Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-12-26
CHRISTMAS =!
IT'S OBSERVANCE IN wILM1SGToS--AN IN-l-
TN0 pAY-DRUNKENNEss AND bHVh-
ER-FREQUENTFIGHTsA AND BRAWlE'

1aN
DER-rREouENTFIGHTs AND BRAWls.
The Observance Of Christmas, M Tins c.iy,
commenced on Wednesday evening, when, 10y
eight o'clcck, Market and King streets were
crowded with people, in search of toys, nick
nacks, and presents with which to gladden. me
hearts Of the little ones (and some bug ones;
tool on the coming morrow. Tie confectionery,
variety, book, and other stores were constantly
filled with customers, who Kept hnmbers ol
clerks. busily waiting upon them, until far into
The nioht The hard times seemed 10 be for
gotten for awhile, and people freely spent what
ever. money thev had, in the purchase OF ar
ticles TO please the little folks, who know not
he meaning Of inancial ranics, or dniines IN
business.
Tins constant stream Of business was helt ny
until nearly midnight, and the strrela leading
from Market street were lined with people who
were vending their way homeward, loaded VIM
bundles and packages OF every description,
Soon these people reached their homes, ana
then, with the exception oi an "ccssiohal song
or YELL from some straggler, Christmas was
nshered in, in the most quiet manner pos
sible.
But not long did this quiet conlinue. By
carly dawn hundreds of children were awake
and ON the streets making the air resonnd, toy
| vigorously blowing the trumret7. and beating
the drums which coed Oh "Santa Claus" had
brought them during the night
Ry seven O'Clock, ihe elder people began 10
| issue forth and enter upon the pleasures OF Tie
dav. Many TOOK the trains, and sPe"t Christ
mas ont of Town The majority oi our people
however, remained in the city enloyInps'h DAY
| in whatever ways best suited the'r vaIIed ami
| peculiar tastes. Some remained qdIe'lY al
| home, enjoying day oi rest. Others tpen' HE
hat har NJ Ia b,a
seen. Others, and, we regret to say, great
many Others, got giurlouSly dInhK' ana re-
mained 50 all day.
| By Two O clock ia the afternoon, our streets
| presented a lively and animated aspect. Mar
ket street was crowded with proncaader4, in
their best attire, who formed gay and emily
ening scene. But few 70 Ishs made Their ar
pearancc here. at,.l the street was comparative
iy free from disturbance OF excitement during
the day.
But, ON other streets, il was different. Drunk
| en- and disorderly men constantly strageTeu
along, making the air resOund with lhtlr oalhs'
rude tests and drunken songs, and lndnl9lng ~
rreouent brswls, 4: the lower end Of Eighth
ftTeet from Walnut 10 Church, these hrawls
were constantly Occurring, mainly between whites
and negroes. which had the elect of keeping
that neighboThood in n constant state oI excite
meni, and furnishing the police with plenty
TO do Fights also occurred al various other
places. and blaok-eyeS. bls ,dy noses and
broken heads were hy NJ mens unusual
sights.
But we really believe Front street, from Mar
ket street, west, took the premium for drunken
ness and disorder All day long drunken men
patrolled the street, and all afternoon the brawls
we're constantly occurring. None o. the paTtlci-
pants were injured to any extent, all being too
drunk to DO each other any damage. The
most serious damage we noticed was sustained
| by good overcoai The owner had just been
forciblv elected from beer saloon, and the
door closed so suddenly as to catch Ihe tail OF
his coat, and hold it fast. His companion then
seized him by the neck, and pulled him loose,
but left about half OF the coat tail hanging
from he door. n revenge, the owner OF the
cc4t smashed pane OF glass in one oithe va
dnw-, aud tnru lelt. The excitement on
West Front street, subsided not until night
In the carly evening the streets were again
crowded with people going forth TO wind up
the pleasures of the day Some attended the
theatre, others the Orphans Fair, and others
speEI the evening at private entertainments,
with sociable i-iends. Squads Of drunken men
staggered around, but they were generally quiet
and no further disturbances occurred. At al
early hour, The stIc ats were coparatvely dcser-
ted.
by midnight, the people had left the fair,
theati e, aud other places Of amusement, and
reached their homes. Then general quiet pr
vailed, and Christmas day, 1873 was sooa mum
bered amCng the things That wee.