Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-08-13
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Description of the Sewers of a Vast
City.
Gotham's Digestive Apparatus Suicide in
a Sewer Priceless Mud that An
nually Enriches the Sea.

| Gotham 8 Digestive Apparatus Suicide IN
Sewer Priceless Mud that An
| nually Enriches the Sea.
Special correspondence of The Chronicle.
New YORK, August IL, 1891.
A sewer is not so horrible place after
ALL though it is horrible enough. The re-
cent suicide of Tom Kenny, the life-say-
er, by jumping down manhole into a
sewer and drowning, has called attention
to this underground side of New York.
If the vast apparent New York were
lifted off the surface, and its sewers and
other subterranean economy exposed to
view, an examination would reveal as in
teresting things as could now be found
above After the intricate maze of gas
pipes, steam-pipes, wire and cable con-
duits had been studied, the sewer would
remain. To us now it is profound mys-
terry. 1t is something of dreadful dark
ness and unutterable filth. We have no
desire to peer into its gruesome depths.
At street opening where fiendish look
humanity with coat on coat of slime.
build fires and melt pitch, and draw out
of the earth buckets of awful vileness-
at these street camps of the sewer men,
we avert our faces and hold our noses.
But the sewer is for all that reflex of
the citys life The philosophical strang-
er would know more of the town by di
agnosing mile of its sewers than by
weeks of life ON the surface. Here is the
receptacle of secrets. Here the gilded
face is washed of its gilt. Here is stark
truth. The sewer is close to the heart.
From the mighty bosom of the fighting
People. heaving with passion, overflow
ing into crime, the sewer leads down into
silence, the sea and nevermore. Here are
guilt and red blood; here are eOrpses and
daggers; here are scabs from the sores of
Lazarus and the yOmit of the drunken
Dives. Here is everything that is worn
out. and everything that must be con-
cealed and put away.
***
Up to 1865 New York had only about
100 miles of sewer, constructed on no
plan. She now has AL miles, and it is
all built on system. There are maps of
the entire network, main trunks and their
myriad branches, and there are brains
that are occupied with nothing but the
study of these maps. There are perhaps
three men in the city who know all the
sewers, not only from the maps but also
from personal survey. 1t requires sim
gular combination of traits to make a
good sewer-man. He must be active,
unusually muscular, man of sense, of
infinite daring, and of no fastidiOus
qualms of stomach or sense. His office |
is to inspect the sewer and keep it open.
He descends by ladder or is let down by
a rope through the man-hole, into the
channel, which is perhaps eight feet by
sixteen, with fiat bottom sometimes,
but more often circular or oval. He |
takes a lantern and a club, the latter to
keep off the rats which infest the sewer
by millions, and which when cOrnered
will fight viciously. They have even been
known to well nigh overpower the sew
researchers at times. Getting inis easy.
The man must then stumble and crawl
along through the hideous mixture,
breathing a mephitic and deadly air.
Perchance there have been recent rains,
and the drain is then rushing with sever
al feet of vile water. Perhaps at some
corner or end a pocket of gas has collect
ed, which has exploded by the mans
light, and he is burned to death or top
pied over senseless, and drowned. An in
spector only short time ago. had won
derful escape from death in this way
Rendered unconscious by terrific ex
plosion he fioated down the current and
out at the mouth, where fellow work
man pulled him out. He was horribly
burned, but survived.
The pay of these peculiarly constituted
men of darkness and filth is meager, but
they do not object. Whatever of flotsam
they rescue from the fetid current is
theirs, and often the lanterns rays gleam
back from coin, golden ornaments and
sparkling gems. Among her millions
the vast city often casts away by care
lessness or by reckless despair much that
is of value.
The toilet of the drain is made weekly.
On Monday the water is turned on, and
the main stems are flushed and washed.
The small branches are mere earthen
ware pipes. The larger are built of brick,
with concrete flooring. Usually here
the foundation is good, but sometimes
piles have to be sunk. upon which large
beams are placed and brick and concrete
built upon them. There are perhaps a
hundred outlet sewers, draining areas of
from two acres to several hundred. The
West Twenty third street trunk receives
the detritus of over 800 acres. In the vi |
cinity of Wall street, the sewers flow with I
,ulphuric acid from the assay Office, and q
are filed with steam and hot water from
The numerous large buildings. There are
many stories of this gigantic cesspool q
Sensational literature is filled with leg
ends of crimes which the sewers have
hidden. Though the stories are vastly Z
they no doubt have their ba- f
us in fact. The criminal in his struggle a
'or life learns everything that is known, O
md with his shrewdness he is not likely s
% miss so silent and vOraciOus maw n
'or the swallowing of his deeds as the h
,ewer offers When the keen nose of f
ustice and law has scented out every d
,ther hiding place, the dark intestine of
he city is still at hand. And it is so