The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1860-12-01
COUNCIL BLUFFS IOWA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER /. 1860.

beart-feBding manner. Next door to b
} vas mother with child in her arms. On
, cell contained three men. Ny attentio
] vas called to one OF these, an aged mar
, who came forward and protested that hi
COMPANION vas killing him. ssHe has beate
me,o said the man, ssfor the last two hoors
am here for nothing; lhave committed n
crime have seen better dsys. Fer ID
!. sake of humanity take me out of this place.
His appeal was sustained By the appearanc
of bis tormentor-a young and stalxal
Irishman, with hideous face, who pours
oct q torrent Of profane vituperation upc
the old man. The officer kindly released tn
latter, amid the most earnest expressions Q
gratitude.
4 The station houses seemed to be super;o
to these Of Philadelphia. The accommoda
tions for the officers are neat and convent
ent the hail itself large and we'll ordered
and the whole economy OF the place admi
rable. Most Of the lieutenan.s are men o
education and character, and the dlscipiin,
of the rank and file of the police seems t,
be exact and severe. A record is kept O
all those who are lodged and confined !; ,hei
ages, sex, occupation, and residence. Th
majority Of the guilty and poor seemed I,
be males, but the proportion Of females wa
frightfully large.
/ Tine adventures of the uDfortunates woult
/ furnish a startling commentary upon tn,
/ scarcity OF female employment. and the in
adequacy Of female wages. Attracted tc
New York. they run brief career, after as
brief resistance to the allurements of vice
and die an early death.
| The history Of young girl from an ada
cent village was told to US. She was ex.
tremely lovely but, fond of dress ard ad.
miration, was induced on one occasion to
visit New York, BY man who presented
himself as merchant, and proved to be a
! gambler. She never returned to her happy
home, but became an inmate of one of the
Mercer street houses, where she remained
| for some two years. At the end of this time
she had conirived to save some fifteen hun
dred dollars, and then resolved to change
ber course of life, and to live upon her little
| fortune. AT this moment the tempter again
appeared, in the person of her seducer.-
| She loved him ardently, and, with woman's
confidence, surrendered to his keeping her
money, on the promise that it should be re-
paid tive-fold. She never saw him more.
sand now,' said the officer, "she is almost
nightly occupant of one Of our cels.o
Those who have read the works of Dick
ems will remember how he deineates the
mystery of thieving in all its varieties the
skill and dexterity of the London burglars
the utter degradation, even OF children of
both sexes. reared amid evil associations,
aud the difficulty Of detecting the really
guilty. New York cannot, of course, equal
London in this respect, hut it has many rep
resentatives worthy Of the pen Of the illus
| trious Boz. Anecdotes are related OF boys
of ten years, who mako the circuit of the
city, day and night, with violin and tambo-
rinc, and return with n considerable har-
vest, tax en- from the pockets Of their audi
ences, all of which, in turn, is counted over
to their leader, who exercises brutal
tyranny over his youthful followers.
The nationalties of the habtues of the
part of New York that we visited are Amer
lean, German, and Irish. OF course,
American rowdyism is there represented in
its worst phases, but the fondness for liquor
seemed to show itself less among the Ger
mans. Those who resort to the German
dens prefer lager beer, while in other quar-
ters we noticed that gin, whskey, and other
poisonous decocti0ns were the fav orite bev-
erages.
Our next and last visit was to the negro
| headquarters. Down stairs a stable, the
| second floor coffin warehouse, the third a
ballroom and a bar! The contrast was en-.
tirely in favor of the colored ladies and gen.
tlemen. The room was cleaner, the females
better dressed and better behaved, and the
men looking healthier and more alert. A
large party occupied the floor as We entered
The music was good, and the dancers more
decorous than any we had seen. Among
those who participated, We noticed -four
young white men, apparently clerks from
neighboring stores. They seemed to be
much consternated at the appearance OF the
officers and the strangers. But they wor.
ried through the dance, and took the first
opportunity to escape.
| Leaving fee with the woman who had
charge Of the place, we returned to our
carriages, and reached our quarters tired,
iaded, and depressed. Philadelphia has
| its sore spots. ike New York. The Press
lately published very faithful daguerreo.
type of the condition of the degraded in
| Bedford, Baker and Spafford streets. But
no such scenes appal the senses in ouI
CITY as those which are so common in New
York. If time had permitted, we should
| have given more evenings to the examination
of other places.
When we left our hotel, early in the even
ing, Broadway, in q bright moonlight, was
crowded with foot passengers. The street
was covered with rich carriages and vehicles
| of all descriptions. Streams Of light pour.
ed from gay stores, and JOY and comfor
seemed to abound. When we returned
| that vast tioroughfare was deserted anc
ouiet, The contrast between the sitting
alleys We had left, and this splendid avenue
stretching for miles through the heart o
the great metropolis, was strangely sugges
tive. How few of these who faunted OF
Broadway cared for their human brother!
and sisters, perishing within FIVE minutes
walk! Beyond, and in the aristocratic por
ton OF the city, in the Fifth avenue, where,
for other miles, stretch lordly palaces, crow
ded with Injuries adornments, and occupied
by those whose wants are anticipated, ant
1 whose taste are vitiated by an excess o.
wealth, there is criminal indifference Il
the suffering poor. Little Of the vast reve
nues coined in speculation aud in trade j
diverted to their relief. The annual contri
button to fashionable church, the frequeu
presents to popular preacher, may be SAT-
10 be the usual limit of the charities, 0
the oyer-rich. In their eyes penury is crime
and one poverty stricken wretch detecte'
and coufined is made an excuse for inciudipi
the whole class. How much such man q
Astor might do to alleviate the distressa
and rescue the degraded! One months 10
come set apart every year OF bis Amos
countless wealth, devoted to the payment Q
J q volunteer force, instructed to pfovid
lodgings for those Who stroll. these street
night and day; expended for the gathering
in OF the fatherless children. who, hasln