The Red Cloud chief., 1884-01-11

and a mother and her baby-four gen-
erations together-and they are all
dirty; and disheveled, and drunk. ex-
cept the baby. and even the poor little
mite may have its first taste of alcohol
presently. 1t is no uncommon sight in
these places to see Il mother wet a
baby's lips with gin and water. The
process is called ''giving the young'un
| a TASTE" and the baby's father will
look on sometimes and enjoy the joke
immensely.
But the time to see the result of a
Saturday nights heavy drinking in a
low neighbOrhOOd is after the houses
are closed. Then YOU meet dozens OF
poor wre,ches Keeling home to their
miserable dens, some of them ro!lin.
across the roadway and falling, cutting
themselves till the blood flows. Every
penny in some instances has gone in
drink.
One dilapidated ragged wretch | met
last Saturday night was gnawing u
baked potato. BY his side stood a
thinly-clad woman bearing u baby in
her arms. and in hideous language She
approached him for his selfishness. She
had fetched him out of a public-house
with his last halfpenny in his pocket.
With that halfpenny he had bought the
potato, which he refused to share with
her. At every r the police are
ordering or cOaxing men and ome tc
''move on" Between twelve and one
it is a long procession of drunken men
and women. and the most drunken seem
to be those whose outward appearance
betokens the most abiect poverty.
Turn out of the main thoroughfare
and into the dimly-lighted back street,
and YOU come upon scene after scene to
the grim. grotesque horror of which
only the pencA of a DOre could do just
ice. Women with hideous distorted
faces are rolling from side to side shrek
ing aloud snatches of popular songs
plentifully interlarded with the vilest
expressions. Men as DRINK as them
selves meet them, there is n short inter
change of ribald ieStS and foul oathS.
than a quarrel and a shower of blows.
Down from one dark court rings n CIV
of murder, and a woman, her face hid
eOusly Sashed, makes across the narrow
road pursued by q bowling mailman
Ii is only Il drunken husband having 2
row With his wife.
A friend Of mine, who is never tree
of trying to urge the people of this dis
trict to temperance. not long since
found a man sitting up naked ON a hear
OF rags shivering with the death throe,
OF him, and crying for water for hi,
parched throat. His wife, in Il ma1dlir
state of intoxication. was staring help
lessly at her dying husband. A coat
was given to wrap round the poor fel
low. At night. when my friend re.
turned. he found the man cold anG
dead and naked, and the woman in s
state of mai intoxicatiOn. She hao
torn the coat from the body OF the dy-
ing man and pawned it for drink. IN
these districts men and women who arr
will get grants of bread. ant
some of them ask for the bread to be
wrapped in clean paper. Do you know
That they may sell She loaf to
n for a copper or two. and get
drunk with the money. Men Will come
and buy a pair of boots in the morning
out of their earnings, and pay sever
shillings for them. At night they viii
return to the same shop and offer to sci
them back for four shill ngs. They
started drinking. and want the
money to finish the arOus with.
Sims, in London Daily Eews.