St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-07-18
UNDERGROUND Life.

ne Sanitary Inspectors of the Health
Department of this city, have com
mcnccd good work i'll clearing out the
vile underground dcnS dives" in the
slang of the street-im which hundreds
and thousands of the lower CLASSES OF
our population herd together in filth
| and squalor too dreadful to he de
>cribcd.
Among the places, and one of the
worst of all. cleared ont by the inspect
"rs, was basement in Mott street.
the cellar was pitch dark. and the ONLY
| chance of ventilation was through the
paSSage-way. As soon us the inspector
entered, the woman who kept tie place
began to beg piteously for mercy and
delay; but the officers were inexOrablc.
and i'll Il few minutes the wretchcd fur
nlturc was flung out into the street. and
nothing hut the bare walls remained.
1t waS Il most diSagrecable task for the
officers. who staggered ont from the
gloomy. rccking cellar. bending under
the weight of heaps of foul rags. piles
"i dirty straw, and broken bcdstcads
that were covered with hidcous vermin.
The scene WAS horrible. Broom>. stove
pipes. hcdstcadS. lamps, ShOVels. chests.
quits. blankets. spreads. mattresses.
stoves. straw hats. radishcS. looking
glasses. holy pictures, soup signs. torn
books. and bottles of perfume were all
hcapcd together. and formed disgust
%uSting harricadc on the sidewalk
In th" basement of II house in Madi-
son street. where nightly dodgers were
taken III. there were Il number of hunks
nt
were turned up on one side against the
wall. and were lowered 10y means of a
swivel. The hunks were smashed 10
pieces and thrown ont into the street.
while the women were swearing. ours
ing. and CRYING. One of them had a
terrible black eye. "Wcll. what of
that , she said ; ''my husband gave it
to me. and there's no one has Il better
right than HIM"
y basement in Mulberry street, la
helcd lodgings. was entirely below
the level of the sidewalk. without anN
means of ventilation except the low.
narrow passage way. and WAS pcrvadcd
10y damp. cavern-likc smell. The
cellar WAS cut up in small hox-like
rooms, closed. with the exception of Il
section half the width of an ordinary
door. through which the lodger might
enter. These boxes were filled with
herthS. and were five feet in length hv
three and a-half in breadth. When the
straw ticks We're pulled up. the damp.
matted muck stuck to the boards. and
the rotten hrdcl"thing fell apart of its
own weight. Every possible corner had
Il bed in it. and there WAS sleeping room
for thirty persons.
The ''landlady" of one of the base
mentS WAS very indignant at the inva-
sion of her premises 10y the officers.
whom she informed. with an air of
dignity. that She kept Il 'boarding-
house for Young ladies" She and her
interesting ludgcrs were cunccrcmomiuus-
ly elected. and her furniture thrown ont
into the street.
Horrible and Disgusting a> these I'M
der ground tCncmcnt~ were. the Occu-
pants were loath Ia quit them. and in
many caScS had To bc removed hv main
force. Women wCpt. moamed. and
I;tvcd. and men clustered and threat
rncd: hut the officers were intlcNihle.
and the wrrtchcd people were COM
PEELED To seek lodgings elsewhere. Bet
ter the open street than the nois"mr
drnS from which they we're elected
HUpcf'& Weekly.