The New York herald., 1878-08-16
STREET GANGS.
Incidents Of Journey Through The
ParIieuS of New York.
AMONG THE BOERDERS."
The Quaint But Expressive Ditty OF the
Cosear's Hook Gang.

application, but in the criminal t 10 With
which 'the finest police in tho worid' has intls or
no acquaintarce. party OF young men who meet at
tho sams liquor store for their morning cocktail or
their ting game Of draw poker arc apt 10 call
themselves 'rno gang" In this accepsation Of the
term the police, as matter OF course. take
oognizance Of il; but II the same other young
mon make street or street corner their meeting
place they become "a cnng" OF entirely different
character Often, indeed, the corner meetings
innocent enough as the nightly gatherings tho
.sFrceze-out club,"at Eighth avouuc and Twenty
third street, but generally they lead wdyisn and
then TO crime. The oatcr is not necessarily rowdy
nor tho rowdy a thief but tho hardened criminal is
the natural product OF both, tho street gatAeri
and ASSOCIATION being the incipient stage OF criminal
develop mont. "Two Idle boys" said peltcoman to
HEmALD reporter yesterday, 'may meet ~ q street
corner and form nucleus tor all the idle boys in the
neehborhood In a little Time gang Is formed, and
SO youthful depravty is organized for crme.n
This conversation occurred under the shadow OF
tho Franklin statue, In Printing House square. and
the reporter, all eagsrness to ocass sctua gang
at once asked whore one uld be found. "Oh, in
deed, l couldn't tell you that" tho oflcer replied
''Wo too tho Mayors Office and tho human
ing influence OF the Board Of Aldermen for such a
thing TO be possible my beat You must get
further away from the City Hall. Perhaps you In.
quired the station house in Osk street you might
get hint or two" sststar
fif ~ mo GANGS DOWN TOWN."
Acting on tho suggestion the reporter went 10 the
Oak street station house ~ como lsomthe HERALD."
no safd TO tho sergeant In charge. 40 learn
thing about the stree. gangs OF which thero Is such
universal complaint at this time" ..t. as
The sergeant looked the reporter IN mild and be-
I nignant wonder Then genllo smilo, sweet as a
zephyr from . cinnamon isle, rippied across
his face. "Why you arc not like other
reporters" he said, implying. BY his man
ner that tho HERALD was like other
reporters he would know better than 10 20
TO police station for information about the danger
ciassea II required great effort TO induce the
Sergeant TO talk, and when no did so It only to
characterize the abous gangs newspaper c-
tionG .T know most Of the real reporters" he
averred, sand whenever any OF them fact
or u story no makes It for himself don't believe IN
gangs don't believe there is NO such thing. Up
town, where the precincts are badly covered. and
whore cvcyy ofhosr's heat is very long, good many
bad boys may gather the street bat tho
Fourth ward such thing as . gang Is imp ossibe.
Tho posts In the lower part OF tho city are too we'll
covered for thst aud don't think there Is q regular
organized gaug anywhere in New York know that
in this precinct the ocers have such strict orders
prevent crowds gathering in tho streets that In
Water street thoro no assemblages on tho SIDE
walks even at night"
II was evident that the sergeant doterm ned not
to recognize the existence OF gang his prec,nc,,
and just then youthful prisoner was brought 10
the desk followed by score more young follows,
tho reporter departed, muttsring 10 himself. "rhat
crowd very like q gang" la s.li is - ,.--
TIE rx2ocENr rAwr THE SEVENTH WARD
Tho slsrios Of tbs Seventh ward are exceptional
Notwithstanding fssnion and the vcnecred virtue
which is sure to accompany fashion have long do
parted irom East Broadway aud Madison and Henry
streets these ola thoroughares with their substan-
tal and at timo aristooratic dwellings baking
In tho SUM- II the process necessary to pro-
servo the swarms Of children which they house, still
retain OF the traces OF their former grandeur
IL M perhaps, these very past
winch sive tho ns,shborhood tho air Of decayiug
city and justify tho police OF the seventh precinct In
assuming superior order and virtue. 'Go over 10 the
Seventh whispered policeman, az tho dejected re-
house. "rbcy may do betscr Tor you there" Un-
fortunately the miidew OF decay had settled on tho
ofcer Ia tho preolnot who had ANIMATION enough lett
Ia him 10 remember whether he had over evon heard
"fhey brought In q man the other day who gave his
John kadioy, but whose real namc 10 Clarke,
who comes nearest TO being gang OF nybOdy know
apparently UNCONSCIOUS that enc man, however
wicked he nigh. be, would no. make gang
lis Radicy bad man % the reporter asked.
.'rhc worst In tho precinct, and he's only young
fellow 100. Hr assaulted Oiiesr Fitzgerald ana has
been neld In 81. 900 bail NY Judge Ottrrbourg When
RnaIoy was brought IN here a good many OF ms
friends came ~ too young fellows like himself; but
nyou xsnt 10 INA gang you 70 across scammsll
street." O., na f..b
"why across scamme streets" questioned the
reporter, IN surprise.
belong 10 this ward. bat not 70 this precinct. some
times thoy make raid down here, but not often II
you want 10 md out Anything about them you will
have 20 Thirteenth precinct station mouse at
Deiancey and Attorney streets"
SO far SIX officers bad been questioned and two sta
ton houses visited, and yet the reporter had only
learned that there was probably such thing Tho
Hook gang" and thu. rosId be possible 70 learn
somothipg about them only by going 10 tho mir
teenth precinct
coRLEAx's nook AND ITS KsviRoxs.
Unlike that part OF The Seventh ward which
priscs the Seventh precinct Corear's Hook and It's
cnvirons which compose the Thirteenth Is not IN In
noeeu district even n tho eyes OF the police Indeed
Il may be SAID that tho Hook ana It's surroundings are
to-day what the Five Points ana the "B.oody sixth"
were quarter OF century ago. In spite OF ils un
mistaksbic Dutch ofign there Is something Arthur
Ian IN the name suggesting the Csercon and Csnelot
OF the Tcnnysonian legends and preparing person or
somethng more than the moro prosaic outlines OF or
dfrary city life In It's arncteriscs Grand street,
swsepisR across from the Bowery and absorbing MI
tho thoroug hfnfss which radiats IRON tho Hook ike
the Appinn Way, swallowing all tho roads tnat lead
10 Rome, ~ the highway when opens up It's myster-
r..t.% 10 spssT ns Sus.n 'V n
the stranger anxious to know OF The "boardcrsr
who meet here but sprc,d all 'ne way rom .J.ekson
street 10 Avenue A" ana from CHERRY street to Mui
berry" But Jackson street and Captain Husscy do not
owe as much 10 The varicy stage as tho vaneiy stage
owes TO thom. Indeed all around Corear's Hook the
essence OF song and dance pervades the very aimos
pherc, and II Is not surprising that the 'Muiiigan
Guards" IL part OF the literature OF the locality
But to the reporter, winding mis- way through oro
ing SUI TO the station house IN Deiancey sircct, all
tbn was yet unPevsalsd and hts reception by the
captain OF the Tnrtecnth precinct Was not suggestive
ol the rich harvest hc was to reap.
'You know rs much pbcut gangs as do" sa'a tho
capstn of the preonct when In response 10 the cap
tsn's grun inquiry, .'Wei, what do you want ~ tue
reporter stated has business ''Go 10 the men on
pos-.hey can tell you more about these th,ogs than
anybody else.o
10 whom snail OF" asked the reporter.
''WcIi, 20 down 10 the Hook--ysu vii nnd Ufncer
Conner some~ bore about scanncl or Heury or Madi-
son street. Ask nin"
II WIS thus the reporter IN search Of Information
was pushed about IRON post Co p'l,sr and from pillar
TO post until he began TO despair OF 1ndnga versabe
gang alter ALL
TRACE or rBs BvoK oASo
Coming down Madison strcst toward Soammci wns
Officer John Conner sHngtag hts club gen IN his