Omaha daily bee., 1886-08-01
A BIG NIGHT ON THE PATROL,
The Great Achievements of 0maha's Four
Wheeled Policeman.
FOUR RUNS IN SUCCESSION.
A Specimen OF the Outcasts, Out
laws, and Unrortunatcs Picked
Up ut Night in the Streets
of Omaha.
Tin with the Driver,

|
torrid day The city Jail is Illuminated
with its feeble glims, and the light from
within scarcely crosses the threshold.
Under the shadow of tho antique and
rotten balcony above, and on either side
of the ample entrance to the local bailie,
sits the presiding genius of the place in
the rotund form OF Officer Poironnet.
Beside him, sits the equally ample frame
of Officer Turkleson. Officer Sigwart and
other civic guardians are shroudcd in
gloom on the opposite side of the en-
trance, while a BEE reporter with several
thoughts directed toward the morrow
sits in the middle of the group. Dimly
outlined and standing in the gutter is the
| patrol wagon, its golden letters glstcn
ing in the moonlight. Tho brass.tipped
harness of the horses glows upon their
sides, and the uncasiness with which they
stamp the stony pavement bespeaks the
fact that they have had but little to do
| tonight.
Officer Peironneti is telling short story.
1t is cut still shorter by II ring of the tcle
phone bell. In an instant he is ut tho
phone shouting "hello." The next,
does so shouts Thirteenth and Harm ~"
The horses are unhitchcd. Officer Tur-
| tleson climbs to the seat, Officer Sigwart
| jumps on the hind step, and the BEE
man jumps over the side of the vehicle
and away go the horses, wagon and load.
| The wheels rattle over the tilnty pave
ment reach the asphaltum of Harvey
| street and then rcvolve as noiselessly as
| if tired with rubber. 1t i; midnight. Be-
lated wayfarcrs stand on the walks, gaze
ut the ileeting spectacle and then follow
1t until it is beyond their sight
The brake is applied, and
sudden, stand; A policeman emerges
| from the shadow of the saloon on the
corner of Thirteenth street, beckons to
| Slgwart. The next moment both are
| carrying between them a sodden indi-
| vldual, heavy as lead and senseless as a
| block of wood. HIS clothes are old,
| soiled, worn and torn. His features are
| harsh and coarse His appearance is
| prosperity and success for debauchery
| wretchedncss, and crlme. He is dragged
| into the wagon and falls like n sack of
| earth upon the wagon floor. Again the
wheels roll noiselessly over the pave
ments; Again stand gaping crowds as
the vehicle passes. Again is the station
| reached. The inanlmate log of II few
moments before has been restored to par
tial sensibility by the rolling over the
stones. His teeth are displayed, his eyes
| open, and his tongue rolls out the vilest
| imprecations. He is placed behind the
| bars, and rolls upon the floor like a beast
in stupor, the while indulgng in pro-
| fanation too helnous to be imagined.
| The bell rings again. Twelfth and
Douglas" shouts Officer Pcironnet In
| two seconds, the wagons course is ar
rested on the latter thoroughfare near
Thirteenth. There is Il vision of white
| muslin and gaudy plumes in the crowd
fI,.ntN
of the beat delivers into the custody of
| Officer SigwarU two drunken women,who
cry, scream, threaten eternal vengeance
upon the police and baspheme by turns.
They have been suspected OF plying an
unholy trade upon the streets. The
dainty hat and plume, dainty, yet tainted
by the stigma of having been secured by
| the shameless debascment of wOmanhood,
is cast upon the floor, stamped upon and
crushed as was the heart of the mother
when she learned of her daughters
shame. A throng of curious people fol.
lows the wagon. The women are led
from it to the jail, kicking
The street doors are closdl, and the vul-
gar crowd is denied the sight of the inn
| prisonmcnt it had sought. Into the
female cell the women are cast, and
their madness is forgotten, because the
bell again calls, this time to the corner OF
| Cass and Sixteenth street,
Here, young fellow marked by nat'ire
with the features of william is put INTO
the wagon, His dark eyes glisten with
| rage. He gazes furtively abont as if con-
| templatng jumping over the rail. The
| officer notices the act and moves up to
| him on the seat The lad has been
caught in the act of burglarizing. He is
| of respectable parents, but his course is
not in the ascending order. He is far
| adown the road to perdition the further
| end of which ascends to the gallows.
| Officer Peironnet is at the curb, and as
the burglar is unloaded he simply says,
"Thirteenth and jackson streets" -Four
runs in succession, to all points OF the
| compassl The horses are painting, be-
cause they have been driven like tho
wind Yet now they go like an electric
| flash Over the asphaltum and rock-payed
roads, they reach the alley intersecting
| Thirteenth street, between jackson and
Jones streets. Here somebody says:
"Up this way"
| porter.
"A man murdered" says a policeman
| as he disappears in the gloom OF the
| alley.
The horses follow timidly. A few rays
of light shoot through the curtain chnks
| in the rear of some of the squalid houses
on either side. The way is soft, Uttered
with refuse and rocking with noXious
| odors.
"Look out there" exclaims the police.
man in the lead. Turn your horses to
the left, or you'll run over him" The
noise attracts the occupants of the near
est house, who have retired, though still
keeping light burning, The curtain is
| drawn aside. man in robe dc mutt"
stands at the window. The light streams
in the alley. and discloses a man lying in
the filth almost beneath the horses feet.
His face is towards the stars, and his
eyes are closed as If in death. A stream
of blood trickles from his forehead down
his checks. He is cold, though apparent
| ly alive. Tho driver turns the
horses, passing the victim and halts. The
latter is put in the wagon. A policeman
goes and orders a physician to the sta
tion, whittier the wagon flies lest the
"pck-up" die on the way, Later inyes-
tigation develops the fact that the man
has been sluggcd, probably robbed. The
deep wound upon his forehead is
dressed, and the doctor suggests the
| greatest care, which is given him by the