, 1889-08-20
A WATCHMAN'S STORY.
LIFE AMID THE DARKNESS OF THE
RIVER PIERS IN NEW YORK.

During a particularly heavy d~ownpour
of rain, the writer took refuge in the
doorway Of one of New York's largest
warehouses. There he met the night
watchman, a grizzled but kindly faced
old man, who Oh being questioned spoke
as follows regarding his calling. After
a few silent whiffs at his pipe, during
which he seemed meditating, he began:
1 have been at this employment for the
greater part of twenty a My en-
ployer has about two hundred men, and
controls nearly all the business of supply
ing ~watchmen, at q moments notice, In
this city. Is there variety in the work?
Sure, so far as change of scene goes, for
n night / may be sent to assist a regu-
lar bank Waterman to stand guard over
n vault containing many hundred thou
sands of dollars, or to watch q private
residence in some swell locality, or / may
have to roam about a huge warehouse all
night. But generally we are kept busy
on the river piers, either opened or COW
cred, or perhaps n day or night at Erie
Basin, or in Hoboken or Jersey City.
And there is considerable danger as well
as variety in the work. Not a great
many years ago there were regularly or
ganized gangs of river pirates, who made
certain localities their stamping grounds,
where they met to plan raids, eat, drink
and sleep,
A LONESOME LIFE.
We have had to fight against these
gangs for years, and at last they are
pretty well cleaned out and we have
fairly earned the gratitude of importers,
shipping brokers and owners-in fact, of
all honest men.
Sometimes the gloomy stiffness of a
night spent ON a dark pier is almost in
supportable. There is not enough noise
to interest n man, and not enough indi-
cation of danger to sharpen his faculties;
yet we nus be always on the alert.
Wharf rats are usually sly, but when
they find naught but a mans life be-
tween them and their booty, they some
times become exceedingly bold. They
sneak along the docks, disappearing
now and hen in the dark to listen for
the policeman's footsteps. Then they
emerge. Their spies keep them well
posted as to the kind and quality OF the
various cargoes. One will sometimes
get on the docks as a peddler, or on some
pretended GRAND while the cargo is
btLlk ulllOd1ltb. III illS hldllIleT IItN
learn where fruit, nuts or any small
packages are placed.
No first class Waterman will ever per-
init a stranger access to a dock after the
big doors are once locked for the night.
Formerly a deal of merchandise was
stolen in broad daylight and virtually
under the very eyes of the owners and
others interested in preventing such oc-
currences. You must remember that
when a ship or steamer is being unloaded
there are usually over three hundred men
about, longshoremen, ~stevedores, dock
clerks and revenue officers, and in the
confusion it was not such a difficult
matter to pilfer small articles during the
day; it was easier really to steal in the
day when there was n crowd about than
at night.
TRICKS OF THE THIEVES.
Many ingenious schemes to steal have
been tried, and successfully, too. One
of them wa to row under a lock at low
tide, II bore up through the flooring
into barrels of sugar or hogsheads Of
whisky and molasses, and SO let their
booty flow into empty barrels which
they placed in the boat. I've seen burly
'longshoremen take hold of a hogshead,
brace themselves for n mighty effort,
and then roll themselves head over heels
with the barrel, which had previously
been drained of its contents by these
wharf rats. Fishing from the end of a
pier and selling small articles when a
chance was presented, and dropping
them into the hands of n confederate be-
low, was q common dodge. Now, dock
owners are very cautious about letting
people fish from their loaded docks, I'M
the parties nre well known.
Do we ever get injured? Yes, watch
men are often assaulted, and one is &C,
casionally murdered. Since w been in
the business thirty of my associates have
lost their lives while on duty. The
thieves reason that lead men tell no
tales. There are more murdered watch
men than murders convicted. Some
times n tough character will lounge
around the saloons alongshore until
drunk, and then stray down to the dock
looking for a place to sleep. To drive
him away is to provoke him to a fight,
and though we are armed, he is drunk
and desperate. OF course it would never
do to shoot him, simply because he ant
to lie down quietly and sleep; public
opinion would convict us. So we must
endure his vile language, and permit
him to remain mt the risk of losing our
positions, or mourning severe censure.
At times words are altogether useless,
and we must WELD our night sticks to
drive away these thieves and their ac-
completes, the dock loafers. The police
themselves have no liking for river duty,
particularly on dark or stormy nights.
And l don't blame them.
At this point the old man drew his
pipe from his mouth; the last spark of
fire had been extinguished; and he
slowly rose up, stretched himself, and
with a remark about going his rounds,
said good night and was gone.-New
York Star.