The Red Cloud chief., 1882-06-01
London Fighting Gangs.

Tho fighting cams hay" an n~gganill-
tiau almost - cpn4piD'" "a, that 81 tia"
police. Each gan. hl-ll> Captain, who,
aaatjn. ha, hI- iuri"r officers. \ Ger
tam order j. :mHarahl, preserved. and
the members .: tHr band are under
certain .ppn-.h5iii"- as - tho -ln.l<;
for a." gau-, nrr hy up means ur~uu-
itri simply fnr th" purp"" Of igH'U.
Zach other. This t. a pleasant d"lu~.uu
which helps 10 reconcile tine l"ulou
public L. the flci Df their existence.
The minority of the members 81 lnc-"
organizations Youths Whu-aa-g.S rulyy
from about sixteen {" twenty-five are
plainly and simply thieves. There M"
h"iIr, oi youn" men who roam about
al nigil simply for III" -ahc If mischief.
aud whose playful violence frequently
has unpleasant results: but whoa Trgu-
lar "an"S fight il i for mastery. L. not
u~ufr"iucntly happens that "nc set. bent
"n tn" extension Of IT, TERRITORY. invade.
"a" district of another. Then there ha-
10 b" some sort Of r"c,iHrat.un 81
frontier. brought about hy the usual
process. Recently there was such .
conflict between IN" Dove row gan.
nnd the Bow cpmmunrTS. iu which the
Dove row @auc came oil victorious.
such incidents aS these. however. are
mere cpis sI"S in the great epic OF
iuV"nil" crime. Th" object "f The gang.
i ruh!'crI. II necessary with Violence.
What ID Won do AT nights !
SAID recently To- a youth who had been
4 mcmhcr of one of these bodice
of Juvenile r"uwhS. "Wha I'D they
do? Why. they waited about. and il
amyh"ly respectable passed them they
trippcl him mp and r"hhci him Did
they u~c violence sonnet my~.a' "lIa
should think they dad. They w"r,
broad leather belts with heavy buckles
on them. Sometimes they carried
sticks. hut the belts were best. Ch.
they took lots Of ,hingS.' What
would they do if they took n watch?'
'Nhy. pawn il. Ia hc sure. They often
mot in the mornings tn reckon up what
they had don" the night before. Nauy
= time they robbed shop ,ills. One ui
them hid himself behind the counter.
and the others waited outside. No.
their parents didn't know much about
il Most of them had no parents.
lBA'N' WV 4ssla G'li'A.aliA 'tl Ii'Iia' ti'i'l
Ven Ia lodgings. They lodged together
mostly, va or three of them IN uI,
place. They didn't read much. very
few Of them could read; p'rapS one
would read To- the Others sometimes.
bidni know that they had ever killed
anybody. hut had mann a time knocked
people down" '.NcS.' he said. in re
ply IL another question. they fourh,
other gangs now and then 10 see VIII
WAS strongest. some of them had been
in prison lots IF times; they didn't mind
it much they got used L. il. Had left
them now. and vas trying - lead a
better life"
The fighting gangs are mostly com
done any work. have found the coudi-
tons of labor neither sufficiently pleas
ant q sufficiently profitable. Utterly
ignorant and unframed. they seem Il
see a kind OF hcrciSm in their present
mode of life. Their spirit j much the
same rs that which animated the huccl-
nccr AMI the hrigand. Punishment
merely haricnS them. for the only thing
which they regard as shameful i the
want Of pluck" and endurance. Its
not merely during the las; year or w
that thcTang> have come into existence.
On the contrary. many Of them have cN-
listed for Years. They are the regular
feeders of the asst criminal population
Of London. When a thief has AGE or
experience enough Ia stand alone. h.
leaves the gang and emhark> in private
ventures. Probably his maturity comes
upon him in Jail. lie is too old To- 20
back 10 the gang again; the "WildBoy"
period has passed over. and he deserts
the New cut or Bow common lane for
the ohScurcr haunts of habutual crime.
Nal Gd-Cttc.