The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1880-09-30
DEPTHS OF MISERY II A GREAT
CITY.

A1AA VI IN VhEAl
CITY.
Glance at HOvels In Which the Low.
est Poor Drag out Wretched Life.
New York Tribune.
oyer want to look round the place
do yer? Well, guess yer can. Wait
till I ask the old woman"
The speaker was rough, unkempt
young fellow loungiug in narrow al
ley, which runs back into a little court.
yard behind the house No. 90 Pitt
street. This house presents to the
street a whitewashed brick front of ap.
parent respectability, but on passing
through the alley it was. seen that the
building was a wretched wooden sham
with clapboarded walls, while behind it
on one side Of the courtyard, is one OF
the most miserable tumble-down dwell
ings in New York, which makes the
former seem palace by comparison
The lounger, whose bleared eyes show.
ed the ruin that was fast overtaking his
splendid physique, shufaed slowly Off
and was soon heard calling in gin.
roughened voice for the cold woman. y
In the meantime an opportunity was
afforded to look around.
The house facing Pitt street is ap.
preached from the rear by rickety
staircase, near which are some indie.
scribably filthy outbuildings. The little
wooden house in the COURTYARD, two
stories and half in height, huddles up
against the end of the next block, as II
seeking to hide its broken windows and
crumblng walls. The broken stones OF
the yard are Uttered with straw and
every variety Of refuse. Along one
side runs an old drain, usually blocked
up, while the fetid water collects on the
stones in stagnant pools. Apparently
the slops are thrown out into the court
yard or the street without much regard
to the pretense for drain. Near it
stands an old pump. What must the
water be that comes from under that
drain?
At the further end of the courtyard
are some rough board shanties, fully as
clean as the house, which are used as
stables. Between them and the house
is a huge box filled with steaming re.
fuse. But this time he of the blear-
ed eyes had returned with portly
German woman, whose wet, red arms
showed that she had just come from
the washhb. The visitor was first
taken for deputy sheriff, come to ex-
pei one of the tenants for non-paylne ent
of rent. Then the woman thought that
he was health officer "to see if vas dot
de houses vos healthy" and in that de-
lusion she was mercifully allowed to re-
main
The basement of the first house is oc-
cupied by saloon, and the floor above
by the "Pitt Association" whose quar-,
ters consist of a large room with floor
covered with sawdust and garnished
with broken wooden chairs. In three
small rooms on hesecond floor live the
landlord who keeps the saloon, his wife,
her brother and two children. The wo-
man was evidently the "lnan of bust
ness," and had mournful tales to relate
of tenants and of truckmen who de-
frauded her of her paltry SO cents a
week for the use Of stall.
Under the roof lives couple, cur
rently reported to suffer from incom-
patibility of temper, in one hot, sitting
room, feebly lighted by one small dor
mer window. The next room is Occu-
pied by some venerable and decrepit
hens. After descending the creaking
stairs the old house in the rear was en-
tered, black and dingy within an with
out.
There are seven rooms in this
house" said the man with the husky
voice, who acted as guide, "an' six fam
lilies live in 'em. This is the only fom-
lily as have two rooms in here. There
are three Of 'em, father, son and daugh-
ter. The men peddle shellfish an such
from cart. They pay 81. month for
their rooms"
A broken stove, a dilapidated lounge
and table, few chairs and two vile
beds were all that the small dark
rooms contained. In the next room on
this floor lived man and his wife, He
pushes wheelbarrcw around all day
selling sawdust in bar-rooms. and she is
a rag picker, often bringing home
pieces of bread and potatoes picked up
in the course of her work, which are
made into a kind of soup. Their
monthly rent is s.. A rusty coffee-pot
stood on the stove, and the man was
watching some dark decoction bub-
bling in this.
In the room above an old woman
lived alone. She picks up firewood for
herself wherever she can, and her
daughter, in some cheap store, helps
her with her rent. She draws a little
pension, which means great deal to
her. From the little entry outside Der
room steep ladder leads up to a trap
door. On pushing this up little den
was entered under the caves, filled with
woke. A withered old man, bent al
most double, was hobbling backward
and forward over the pieces Of boards,
barrel hoops, broken baskets, frag-
ments of old iron, cast-of shoes and
rags that Uttered the room. An old
bedstead, on which we're two black
feathered beds. and broken
down stove, were the only
furniture of the room. Some tin dish
es and battered coffee-pot were
ranged around, and the old man was
apparently busy in preparing his noon
day meal. The one window of the
room looks out into the garbage box in
the courtyard. "This old feller does
white-washin' when he gets chance,
an then he's rag-picker an lives on
any thing he can pick up" said the
guide, "but guess he has hard time
to raise $3.50 for rent"
The poor old vagrant was very deaf,
and he seemed to possess only the ami
NAL instincts of cunning and self-pro-
lection. He eyed the visitor suspic-
iously, and seemed relieved when he
disappeared through the trap-door
without producing warrant.
Ascending the crazy stairs at the
other end of the house, the landlady
was encountered, on her way to turn
out tenant for non-payment of rent.
Opening the first door at the head Of
the stairs dreary room was entered,
the wretchedness of which was not
relieved by the few old bits Of flrni-
ture that were scattered about. In
the center of the room stood stall
wart Italian termagant, arms akimbO
| n ;t;rw tho nna1o11uhf nf tho lard.