The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1880-05-29
Our BrOadbrim Letters.

Our BrOadbrim Letters.
A Bad Crowd-C Conviction Of Murdererz
and River Pirates Business, Etc, Etc.
NEW YORK, May o. 1880.
1t may not be Christian like, but it
is human; and although as general
thing, not Praying as much as
should, yet this week l confess l did
a little silent praying, that | might be
able to record, in Letter No. 60, a gi-
gantic railroad disaster, and also a
shipwreck, or at least a boatwreck OF
the lakes. l am satisfied in my own
mind that no such opportunity for the
moral publication Of New York will
occur in our day and generation. On
Monday the steamers and trains to-
wards Buffalo were loaded with the
scum Of the city; gamblers, pick
pockets, burglars, river pirates and
professional bruisers crowded all the
avenues to the West, for an entertain :
ment was to be served up that these
savage brntes could relish, and among
the greater part of them was the la
tent hope that one or both of the con-
testants might be killed. Now, if
some self-sacrificing patriot could
have put torpedo under the rail,
aud sent the whole crowd, Goss, Ryan
and their friends, to the place where
you might reasonably expect to find
such crowd, what blessing it would
have been to the country. Or, if
some man who had the welfare of his
kind at heart, could have scuttled the
boats after they got out upon the lake,
he would have deserved we'll of his
country, and have earned Immortality
for himself. The greater portion of
uuhung villains who did not 90 to
Buffalo and Erie, found their way to
Washington, to see the Hanlon and
Courtney fizzle, so that, for few days,
We Of New York enjoyed the blessings
of comparative peace. From Monday
morning to Thursday night you might
have walked from the Bowling Green
to Union Square with silk handanna
hanging out OF your packet, aad the
chances were two to seven that you
would find it all safe when YOU
reached the equestrian statue of
| Washington. Don't imagine from
what ! have said that the entire town
has experienced change of heart.
There are still enough left for seed,
and even on the days mentioned, if
the devil had taken it into his head to
go out cunning any where between
the Battery and Harlem Bridge, he
could have filed his game bag in
about as short order as he could have
done in So,lom or Gomorrah.
The week has been signalized by
the administration of justice i'll a
couple of cases, sho:t, swift and terri
ble Ii there we're more such trials,
life and property would be safer than
they are at present. Both of the
eases were remarkable. One was that
of some river pirates, who attacked
the mate of a schooner in Flushing
Bay, and the other was the conviction
of the mur,lerers of Officer Stone in
Brooklyn. Ii New York had been
raked from one end to the other,
doubt if eight more hardened villains
could have been found than those
which figured in these two trials.
They were all cut out of the same
pattern, low foreheads, beetling
brows, thick lips. tiger eyes, and in
short, about as villainous looking
mugs as ever dissraced the rouges
gallery. Yet, belonging to the vilcst
and most depraved class of society,
they were not without friends; in the
case of the murdclers of policeman
Stone, they represented strong
political element in their ward
which felt itself outside the pale o1
the law. Officer Stone, whonl the
roughs hated, was one of those VIII.
did not recognize their immunity
from punishment, SO they resolved tt
kill him. 1t was 4 bright Sunday af
ternoon. about two months ago, thai
the officer discovered two brothers
named Mungerford, fighting he
crossed the street aud commanded
them to desist, and they then turnct
upon him. He was Immediately sur
rounded by gang of murderous vii
lains, one Of whom picked up stone
and as the unfortunate officer la,
PROSTATE upon the ground, he spill
his skull, another jumped upon hin
unit! his ribs were broken, and like
; pack Of hungry wolves, each ou'
seemed to desire hand in his death
The prosecution was sharp and quick
and may here add that it is not ofte
, that the murderer of police Office
escapes. The witnesses for the de
fense came up by the dozen. and per