The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-10-11

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One of til. 4est Rsnas,rk kaIile; ,lIi 4 Place, /,
From ths Nsw York Herald! r :; -
ID There are few places in the world
where in the course of one brief: day &c
much Of the neither side of humanity, SC
much of5the grand and: pathetic, the gro
tesque and ghastly, may be seen as un.
der: the high open porch of the BUILDING
at the foot Of Twentysixth street, East
river, belonging to the departm ment o1
charities and Correction. Through the
! wide portal of this. unpretending strnc.
iture pass daily to the city's. institutions
Ion the islands in the river quite q host o1
IWrecked and disordered dlives-abandoned
1drunkards, dissolute women Il thieves,
tramps, vagabonds and paupers, ravine
maniacs, hopeless epileptics and a ceunf.
less number OF other members of the
dark and gloomy fraternity of crime and
wretchedness. Through the same por
tails, and jostling the others, pass all sorts
of people as visitors to the island. Some
are decent, poorly clad women, with
baskets or bundles on their arms in which
they are taking to a relative in the prison,
workhouse, hospital or asylum some
::.ecessary article Of clothing or luxury of
lcod. Others more showily dressed, and
evidently of less respectable type, are
bound on the same GRAND to some of
their unfortunate male companions. Then
there are ladies dressed with all the re-
f1ement of Fifth avenue, whose purpose
is evidently one Of mercy and benevo-
lence. There are the Sisters of Charity
and female missionaries of various de-
nominations. There are Catholic and
Protestant clergymen and large parties
OF people who have come from abroad
and are desi1ous Of seeing the famous in
stitutions of which New York is so proud.
These parties are of every degree Of con-
sequence and no consequence One may
be composed of distinguished foreigners
chapcroned by Commissioner Tom Bren-
nan; another, of city politicians and
their friends; another, of a troop of mill
tia soldiers on visit to the city; another,
of gang of medical students, headed by
a professor who is about to hold elm :;
in one Of the hospitals or asylums {;
another, bevy of female pupils from
some seminary in the country, and so on
in endless variety.
The average number of visitors
throughout the year is 800 a day. The
average number Of prisoners sent up
from the various police courts is $50.
There are three steamboats, employ ed be-
tween the pier and the islands-the
Bellevue, Captain Bird; the Minnahan-
mock, Captain Steele, and the Fidelity,
Captain Sykes. The pier and its ap-
proachcs are under command Of Captain
Willis. The business transacted on the
pier is brisk and constant. Everything
furnished to the institution is brought
down here, and a force Of men, nearly all
good conduct prisoners from Blackwell's
Island, is kept constantly employed
hauling and rolling on board the various
supplies Of one kind or another, or drag
ging ashore empty boxes and barrels. In
t!le morning, when the supplies of meat
IN great red sides are brought down for
shipment, along with hundred other
kinds OF provisions, the scene is a lively
one. 1t IS in the morning, too, that the
prisoners 1-om The police courts are driven
up in tidy, lemon colored vans, drawn
each 10y two horses. The little steamers
hug the dock closely and appear to be al
most portion of it. There is constant
passing and repassing on board in peni-
tentiary uniform, some wheeling trucks
laden with boxes of wine and dainties for
the sick, others carrying on their shoul-
ders huge loads of beef or mutton, or
bundles of clothing, etc. Finally, when
the little steamer bound for Blackwell's
Island is loaded down forward and is
nearly ready to start, the rooms where
the males and females are temporarily con-
fined are opened, and mott y brigade of
bunmers, slipshod and shivering, some
with symptoms Of mania-a-potu come
shutting over the rough wooden planking
and 80 on board.
of respectable dress and appearance, and
from the way they hang their heads it is
evident they feel the situation kecnly.
Most OF the bummcrs, however, are hard
c1ed looking set who have long been
strangers to shame, and they take the oc-
casion as coolly as if they had been to the
manner born. Coming from the cold cells
Of the station houses: and not yet emanci-
pated from the effects of recent dcbauch,
the misery of these poor wretches, more
especially in the winter, as they leave on
their voyage for the bleak and cheerless
workhouse on the island is desolate. On
the steamers they huddle together near
the boiler, and if there are among them
many who have been accustomed to the
experience of Blackwell's Island they
manage to become quite merry in spite OF
their wretchedness; but those who are 60
ing there for the first time prefer to com
mune with their own sad thoughts. All
classes of petty offenders are sent to the
Island, the sneak thief being conspicu-
Gus element in the lot. The women act
differently from. the men. The latter go
aboard without :: word, but the former
fill the air with Wild laughter and in
decent language the moment they get out
upon the pier. They are placed in diff
ferent part of the boat from the men, and
those who are old offenders among them
treat the trip as lightly as if bound for
Coney Island or Rockaway.
To sit on the bench underneath the
high archway, and watch the crowds as
they come and 60, gives curious and
abundant food for study. A policeman
stands in the middle of the passagcway to
keep order, and an official Of the Depart
ment Of Charities and Correction stands
near him, close to q narrow wooden walk,
along which visitors pass one by one, and
show him their tickets, or, having none,
| BaV thirty cents aDicce and pet admitted