The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-06
ROWDY2:d RAMPANT.
How Loafers Trjoyed Themselves
FIFTY Years q &c.
fronl lie Washington sfar.


deal of their time having fun. What some
of them would do in the way of mischief
was almost beyond belief. Wild: l should
say so. The first gang l have knowledge
Of was known by the general public rs the
Seventh Street Rowdies, but we called our
selves the Seventh Street Road Agents. |
know that you have an idea that road
agents. is modern term, but we carried the
name over fifty years ago. This crowd
flourished from the latter part of the POS till
about 1910 Their rendezvous was then on
the size of the patent Office, and in that
square was the residence of a family named
Orr. and on the southwest corner there was
an ice house owned by the late DIR. Gunton.
The road agents found the high grass IN the
iot convenient to hide i'll and many of them
would sleep in it all night when not en-
gagged in mischief. The neighborhood had
NOT then been built up TO any extent. On
the east side of Seventh street was Gold
smiths restaurant and some other places,
the late Capt Goddard having a store near
G street. There were few houses on
Seventh street some distance apart, and
there was tavern with wagon yard at
the northwest corner of Seventh and II
streets. The street was devoid of footpave-
ments and in the roadway the Montgomery
farmers had made wagon track to the
Center market. Did you ask how we
operated. Well, in a party of perha
forty, whose ages ranged from IL to 81 or
%, if there was not head enough to study up
mischief | would like to know where it
could be found. 1t was common thing in
fruit season to
LEVY ON COUNTRY WAGON
for supply of fruits and melons, and
when these were not to be had sweet pota-
toes we're captured to MUNICH on. This
1,rI 4 t,nf, Wi 1o,-G ra
company, and on the occasion of a fire
would be found scattered among the differ
ent companies, unless, indeed, there was
some preconcerted act of mischief ON hand
for the night. East of Judiciary square
was settlement, mostly Irish, and the boys
OF that section and the road agents often
had stone battle. | remember that on
Seventh street old Mrs. Baptist lived and
made living by preparing and cooking
souse. / can smell the odor of fried pigs
ears now. Well, the lady had in the second
story of the building large room, where
she was accustomed to give parties, but her
friends styled them balls. This room was
reached from the street by flight of rudely-
constructed steps. On one occasion a ball
was in progress and none of the agents
were invited. They, however, determined
to get even and the plan was matured. At
a signal several of the agents approached
off, and then raised an alarm of fire. Then
all was excitement. First the door was
crowded and then those behind pushing on,
down they came, pell-mell, the women
screaming and the men cursing the agents.
/ wouldn't say that the agents ever killed
any one, nor did they ever commit crime
which would have sent any of them to the
penitentiary, but they were tough crowd.
/ was counting up the other day, and find
that qf ioaSt of the forty liz
ing. In after years some of them became
leading citizens The erection of the patent
office deprived the agents of place of
rendezvous, and, like the family who had
lived on the site, they moved Off
WITH THE FIRE ladies.
In 1910 the Northern Liberty Fire Com
pany was organized, and the engine house
was located on Eighth street, few yards
south of where the fountain stands in Mount
Vernon square. Previous to this the brick
wards of the late Ulysses Ward and Crit
tenden were located there. The Northern
Liberty company was known as the Blue
Dick and the crowd which ran with the
machine took the name of the 'Chunkers.'
but why, save it was up to that time new
name in these parts, is past finding out
With the Franklin company was a gang
known as the 'Raz0rs;' with the Persever
ance, the 'Swampers;' with the Union, the
never SW6dUS, anu UU6 Dhu years
after the Rams about them ON Capitol hill
Most of the Seventh street gang (road
agents. united with these gangs, the ma
jority with the 'Chunkers' and Swampers.'
The name Razors, by which the second ward
crowd was known, was adopted for some
reason unknown, and subsequently the
crowd was known as the 'Butenders' and
'Peelers The Unions allies, the Never
Sweats, took that name on tho claim that
they could draw the machine farther with
out perspiring than any other crowd. Then
the name Of 'Gumballs' was adopted by the
crowd growing up. The 'Swampers ran
with the Perseverance and took the name
from the fact the 'Persy' was located at the
Marsh, now Center market. There was,
also crowd located in the neighborhood OF
Four-and-a-hal street and Pennsylvania
avenue. which ran with the 'Persy, known
as the Rats. AS the fire companies were
friendly or ,snfriendly with each other, so
were the crowds that associated with them,
and it was dangerous for one to 60 into a
part of the town ruled by a rival crowd.
Besides the crowds named there were, in the
neighborhood of Ninth street, above K, a
crowd Of smaller boys, IA to IS, known as
the 'Nineters, and i'll the neighborhood of
G., from Tenth to Twelfth streets, the
Pointers and the usual occupation was
stone battles on the square bounded by g,
II, Ninth and Tenth streets.
THE SMITHSONIAN HACKERS.
"In the old seventh ward, back of the
Smithsonian grounds, was gang known as
Al,e~, .,,l h.