The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-07-29


than anything else. Light is admitted through
glass side-windows fifty feet from the floor,
but no air A deadening, sitting smell greets
the nostrils as you enter the hall, almost
overpowering. II is said that keen-noseu
traveller may discover forty different stenenes
in the streets and purlleuss s,a,., on woiVg, EnTo
each stencil and odor dinerlng HOIh
the other thirty-ni But the sIenon
which strikes you as you enIer
Castle Garden is O combination Oh loiy
different odors, not one OF which resembles the
Balm of a Thousand Flowers or Jockey Club.
You can family recognize sdurkrdm, decayed
bologna, boiled butter peanuts, unwashed
women, the odor of venerable hams, boiled
corned beef and cabbage, onions, rancid
cheese herrings, and many other kindred
stenches. A motley crowd or rather swarm of
emigrants are herded together on the bare
floor of the Garden, like so many sheep or
pigs From every nation in the world, from
far.of Sweden and Norway, from the homes of
Dalecarlia, from Sudermania charcoal burners
from the Black Forest, in their caifs, with light
hair, red stockings reaching to their knees,
and heavy wooden sabots. Peasants with ruddy
faces from Cork and Kerry, from Dublin and
Galway, fair, fresh young girls with trustful
look and laughing, wondering faces from the
Danube, Rhine, and Shannon, all mingled pro-
miscuously, chatting, talking, eating, crying,
or sleeping quietly. A cargo of Swedes Nor
wegians, and Danes have just been landed,
and herd together to the number of $50 on the
floor, gaping and wondering at everything
they see and hear. They left Gottenburg 40
days since en- route for the prairies of Illinois,
via Hamburg, Liverpool, and New York. They
look travel-stained, dirty, and weary but as
yet have not begun to understand the toll,
trouble, and difficulties of their new life. Their
pastor, venerable, sturdy-loolling son of
DalecaTlia, with white hair and deep blue
eyes, sits among them on an old trunk. He
has accompanied them all the way, and will
see them safe to the settlement of which he is
pastor in far off Illinois. One Of his flock, a
middleaged woman with deep blue Scandina-
Wan eyes, and tawny hair hanging down
her flushed cheeks, is engaged in cut
ting up huge sausage for the delectation
of the "PastOr." The men are all stout-bodied,
hearty-looking fellows, muffled up in warm
homespun, as If they were among the frosty
fOrds of Norway, and carry at their belts short
dirk knives in leathern sheaths. They have
all blue eyes and light hair, such as is never
seen among Latins or Celts, and is only to be
found among Scandinavians or Saxons. To
look upon these fair faces and deep, earnest
blue eyes, almost burning in their intensity,
one is prone to think of the ancestors of the
people before him-Of Gustavus Vasa, of Mar
garet of Denmark, the Semiramis of the North,
of Harold Harfager, of Odin, the Father of the
Gods, of Freya and Lok, the Spirits of Evil, of
Sagas and Scalds of warriors and priests, and
heroes who went forth yearly to burn, destroy,
and capture, who drank wine from the skulls
of their enemies, and sought vainly during
thousand years for Valhalla, the home of the
gods. Alas for romance these poor, inno-
cent peasants never heard of Odin, being
strict Lutherans, and their only trouble is
to know if Chicago is as far from New York as
New York is from Stockholm. The emigrants
who speak the English language are kept in
separate compartments Of this large circular
hall, or bull-pen, as it might be more properly
termed The floor is swept once day, but
even that does not suffice, for the place is in
itself sink of filth, and unfit for human
beings as place of occupation. The galleries
are sometimes filled as well as the lower floor,
when there is a number of passengers, and a
strange sight is presented from the various
costumes worn by the peasant emigrants.
Now, for instance, let us go among the Swedes.
Here are children, men, and women huddled
together upon the floor promiscuously, and
without any proper sanitary precaution, in
the hottest weather. One-half of the emf
grants are sleeping, and they are wedged so
close together as to lie like spoons, some with
a dirty rag covering them, while not a few of
the women's body clothes are tossed about in
manner which ought to call blush to the
cheek of any adult. Here is a very pretty
little girl of twelve years or therabouts,
is evident that plentiful application of soap
and water would do her no harm. One single
case of contagious disease among those $50
Swedes, and ere nightfan every one of them
would be stricken by the destroying hand.
10 prevent imposition upon the emigrants a
semblance of keeping out the emigrant board
lng-hOuse keepers is maintained by the Com
mlssioners; but, notwithstanding, they may be
found inside of the Garden every day, the only
precaution that is taken to protect the inte-
rests OF the emigrant being to keep the board
ing-house shark off until all the routine bust
ness OF the place is transacted with them, and
then these scoundrels are free to do their
worst. Boarding-house keepers are allowed to
advertise their dens of infamy inside of the
walls OF the Garden in every known language
English, French, Italian Spanish, German.
Swedish, Danish, Welch, Russian, and Swiss.
The rates charged by these fellows range gene
rally as fOllows:-Board per week for adults.
$S in currency; per day, $3.50 in currency;
single meals, 80 cents; single lodgings, 50
cents. The fare is just what might be ex-
! pected from these bloOd-suckers and human
vampires. There are three lunch counters or
restaurants within the walls, and there can be
no possible competition, as no person is
| allowed to enter the Garden or leave it with
| out reason. Printed bills of fare line the
counters, in the different languages, with the
tariff as follows
Sausages, per pound so %
| Cheese per pound ....,...... O05
MILK, per quart OlO
LOa VI OlO
Loat OF homemade O2O
005
| package smoking tobacco - 6IG