Robert Lenox, Perez Jones, William Turner.
In the winter of 1836 there occurred one of
those pathetic disturbances hardly known in our
land, but common enough in some others-a bread
riot.  It is the only occurrence of that kind that
has happened in our City.   There was a scarcity
of grain throughout the land, and local agitators,
taking advantage of the sufferings of the poor,
stirred them to deeds of violence by fervid appeals
directed against their political adversaries. On February 10, 1837, this notice was widely published:
"Bread! feat! iPertt   Fuel!
"THEIR PRICES MUST COME DOWN!
"The voice of the people shall be heard and
must prevail. The people will meet in the Park,
rain or shine, at 4 o'clock Monday afternoon, to inquire into the cause of the present unexampled distress and to devise a suitable remedy.  All friends
of humanity, determined to resist monopolists and
extortionists, are invited to attend.
"MOSES JACQUES, PAULUS HEDL, JOHN WINDT,
DAN'L A. ROBERTSON, WARDEN HAYWARD,
ALEXANDER MING, JR., DANIEL GORHAM, ELIJAH F. CRANE."
324




NE'W YORK CITY LIFE


Five thousand people gathered in the Park, and
their inflammable natures were fanned into bursting
flames by blatant demagogues; and then, as is usual
on such occasions, the assemblage of people degenerated into a lawless snob that even its own leaders
could not restrain. A section of the mob made a
rush for the wholesale flour store of Eli Hart on
Washington Street near Cortlandt. The mob gained
entrance to a part of the building, and were there
attacked by a detachment of police, whom they defeated. The mayor, Cornelius W. Lawrence, appeared and addressed them, but he was driven from
the scene.  Then the mob, swollen by accessions,
broke into every part of the storehouse, making a
complete wreck of it, and throwing hundreds of
barrels of flour into the street, staving in the heads,
and spilling into the gutters the wheat which it
was so loudly claimed was needed by the famishing poor. The mob was finally driven from Mr.
Hart's building by police and militia in force, and
a number of the leaders were seized and lodged in
the Bridewells. While Mr. Hart's store was being
looted, similar proceedings were going on at the
warerooms of S. H. Herrick & Co., near Coenties
Slip. The militia remained under arms throughout
the night. The street near Hart's store was knee
deep with flour. About forty of the rioters were convicted and sent to the State's Prison at Greenwich
village. The sudden reduction of the stock of flour
sent the price up fifty cents a barrel. The rioters
were mainly ignorant and vicious foreigners of the
325




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


same classes that rose up against the peace of the
City in July, 1863. We have the same dangerous
elements with us, stronger, more numerous and
more pestilential, and they would eclipse the rioters
of 1863 to-morrow if they dared.
In 1842 there was another imposing demonstration of even greater significance in the development
of the City than the opening of the Erie Canal.
It was the celebration of the opening of the Croton
Aqueduct. The City had been very badly supplied
with water. It had depended entirely upon wells.
In early days the wells were generally located in
the middle of the streets. The water was brackish
and unwholesome. The tea-water pump (which was
last located in the store at old Number 126 Chatham Street, near Roosevelt Street) became famous,
because it was the only source of pure drinking
water in the lower part of the City. There were
men who carried this water about in carts and
pails like milkmen, who were known as "tea-water
men," and who were so designated in the early
City directories. Various plans had been suggested
for supplying the City with fresh water from a
reservoir. Aaron Burr's plan was not meant to
work.  Mr. Colles' plan failed.   But this great
scheme succeeded from the beginning, and seems
to be capable of indefinite expansion. The accomplishment of what was so vast an undertaking in
those days gave New York an unbounded confidence
in herself. She realized that the accomplishment of
big things would produce correspondingly great suc326




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


cess. "Nothing succeeds like success!"  The City
Hall was the central point of the celebration. This
splendid supply of water brought to New York its
first adequate protection from the ravages of fire.,
In 1858 another great step in the advance of the
City was marked by the celebration at the City
Hall and elsewhere of the laying of the Atlantic
Cable. The developments in electrical science from
the beginning have come largely from citizens of
New   York, and in this great triumph, which almost literally annihilated time and space between
Europe and America, the principal credit was due
to citizens of New York, among whom Cyrus W.
Field and Samuel F. B. Morse were chief.      The
original telegraphic experiments of Dr. Morse were
made in the old University building on University
Place. Other representative New York citizens who
helped to secure the success of the cable laying
were Peter Cooper and Moses Taylor.
Another interesting event in the early days of
the City Hall was the reception of General Lafayette after his return to the United States. He did
not expect to be the recipient of special honors; but
plans had been made to honor him long before he
arrived, and when he stepped on Manhattan Island
he found himself in the arms of his friends. There
was a naval procession and a military procession,
and the acclamations of the people accompanied the
roar of the cannon.  He was received at the City
Hall by Mayor Paulding, and in the evening the
City Hall was illuminated.
327




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The most exciting scenes that ever occurred about
this building were in the conflict between the Metropolitan and the Municipal Police Forces, for which
the mayor, Fernando Wood, was directly responsible.
The mayor had ideas of his own. They led him so
far as to broach a scheme for making New York
City independent of all other government.  Under.MAYOR FERNAO W D..
MAYOR FERNANDO WOOD.


the law which was in force when he became mayor,
he assumed control of the police department and
used it for political purposes; so in 1857 the Legislature organized a new police department, which included not only the City and County of New York,
but the adjacent counties, and was controlled by
commissioners appointed by the governor. The law
328




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


was settled as constitutional, but the mayor was
not willing to lose the political power which the
control of the police gave him, and he succeeded
in holding a large majority of the members of the
Municipal force.  The new  police board promptly
organized a force of policemen, and that gave the
City two complete but independent and antagonistic


GEORGE W. WALLING.


sets of policemen, who frequently quarreled and assaulted each other.  That was a great time for
thieves and other law breakers. The Metropolitan
commissioners proceeded to extreme measures, and
obtained an order for the arrest of the mayor. The
warrant was put into the hands of Captain Walling, who afterward became chief of police. Captain
329




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Walling 'endeavored to arrest the mayor, but was
thrown out of the building by the Municipal officers. Recorder James M. Smith directed the sheriff
to execute the warrant with a posse. While this
was going on a body of Metropolitan policemen entered the City Hall with another warrant for the
arrest of the mayor in a damage suit. These policemen were promptly attacked by a much larger
number of Municipal policemen who were in the
building, and they were severely clubbed and were
sent tumbling down the City Hall steps. After this
fracas Captain Walling, the sheriff, and the sheriff's
counsel again endeavored to arrest the mayor, and
warned him of the consequences of another such
scene as had just occurred; but the success of his
men in beating off the Metropolitans made him
more than ever defiant, and he refused to recognize the order of the court.  Just then the 7th
Regiment, which has so often come to the rescue
of law and order, appeared on its way to take the
boat for Boston to attend the celebration of the battle of Bunker's Hill. The sheriff promptly called
upon General Sanford to assist him in executing the
warrant. The general lost no time. His duty was
plain, and he didn't want to lose his boat. The
soldiers swung into the park and lined up in front
of the City Hall. Then General Sanford walked
into the mayor's office and personally attended to
the arrest. That ended the unseemly struggle, and
the Municipal police force evaporated. The Metropolitan policemen who had been injured sued Mr.
330




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Wood for their injuries, and each received a verdict for two hundred and fifty dollars with costs.
Wood never paid up, but the Legislature taxed the
City and compelled it to pay the injured men for
the act of its mayor.
The honored dead have laid in state in this beautiful building. In the Governor's room, the strong
sorrowful features of the first martyred President
were viewed by unnumbered thousands of the people of New York as they passed his bier; and there
the resolute, impenetrable face of the great General
and President, Grant, was viewed by the multitudes
who had learned from him touching lessons of the
union of strength and gentleness in noble character,
and of the true meaning of national union.
The pilgrim who now makes his inquiring way
through this modern, yet antiquated, building, will
be almost stifled by the air of litigation that is exhaled from numerous court rooms in which are
crowded eager hordes of lawyers and litigants, and
suffering multitudes of witnesses and jurors.
Cunning, sharpness, unscrupulousness, greed, are
vividly pictured in scores of faces; and the hum
of voices has a deep foreign undertone. The busy,
quarrelsome people who live east of the Bowery
contribute nearly half of the business of the court.
Apparently there is nothing in this restless multitude to help us in our antiquarian and patriotic journeying; but wait, we have slipped into one of the
court rooms, and a dreamy sensation of restfulness
and of travel rewarded comes to us. An antique
331




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


room; little window panes; old-fashioned court furnishings; a blue-eyed, large-waisted, heavy-cheeked,
Saxon-haired, mildly imperious administrator of justice sits upon the bench. The Teutonic impulse
dwells beneath the tongues of lawyers, witnesses
and judge to-day. The machinery of the law moves
cumbrously, ostentatiously, but surely, in its business of sifting truth out of the verbose accompaniments of the trial. Looking out of the little square
window   panes, we see the place where Governor
Leisler was executed. This judge knows the practice
of his court perfectly, and he insists on veneration
for the judicial office. "Sid down!" he says to an
over-zealous lawyer, who hesitates in yielding to his
ruling. "Sid down! you'f got my r-r-ruling.     If
you ton't like id, you can abbeal again. Ton't interrubt me!" A little later the obstreperous lawyer
inflicts himself again on the patient justice, who,
with a deprecating wave of his hand, says: "Vell,
I guess ve vill safe time to let you haf your
own vay. Go on. I haf trouples enough of my
own. "
The other lawyer offers a diagram to the jury,
but the careful justice insists upon the matter being
made clear to him. "Vate!" he says. "Ve can't
leaf any strings open. I can't get dhat arount my
prain." When it is made clear the case goes on.
The time comes to charge the jury. He tells them
the burden of proof is on the plaintiff.   "But,"
says he to those plain men, "maype you ton't
know vat is the purden of broof. Now I vill gif
332




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


you an illustration. You take a bair of scales and
two parrels.  You shofel all the efitence for the
blaintiff into von parrel, and put it on von side of
the scales, and you shofel the efitence of the tefentant into the other parrel and put it on the other
side of the scales, and the side of the scales that
has the blaintiff's parrel on it must go town and
make the other go up."
This is good law, and plain sense; and it takes
us back to the good days that we recalled in the
first chapter.
Our old Common is richer in historic associations
than we imagined it could be when we were mere
atoms in the rushing, noisy rivers of heedless people that ever hurry over its venerable walks. Henceforth when we cross its lines we will feel a personal interest in it, and will find ourselves calling
up the redoubtable leaders of old, and the brave
rabbles and mobs that kept the agitation for liberty
at fever heat. But there is a slow-going, quaintly
interesting history back of those stormy days. Where
is the old "Vlacte" or Flat, a journey to which
in the earliest days was considered so great an exploit. Surely this is de Vlacte, and all around it
camped the aboriginals, leaving their piles of clam
and oyster shells, which justified the general name
of Kalkhook. As the Island yielded more and more
to the influences of civilization, this little journey
came to be less of an undertaking and to be attended with less danger. Even while the palisade
stood on Wall Street, for defense against the ap333




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


proach of hostiles from the north, the herdsmen
gathered the cattle of the settlers and drove them
to the Vlacte, where they attended them through
the day, returning them at night through the City
gate, and announcing their safe return by blowing
their horns.  The  Fresh Water    Pond, and the
streams and marshes which spread out from it
east and west, were a natural limitation to the old
City, which did not until a comparatively recent
period cross those obstacles. The King's Farm, extending north from Trinity Church, and west of the
line of Broadway, and the Bowery Road, striking
out diagonally from Broadway (at Ann Street), and
later the extension of Broadway as far as Duane
Street (under the name of Great George Street),
caused the Vlacte, the Common or the Fields to
assume its irregular shape.  From  the beginning
the land was unappropriated, and under the generous terms of the Dongan Charter it became
vested in the City, and it became the custom of
the people to congregate there on all occasions
of public interest. There was no other place suitable for large gatherings; and in the period of
agitation against foreign rule the open spaces on
lower Broadway, and at Broad and Wall Streets,
were too near to the Fort and the governor to be
safe and comfortable meeting places. Very naturally
the first substantial buildings for charities and corrections were erected in the Fields.  The first one
was a Poorhouse, which was built in 1736, and
was succeeded by the present City Hall. For a
334




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


long time prior to' the Revolution the public executions were performed at and near the Fields.
On the page following is an old picture of the
execution of one of the negroes who was convicted
of conspiring to burn the City in 1712. (Notice the
men and women comfortably roosting on a fence to
watch the death struggle.)
The first effort to preserve the Common appears
in this resolution of the Common Council, passed
I        L.... —.:****..*-'./  -:^.*..'-:,,.:'."*^;L.:.....,'-:::'L"^
First Poorhouse, City Hall Park.
in 1731: "If any person or persons whatsoever within the City or liberties thereof shall, at any time
hereafter, dig any holes in the Common of this City
on the south side of the Fresh Water, or take or
carry away any earth or mould, or shall cut, take
or carry away any sods or turf off any part of
said Common, he shall suffer a fine of forty shillings." In 1756 a committee was appointed "to remove. the gallows from the easterly side of the


335




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS....-    -;.I_


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336




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Common to the place where the negroes were
burned at the foot of the, hill called Catimuts Hill,
near the Fresh Water." In 1757 a piece of ground
of the length of two boards, where the present City
Hall stands, was inclosed for the burial of the poor
of the Workhouse.  In the same year a committee
was appointed to build the gaol (the Register's
office). In 1757 a committee was appointed to erect
barracks. These were the same barracks that were
occupied by the British troops, who had so much
trouble with the Liberty Boys. It was ordered that
the building should be two stories high and contain
twenty rooms on a floor, and be four hundred and
twenty feet long. Broadway was extended through
the Common, according to the survey of Mr. Marschalk, in 1760. In 1762 it was ordered that "no
pitch, tar, turpentine or shingles be kept on the
Common south of the Fresh Water, except at a
place especially appropriated for that purpose near
the negro burial-ground." As a further step in the
improvement and decoration of the Common, in
1764 the jail committee was empowered to erect opposite the gaol a public whipping-post, stocks, cage
and pillory, in such a manner as they might think
proper. The Almshouse or Workhouse stood on
the site of the present City Hall, and was the first
building erected in the Park.  The Bridewell was
erected shortly after 1775, between the present City
Hall and Broadway. After it was demolished, many
years thereafter, its stone was used in the construction of the Tombs.   It is evident that a building
0-2                337




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


was erected shortly prior to 1784 for the execution
of criminals, between the Almshouse and the Gaol:
for in that year the inhabitants of Chatham Street
and Tryon Row secured its removal to that spot
from a position closer to their homes, where they
were annoyed by its sights and sounds. The first
proposition for inclosing the Park was considered in
1785. In 1790 the sale of the old barracks was ordered, and the west side of Broadway, or Great
George Street, as it was then called, was paved
from  Vesey Street to Murray Street. The Park was
not inclosed until 1792. It was not until 1795 that
it was proposed to dig out Broadway north of the
Park. In 1797 a new Almshouse was built close
to the old one, which was torn down. (The grade
of Broadway, from the Park to Canal Street, which
was first established in 1799, required digging down
at Pearl Street nearly five feet, and at Leonard
Street nearly sixteen feet, from which point the
line of the road fell to the bridge which crossed
the marshes at Canal Street.)
The Bridewell deserves more than a passing
notice.  This became one of the    English  prisons
during  the  British  occupation.  It had  its own
peculiar horrors.  It seems from  all that can be
learned on the subject that not one of the British  prisons in  New  York  was conducted   in  a
humane way. Probably General Charles Lee, who
was confined in a room    in the old City Hall on
Wall Street, was the only prisoner of war who
received decent treatment. The Tory historian, Judge
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Jones, speaking of this subject, while abusing the
American cause, gave the testimony of his own
observation, which overthrew the evasions of Lord
Howe. He said:
"Upon the close of the Campaign in 1776, there
were not less than ten thousand prisoners within
the British lines at New York. A commissary of
prisoners was therefore appointed, and one Joshua
Loring was commissioned to the office, with a
guinea a day and rations of all kinds for himself
and family. In this appointment there was reciprocity. Joshua had a handsome wife. The General, Sir William  Howe, was fond of her. Joshua
made no objections.   Loring  was determined  to
make the most of his commission, and, by appropriating to his own use nearly two-thirds of the
rations allowed to the prisoners, he actually starved
to death about three hundred of the poor wretches
before an exchange took place in 1777; and hundreds that were alive at the time were so emaciated and enfeebled for the want of provisions that
numbers died upon the road on their way home,
and many lived but a few days after reaching their
habitations."
(Washington complained to General Howe about
his receiving emaciated American soldiers in exchange for well-fed British prisoners.)
"Other commissioners were appointed afterward
and each 'filched the provisions and disposed of
them for their own use.' There were five commis339




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


sioners, and they extorted money for the privilege
of being put in the various companies that were
selected to be exchanged.
"The blood-sucking harpies swallowed up twenty
millions sterling of the money raised by Great Britain for the support of the American war."
We observe that this was not done in a dark
corner or in some isolated case, but that it hap.
pened at the seat of the English operations during
the whole war, in every prison, under every commissioner, and with the heartless indifference or
connivance of the commander-in-chief. There were
upward of twenty thousand captured American soldiers incarcerated in the various prisons in the City,
and several thousand of them died.
Oliver Woodruff, one of the prisoners in the
Bridewell, who was captured at Fort Washington,
has been quoted as follows: "We were marched
to New York and went into different prisons-eight
hundred and sixteen went into the new Bridewell,
I among the rest; some into the Sugar-house, others
into the Dutch Church. On Thursday morning they
brought us a little provision, which was the first
morsel we got to eat or drink after eating our
breakfast on Saturday morning. We never drew
as much provision for three days' allowance as a
man would eat at a common meal. I was there
three months, during that inclement season. There
was not a pane of glass in the windows, and nothing to keep out the cold except the iron grates."
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Another prisoner said: " We were roughly used
at Harlem, on the way from Fort Washington to
New York. Eight hundred of us were stowed in
the new Bridewell, which was a cold, open house,
the windows not glazed. We had not one mouthful
from early Saturday morning till Monday. Rations
for three days were a half pound of biscuit, half
pound of pork, half pint of peas, half gill of rice,
half ounce of butter-the whole enough for one good
meal-and defrauded in this petty allowance; no
straw or hay to lie on; no fuel but one cartload
per week for the eight hundred men. At nine
o'clock in the evening the Hessian guards would
come in and put out the fire, and lay on the poor
prisoners with heavy clubs, for sitting round the
fire; water very bad, as well as bread, except once
good biscuits and once good baker's bread. Prisoners
died like rotten sheep, with cold, hunger and dirt,
and those who had good apparel, such as buckskin
breeches or good coats, were necessitated to sell
them to purchase bread to keep themselves alive."
Another says: "The doctors gave poison to some
of the prisoners, who soon died, and others were
sent to Honduras to cut logwood."
The stones of this building, consecrated to scenes
of misery, and humid with the sighs of hopeless prisoners, were most appropriately built into
the walls of the Tombs-that barbarous outrage on
humanity-and have continued to shut out the rays
of the sun from desolate lives, and to hold within
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them a reservoir of damp and poisonous exhalations
from the old Collect Pond, filled up as it was with
the refuse of the City. This thick dank prison air
never loses the vibrations of the anguished voices
of the imprisoned and the condemned. There is no
other such terrible place in the Empire State as the
Tombs. It was built upon a poisoned morass, of
stones devoted to human suffering. It is grim and
forbidding on the outside, and filled with the ghosts
of the past and the tortures of the present.
In this square ever since Revolutionary times the
City has been represented by its chosen men; and
its condition, good or bad, has been exemplified to
the world. Some administrations have reflected what
seemed to be hopelessly bad conditions of public
life, and others have represented revivals of patriotism and civic virtue. The glory and the shame of
New York are both written in the history of the
administrations at the City Hall. The most reckless
period in our public life appeared while A. Oakley
Hall was mayor, when the "Tweed Ring," intrenched in every department and in the Legislature, built the Court House and managed other
great public works for their own personal enrichment. In those days public spirit was so low that,
during a long period, no organization and no person interposed any spirited or effectual opposition to
it. The overthrow of that corrupt organization, and
the heroic work of a few citizens and newspapers,
who risked everything for love of their City and
for honor and truth, and the completeness of their
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


victory, make one of the bright pictures of our
public life.
We have been considering the growth, the development, the prosperity and the marvelous prospects of
our City; and in the recalling of events that have
happened on the Common we have found many circumstances that have fitted into glorious pages of
the City's history.  Here, too, do we find represented those forces and those conditions which have
written our most infamous pages, and which threaten
the most the grandeur, the purity and the nobility
of the development and the expansion which are
certain to come to our City in the future. Politics,
so called, have become a trade and a means of livelihood, and a large part of our people-office-holders, or those who seek to be such; extreme partisans and machine-workers of all parties-have no
standard of public life that is higher than that which
was expressed in the words, "To the voters belong
the spoils."  Another large part of the community,
intent upon prosecuting their various callings, have
left the field of political activity to those who make
their living in it, oblivious of the fact that the people are allowed to monopolize that field, have such
power in the making of laws, and the enforcement
and non-enforcement of laws, as to be a menace to
every other calling and trade, and to exact tribute
from them all. By such desertion they surrender
blood-bought political freedom, and live as degenerate sons of patriotic fathers. The good people-those
in whom civic virtue and applied patriotism reside
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naturally-are sufficiently in a majority, when wisely
directed and organized to a common end, to overthrow the public plunderers and bandits who may
have the positions of power; but thus far the people have only combined and acted unitedly under
pressure of great revelations and great and easily
perceived infringements of popular rights, such as
the open thievery of the Tweed ring and the undisguised brutality and the frank avowal of corrupt
purposes that distinguished the Tammany administration which was recently overthrown. Immediately
upon the defeat of each of these combinations for
public brigandage, the people, generally, have seemed
to forget the principles for which they contended;
they have shown a lack of cohesion, a disposition
to distrust and criticise their own leaders, and an
amazing willingness to take for granted the malevolent and skillfully designed criticisms which the dethroned corruptionists have made against them. At
a time like this, when a great battle has been
waged for the success of the principles of honesty
and service of the people in public office as against
the policy of dishonesty and oppression, it should
be recognized that the men who are to be in administrative positions are handicapped and embarrassed by the powerful, acute and well-directed opposition and criticism of practiced politicians, who
have no business but that of politics, and who
practice politics without detriment to private interests. One-man dictation, as exemplified by Tammany Hall, while subversive of liberty and individ344




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ual rights, prevents disagreements between commissioners and various boards and heads of departments,
and thus gives an appearance of unity to the administration which cannot be shown in another administration where a boss does not control every commissioner and every department. Then, too, some
of our new commissioners have had to operate with
an army of subordinates not. of their own choosing,
many of them hostile in their hearts to the purpose
of the new administration. Beside all these considerations is this: an administration coming in to administer the City's affairs from the standpoint of
the people, after an administration of years by the
politicians, of the politicians, and for the politicians,
is sure to find necessities for the expenditures of
large sums of money for the proper equipment of
public buildings and the care of public charges
(which were shamefully neglected by Tammany),
and they are not able to cover up this necessary
increase of expenditures by juggling the taxable assessments of real property.  It cannot be denied
that the new administration of our City has disappointed a great many people who expected to see
radical changes and improvements; but many of us
have expected too much. General Nettleton of Minnesota, an ardent reformer, but a practical man,
addressing a meeting of prohibitionists, many of
whom believed that the evil of intemperance could
be promptly extirpated by the enactment of law,
said: "The world has been going drunk for forty
centuries, and we cannot expect it to sober up
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in forty days or forty months." There can be no
doubt that the very great evils which exist in our
public life, and which are to be found in most of
our cities, are the result of the pestiferous increase
of the lower orders of political activity, which have
been growing rank while the general organism of
the body politic has been sluggish and inactive, and
which have developed, microbe-like, until our communities generally have been affected by their growth
as by a disease. This disease has permeated our entire City life, leaving false impressions and false
ideas of public and political duties in the minds of
many of our good and patriotic people, great multitudes of whom   continually sacrifice their home interests, by continuing men in control of the public
matters that affect their homes, who are notoriously
corrupt and unfit. They do this because these unfit
men are presented to the people on their party tickets, and their election is deemed important to State
and National party success.   The great mass of
good people have been affected by the strangest
kind of lethargy concerning these public matters —a
lethargy much at variance with the examples set
by the men of old, who met on the old Common
and stood firm for principle. The oppression of England, which led the people to denounce the Stamp
Act and the Mutiny Act and Boston Port Act, and
which led the merchants to adopt the Non-importation Agreement, did not bear upon the City of New
York with a fractional part of the severity that
has been displayed by the conscienceless hands of
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


our political rulers. Even at this day-while Tammany Hall 'lies defeated, holding a few offices still
in her control, and hoping in the apathy and lack
of cohesion in the people for a return to powereven now, great corporations, managed by the brainiest, wealthiest and most spirited of our citizens, are
paying tribute in the shape of campaign subscriptions for no other purpose than that of buying
safety from the "black-horse cavalry" of Albany.
These assessments are but thinly veiled by the subterfuge of campaign subscriptions. What right has
a corporation to subscribe the money of its stockholders to promote the success of any political
party? Surely it has no right to do this, except
as the act may directly contribute to the financial
or business advantage of the corporation. It is possible that some business concerns, whose managers
are identified with politics, do make bona fide subscriptions; but it is needless for us to argue here
that hundreds of thousands of dollars are subscribed
annually through fear and for the hope of gain,
and under the same impulse that would pay a ransom to a hostile fleet to prevent bombardment of
the City.  Such contributions, made to Mr. Croker
for Tammany Hall, were indicated in testimony
taken before the Lexow Committee, and it clearly
appeared in that testimony that the subscriptions
were made by persons who were not residents of
New York, and not directly interested in Tammany
Hall, with the hope (that was fulfilled, too) that
the subscribers would be commended by their sub347




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scriptions to those heads of the departments that
had the giving out of contracts.   That such subscriptions were believed to be necessary and were
customary clearly appears; but it did not appear
that the boss receiving those contributions or subscriptions made any accounting   for them.   Tam -
many Hall is not the only organization, and Mr.
Croker is not the only leader that receives or has
received contributions from those who were not directly interested in the political parties to which
they subscribed. The question is frequently asked,
" How  does the party 'boss' hold his prestige?"  If
it were demonstrated that such a boss received vast
contributions of money which were not publicly accounted for, and that legislators voted upon important measures according to the expressed desires of
the boss, and sometimes in direct contravention of
their individual opinions, it would seem as though
something like an answer was made out in the
situation. What a pity it is that men- of acknowledged  probity in  ordinary business and  domestic
affairs are so frequently lacking in those virtues
when they come to political affairs! What a pity
it is that it is possible to justify so many rascally
actions and breaches of confidence upon the plea
of political necessity, and to have that plea as
effective as it is among so large a class of our
people! There is a closer alliance between lawbreakers (especially those who cater to the appetites) and those who are selected to administer and
enforce the law than there is between the officials
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


and the great body of simple, law abiding people
who have an interest in honest law     enforcement.
While ordinary citizens are attending to their business, the law-breakers and the corrupt officials attend to theirs, and the good citizens do not awake
to determined action until the conditions are so intolerable as to justify revolution. Thanks to a recent revolution, public life in New York    City is
purer and better to-day than it has been for many
years. There is no such thing now as open and
general corruption  in  office; there is an earnest
effort by the heads of departments to enforce the
laws; there has been a vigorous and earnest attempt by these heads of departments to dissolve illegal combinations between officers and law-breakers;
gamblers have left the City; brothels have been
closed; and swarms of pickpockets and petty thieves,
who formerly worked under protection, have deserted
the neighborhoods which they once nearly monopolized. There is in all the public offices a higher
sense of public duty, and it is now easy for citizens to secure attention to their needs and their
grievances, regardless of any question of political
affiliation or relationship. The whole administration
of the City is marked by an unusual attention to
the needs and the interests of the whole people.
New York is a better City by far than it was
two years ago, and our administration, which has
sustained a burden of attack and criticism by the
enemy, and has been subjected severely to the critical attention of its friends, handicapped as it has
849




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


been by the interference of political bosses, and opposition in the Legislature, is entitled to a warmer
support and a deeper sympathy than it has been
receiving from its friends. It was not long after
the overthrow of the Tweed Ring that the corruptionists were again in control of the City's revenue
and all the departments of power; and those that
in 1894 were hurled out of the places they had so
long disgraced are hoping for a repetition of history
in their case. It is to be hoped that the people
will realize, as they have not done before, that under our republican institutions they can never say,
"We have done it!" but that they must consecrate a generous portion of their time, their means,
their sympathy and their activity to the common
cause of good government, and that they must
bring to the work an. amount of forbearance and
of charity in dealing with each other that they
have never done before. A very impressive feature
of the reform campaign of 1894, and one which
distinguished it from all other reform campaigns,
was the appeal made directly to the humbler people of our City, and the prompt, hearty and intelligent response to that appeal. Districts which had
always followed the lead of corrupt politicians voted
freely, intelligently and patriotically. The different
religious denominations fraternized in a common
effort to redeem  the City.  Meetings were held in
the churches from one end of the City to the other,
and ministers of all faiths occupied platforms together, and vied with each other in sustaining the
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


campaign for law and order. It was like the popular uprising in 1812, when all differences were forgotten, and Federalists, Republicans, Tammanyites,
Catholics, Freemasons, Protestants, Jews, ministers,
tradesmen, artisans, teachers, schoolboys, and all the
people, labored side by side throwing up intrenchments to defend the City.   We think that in the
campaign of 1894 the people of the City learned
to know each other better, and that bonds of union
were established very unusual in our cosmopolitan
City, and of great usefulness for its future.  The
campaign was conducted upon educational lines, and
has resulted in a much better knowledge of the
City by thousands of its inhabitants, and in much
higher degrees of realized duty and responsibility.
In many sections of the City there are earnest and
enthusiastic bodies of men, such as are met in the
various district organizations of the City Vigilance
League, that are applying themselves to the study
of the City and of its government as applied to
their localities. Whatever may be the result of elections that are imminent, it will be many years before the good influences of the reform campaign of
1894 are expended, and it is to be hoped that the
great vitality of the movement will survive throughout the momentous decades that are before us, in
which the controlling forces of the public life of
our City for generations to come will be shaped.
With the inspiration of patriotic deeds by patriotic
men, performed in our own City and for the highest good of our City and its related communities,
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


it must be that a sufficient number of earnest, intelligent and patriotic men and women will be
fouud to devote themselves to the best interests of
the City, supporting that which makes for good in
its public life, and antagonizing everything which
breaks down public virtue and which makes the
great City with its wealth and resources captive
and tributary to bosses and rings and corrupt political organizations.  The patriotism  of New  York
City had slumbered so long, and the fame of her
infamy had grown so wide, that many had reached
the heretical conclusion that popular government possesses an inherent defect that makes it impossible to
secure honest government in cities. The example of
New   York  had  proven  contagious, so that the
preachers of this doctrine lacked not for illustrations of their claim.  It is an inspiring fact that
the tremendous victory over Tammany Hall revealed
to the entire nation that the belief was false and
heretical, and that numerous cities in all parts of
the country responded promptly to the impulse for
good government that went out from the campaign
in our City.  It is possible to manage our City's
affairs in the interest of the whole people, and to
have honest and efficient administrations; but, while
it has been demonstrated that this is possible, it is
equally true that to accomplish it there is required
the devotion of all who are good citizens, their unqualified surrender of untenable positions, and their
sympathetic co-operation in the common cause.  It
remains to be seen how such an outpouring of
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


righteous indignation as that which we witnessed
in 1894 can be gathered up and held together and
made to be continuously effective; as effective in
conditions of comparative quietness as when appeals
are possible that stir the emotions from center to
circumference. There is no greater need to-day in
the cities of our land and in our own great metropolis than a return to the simple patriotism of
the fathers and an application of that patriotism to
the affairs of the home; for the public matters of
the city in which we live are the affairs of our
home. The protection of our houses and of our
families, the furnishing of school accommodation
and means of travel, the cleanliness of the streets,
provision against pestilence, pure and ample watersupply, the removal of those sources of crime which
are likely to contaminate youth and the members
of our family:-these and many kindred objects, in
the way they are given to us, in the way that
they tend for good or evil, are the direct result of
our attention or inattention to our City's politics, and
of the manner in which the people dispose of the
various claimants for administrative places. May we
realize the hopes of those who founded and protected the institutions of our public life, by giving
to them our best and most patriotic attention, and
by taking advantage of the opportunities of the
present to inculcate a knowledge and a devotion to
public duties in the minds and hearts of those who
are now growing up and will soon be in control of
the destinies of our great City.
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These are the mayors whose offices were in the first


City Hall at Coenties Slip:
Thomas Willet...
Thomas Delavall
Thomas Willett.
Cornelis Steenwyck
Thomas Delavall
Matthias Nicolls
John Lawrence
William Darvall
Nicholas de Meyer.
S. van Cortlandt
Thomas Delavall
Francis Rombouts.
William Dyer..
Cornelis Steenwyck
Gabriel Minvielle
Nicholas Bayard
S. van Cortlandt
Peter de la Noy.
John Lawrence.
Abraham de Peyster
William Merritt..
Johannes de Peyster....   1665....  1666.... 1667....1668-1670.... 1671....   1672.... 1673.... 1675.... 1676.... 1677.... 1678.... 1679....  1680-1681
*...  1682-1683.... 1684.... 1685.... 1686-1687.... 1689-1690.... 1691....  1692-1695.... 1695-1698.... 1698-1699


These mayors presided at the City Hall at the corner
of Wall and Broad Streets:


David Provoost.
Isaac De Riemer
Thomas Noell.
Philip French.
William Peartree
Ebenezer Wilson
Jacobus van Cortlandt
Caleb Heathcote
John Johnson.....  1699-1700....  1700-1701....  1701-1702....  1702-1703....  1703-1707....  1707-1710...  1710-1711....  1711-1714....  1714-1719


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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Jacobus van Cortlandt
Robert Walters.
Johannes Jansen
Robert Lurting
Paul Richards
John Cruger.
Stephen Bayard
Edward Holland
John Cruger.
Whitehead Hicks
David Matthews, Tory
James Duane
Richard Varick.....  1719-1720.... 1720-1725....  1725-1726.... 1726-1735....  1735-1739.... 1739-1744.... 1744-1747
*....  1747-1757....  1757-1766....  1766-1776....  1776-1784....  1784-1789....  1789-1801


These are the mayors of New York who have held
office at the present City Hall:
Edward Livingston...      801-1803
De Witt Clinton...1803-1807
Marinus Willett......     1807-1808
De Witt Clinton...      1808-1810
Jacob Radcliff...1810-1811
De Witt Clinton...       1811-1815
John Ferguson....  1815
Jacob Radcliff....... 1815-1818
Cadwallader D. Colden.    1818-1821
Stephen Allen.....      1821-1824
William Paulding.....     1825-1826
Philip Hone........1826827
William Paulding......1827-1829
Walter Bowne.....         1829-1833
Gideon Lee.......          833-1834
Cornelius W. Lawrence.... 1834-1837
Aaron Clark.               1837-1839
Isaac L. Varian....... 1839-1841
Robert H. Morris..        1841-1844
James Harper...1844-1845
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


William F. Havemeyer
Andrew H. Mickle
William V. Brady.
William F. Havemeyer
Caleb S. Woodhull.
Ambrose C. Kingsland
Jacob A. Westervelt
Fernando Wood..
Daniel N. Tiemann
Fernando Wood.
George Opdyke.
C. Godfrey Gunther
John T. Hoffman.
T. Coman (acting).
A. Oakey Hall.
William F. Havemeyer
S. B. H. Vance (acting)
William H. Wickham
Smith Ely
Edward Cooper...
William R. Grace.
Franklin Edson.
William R. Grace.
Abram S. Hewitt
Hugh J. Grant.
Thomas F. Gilroy.
William L. Strong.


1845 -1846
1846-1847
1847-1848
1848-1849
1849-1851
1851-1853
1853-1855
1855-1858
1858-1860
1860-1862
1862-1864
1864-1866
1866-1868
1868
1869-1872
1873-1874
1874
1875-1876
1877-1878
1879-1880
1881-1882
1883-1884
1885-1886
1887-1888
1889-1892
1893-1894
1895-1897


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CHAPTER SEVEN


THE FIVE POINTS: A WANING CRIMINAL CENTER
Grewsome Features-Vicious Compounds-Ancient Executions-The Bowery Region-The Tombs and the Criminal
Courts-Brooklyn Bridge-Park Row, its Distilleries, Eating Houses and other Institutions-Dooley's Long-room
-Fierce Politics-Isaiah Rynders and Con Donoho-Gentle Humors of Bowery Life-Chatham Square-The Dangerous Classes and their Resorts -The Pressure of Life-A
Bowery Youth fights live Indians-Manufacture of Tramps
-Famous old Drinking Saloons-Bowery Drama-Bull's
Head Tavern-Italians witness "Hamlet"-Chinatown:
Mysterious Life, Societies, Religion, Gambling, Eating,
Amusements-Chinese Theater-Squabbles and Scratches
-Poor old Ireland-Vice-Contrarieties-Scenes from Life
GRIM and grewsome are the features of New
York   east and   northeast of the   City Hall.   The
history of this district is full of horrors, its record
is full of shame. The old time glory of Franklin
Square and Cherry Street has left faint traces of
an age of gold in the traditions of the neighborhood, and the beneficent modern institutions of the
Five Points have aroused hopes of a golden age to
come, but at present they are but specks of light
in a black and poisonous atmosphere.
West of the old Bowery Road (later Chatham
Street and now Park. Row) is the Five Points, with
its Chinese, Italian and Hebrew colonies, its Paradise Park and its memories of Whyo gangs, vendettas, rising statesmen, Con Donoho, Paddy Divver
and Jimmy Oliver; east of the old road is Cherry
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Hill with its mixture of races, its famous alleys,
its fiery whisky and its utter degradation.   The
street which divides these localities has a character
peculiarly its own, and it is infested with the adventurous members of both districts, but its elements
are diluted and are kept in a swirl by the mighty
tide of its travel, for it is an important branch of
the arterial system through which the life of our
City rushes. In this locality there is a population
large enough to make a city, and it is so thoroughly
saturated with crime, so completely steeped in vice,
so controlled by anti-social tendencies, that if it were
broken up into groups and scattered through the
cities of our land it would necessitate the doubling
of their police forces. Here, all roads lead to the
Tombs and the Criminal Courts. Every day there
are processions of pilgrims to these institutions, the
shadows of which seem to fall across every doorstep.
Thousands of men, women and children have learned
the way to the Tombs, and have gazed with awe
at the unclothed bronze figures in the corridor of
the Criminal Court House, which point the way to
the dread judgment halls above. North of Cherry
Hill is still another vast area of misery and crime.
It is of comparatively recent growth. The old Tenth
Ward, which once, more than any other ward in
our City, was occupied by thrifty people owning
their own homes, is now filled with a polyglot wriggling compound, in which are some of the basest
and most despicable of humanity's scum. It is a
foul, writhing mixture, and it exhales a poisonous
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


miasma that is as evident as any east side smell
and far more dangerous to the City. This district
abounds in crime, but its tendency is not so much
to crimes of violence as to crimes of dishonesty.
There is nothing of fierceness or valor in it, such
as is occasionally found in Cherry Street, but it is
full of craftiness, greed and treachery. Its roads,
also, lead to the Tombs; the principal travel being
through filthy Bayard Street; but it has its own
little turbid vortices, the Essex Market Police Court
and the Fifth District Civil Court. That police court
and its neighborhood have been the scenes of more
oppression and villainy than any other spot in our
City and perhaps in our land. In the beer shop
across the way reigned the uncrowned despot, Silver
Dollar Smith (Charles Solomon), and about him revolved his rude but powerful ministers and courtiers
who assisted him in ruling his little empire. They
are still there, but their power is broken.
We have walked through districts in our City
in which historic memories and present greatness
have combined to fill us with pride and with a well
founded hope for the prosperity of the City; but we
cannot know or understand the City, nor can we
comprehend the impulses which are at work shaping its future, if we shut our eyes to that which
is dangerous and shameful. Toleration is no virtue
when it allows barbarism and vice to undermine
the foundations which have been laboriously and
honestly constructed.
It is our purpose in these chapters to lay our
359




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


road back from the Commons to the old Fort from
which we started, through the Five Points, Cherry
Hill and New Israel to the East River, returning
by the water front.
The Bowery Road was originally an Indian path
leading to the Dutch settlement of Fort Amsterdam.
It was through this road that the Indians descended
on their bloody raids, and many were the pioneer
colonists whose humble homes in this district were
destroyed and who fell under the relentless tomahawks of their stealthy foes. The negroes who
worked out their freedom, like Manuel de Groot,
were required to settle along this road, so that they
might be outposts to warn the people of the little
city when raids were made.   Many a negro hopefully planted his home, determined to enjoy the
freedom which he had gained, only to lose his home
and his life to the Indians. So many families were
bereft of fathers as to compel the erection of an
Orphan's Court as a public institution. The earliest
pictures of this neighborhood are set in bloody
frames. Here it was that Governor Leisler was
executed. The whipping-post, the gallows, the stake,
were planted at various places round about. In a
valley between Catimut's and Pot-baker's Hills (now
City Hall Place) many poor negroes accused of plotting to burn the City were tortured with fire. Pearl
Street west of Center Street was also the scene of
agonizing executions by fire. Before the negro scare
of 1741 was over, one hundred and fifty-four negroes
and twenty white persons were arrested, thirteen of
360




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the negroes were executed in City Hall Place and
twenty on the little Magazine Island in the Collect
Pond (located in Pearl Street west of Center Street),
and seventy were transported. Some of the negroes
were broken on the wheel and some of them were
hanged in chains. Among the negroes were Clause,
who was broken upon the wheel; Robin, who was
hanged in chains alive and "continued without any
sustenance until he was dead"; Tom, "who was
burned with slow fire until he was dead and consumed to ashes"; Quack, Cuffee, Ben and Quash,
who were burned; Caesar and Prince, three Catos,
two Fortunes, two   Harrys and York, who were
hanged and whose bodies were afterward suspended
in chains.  Albany, Curacoa, Dick, Francis, Will,
Othello, Fortune and Galloway were also burned.
Hughson, the white leader of the conspiracy, if conspiracy it was, together with his wife and servant,
were executed at the corner of Cherry and Catherine Streets, where the market stands, and Hughson's body was suspended in chains for many days
in the hottest part of the summer, a spectacle for
the children, who commented curiously upon the
changes in his countenance. The imagination need
not be excessively vivid, when, in going through
this district, amid its present scenes of wretchedness
and misery, we almost hear the death cries of the
culprits and the horrible imprecations of the spectators, who gathered in large numbers to witness
the tortures of the condemned wretches. We are
thankful for the advance of civilization in our modP-2                361




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ern  City, which has caused mercy and brotherly
kindness so far to replace hatred and malignity.
Most of the public executions prior to the adoption of electrocution occurred in this district. At
first they were conducted in public, in full view of
thousands of men, women and children, who were
brutalized by the spectacle of legal murder; and
then they were managed privately in the courtyard
of the Tombs on Center Street. How well we remember the shock that we used to experience at
the hour of twelve on Hangman's Day, when the
factory whistles reminded us that some poor wretch
was strangling at the end of a rope in Center
Street. Welcome will be the day when the death
penalty is abolished! On the side of Catimut's Hill
the infamous Cunningham hanged the unfortunate
patriots who fell victims to his` tender mercy. On
the north line of the Park were the barracks occupied by the brawling, insolent soldiers of the king,
who accomplished so much for American independence by their brutal attacks on the people and on
their beloved emblem of Liberty; and succeeding
the barracks was the negro burying-ground, which
was started with the interment of the poor fellows who died of smallpox on the Astor House
camping.ground, and where the dust of hundreds of
poor colored people remains to this day. Chambers
Street does not abate its bustle on account of the
poor darkies whose dust comes to light again in the
blades of Park grass. Quite a number of the American prisoners of war who died in the old jail (now
362






- -- - - -- -I-. —  - --         I.I.    -    -71


BROOKLYN BRIDGE, SEEN FROM 67 WALL STREET.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 372.




*I 1




BROOKLYN BRIDGE FROM NEW YORK SIDE.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 373.




I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the Register's office) were buried in this negro burying-ground. By a peculiar coincidence a lane that
was laid across it was called "Republican Alley."
There was a line of palisades built in 1745, beginning at Mr. Desbrosses' house (Number 57 Cherry
Street), which at that time was the northernmost
house until Kip's Bay was reached, and extending
westerly to Katy Mutz's house at Windmill or Catimut's Hill, and from thence on a line just north
of the City Hall to the North River. It was constructed of cedar logs with loop-holes for musketry,
and a breastwork behind them.  There were blockhouses in the line with portholes for cannon; one
in Pearl Street, in the neighborhood of Bancker;
another close to the City Hall; and a third one
between Church and Chapel Streets.    Four gates
were in this. fortification: one at Pearl Street; one
at Chatham Street; another at Broadway; and the
last at Greenwich Street. An old citizen has written that in the year 1746 he saw a great party of
Mohawk and Oneida Indians passing through the
Broadway gate on their way from Albany to interview the English governor, George Clinton, on Bowling Green. These Indians were loyal to the English, and carried in their procession a number of
scalps which they had taken from  the French and
their allied Indians. This is said to have been the
last formal Indian conference that was held in New
York, the governor afterward going to Albany to
meet them. Katy Mutz, whose house was one of
the points in the palisades, was a noted person.
363




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


She was familiarly known as "Aunt Katy," and
she kept a tea-garden, where the exclusive gentry
dissipated in tea and soft waffles. Her place was
on the east side of Gallows Hill, beginning at
Pearl Street and   extending  in the direction  of
Chatham Street. The place of execution was on
the other side of the hill, in the valley between it
and Pot-baker's Hill (City Hall Place).
Terrible fires, too, have occurred in this district,
such as the Chatham Street fire, the Hague Street
explosion, the destruction of the Harper building on
Franklin Square, and the burning of the "Tribune"
building on Printing House Square. The destruction
of the "World" building (on the site of the present
Potter building), and the shocking loss of life there,
are well remembered.
Scores of murders have happened in this neighborhood. We have mentioned a homicide among
gentlemen, the Richardson and MacFarland murder,
which may serve to represent one extreme; and the
other may be exhibited by the butchery of the poor
old hag "Shakespeare," and the conviction therefor
of the witless foreigner "Freichy," who, though be-. lieved by many to be innocent, was expressed to
Sing Sing on a life sentence, which vindicated the
reputation of our detectives, who had been taunting
"Scotland Yard" with its failure to catch "Jack the
Ripper."  In 1863 a brutal murder occurred in a
low resort on Center Street opposite the Tombs.
Tlie victim was stabbed seventeen times. There was
an element of pathos in the case, which eventually
364




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LOWER CHATHAM STREET (PARK ROW).             r..
New York, Vol. Two, p. 375.




q,     -.




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


saved the murderer's life. He was Charles Walters,
and was a carpenter in Ohio, where he had married a beautiful girl, with whom he lived in great
happiness. They were desirous of trying their fortune in New York, and they came, but their little
savings were soon gone, and Walters was without
work. They drifted about from place to place, going from bad to worse, until they were reduced to
life in a hovel. Then Walters went away to look
elsewhere for work, and fell to drinking. When he
came to himself he went back to find his wife, but
she was gone. He hunted for her and found her,
but she had fallen. He rushed to a saloon, drank
himself into a frenzy, then went to her and killed
her. He was convicted of murder in the first degree, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. This was a typical "Five Points murder."
These pages would turn red were we to recite the
many similar deeds of blood.
The dregs of our City life have long gravitated
to this region; and as civilization has advanced and
culture has increased, the offscouring has become
more depraved. The Bowery boy of old was a very
tough citizen; he first made the Bowery famous;
he was a swaggering bully; but he was or claimed
to be a patriot, and he had a certain rough honor
about him that made him disdain petty thievery
and the maltreatment of women and children.    A
desperate effort is being made to show up his successor as a sort of unpolished diamond; but, with
all deference to an accomplished and genial writer
365




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


of the day, we must say that the original "Chimmie Fadden" would earn a fortune in a dime museum  as a "freak."   His jaundiced rival, though
exploited weekly by an enterprising newspaper, is
not known in Hogan's Alley, his alleged habitat.
In place of the Bowery boys of old, who could
at least be made into good soldiers, we have now
the young cut-throats of Cherry Street, the slimy
denizens of Roosevelt Street, and the murderous
Whyo gang of Mulberry Bend, repeated again and
again in various shades, colors and tones.  Every
form of crime and vice known in our City thrives
here.  Sneak thieves and pickpockets have made
their headquarters in, Chatham Street and the lower
Bowery, and some of the prominent saloons along
this street have risen to fame as the headquarters
of these despoilers of the people, who were encouraged in their maintenance of headquarters by the
former police officials, on the plea that it made
them  easier to handle (a specious plea indeed!).
Dives, brothels, gambling-houses, fences, green goodsrooms, have flourished so as to be almost beyond
counting. Though they are not now as obvious as
they formerly were, we know that many of them
exist under cover.  Here we have the Chinese of
Mott, Pell, Doyer and Park Streets, thronging in
great numbers, with no appearance of such honest
business as would support them; the original Jacob's Jews of Baxter and Chatham Streets, who
for offensiveness put all other Jewish colonies in
* the rear rank; the Italians of Mulberry Street,
366




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


dirty, indolent, noisy, populous, and irritable beyond
any other colony of Italians (which is saying a
great deal); the Greeks and the Romans, living
side by side in Roosevelt Street, sad and disgusting
representatives of ancient grandeur; and the brawling, thieving, outrageous mixture of all nations on
Cherry Hill. To these degenerate populations, so
disfigured by sin and ignorance, must be added an
army of wanderers aggregating thousands, who live
in the cheap lodging-houses, paying from five to
twenty-five cents for a night's lodging.  The very
ground which supports the rookeries in which these
unfortunate thousands live, and off of'which very
many of them never go, is saturated with ancient
dankness and disease, which permeates the dwellings
and helps to make an awful death rate. Chatham
Square was originally a place of marshes and stagnant water, cursed with malarial fever.  In the
ditches just beyond the Jews' burying-ground, on
the New Bowery near Chatham    Square, the bodies
of American prisoners, who died of disease, wounds
and starvation in the Revolutionary War, were
thrown to fester and decay; and out of these ditches
the returning patriots in 1783 gathered the sacred
bones and gave them Christian burial. The Collect
Pond was beautiful to the eye, but it was surrounded by marshes and sluggish streams, which,
though they did not forcibly assert themselves in
their natural condition, have ever refused to be
subdued by artificial fillings. The pond was about
eighty feet deep, and at a time prior to the War
367




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


of 1812, when there was much distress among the
neighboring people, large numbers of men were employed in carting earth and rubbish to fill it up.
Many hundreds of loads of rubbish, some of it of
the foulest nature, were dumped into this pretty
pond, on which John Fitch had sailed the first experimental steamboat in the presence of Robert Fulton and Chancellor Livingston; and months elapsed
before there was anything to show for all the labor
and the material. With all that was done, the
whole area of the pond and its adjacent marshes
was left a quagmire.   Recently the new   mission
building on Worth Street at the Five Points was
found to have settled, and to be in a dangerous
condition, and extensive repairing and rebuilding had
to be done, at a cost of many thousands of dollars.
The reason assigned for this unexpected settling was
the erection of the new Criminal Court building several blocks from it, the weight of which affected
the soft foundations to a considerable distance. The
erection of the City Prison, right in the middle of
the old pond, and its maintenance there these many
years, can be hardly regarded as other than a crime.
The building is dark and damp, and the arrangement of the cells, with reference to these conditions, would be creditable to the ingenuity of a
medieval tyrant. Men and women, some of them
entirely innocent of crime, are taken forcibly from
their homes and compelled to live in this place,
awaiting trial; and a few months of incarceration
there bring pallor to the cheeks of the stoutest.
368




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The old building, which is a splendid example of
Egyptian architecture, was called the Tombs, because it was modeled after an ancient Egyptian
tomb which John L. Stevens of the Stevens Castle,
Hoboken, visited while on a tour, and described in
a book.which he wrote after his return. For many
years, and until the recent opening of the new
Criminal Court building just north of the Tombs,
the important criminal trials were held in the somber brownstone building just east of the Court-house
in the Park. A number of the most important cases
were tried in Oyer and Terminer, a branch of the
Supreme Court, in the County Court-house. During
these years an army of accused persons was carried
in the "Black Marias" from the Tombs, which was
their place of entertainment while awaiting trial, to
the old brownstone building, which was the place
of their ordeal. No dingier, gloomier or more hopesubduing court-rooms were ever entered by accused
persons than those in' this old building. Tragedies
involving liberty, prospects, home, family, life and
death, were ground out through the rusty machinery
of these courts with less appearance of feeling than
is manifested by the organ-grinder who renders the
tragic airs of grand opera for his padrone.  Day
after day, month after month, and year after year,
through the various administrations and the various
conditions of public life; when the authorities were
earnest and conscientious in the discharge of their
duties, and when the judiciary was tainted with
the corruption that at times involved the City gov369




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ernment generally; when district-attorneys like John
McKeon and Peter B. Olney were faithfully serving
the public against obstacles thrown in their way by
other officials who were unfaithful; and when other
district-attorneys were in sympathy, and perhaps in
league, with  dishonest officials and with various
classes of protected criminals; when a large proportion of the police department and of the detective
force was in partnership with crime and did not
hesitate to send innocent people to prison in order
to protect themselves and carry out their schemes;
and when other and better impulses have controlled
the police authorities:-under all these varying conditions the courts ground away without stopping
and without visible jolt or jar. Between these two
old buildings during all these years the processions
of people accused of crime, some guilty and some
not guilty, have passed and repassed. Many have
been the righteous verdicts and the correct judgments that have been meted out to criminals who
have passed through these mills. Tweed, who, more
than any other, has been associated in the minds
of the people with organized public dishonesty,
made this journey, too; and in the County Courthouse which he built he met the doom to which
eventually his life was yielded. But while correct
verdicts and righteous judgments have been imposed
on wrong-doers, all men who know anything of
public affairs will agree in saying that without
doubt some awful mistakes have been made here
(and with the best of intentions, how prone human
370




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


judgment is to err), and unquestionably some acts
of injustice have been done that have brought disaster and sorrow to innocent people and covered
virtuous homes with unjust ignomy.
A flying excursion through this district is all we
will have time to make. Our route will be through
Park Row to Chatham Square; thence through Mott
Street, the Chinese center, to Canal Street; then
back to Worth Street through Mulberry Street, the
Italian center; then from Worth Street to Canal
Street through Baxter Street, and back from Center Street to the Tombs. We will leave Center
Street at Pearl Street, and will cross Park Row,
going into Roosevelt Street of ancient fame and
present abasement, which will lead us to Cherry
Hill. That district is not especially picturesque, having fallen into one common agglomeration of degradation, and we will go through it by way of
Cherry and Oliver Streets, returning to the Bowery
at Division Street, through which we will pass into
the "Yiddish" quarter.  The district west of Park
Row (Five Points) is the famous Sixth Ward, that
east of Park Row (Cherry Hill) is the "Bloody
Fourth" Ward, and that across Division Street is
the old American Tenth Ward, now "New Israel."
As we start up Park Row on our trip into the
dark scenes of New York life, before we leave behind us the noble creations of modern ideas in the
great buildings and the marvelous enterprises about
Printing House Square, our eyes fall upon that
most interesting, useful and stupendous achievement,
371




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


the " Brooklyn Bridge."  We are tempted to stop
and write a chapter upon it, its uses, its surroundings, those who pass over it, and what may be
seen from it, but time cannot be spared for that
now. Let us be content with this exquisite word
picture which appeared some years ago in a daily
newspaper, and which we hope will now be preserved from oblivion:
A RURAL CLERGYMAN' S FIRST VIEW OF THE GREAT
BROOKLYN BRIDGE
(As reported in a Brooklyn newspaper).
The Pennsylvania annex boat was just rounding the
Battery. An old clergyman stepped to the front of the
deck, lifting his eyes with solemn gaze to the Bridge..
It was a countenance full of thought, as of a preacher
who talked each Sunday to farmers whose feet followed
the plow. His wife, with a sweet face that had distilled
many a benediction upon sick and suffering parishioners,
leaned gently upon his arm, and as her eyes caught the
wonderful span they filled with moisture, and she murmured-" At last! at last I see it!"
The boat sped nearer, and the old preacher lifted his
hat, letting his thin gray locks flutter in the wind. His
lips moved as his eyes rested on the towers. The reporter
drew near, and this is what he heard:
"Could I but stand where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o'er,
Not Jordan's stream nor death's cold flood
Could fright me from the shore. "
Turning to his wife, he said in awed tones:
372




.I




:~b:,,,r,i~~ri)~~r~~
~-s


DISTILLERY ON THE BOWERY.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 376.




hL


STEVE BRODIE'S SALOON ON THE BOWERY.    '
New York, Vol. TWo, 3pb7.




.,  0.
It.. I.




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


"Sarah, I verily believe this will stand till the heavens are rolled together as a scroll, and the last of the race
will step from it upon the eternal shores."
"Oh, oh, look at it now!" exclaimed the gentle Sarah,
as a fleeting cloud cast a filmy shadow over the structure.
"An unseen hand has caught the silver cobwebs. It is
a vision from fairyland."
"It reminds me," said a deep-toned voice at the reporter's side, "of the frosted dew in which the Taj
Mahal seemed bathed as 1 looked at it under the beams
of a full-orbed moon. I have traveled in all lands, and
in my dreams I couple these two as the most beautiful
specimens of man's handiwork upon which my eyes have
rested. They are worthy to claim kinship with Niagara
and the Sea."
The old clergyman turned, and extending his hand,
said: "Thank you. The Almighty made Niagara and
the Sea, and the Everlasting Hills, but it was a greater
creation when he made the Soul that conceived this wondrous combination of strength and beauty. Unto Roebling is given a double immortality. His name will abide
while the earth shall stand. His soul abides in the heavenly land."
The boat touched the dock, and the aged couple were
soon lost in the maze of car tracks, but their eyes were
still tracing the outlines of the great bridge as the reporter
hurried up Brooklyn's big hill.
In the short walk through Park Row, from the
City Hall to Chatham Square, we are likely to see
every phase of our City's life, though the lower or373




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ders prevail. Historical memories crowd it, for it
has been a highway from the beginning. The Indians, the Dutch, the English and the Americans
have in their turn moved back and forth upon it.
It was the road to Governor Stuyvesant's Bowerie;
it was the road for the advance guards of New
York's civilization, for the districts east of it were
the first to be intersected by cross streets. It was
the scene of great activity in the early part of the
Revolutionary struggle, Bayard's Hill, Bunker Hill
and other points close by being fortified.  It was
the avenue through which General Washington led
the American army on Evacuation Day, coming
from the Bull's Head Tavern, where the Bowery
Theater now stands; and it was the road through
which he started out while President on his regular "fourteen mile drives."  Many of the buildings
on both sides show their age, and most of them
show hard usage. In every stage of our City's
later development the people have swarmed around
and through this road. Its hotels and restaurants,
some of which, like Leggett's, still remain, have had
a large patronage from politicians and office-holders.
O'Donovan Rossa's hotel at Chatham Square has long
been a place of meeting for Irish revolutionists of all
shades and descriptions. Every class and element of
the people is represented in the throngs that use it
daily for business and passageway. Its many stores
are devoted to those kinds of trade which may be
supported partly by transient travelers, but mostly
by the peculiar people who make up the dense
374




NEW YORK CITY LIFE
r


population of the district. The petty criminals who
burrow in the dens east and west of the thoroughfare come to the surface in Park Row like fishes
and frogs to get. a mouthful of free oxygen. A
large part of the population is composed of the
migratory frequenters of the many cheap lodginghouses of the neighborhood. It contains many unfortunate men, who, overcome by adverse circumstances, have fallen to its level; but the greater
part of it is composed of dissolute, vicious men,
who are content to live as they do; and a considerable portion of it consists of petty criminals.
These men, with kindred elements on either side,
make a voracious but impecunious army with an
immense appetite.   Begging, petty thieving, peddling, and doing odd jobs, are the ordinary means
of income, and this income is expended in the eating-houses which cater for the impoverished, providing quantity rather than quality, and the saloons and
so-called "distilleries" which give large drinks of the
hardest and hottest stimulants at three and five cents.
Here is a bill of fare of one of the restaurants:
Roast Turkey.. 13c. Roast Chicken. 10c.
Chicken Fricassee.  8c. Chicken Pot Pie. 10c.
Chicken Stew..   8c. Lamb Pot Pie.   8c.
Hamburger Roast.   8c. Beef a la mode.   8c.
Rice or Bread Pudding.. 5c.
Regular Dinner. '....            13c.
Boiled beef with onion sauce..   8c.
Beefsteak pie baked in a pan..   5c.
Porterhouse steak with fried potatoes
and onions..... 20c.
375




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


A flask of whisky, bottle and cork included, can
be purchased for five cents in one of the distilleries,
which are generally called " morgues" or " deadhouses," because of the popular notion that their
stock in trade may be used either for drinking or
embalming.
Some of the saloons are famous, such as Callahan's and Steve Brodie's; some of them do not display their proprietor's name; all of them are carefully watched by the police, who know the general
character of their patronage and frequently find in
them men who are "wanted."    It is not uncommon
to see these saloons crowded with men of the most
forbidding type, drinking liquor of such quality and
in such quantities as to make the operation seem
little short of miraculous. Close to the saloons are
numerous pawn-shops, and there is one dusty old
curiosity shop.  These institutions have a heavy
clientage, and the Jews who manage them seem to
prosper. They range from the "fence," which, while
apparently an ordinary pawn-shop, is in reality a
place for the reception of stolen goods, to places
like Simpson's (which has a national reputation). In
this part of the City the proportion of redeemed
goods is small, and, therefore, there are many pawnbrokers' sale stores which are filled with such varieties of pledgeable articles as to make the inspection of their show-windows much like the viewing
of curiosities in a museum. There are revolvers of
every description, and watches of every kind. Secondhand clothing stores abound, and they do a rushing
376




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


business; for their merits are known through the
entire City, and impecunious people flock here, as
well as to Baxter Street, to be incased in clothing
which they are assured "fids like de paper on de
vail." At Pearl Street we cross the first "Kissing
bridge. "  Long ago the stream was filled up and
the bridge was removed; long ago the pastoral sweetness of Pearl Street passed away; long ago rustic
innocence fled before the march of "development."
At Duane Street we see Hall's Hotel, which used
to be "Sweeney's"-where Isaiah Rynders and the
Empire Club used to lay in brawn and muscle.
Looking east we see -that practical philanthropy,
the News-Boys' Lodging-house, and around and beyond it are acres of squalid tenement houses. Looking west through Duane Street we see first the
Catholic church, which a few years ago was the
scene of one of the many horrors of the district.
A large warehouse adjoining it had been gutted by
fire, so that the west wall towering above the
church was insecure; though the fact had not been
noticed. While the church was crowded with people
the wall fell, crashed through the roof of the
church, killed a number of worshipers outright,
and in the consequent panic many were crushed at
the inadequate exit. Just back of the church were
the gallows and the stake of olden times. Further
up the street, at the northwest corner of Center
Street, we notice a peculiar corner of mixed-up buildings, the like of which cannot be found elsewhere.
An old brick building bearing the sign of one
377




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Flynn, a truckman, shows indistinctly the traces of
letters which may be almost deciphered and which
once read the "Sixth Ward Hotel."    This building
is all that remains of the famous "Dooley's LongRoom." This was the central point of the ruddy
politics of the old Sixth Ward, when Con Donoho
was the head of the Street Cleaning Department of
the ward, and by virtue of that office the commander of its hard hitting forces and likewise its
political leader. No district in the City was more
potent in shaping its political trend, and out of it
very frequently went armed and ruthless ruffians,
who, in obedience to the directions of their leaders,
impressed their peculiar doctrines in their own impressive ways upon less forcible voters in other districts. Here were held conventions and primaries,
balls and raffles, celebrations and riots. The ward
was so overwhelmingly Democratic that its leading
spirits could fight with each other for the local
offices without giving any other party a chance of
success, and so there were many struggles between
the factions of the dominant party for the control
of the primaries and conventions that were regularly
called to be held at Dooley's. Many a time the
proceedings were settled in favor of one or other
of these factions by a resort-to fists and clubs, and
by pitching the beaten politicians out of the windows. Before Donoho's time that hard-faced, heavyhanded old rapscallion, Isaiah Rynders, was the controlling spirit.  There was nothing  that Rynders
couldn't or wouldn't do, and there are many dark
378




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


stories of his conduct during the draft riots of 1863.
-The annals of those times show that Rynders was
the "boss of the district" during the great contest
between Polk and Clay in 1844, and that his close
associates were Bill Ford, Country McCleester, Hen
Chanfrau, Manny Kelly, Dirty-face Jack and Mike
Philips. Donoho was the protege of Felix O'Niel,
one of the unscrupulous patriots of the Irish period
of our City's development. Mrs. Donoho was his
first lieutenant, and his close associates were John
Laydon, Bill Scally, Black John McMahon and Pete
Fieriety. Donoho had a better heart than Rynders,
and, while keen and cunning, had a good-nature
and a joviality that were lacking in his predecessor, so that he was in favor and on close terms
with the strongest politicians of the City, such as
Tweed, Delavan, McKeon, Kennedy, Wood, Brennan, Cornell, Kelly and Charlick. Donoho's secondary business was the running of a typical Sixth
Ward grocery, in which wet goods outclassed green
goods and dry goods. It was on Baxter Street near
the Bowery. His principal opponent was Pat Kelly,
who kept a liquor store at the corner of Mott and
Bayard Streets. The succession of Donoho to the
proud position which was so long occupied by Rynders came through one of the typical conventions
at Dooley's Long-Room, when, both sides having
prepared for the inevitable fight, the battle resulted
in the throwing of Rynders and his contingent into
the street and the enthroning of the opposition, in
which Donoho was a brave and conspicuous fighter.
379




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Among the politicians who rose to fame through
the politics of the Sixth Ward was Mat Brennan.
The reminiscences of Florry Kernan are invaluable
to the investigator of this neighborhood.  He says
that the Five Points was a fairly respectable neighborhood, and some portions of it were occupied by
a very nice class of people, until the coming in of
the cheap groceries, of which Donoho's was a type;
A Row in the Sixth Ward.
and he mentions the first of these groceries as one
on Center Street, just south of Worth Street, which
was kept by one Rossana Peers, and about which
and its neighboring groceries that celebrated organization of young toughs, the "Forty Thieves," revolved.
At that time there were many respectable negro
families living in Baxter Street. Perhaps they were
380




i:, i   ~.~...; ~;.?*,
CALLAHAN'S SALOON ON THE BOWERY.         ' ^.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 378.,




I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


the descendants of the negro colony which was begun in the early Dutch     days.  A  trace of this
period still exists in the house Number 42 Baxter
Street, now occupied by a cheap clothing-store and
numerous Five Points citizens, but which shows on
its front a tablet indicating its use in a negro
charity.  The negroes were forced   to retire and
the Jews came in, finding a good field for the
exercise of their qualifications in the assisting of
thieves to dispose of their plunder.  To this day
the Jews of Baxter Street are an irreligious lot,
reprobated even by their own people.     We must
not stand here too long, indulging in reminiscences
about portions of the neighborhood which are invisible from this point, but through which we shall
soon make our way. With our eyes open, noticing
not only the buildings and the stores, but also the
many types of people whom we pass, we make
our way toward Chatham Square. It is evident
that we are not the only sightseers; soldiers from
the forts in the harbor, sailors from the ships in
port, open-mouthed countrymen, ministers and writers
in search of illustrations, reporters looking for interesting items, old people recalling early recollections,
and occasionally Western and Southern toughs, who
have a lofty disdain for the reputed prowess of the
Bowery habituees: specimens of all these are frequently met. Pickpockets, confidence men, the operators of knock-out drops, and their partners in crime,
are likewise evident to those who know the signs.
Frequently newly arrived immigrants may be seen
381




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


taking their early lessons in American citizenship.
It sometimes happens that the Western cowboys,
miners, ranchers and other tough boys, and the
fire-eating "Colonels" from the South, run up
against "trouble" in their disdain of opinion in
general on the Bowery, and the results as brought
out in police episodes are extremely amusing. A
foreigner who had got into this sort of trouble, and
who appeared before the judge before he had lost
the effects of his drams, conceived the idea of overawing the court with his importance. This illustration, taken from a daily paper, shows the way that
An eminent Magistrate and the effect of an Offender's defiance of him.
the eminent magistrate became manifest to the unfortunate prisoner, whose courage departed as justice
rose to view.
The other day two Texas Colonels imbibed too
freely of Chatham  Street whisky, and this was the
dialogue before his Honor, Magistrate Simms, at
the Tombs Police Court:
"Well, Colonel Hardy and Colonel Scott, you are
both charged by this officer with being drunk and
fighting in the Bowery at a late hour last night.
What have you to say to the charge?"
"Yo' Honah," said Colonel Hardy, straightening
up to his full height, "mah friend, Kunnel Scott,
was ceht'n'ly a little the whose foh the lickah he
382




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-Av - -, -
1-1 1,ST PA
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uUNJ-r - uV' DUANE AIND UENTJER STREETS..New York, Vol. Two, p. 380.




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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


had in him, but I should have keered foh him like
a brothah, sah, an' seen that he didn't git into no
trouble whatevah, sah. The Kunnel an' myse'f had
left ouah guns at ouah hotel, sah, so's it's a selfevident fact that we couldn't have done no fightin'
to speak of, sah, no mattah what this yeah police
officah says."
"The big fellow was hammering the little one
when I arrested them," said Detective Coyle of the
Elizabeth Street Station, "and the little one said
that he would lodge a complaint against him."
"An' I'm prepahed to do so, sah!" said Colonel
Scott, speaking for the first time.  "That man is
mah friend, Judge, an' I come up yeh from Texas
along with him. But I want to say right yeh,
sah, that Kunnel Percy Hardy has been a-persecutin' me foh twenty yeahs, sah!"
"Persecuting you for twenty years?" queried the
Court, gently.
"Yes, sah, foh all of that time, sah. We have
always been friends, but he has always bothahed
me, sah, one way an' anothah,"
"In what way," asked the magistrate, while
Colonel -Hardy stared at Colonel Scott in openmouthed astonishment.
"In vayous ways, sah. One time he got up a
lynchin' down in Texas, an' he nevah said nothin'
about it to me, sah, his best fre'n', till it was all
ovah. He assaulted me in the streets of Galveston
one night, right aftah Gov'nah Culberson's election,
two yeahs ago, an' now he's assaulted me again,
383




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


sah, yeh in a strange city, jes' when we all was
takin' a drink ovah the good news that Texas was
still Democratic."
"I had to hit him, Yo' Honah," put in Colonel
Hardy. "He was makin' a confounded ass of himse'f an' disgracin' ouah common State, sah; but
about that lynchin', sah, it wasn't my lynchin', an'
I did staht a boy on a mule aftah him as soon
as it looked as if the lynchin' was comin' off."
"Three dollars for the assault," said the magistrate; "the lynching was outside of this Court's
jurisdiction."
The two colonels left the court-room arm-in-arm,
after Colonel Scott had transacted the formal business of attending to the liquidation of Colonel
Hardy's fine.
Here is a picture of the occurrence, stolen from
the morning newspaper from which we have quoted.
On the 12th of December Edward McCormick
was stabbed in front of Number 1 Bowery, and
"he. died with his boots on." Before passing away
he said that the man who cut him lived at Number 140 Cherry Street.  There the police found a
young tough named Michael W halen, and he made
what appeared to be a frank statement of the
affair, which is so good a picture of Bowery and
Cherry Hill life that we reproduce it.   Whalen,
McCormick, Kid Barrett, Joe Kennedy, John Phillips and Ed. Farrant were drinking in Herzberg's
tough resort at Number 44 Division Street (New
384




TWO KENTUCKY COLONELS,
(See page 8182.)


A MEA~L FOR ONE CENT.
(See page 390.)  New York, Vol. Two, p. 884.."




I.               I
I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Israel). Whalen fell asleep and the others combined to rob him. He roused up and found McCormick trying to unbutton his coat, and when he
started to go home discovered that seven dollars
was missing from  his pockets.  He said: "Gimme
my money."-"Aw, go on, I'll punch ye in the
eye," answered McCormick.   Then the party went
out, and a woman told Whalen that they were dividing his money. He and Kennedy followed them
to the Bowery, where they mixed up in a free
fight. Whalen said: "They kept backing me up
the middle of the street, and pretty soon Kennedy
handed me a knife, and said, 'Do him. He tried
to shoot me once.' "  At the next rush Whalen
stabbed McCormick with the knife, which he then
handed back to Kennedy and ran into the saloon.
In a moment the bartender cried out to him: "Get
away from here, McCormick is lying dead down the
street." Whalen ran away and met Phillips, whom
he struck in the face and continued on his flight.
The men were all jailbirds.
Sometimes the women take a hand in the general unpleasantness. It is only a few days ago
that Margaret Hall, alias "Gentle Maggie," and
Elizabeth Jennings, alias "Lizzie the Dove," engaged in a ferocious fight over a man. "I tell
you he's my fellow, not yours," said Gentle Maggie, "and if I catch ye near him   I'll break yer
face! See?" "The Dove" flashed a knife in Maggie's face, and down the gentle creature dropped
with two ugly cuts in her throat. Kate Carroll,
Q-2                385




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


alias "Bunty," the faithful friend of Danny Lyons,
the chief of the "Whyo Gang" (hanged at the
Tombs), presided over the fight.  At the hospital
"Gentle Maggie" said to the doctor: "She ain't
done me yet. Let me alone. I don't want no police or doctors. I'll do her myself."
Here at Chatham Square was the region of fever
and ague. All traces of marsh and sluggish streams
are covered from  the eye, but the ground is still
unhealthy.  Running out to the east is a broad
street once occupied by wealthy, refined and fashionable families, living in stately and spacious mansions which are now filled with a Jewish population that crowds into every inch of room. Oriental
signs, faces, manners and customs are all apparent
through this highway, out of which run many side
streets that are filled with even a greater horde of
poorer and more ignorant Jews. The fronts of the
buildings on East Broadway are liberally besprinkled
with the   signboards of Jewish  "congregations,"
many of which are translated into English, such as
the "Hope of Heaven Congregation," the "Gates of
Gold Congregation."  This is in marked contrast to
the Baxter Street Jewry, in which but few religious signs can be found. As we look about we see
a mixture of modern tenements and stores, with
many houses that show the signs of age and of
former grandeur.  A curious wooden effigy, representing an infant holding a bottle, perched over the
show-window  of a restaurant on East Broadway
near Chatham Square, marks the spot where Mrs.
386




 a,
I I 9,.,
I.. I




LOOKING WEST FROM CHATHAM SQUARE..
New York, Vol. Two, p. 386.  * *




r
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I I;;
6
El E
P
E
r:.


r
r.
~:a9k I'~11;


LOOKING SOUTH FROM CHATHAM SQUARE.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 387. ' *  '
-   "I




4,... I I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Winslow's Soothing Syrup was introduced to a suffering "baby-world," and lifted its proprietor to an
eminence of fame, philanthropy and wealth. Somewhere in the interior of this block, in Colonel Rutger's orchard, the patriot Nathan Hale was hanged.
All through this region were the American breastworks of 1776.    Oliver, Catherine  and  Division
Streets run out toward the east, and they present
startling pictures of the debased humanity that has
filled this section which once was occupied by the
choicest of New York's citizenship.  On the New
Bowery, which runs south out of Chatham Square,
is a small remnant of the Jews' burying-ground,
the first land in the City of New York granted to
that faith for burial purposes. The deed was made
by Noe Willey of London in 1729, and the tract
was bounded by Chatham, Catherine and Oliver
Streets. The large building at the north end of
the Square, now  called the Kingston  House, and
partly occupied by a big "five cent saloon," once
called "the Post-office," has been a resort for the
small criminals of the Bowery for many years. In
earlier days, big crooks made it their headquarters.
"Reddy the Blacksmith" and his "sister," "Mary
Varley," had their "dive" in its basement, and
there they and their pals planned many of their
burglaries and other violent crimes. It was Reddy
who killed Jimmy Haggerty, the noted Philadelphia
thug, at Patsey Egan's saloon, corner of Broadway
and Houston Street.
On Catherine Street, in the rear of Varley's,
387




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


was Paddy Quinn's "Island No. 10," which was a
noted resort for thieves and prostitutes. The building is standing yet. Quinn was sent to the Penitentiary many times for assaulting policemen.
New York was an awfully dangerous place thirty
or forty years ago. The bravest and hardiest criminals of the land walked the streets boldly, and
gathered in their established headquarters in sight of
the people and the police, practically free from interference, unless they committed atrocious murder
or were caught in the act of burglary.    Housebreakers,  highwaymen,  masked    burglars,  bank
thieves, river pirates of our own City and of the
other cities of our land and from foreign countries,
gathered in New York, and preyed on her people,
and raided other cities for hundreds of' miles about.
Highway robberies were committed in daylight in
the middle of Broadway, which was a regular
promenade for gamblers, swindlers and thieves; it
was not safe to walk on the Bowery at any time,
and to go through the Fourth Ward wearing good
clothes was to court death.  The miserable little
criminals that still haunt Chatham  Square are a
sorry remnant of the robber bands that once owned
the place. A fine old "crook" said to me mournfully: "The Bowery is stale; the town is dead. I
could stand on the Bowery for hours and not see
two of my friends. They are on Sixth Avenue or
125th 'Street, but they are not doing anything in
town. When the gambling houses on the Bowery
were shut up that ruined business. It stopped the
388




I  I




1X-W
f-           2


THE BOWERY, LOOKING EAST FROM CHATHAM SQUARE.
New York, Vol. Two, h.. M  -




11


MOTT STREET, LOOKING WEST FROM CHATHAM SQUARE...
New York, Vol. Two, p. 389.




I
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NEW YORK CITY LIFE


money.   These nasty little Bowery thieves to-day
haven't got nerve to do a big job, but they would
kill a drunken man to get ten dollars." There are
a few ghosts of the olden days still walking about,
like "Scotchy Lavelle," the old river thief and garroter, who for a number of years has lived quietly
and well-if out of sight-in the heart of Chinatown, surrounded by a few modern desperadoes
who worship him, but have not the courage nor
the opportunity to do his deeds of daring. They
listen and wonder at the tales that he tells of the
good old days, and of the mighty deeds of Patsey
Conroy's "mob."   His protege, "Chuck Connors"
(the Insect), worships him, and there is a little current of shambling figures that make pilgrimages from
Mike Callahan's saloon on the Square to the retreat
in Doyer Street opposite the Chinese theater, where
the great Chuck's wise words may be listened to,
and the sight of Lavelle may inspire them to courageous deeds on the Bowery. The Chinese of Doyer
Street give Lavelle a wide berth. Some time ago
Chuck chased a Chinaman into the cellar, and tried
to batter down the door behind which the terrified
Oriental had taken refuge. The Chinaman fired a
pistol bullet through the door, and Chuck-degenerate Chuck-ran for a policeman and had him arrested.  The magistrate discharged the Chinaman.
Among Lavelle's respectable occupations were those
of "bouncer" in the old sailors' resort, "The Flag
of our Union," on James Street, and bartender in
a saloon on Baxter Street near the Bowery, which
389




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


is still in existence. That saloon had an attachment
called "the velvet room."  When old rounders were
reduced to a single nickel, and claimed the privilege of the velvet room, they were given extra
large bowls of liquor, which they took into the
room and drank until insensible, and sometimes fifty
"bummers" of both sexes would be lying on the
floor in every possible position, "dead to the world"
and its sorrows.
The regular habitues of the neighborhood are
"hard up. "  They cannot do    as they formerly
did.  It is not possible now for murderers, pirates
and thugs to gather, plan and live together as
they did once.  They are followed up too sharply. The police have learned how to blow the Persian powder into the vermin haunts, and to keep
them from being colonized. The miserable condition
of affairs in this former Court of Crime-a condition which must sadden the hearts of faithful crooks
the world over-may be seen by watching the penny
restaurant inside the fence of the Mariners' Temple,
on Henry Street near Chatham Square. Sometimes
fourteen hundred people eat there in a day. A onecent meal may consist of a bowl of coffee and
chicory and a slice of stale bread, or a bowl of
pea soup and a slice of stale bread. Over twenty
quarts of peas and over a hundred and twenty
loaves of stale bread are used daily.
Poor human nature gives way under the pressure
and the attrition of life, here, as well as in more
390




K L^ B- as:< '- r ~'/-  * r.  i
*Mt IVYY


LOOKING TOWARD THE "WORLD" BUILDING FROM CHATHAM SQUARE.  *..
New York, Vol. Two, p. 390..




* e.




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


favored parts of the City. A few days ago a simple Greek, who kept an oyster stand on Chatham
Square, and who had waged a long hard fight with
poverty, went mad suddenly, and rushed upon the
passing pedestrians with his oyster knife, with which
he stabbed two men before he was secured. Shortly
before that, George Appo, a victim of the slums,
bought a knife and deliberately took his place at
the corner of Mott Street and stabbed the first man
who came along, a stranger to him. His mind, too,
had yielded to the strain, the lack of nourishment
and the degenerate tendency. On the SNew Bowery
corner was the original hand organ factory of Mr.
Taylor.  After mending  organs there for many
years, he lost his reason and killed himself by
jumping from his window. Some time before that
a man walked into a gun store, purchased a revolver and some cartridges, and then deliberately
shot himself.
Stretching away to the north is the picturesque
Bowery, leading to the great upper east side of the
City, and at its end are Stuyvesant's Bowerie (his
house was close to St. Mark's Church), the Bible
House, Tompkin's Market (for many years the home
of the 7th Regiment), and the Cooper. Institute,
where the greatest men of the nation have proclaimed the greatest truths to popular assemblies,
and where the practical philanthropy of Peter
Cooper opens the ways of learning to the deserving
and ambitious youth of the City.
391




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS
Second Annual                  B A L L          Work: Ab-h Ferget It
OF THE
CHUCK CONNORS
C LU B
AT TAMTMANY -HALL.
BOARD OF OFFICERS.                   BOARD OF OFFICERS.
William Norr, President,           George Francis Train, Fin. Sec'y,
John Mandigo, Vice-Pres.,          Sam Austin, Treasurer,
Dan Meehan, 2d Vice-Pres.,         Fred Tara]. Sergeant-at-Arms,
Howard Hackett, Rec. Sec'y,        Charles Cody, Assistant,
William O'Toole, Cor. Sec'y,       Pinkey, of Yale, Captain.
MONDAY EVE., JAINUARY 25, 1897.
MUTSIC-   Da-nce, Prof. Wolf.
Promenade. Prof. Yee Wah Lung's Chinese Orchestra.
TICKETS, admitting Gent and Lady (including Hlat Check),  — 50 Cents.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
George Arnold,         Mickey Finn,             Arthur Lumley,
Jean Comiskey,         Tim D. Sullivan,         John P. Eckhardt,
Roland B. Molineaux,  IRichard 'Mansfield,      Honest John Kelly,
Robert Stoll,          Frederick Wilson,        Ben C. Williams,
R. F. Outcault         Oscar Hammerstein,       Dan Smith,
(The Yellow Kid),  iGeo. R. Luks            June Ranken,
Walt. B. McDougall,            (Hogan's Alley),  Harry B. Wilson,
Dan. McCarthy,         Tim D. Sullivan, 2,      Joe Vila,
Frank Stevenson,       Tom O'Rourke,            Michael J. Callahan,
Jimmy Lynch,           James C Kennedy,         Joe Bryan,
Steve Brodie,          Pat Powers,              Bob Fitzsimmons.
Fred Burns,            Tim Hurst,               Martin Julian,
Charles Genslinger,    Barney Flinn,            Bart O'Connor,
Charles Comiskey,      Joe McCabe,              Martin Kirby,
Bob Dore,              William Kilboy           Louis Horn,
Albert Chevalier,      Patrick H. O'Connor,     Carley White,
Florrie Sullivan,      John L. Suillivan,       L      nhm
Bfiy Newman,           Fred Fleck,              Matn   olig
AlSih              illiam O'Toole,       M. Gaspard,
Jim Wakely,            ParsonD Davies,          Al F. Camacho,
Charley Smith,         Jim Corbett,            Jim Lavelle,
Con Cunningham,        Oscar D Peterson,        Andy Horn.
Henry Duckett,         Pat Farley,
ABE SPRUNG, Mayor of Poverty Hollow,    M. LAvicav, Mayor of 7th Ave.,
H. HANNAURR, Mayor of Ave. C,
J. BuRKE, Mayor of the Bowery,  Tom LEE, Mayor of Chinatown.
THE FOLLOWING CLUBS WILL BE REPRESENTED:
The Yale Freshmen,     The Desperate Seven,     The Stuffed Club,
The Knickerb'krlcemen, The Broadway A. C.,      Th e Sweet Sixteen Club,
The Youknow Club,      The Bartenders' Club,    The Roosevelt Club,
The Lee Hung Fat Club,  The Santa Maria Club,   The St. Nicholas Club,
The Hasty Pudding 6ub, The Chatham Club,        The Girl Getters Club,
The Princeton Club,    The Bohemian A. C.,      The Racket & Tennis Club
The Knickerbocker Club,




n.U


SOME BOWERY TYPES.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 393.


~  6
*.




I.,*I. - -




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


The Bowery below Canal Street has much of
the same character as Park Row, and perhaps is
even more frequented by criminals. The saloon at
Number 25 Bowery, known as the "Morgue," has
a large patronage of the aristocracy of that part of
the City, and a fair idea of the character of said
aristocracy may be gathered by observing its customers. A few relics of the "Whyo Gang" make
it a rendezvous. A few nights ago they had a
little diversion, which, though quite an ordinary
affair, seemed to the common people of New York
to have the flavor of the wild West. A party of
petty thieves and "pan-handlers" (able-bodied street
beggars), went into the "Morgue" to divide their
booty and to brace up for another raid. Two of
the men, known as "English Charley" and "Denver Hop," began to quarrel, and then whipped out
their revolvers and fired away at each other. Then
there was an uproar, those in the saloon trying to
get out to avoid the bullets, and those who were
in the street trying to get in to see the fun.
When a policeman arrived the heroes had disappeared, and there were a number of bullets in the
wall, but there was no trace of blood anywhere.
Later in the night the shooters returned, and when
the bartender refused to give them any more beer,
they declared they would bring the gang around
and clean out the place, but up to date they have
not appeared.
This is what occurs sometimes after drinking
from the fountain in the "Morgue."
393




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


Nothing stirs the heart of the Bowery youth so
much as the dime novel that tells of fighting Indians. There was a little fellow named Jimmie
Fallon, who devoted himself to this literature, and
became thoroughly posted in all the yellow-covered
ways, habits and customs of the red man; he
talked of nothing else, and every penny that he
could get was saved    for firearms.  His mother
worried about him, and his father determined to
cure him by giving him a taste of the West. He,~/      i,        sent him to a brother in Nef        braska, who, when on a visit
~       to New York, had been piloted. by Jimmie through all dangers
1        Atj^  of the east side.  "Give him
to me," said Uncle Pat to
' Jimmie's father; "I'll cure
him of his Indian fever. We've
plenty of red devils in NeHe Fought a Wooden Indian. braska." Jimmie went to Nebraska and became one of his uncle's "cow-punchers."
He soon discovered that the ranch bordered on the
reservation of the Crow  Indians.  They were perfectly harmless, but Uncle Pat did not tell that to
Jimmie; on the contrary, he and the ranchers told
him many wild stories of the blood-thirsty Indians.
Uncle Pat arranged with some of the Indians to
give Jimmie a scare and drive the fever out
of him. One day, while he was at work, a party
of the Indians appeared by the river and began
to move stealthily toward him.   They  made be

394




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


lieve fish upstream in his direction, and he watched
them carefully, until suddenly they threw down
their fishing-rods, picked up their rifles, gave their
war-whoop, and rushed for the unprotected farm
hands, who, in furtherance of the joke, fled in apparent dismay. The Indians fired rapidly, and occasionally a white man fell to the ground, pretending to be hurt.   Presently Jimmie was alone, for
all of his fellows were stretched on the earth.
Then his Bowery courage asserted itself, and he
determined to sell his life dearly. He drew a revolver that he had bought in a Park Row store
and fired rapidly. The first bullet missed, the second struck the right ear of Chief Red Eagle, the
third hit the chief's son-in-law; and then the Indians turned and fled, with Jimmie in full pursuit.
Uncle Pat shipped Jimmie back to the Bowery to
save him from the vengeance of the redskins, and
he is having the task of his life to settle the matter with the Indians.
A recent round-up of a "robber band" in this
part of the Bowery illustrates the conditions in the
section which we are discussing. Max Loewenstein
and Julius Bollanger of 39 Bowery, William Werner of 192 Allen Street (New   Israel), and Mary
Miller of 28 Madison Street (Cherry Hill), Frank
Szantho of 26 State Street (Brooklyn), Henry Miller
of 125 Washington Street (Armenia), and William
Wintail and Louis Mayer of 18 Eldridge Street
(New Israel), were the members of the gang. They
had committed highway robberies and burglaries as
395




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


far as Fairfield, Connecticut, in one direction, and
Summit, New Jersey, in another. Their booty was
stored at Number 26 State Street (Brooklyn) and
20 Cherry Street (Cherry Hill). They were traced
partly by their pawning portions of their plunder
in Park Row pawn-shops. They were in the habit
of meeting at Gross's saloon, at the corner of Orchard and Division Streets (New Israel), where they
drank and played "pinochle."
The Robber Band.
There are drinking places in New York which
are filthier and minister to more depravity than the
"Morgue." In the Five Points there are stale beer
dives out of which fortunes have been made, and
from which Italian "bankers" have been evolved;
down on Cherry Hill are dens hidden from the light
and patronized only by thieves; shameful places
there are, and scores, perhaps hundreds of them,
beside which the "Morgue" would seem to be quite
respectable; but perhaps the most unique of all vi

396




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


cious drinking places is a "dead house" on 18th
Street, in what is called the "gas-house district."
It is a "Mecca" for vagrants and "bums" of New
York, Brooklyn and New Jersey. The price of a
drink is five cents; no glasses are used. A barrel
of fiery liquor stands on a shelf and gives out its
contents through a rubber hose. The tramp customer first lays his nickel on the counter, then is
allowed to take the hose into his mouth, and he
is entitled to all that he can imbibe without breathing. When he stops to take breath the supply is
shut off, and nothing but another nickel will turn
it on again. With such places as the "Morgue"
and the cheap lodging-houses of the Bowery, it
does not take long to make a tramp.    A reporter
found a wretched man lying in a stale beer dive
at Number 7 Park Street, and discovered that only
five weeks before he had come to New York in
good condition and with a fair prospect of success.
He was a carpenter in Dubuque, Iowa, and had
come to New York to better himself.    He looked
for work and found none, and little by little used
up the small savings which he had brought with
him. As his funds became reduced he fell down to
the lodging-houses, and dropped down through them
until he reached the cheapest, and fell through that
to the level of the Park benches. Through this
course he became acquainted with other hard-faring
homeless men, and, adopting their ways, he reached
what seemed to be bottom in the stale beer dives.
The Bowery still contains some famous drinking
397




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


saloons. The oldest of them is Harry Cooper's, at
the northeast corner of Houston Street, which has
been conducted by Mr. Cooper for over fifty years.
At 20 Bowery is McKeon's, which has been in
existence fifty years, and has been run by McKeon
for thirty years.  In old times Polly Hopkins, a
noted gambler, kept it, and the place was a great
resort for the "Bowery Boys." In the fifties the
pugilist Tom Hyer kept a drinking place at Number 42 Bowery, in the building which still stands
there. It was a favorite headquarters for fighters
and gamblers.  Old Tom Maguire kept a resort at
4 Spring Street that attracted the sporting men,
and he managed many dog fights and cock fights.
"Uncle Harrison" opened the "Columbian" at 227
Chatham  Street fifty years ago.  It is the original
"Tom   and Jerry House."   The politicians of the
Fourth and Sixth Wards made it a meeting place.
Another old place is Thompson's, 166 Chatham Street.
It was famous in the fifties, but has often changed
hands.  At the upper end of the Bowery we may
notice "Old Man Flood's" (27 Third Avenue), which
has been running since the time when the site of
the Bible House was a stoneyard, and the Cooper
Union site was occupied by shanties and a hay-scales.
Its earliest proprietor saw Peter Cooper's grocery
store, and saw the philanthropist move his home
from the Bible House block to its present situation
at Fourth Avenue and 28th Street.    The Bowery
life of old drew much of its inspiration from the
"saloons," and these places are interesting relics.
398




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Over on Broadway, Numbers 663 and 665, at
present the New York Hotel, are the first marble
front buildings erected in the City-marvels in their
day (1825).
The Bowery, once sacred to the uses of the
"Bowery Boy," has been invaded by Jews of humble mien and commercial instincts.  The temples
once devoted to the legitimate drama, and then to
the weird and bloody "Bowery play," now     echo
to the wailings of Jewish Camilles and Desdemonas,
to piercing hissings at villains, and thick-tongued
and fat-handed applause of heroes.  The Windsor
Theater, where "Johnny Thompson On Hand" and
"Hands Across the Sea" delighted old-fashioned
Bowery audiences, now sadly yields to strange Oriental crowds, who talk desperately about Salome
and other characters unknown to us.     The old
Bowery Theater, the home of famous and florid
Thespians of the past, knows no longer any English tongue, and has even changed its name, now
being called the "Thalia."  The good old playbills of these theaters, that used to be done up in
choice expressive English, now show only pot-hooks
and bent tacks that are as hard a problem to the
eye as the Yiddish jargon is to the ear. And this
Thalia Theater is the old Bowery: the real old
Bowery that used to rejoice in its Americanisms
and its flag wavings; for was it not in the Bull's
Head Tavern, on the very site of the famous
theater, that General Washington washed the Harlem dust out of his throat with good old Bowery
399




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


ale on Evacuation Day in 1783, and was it not the
very spot where the English bushwhackers sold the
cattle and horses captured from the patriots during
the British occupation?
Advertisenmet from Rivington's "Royal Gazette," 1779.
To be sold this day at public auction at the Bull's
Head Tavern on the Bowery Road, between XI and XII
o'clock, twenty-one elegant horses, which have been in
the Rebel Dragoon Service; also near thirty head of
horned cattle, saddles and bridles, some sheep, three
waggons, etc.
Bull's Head Tavern, Site of New York (Bowery) Theater.
These Jews think more of the splendid facilities
of the Bowery Savings Bank close by, which they
believe to be a much better institution than any
old American theater or Bull's Head Tavern. They
have helped to swell its surplus until now it is the
greatest savings bank in the world.
Occasionally the shrewd managers of these judaized old theaters give the Italians a day.   They
are entitled to much credit for their high ambitions, and their efforts to elevate the people. Very
400




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


recently the play was "Hamlet."   In the theatrical
news of the "Herald" the startling and wonderful
performance was described in flaming headlines in
this way:
A BOWERY      "HAMLET."
Italian Pushcart Peddlers Witness
Mr. William Shakespeare's Tragedy of
the Melancholy Dane.
BOUNDLESS      APPRECIATION.
Cheers for a Red and Blue Ghost, an
Ophelia in Satin, and a Hamlet
in Purple Fleshings.
THEY    LIKED   THE KILLING      BEST.
Uproarious Enthusiasm at the Sight of
Shining Blades and Stilettos
in the last Act..- A' — a  W^,      0. r ]
(.G.         I          f
The Italian Audience.
The body of the house was fully occupied by
Italians. The men were without coats, vests, col401




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


lars or neckties, and the women wore colored handkerchiefs on their heads. Polonius wore a long red
coat with an ermine collar and a beard long and
white. He was very funny in Italian, and when
The Ghost.                   Hamlet.
Hamlet pulled his whiskers, and the Dane transfixed him with his sword, applause and laughter
struggled for the mastery. There were no less than
six curtain calls after each act.
Every local tragedy is portrayed upon the stages
of these Bowery theaters before large and enthusiastic audiences. Recently the walls of the old Bowery Theater resounded to the portrayal of the
play entitled, "The Life of the Soul in the Dream;
or, An Extract from the Trial of Maria Barberi."
All the shocking details of the ghastly tragedy were
shown, and nothing received more applause than the
murder of Cataldo the villain. Mme. Adler enacted
the role of Maria, Miss Gudinsky personated Maria's
mother, Mr. Adler represented Mr. Barberi, and Mr.
Goldstein  made up   as Judge Gildersleeve.   The
heavy part of Dominico Cataldo was sustained by
402




I


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XI ~~,
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ax;t*:*::X:.*?"sd671Q\
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ir~~~.~ ~L
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I  -- ----    -................   -.. - —._ — ~, —',, -,  ~,'...... - -,  '. A ' ' ' ' -"..'-^,-."-'...............*, —, ''
CBINESE STORE, 31- MIOTT STREET..
New York, Vol. Two, p. 403.  * v *,  * *1 -*




- 40
I.. I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Mr. Rotstein, and the sympathetic character of Mrs.
Foster, the "<Tombs Angel," was taken by Mrs. Edelstein. Mr. Thornberg was the District-attorney.
On this same stage have been presented the mur
derous acts of Carlyle Harris and Dr. Buchanan.
The Homestead Riots have also been shown.
The Bull's Head Tavern was removed to 24th
Street and Third Avenue, where its dismal and illreputed remains may yet be seen. Once it was
the headquarters of the horse and cattle trade, and
Uncle Daniel Drew laid the foundations of his fortune while he owned it.
Turning to our left, we notice the narrow space
inclosed by Mott and Pell Streets and the Bowery.
This is Chinatown. Very many years ago a brewery occupied the triangle, and a portion of its walls
are in the "Brewery Flats."   The father of the
Chinese colony was Ah Ken. He arrived in New
York in 1858, hired a frame house on Mott Street,
and put his little capital into a cigar stand on
Park Row. He prospered, and other Chinamen,
hearing of his success, joined him in founding the
Chinese colony.
The earliest member of the colony now living is
Lou Sing, who is a truckman, and now lives on
Cherry Street near Oak   Street.  He married an
Irish woman and had two sons. The woman was
the head of the family. One of the sons showed
his mother's genius by securing an appointment on
the police force.
403




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


In Chinatown live some eight hundred Chinamen, with a varying number of degraded white
women.   There are about fifty stores, but how
many gambling, lottery and opium dens there are,
only the Chinamen and the police who have protected them can tell, and you may be sure they
will not tell. Here live many Chinamen who have
no visible means of support. We are familiar with
the Chinese laundries that are to be found in all
parts of the City, and with the industrious Chinese
who live behind them, but there is a different class
of men who live here in Chinatown the year round.
On Sundays the population of the little City grows
to about three thousand, and dingy Doyer and Pell
Streets are filled with throngs quietly chattering,
slipping in and out of doorways, and pattering up
and down stairs, while there is a constant stream
of Chinamen coming from the elevated railroad station. The presence and the evident prosperity of
the do-nothing class; the proximity of the women;
the regular weekly influx of Chinamen, who come
from all parts of the City, and from New Jersey,
Long Island and Connecticut; the doors watched by
wary sentinels, and the flaming posters in Chinese
characters, are sufficient to inform all, except certain thick-witted, blue clad personages, that the
Chinamen are engaged in their national vices, regardless of the law of the land. Christian Chinamen have made their appearance in     Chinatown;
but, while many of them are sincere and conduct themselves in a praiseworthy manner, there are
404




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


others who, too plainly, have only gone through the
form of exchanging josses. There are some worthy
missionary enterprises, among which may be mentioned the Morning Star Mission of Doyer Street.
The marvel of this mission is its superintendent,
Miss Helen F. Clark, a beautiful, charming, cultivated, young woman, who, in the pursuit of her
duty, goes without hesitation into every house
and every room in Chinatown, coming in contact with its most disgusting forms of vice, preserving her sweetness, and carrying with her to the
heathen a veritable incarnation of the Christian spirit.
Their secrets have always been safe with her, for
she is after their souls, and realizes the opportunity which she gains through their confidence. Not
only has she reached the Chinese themselves, but
many of the girls. Some of these, who have drifted
out of choice homes, yielded to the opium habit,
and fallen into the depths of Chinatown, have been
rescued through her efforts. During the excitement
of Li Hung Chang's visit, while the streets were
full of curiosity seekers, both American and Chinese,
the mission rooms were made attractive by several
spiritual young Chinamen, who, arrayed in dress
suits in good American style, ranged themselves
about a cabinet organ and sang Moody and Sankey's hymns in seductive falsetto, to the delectation
of a crowd which gathered about the door. The
Chinese are divided into cliques, and there are several well defined and serious feuds among them.
The Lis are the aristocrats, and they hate the
405




THE AMIERICAN METROPOLIS


Wangs, who are the plebeians. The Lis know very
much about store-keeping and gambling; the Wangs
are experts in laundry work. The "Six Companies"
of California have their representatives in Chinatown, and between them and the smaller merchants
are innumerable jealousies. Of late years the gambling fraternity has protected itself through an organization called the On Long Tong (Protection Society). Other Chinamen of less social standing have
antagonized them through a mutual aid society,
which they have called the Hop Sing Tong (Helpeach-other Society), and the feud between these two
societies has led to aifrays on the street, the use
of slung-shots and hatchets, and numerous criminal
proceedings. Experience among these people shows
that, no matter upon which side they are enlisted,
truth is an unknown virtue, perfidy is a national
accomplishment, and brotherhood has no signification
to them. They have no concern in our government
or in the affairs of our City, except so far as they
may be protected from the operations of our laws
upon their customs and habits. They have learned
that money buys peace, and they have purchased
peace at liberal prices. They have their own mayor
and council, and not until recently have they been
found in our civil courts. High Chinese officials are
much disturbed at the recent disposition to seek the
intervention of the American courts, and the aid of
the Chinese consul has been invoked to secure a
renewed allegiance to the authority of Chinatown
officials, and obedience to its decrees in all matters
406




CHINESE JOSS HOUSE.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 407.




Itt.  I




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


of difference.  Their religious practices consist in
bribing numerous gods, either to intervene in their
favor, to send them good luck, to ward off disaster, or to reveal the future. Of worship they apparently have little idea. Joss-houses they have,
and the curious American gains admittance very
easy, and finds the priest open to the influences of
American money. Idolatry is not evident; of the
worshiping of images there is no trace. A Chinaman going to the joss-house makes his offering to
the priest, who either prays for good luck upon
some undertaking, or endeavors to divine the future upon some enterprise. Their little sticks of incense are familiar objects to us. He lights a bunch
of these, and extinguishes the flame with a wave
of the hand rather than with his unworthy breath,
leaving them to smolder on the altar. Then he
prostrates himself before the altar, and by the shaking out of one stick from a bunch, he finds a
number which corresponds to an entry in a carefully prepared book that stands for some oracular
sentence. We have seen prayers offered in behalf
of some of our very eminent American citizens by
the old priest in -the joss-house at 16 Mott Street, the
home of China's great war god. If one is bent
upon  prosecuting  his undertaking -oracle  or  no
oracle —and desires the interpositions of the god
for his good luck, he purchases a prayer printed
on paper which the priest burns in the chimney, with the belief that the ascending vapor will
tell its story to the god. When the function is
407




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


over, a soothing cup of tea is produced, much as
our enterprising store-keepers hand a chromo to a
purchaser of ninety-nine cents' worth of crockery.
The investigator of Chinatown may, if he is smart,
get into a fan-tan game or an opium joint, but
unless he is a bona fide visitor rather than a curiosity seeker-that is, unless he is an opium fiend,
he is not likely to have his curiosity gratified. The
joss-house, the restaurant and the theater, however,
are open to all comers.   One entering a Chinese
restaurant may have to do battle with his prejudices, and they will not be allayed by the strident
voices of the Chinese guests, nor by the slip-slopping of the waiters, who shuffle along with bare feet
stuck in loose slippers without backs or heels; but if
he can conquer his prejudices he will find that the
food is absolutely clean, scientifically prepared, and
wholesome in every respect.  He may, if he is goodnatured, go behind the scenes and investigate Chinese
cookery. Perhaps the first thing he will notice will
be a bar of soap with the ends of burned incense
tapers sticking in it. That was the morning offering to the god of the kitchen. There is a god of
the bedroom, a mother-in-law god, gods wonderful
and gods innumerable; and this god of the kitchen is
placated every morning. There is a touching appropriateness in the offering of incense to the god of the
kitchen from a bar of soap. In the kitchen there
are chickens waiting to be killed, for a Chinaman
cannot eat "high" poultry; his chickens are often
killed for him while he waits. There, too, are the
408




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


delicacies, such as ancient preserved eggs (Li Hung
Chang had one served to him three hundred years
old); desiccated sharks' fins, birds' nests, smoked pearl
oysters, dried flounders, sea-worms, and peculiar Chinese vegetables grown on their own farms at Astoria. The musty old delicacies imported from China
do not look particularly appetizing, but before they
are cooked and served they are scrubbed and rubbed
until elbow grease and water can do no more.
There is not much baking of bread or cake, still
there is enough to require the kneading of dough.
Our American cooks and bakers roll up their sleeves
and plunge their hands and arms into the mixture in a way that would shock the Chinese
cook; indeed, it is a general belief that bakers do
not always stop with the use of the hands and
arms. The Chinaman uses an ancient and effective
device for kneading his bread. A table is set close
to the wall; a heavy log is swung loosely in a
leather socket, which holds one end firmly down,
while the other end, projecting over the table, is
free; a lump of dough is placed upon the table,
and the kneader of bread throws his leg over the
log, which he brings down again and again upon
the mass of bread, giving the most astounding
whacks, so that it comes out thoroughly kneaded
and shaped.
It is not our purpose to give exhaustive descriptions of these places; they should be investigated by
searchers for the truth; and as the opening of Worth
Street let the daylight into the Five Points, brought
R-2                409




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


in currents of air and currents of travel, and scoured
out much of its foulness, so the invasion of the
heathen stronghold of Chinatown, by inquiring, public-spirited people, bent upon acquainting themselves
with all its conditions, will correct much that is dark
and unfitted to exist in the midst of our civilization.
A visit to the theater in Doyer Street near
Park Row will show the Chinamen at their best
and their worst.  The acting here begins early in
the evening and lasts until midnight, and sometimes
it takes a week to perform one play. The actors
never vary, and their costumes are always the same.
There is no scenery and no drop curtain, and but
few "properties," for these are unnecessary to a
Chinese audience, the imagination of the auditors
being sufficiently keen to supply the accessories.
Only the affluent Chinamen attend at the opening
of an evening's performance, because at that time
the highest price is charged. There is a reduction
at the end of each hour, until, at eleven o'clock,
the tariff is removed and the poor brethren are
admitted freely.  Of course there is a band.    It
occupies a position on the stage back of the center, and its members, kicking off their shoes, settle
into comfortable positions, and pound queer drums,
cymbals and nameless instruments of percussion, and
saw  on  one-stringed  fiddles, regardless of time,
rhythm, actors, audience and each other. The artist
of the band is the man who performs on the
wooden drum. Chinamen say that he sets the time
and leads the music, but no American can compre410




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


hend it.  While the band is gashing the air with
its jagged discords, and the audience of expectant
Chinamen looks for the appearance of the actors,
they (the actors) unconcernedly take observations of
the house and converse with the band through openings in the cloth wall of the green room, which
are conveniently arranged so that they may stick
their heads through them. Frequently, while a dialogue is going on behind the footlights, the actor
who is to come next sticks his head through one
of these openings in full view of the audience, and
gravely listens to the play until the time comes for
him to make his entree. The female characters are
portrayed by men, who make most earnest and
comical use of falsetto tones, and who imitate feminine gestures with considerable skill.  Occasionally
a general appears with his army. The army never
contains more than three men, but they stand for
three thousand or more, according to the requirements of the play.  When the action of the play
requires that the general jump upon his horse to
lead his soldiers into battle, the stage attendant,
who is always in sight, brings a saw-buck, and
the general, throwing his leg over it, resumes his
standing position, and then, in the minds of his
audience, is gloriously mounted. When a battle
takes place the conflicting armies, represented by
two or three men    on each   side, march  around
each other swinging their weapons in the air, but
never striking, and the stage attendant ignites a
saucer full of gunpowder.  When the powder goes
411




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


up the band has a fit, and the audience grunts its
approval.  There is one box in the theater.  It is
located on the stage facing the audience.  As the
theater fills up late in the evening the auditors frequently sit on the edge of the stage and swing their
feet.  When the play requires furious action two
devils' horns are brought out and     operated  by
leather-lunged Celestials, and they raise a racket
that threatens the integrity of American ear-drums.
When there are no American visitors the conduct
of the players sometimes becomes indecent, and
for this reason Americans are not especially welcome. On one occasion, when the theater was overcrowded with Chinamen intent on witnessing a
Celestial version of the Barrisons, there was a distinguished party of ladies and gentlemen occupying
the box on the stage, and when the play reached
its climax a notice in Chinese characters was hung
on a pillar where the audience could see it, and
the actors retired to the green-room.  Immediately
the audience became excited and demonstrative, and
it required the bringing out of the old horns to
restore it to its previous condition of beatification.
The courteous guide of the American party informed the ladies that the notice stated that the
great horn players and all of the orchestra would
play their best piece in honor of the American visitors, and that the noise of the audience was expressive of its gratification; but the truth leaked out
the next day, when the guide explained to the
gentlemen that the horn players had barely suc412




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


ceeded in quieting the audience, who were incensed
at the notice which stated that in deference to the
Americans who were present the Chinese gentlenen
must imagine the balance of the act, which would
take place in the green-room. The sightseer is glad
enough to get out of the dimly-lighted hall, with its
scowling Chinese faces and its smoke-laden atmosphere, even though his retreat from Chinatown must
be made through the most forbidding of New York's
crooked streets. Doyer Street is the cesspool of Chinatown, and abounds with both Chinese and American
lawlessness, and with the petty criminals of the
neighborhood, who make constant use of the crooked
street to communicate with each other and to elude
pursuit. It was in this street that Charlotte Temple died. The corner of Pell Street and the Bowery is a pickpocket's rendezvous, and a short distance from it there lives an Irish woman, who
for many years has held control of one of Chinatown's. peculiar institutions. She was supposed to
keep a boarding-house for the white women of
Chinatown, who paid her a weekly stipend for their
accommodations, but it is perfectly obvious that her
little shanty could never accommodate the boarders
from whom she received money. By a curious coincidence several of the most famous of the Central
Office detectives made daily visits to her place.
They made no other explanation of their visits
than that they were making social calls upon this
woman and her daughter. To be sure, the honor
of a reception by the Irish queen of Chinatown,
413




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


and of entertainment by her royal family, was not
to be lightly esteemed by the sleuths of 300 Mulberry Street. Of all the men in Chinatown, who
knew the location of gambling-houses, policy-shops
and opium joints, and who enjoyed the acquaintance of their keepers, there never was one who
equaled Tom Lee.   Tom Lee learned to speak English, and years ago induced a sheriff to make him
a deputy. His badge brought him great reverence in
Chinatown, which was all the greater when it was
noticed how friendly he was with the police. Tom
Lee grew fat, his smile broadened until it was a
yard wide; and then, when there was no cloud
upon the horizon larger than a man's hand, and
the days of Lexow had not arrived, he shook the
dust of Chinatown off his feet and went to live in
an American district, and to enjoy the fortune
which the god of luck had bestowed upon him. I
have met a good many of the denizens of Chinatown. I have seen them under many different circumstances. They have been an interesting study,
and I have been deeply interested in their strange
customs and the operations of their national traits.
As a body they are a dangerous, useless and disgusting lot of people. Here and there I have found
an individual who provoked my admiration for some
traits that were developed in him. One man among
them I found to whom my heart warmed, even
though his character is not approved by the police.
His name, Ding Dong, has a sound of determination in it. He is bold, plucky, resolute and true.
414




SKETCHES OF "CHINATOWN," MOTT STREET.
New York, Vol. Two, p. 414.




sI




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


His heart is generous, and he would sacrifice himself to serve a friend. These characteristics, so unusual among the Chinese of our City, are evidently
due to Tartar ancestry. In the days of the Lexow
Committee, when I pursued my inquiries into the
ways and methods of Chinatown, I felt safe when
Dong Fong was at my right hand. One day I told
the old villain so. I said: " Dong, they say you
are a bad man, you get mad sometimes and hit
hard with your fists, and you have been in prison
for fighting. They say you drink too much rice
wine and it makes your blood hot; but, Dong, I
like you, I trust you, I know you will not betray
me, and I am not afraid of Chinese blackjacks or
daggers in dark hallways when you lead the way."
He grinned, stuck out his old heathen paw, and
said bluntly and gruffly: "You speak to my heart.
Come on!" I am tempted at this time to recite a
little experience which led to my being banqueted
and dubbed the "White Mandarin." The legal
champion of the powerful Lee family, storekeepers,
gamblers and all, is the picturesque old fighter, Ed.
Price. He acts for the powerful "On Long Tong. "
The "Hop Sing Tong," represented particularly by
the ingenious and persistent Wong Get, the jolly
good-natured Huey Gow, and the indomitable Dong
Fong, made war on the chief avocation of the "cOn
Long Tong, " and got itself and its members involved in counter-charges which took the contending forces into the Tombs Police Court. Wong Get,
who had already given me information, sought my
41o




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


services for the protection of his little party. Here
was an opportunity to study the Chinese which
should not be thrown away, and so it was that I
crossed swords with Ed. Price. When my devoted
little clientele from Chinatown went home from the
hearing at the Tombs, they were assaulted by an
overwhelming force of the enemy, who inflicted
severe punishment upon them, and one of the little
party was carried to the hospital with a hatchet
wound in his back. This led to the swearing out
of some more warrants, and brought more Chinamen into the mixture. After the second hearing at
the Tombs, as I was going down the steps toward
the cars, I saw my Chinamen huddled together in
a little group, whispering together and trembling
violently. I stepped up to Worry Charles, the interpreter, and said: "Worry, what is the trouble?"
He pointed toward the opposite corner, in front of
Counselor Price's office, and said, while his hand
shook: "There! The enemy lay for us! They kill
us! The police hate us; no help us! Lee men
chop us by-and-by when we go home!" I had a
heavy revolver in my pocket and a stalwart friend
was with me. The humor and the pathos of the
situation appealed to me.  I said: "Is it a fact,
Worry, that you and your friends are afraid to go
home? Will you go if I lead the way?" —"Yes,"
he answered.   "Come on," I said; and so we
started, Mr. Glaze and I leading the way, and my
six Chinamen stringing out behind in Indian file.
We passed the crowd of Chinese enemies on the
416




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


corner, and with muttered imprecations they fell in
behind us, but a determined look and a hostile motion by Mr. Glaze and myself warned them to keep
their distance, and so we marched into Chinatown.
A crowd of the curious followed us, people rushed
to their windows and gazed upon us. On we went,
a strange procession. Two American lawyers were
in the lead, six frightened Chinamen followed them
in single file, and after a short interval thirty or
forty more Chinamen, ornamented with frowns, followed.  Our route led us into Mott Stret, the citadel of the Lees, and there we met more fiendish
faces; but by that time the police had waked up
and several of them were in sight. When we
reached Pell Street near the Bowery our frightened
little convoy dispersed, after thanking us most profusely. It was not long after that when my permission was asked that a banquet might be given
in my honor, and so it happened that in a Chinese
restaurant on Pell Street a distinguished company
of Americans sat down with a committee of the
Chinese association, and had opened to their understandings and introduced to their internal administrations the choicest delicacies of Chinese gastronomic art. To recite our struggles with the chopsticks, the inadequacy of the thimble cups of rice
wine, the diaphragmic convulsions, when steamboat
soup, kindling wood bundles, sea-worm porridge and
other luxuries were interviewed, would, perhaps,
tend to the annoyance of delicate readers, as well
as to the unwarrantable padding of this already too
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THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


extensive work, so we will drop the subject where
it is and leave the reader to imagine how long we
remained, what we did, and in what condition we
retired from the festive board.
Mott Street, through which our way lies, had its
days of respectability, and when it yielded to the
demoralization  of the Five Points it became an
Irish stronghold.  The Irish of Mott Street were
heavy drinkers and hard fighters, but the stealthy
rice eaters pushed them out. There are still in the
neighborhood of Mott Street some relics of Ireland's
day, and the Catholic church on Mott Street manages to exist, though sadly hemmed in with heathen
temples and unapproachable barbarians. In walking
through Chinatown the observer will be mystified
by the large number of disreputable youths of Irish
descent, who lounge on the street corners and loiter
in the doors of Chinese dens.  The best specimen
of this genus is Chuck Connors of Pell Street, who
makes some pretense of pugilism, and views Steve
Brodie with lofty disdain. What these young men
do and what holds them in Chinatown is a mystery. They eat regularly in the Chinese restaurants,
and push rice into their mouths with dexterity of
chopstick manipulation, unexcelled by the Chinese
themselves. There are no such bonds between them
and the Chinese as there are with the women who
live there; altogether it is probable that they get a
share of the earnings of some of the women. Probably they are petty thieves, who by some peculiar
association find themselves at home in Chinatown,
418




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


and through some degenerate influence feel out of
place amid Caucasian surroundings. A Christian
physician, who has considerable practice among the
Chinese, was requested by one of them to attend a
woman who was lying sick in a house on Pell
Street. The physician found her sick almost to
death, she had no relations that she knew, and no
ties of friendship outside of the Chinese quarter. It
was plainly to be seen that she had been beautiful,
but her vicious life had left her a wreck. An appetite for opium had a strong hold upon her, but
it was impossible to gratify it even to a small degree, and she was tortured constantly with the
fumes of the drug which came from other apartments in the building. The Chinaman paid liberally for her care and treatment, and provided an
old colored woman, who hung about the neighborhood, as a nurse. By careful attention and good
nursing the crisis of the disease was safely passed,
and one day the physician asked the girl if she
would like to read. She was pleased with the
thought, and he furnished her with good books, including a copy of the Bible. One day he entered
the room and found the colored woman reading to
her from the Bible. The situation gave him an opportunity, and he asked the girl if she would not
like to change her way of life; she said she would,
but that she knew of no way for her to get out
of Chinatown. She had heard of various reform
agencies, but they were all objectionable and unsuited to her situation, and the doctor realized the
419




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


-truth of her idea. He said: "If I find you a place
far away from Chinatown, where no one will know
anything about your past life, and where you will
have a kdnd home until you are able to earn your
own living, and where you will find friends who
will take an interest in you, will you go?"  She
said, "Yes." On leaving the apartment the old
woman followed him into the hall, and he said:
"Aunty, I was surprised to find you reading the
Bible. From what I had heard of you I did not
suppose you cared anything about it." She raised
her apron to her eyes and said: " Oh, honey, I
snows all about those things. I'se a backslider, but
I'se got turned round agin." In a short time the
girl went to live at a place which the physician
found for her, and she was started hopefully on a
new career.
I expect to be criticised for my estimate of the
Chinese character, for no two observers get the
same results. The people baffle our understanding.
Miss Clark, whose life work is among them, falls
into an amusing error in her recent entertaining
magazine article, when she speaks of the Hop Sing
Tong as the New York branch of the dread "Highbinder" or "Hatchet" Association; the truth being
that the organization which she mentions is a benevolent corporation chartered under the laws of
New York, approved by the Supreme Court, and
expressly designed to aid the Chinese to learn
American ways, and to advance them in religion
and mutual helpfulness. In this case the opponents
420




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


of the Chinese corporation got Miss Clark's ear and
exercised their national virtue of prevarication. They
all do it.  It is no wonder that occasionally we
make mistakes in our judgment of these people,
for they are our opposites in nearly every trait and
custom. We say "Good-morning," they say "How
old are you?" We shake hands with each other,
they with themselves. We uncover our heads as a
mark of respect, they cover theirs. We cut our finger nails, they consider it good taste to wear them
long. Our ladies wear long dresses, theirs wear
long sleeves. We eat soup first and dessert last,
they reverse the order. We read horizontally from
left to right, they read perpendicularly from bottom
to top. We mourn in black, they in white. The
right hand with us is the place of honor, the left
is with them. In boxing the compass they say
east-north, west-south, etc.  They locate the intellect in the stomach, they mount a horse from the
right side, and their women ride a-straddle and
their men sidewise. They vaccinate on the nose instead of the arm. They launch boats sidewise.
Their bells are struck from the outside, and they
turn their screws from right to left. The list of
contrarieties could be indefinitely extended.  With
them luck runs in streams like rivers, and great
care has to be used not to divert the invisible
streams from their regular channels. With us we
have no hesitation in doing any ridiculous or noisy
thing to "change our luck."     The necessities of
American life have modified the apparent operation
421




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


of these Chinese traits; but the customs are in their
hearts, fixed there by ancestral causes, as surely as
the unvarying complexion, eyes, cheekbones and
black hair appear without variation in every Chinaman.
The Chinamen, while they tenaciously preserve
their individual and national characteristics, are
great copyists, as we learned in "Mrs. Maloney on
the Chinese Question." A few days ago a lovelorn Chinaman of thirty brought suit for breach of
promise against a Chinese damsel of nineteen, who
had stolen his heart and refused to make good his
loss. Quite recently Wong Hang of 17 Mott Street,
a Christianized Chinaman, brought suit in the Supreme Court against Lui Get and Hung Gee Pon
for alienating the affections of his pretty wife, Ah
Heung Chansen, otherwise known as Ton Hong.
About the time that this was going on, sweet Ton
Hong went with Lui Get, who is a grocer at Number 19 Mott Street, before Alderman Schilling at
the City Hall, and they were married in American
fashion. Yung Sing was the best man. According
to the society announcements of the day, "The
bride wore a rich gown of black stuff trimmed
with light blue, with a tunic beneath. Her shoes
and her earrings were of blue and gold. She had
a pearl brooch in her hair, which was parted in
the middle and gathered in a roll, which hung
low on the -back of her neck.  The knot of hair
was ornamented with colored beads and silken
strings. She wore a large gold brooch at her
422




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


throat."  This brilliant coup  did not settle the
strife, for promptly Wong Hang caused the arrest
of Ton Hong on a charge of bigamy. This gave
the lady her first opportunity to tell her side of
the triangular dispute. While in durance vile at
the Tombs Police Court, she told this story of her
woes; showing that under all the American veneer
the Heathen Chinee still lives in his barbarous habits and customs:
"I lived with my grandmother until she died.
Then I was taken away by a man whose name I
do not know. Then I was about seventeen years
old. This man was a bad man. He took me to
Wong Hang and he left me at his house, and then
I was told I had been sold by my mother and
was Wong Hang's slave. I became his slave and
did as I was told, and at first he was good to
me. Then he brought me to California and then
to Oregon, but he speaks falsely when he says he
married me in Portland, and that we lived happily
together there as man and wife, for I verily believe I was, never married to him, as I have no
recollection of any ceremony by Chinese rites or by
the customs of this country. Instead of living with
me as a loving husband he bartered me to the
right and to the left for money, and often beat
me cruelly and caused me great suffering when I
displeased him by not earning enough money as he
directed me to. Here in New York I met Lui
Get, and he told me of my rights before the law
of this country, and he told me that he loved
423




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


me. I loved him, and we were married. Lui Get,
my dear husband, said: 'I will take much of my
savings and I will buy your freedom. When
I had told W ong Hang I wished to be free
from my evil life and marry and be a happy
wife, he beat me, but he thought of the money
and he said at last: 'Let Lui Get give me $900
and you may go and marry him.' It was a great
deal of money, but Lui said: 'I will give him the
$900 and we will be married'; and so both men went
to the Chinese Freemason Society in Mott Street. I
was taken there, too; and there were also Ho Pooh
and Lung Ching and Wong Pooh and Mrs. Foy.
Chin Mon Gee was there as well, and all of them
saw me pay the $900 to Wong Hang, for Lui Get
had given me the money with which to do so. And
Wong Hang gave me a receipt, and that I will
show to the Judge when I am again taken to the
court. "
Within two months Chin Foy, a laundryman,
who had married his teacher in a Baptist mission,
Miss Jenny Levi, applied to Justice MacLean of
the Supreme Court for permission to adopt a child
of Mamie Lynd of Number 1529 Second Avenue;
so after a careful investigation the justice permitted
the adoption of Ormond Lynd, the child of a Hebrew mother, who thus was made the legal son of
Chin Foy, a Chinaman, who was the husband of
a Baptist Sunday-school teacher named Levi.
Occasionally there are funerals in Chinatown, and
then there is an exceedingly curious mixture of Chi.
424




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


nese customs and American methods.   There is no
crape on the door and no appearance of overpowering grief. The priest does his duty in driving off
the devils, and when the procession, with American
hearse and carriages, starts for the graveyard in
the Evergreen Cemetery, Long Island, a man sitting on the hearse with the driver throws showers
of red papers stamped with prayers that confuse
and mislead the devils and give them plenty of diversion in chasing them as they are whirled about
by the breezes.  If the funeral be that of a very
prominent man, a Chinese band may be stowed in.one of the carriages to make doleful music on the
way to the cemetery. On one occasion we saw
such a funeral escorted by a body of Chinamen
mounted on white horses, clad in white garments
and bearing spears and banners. At the grave,
chicken and rice and wine and whisky are left for
the entertainment of the dead, and some bits of
red wax are placed at points selected by the priest
to keep the devils away from the grave. About
once in seven years the bones of the interred Chinamen are gathered up, cleaned and sent to China,
where they are decently interred in the earth of
the Orient.
Here is a news item:
"Gee Sing, a boyish-looking Chinaman, fired three
shots at Annie Gilmartin at 19 Pell Street last
night, Annie, arrayed in the glory of a darkpurple velvet sacque, told the story in Center Street
Court to-day. She said she was in her room with
425




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


her Chinese 'husband,' when Gee Sing came to the
door. She had lived with him, and he wanted her to
return. The sight of her 'husband' seemed to infuriate Gee Sing. He fired the shots and fled. (Alle
samee Melican man.) Annie crept under a table for
safety.
"Magistrate Flammer held Gee Sing for examination."
FaritaQ.
The gambling of Chinatown has been thoroughly
organized and systematized. There is the game of
Fantan and the Chinese Lottery. In October, 1891,
a careful investigation showed these places in operation:
THE FANTAN GAME.
A gambling place on Mott Street, No. 14, 3d
floor, rear room, 1 game.
No. 17 Mott Street, on the 3d floor, rooms 5
~..  and 6, 2 games.
^1       No. 18 Mott Street, 3d floor, rooms
1, 2 and 3, 3 games.
No. 20 Mott Street, second floor,,        first room, 1 game.
lNo. 22 Mott Street, 2d floor, rooms
R      8 and 9, 2 games.
No. 24 Mott Street, 2d floor, front
ame Open Day and room, 1 game, and back room, 1
Night.     game.
No. 28 Mott Street, 2d floor, first room, 1 game.
No. 34 Mott Street, 2d floor, back room, 1 game,
and 3d floor, front room, 1 game.
426




NEW YORK CITY LIFE. a
it
7!\
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Aft.
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rotz.s
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[Translation.]
NOTICE TO FORTUNE-SEEKERS.
The gambling houses are reopened again. As extra expenses must be paid a
new rule has gone into effect. Instea of the old percentage of 7 per cent deducted from winnings of over 50 cents, a new percentage has been established.
Henceforth a percentage of 7 per cent will be deducted from all winnings and a
percentage of 14 per cent from all winnings over $25.
Every gambling place must post this notice on the wall where it can be easily
seen.
Inspectors of the Gamblers' Union shall visit all gambling houses to see that
this law is enforced, and any failure to comply with said law shall be punished
by a fine of $10, half of which shall go to the infornfer.
Given under our hand and seal in the 17th year of Quong Soi, King, and the
9th month (October).                       NEW YORK BrN CHImN UNION.
427




THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS


No. 36 Mott Street, 2d floor, front room, 1 game,
and back room, 1 game.
No. 30 Pell Street, 2d floor, front room, 1 game.
No. 31 Pell Street, 2d floor, front room, 1 game.
No. 8 Doyer Street, 2d floor, back room, 1 game.
No. 9 Doyer Street, 2d floor, room 6, 1 game.
No. 10 Doyer Street, 2d floor, front room, 1
game.
Total 20 games, each paying to the On Long
Tong sixteen dollars per week.
THE CHINESE LOTTERY GAME.
DRAWING OFFICES.
Wing Chong Tai, No. 10 Mott Street, on the
first floor, in the front room, one company.
Wing On Lee, No. 11 Mott Street, on the ground
floor, room on right-hand side, one company.
Wing Chin Tai, No. 12 Mott Street, second floor,
front room, one company.
Fook Lee, No. 14 Mott Street, on the first floor,
back room, one company.
Chew Lee, No. 17i Doyer Street, first floor, one
company.
Hong Chong Tai, No. 18 Mott Street, on ground
floor, room on right side, one company.
Wing Tai Lee, No. 18 Mott Street, ground floor,
room left side, one company.
Wing Show Tai, No. 18 Mott Street, ground
floor, room on left side, one company.
Lun Tai, No. 17 Mott Street, ground floor, room
right side, one company.
428




NEW YORK CITY LIFE


Lee Ching Chung, No. 17 Mott Street, ground
floor, room on left side, one company.
Wing Yuen Tai, No. 24 Mott Street, on the first
floor, one company.
Each place was said to pay sixteen dollars a week
to the On Long Tong, which secured it from interference.
END OF VOLUME TWO
1s  2 I1920


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