Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-07-13
WESTINGHOUSE LARS.
Rum Row, Murderer Bay, Hell's Bottor
and Other Old-Time Dives.

Rum Row. Murderer Bay, HeI's Bottom
and Other Old-Time Dives.
Somebody remarked in the house res
taurant yesterday, where a party of
representatives of sporting proclivities
were seated at table, that Orlando
Jones, one of the best known book
makers at Sheepshead Bay, was worth
100000 This brought out a story
from one of the older members, who
had traced the career of Orlando Jones
since he was four years of age, and had
fair knowledge of the other members
of the Jones family running back into
the days when the fever of speculation
permeated both public and private life
in Washington.
Few people know" said the man of
a reminiscent turn of mind, shat Or
lando Jones graduated at Cambridge
and started out on promising profess
sional career as lawyer in Washing
ton. 1t was the revelation of his family
antecedents which DIR owe Orlando Jones
out of Washington socie ty, out of lucra-
tive practice, and finally out of his pro-
fesSion, and then out of town. There
are few public men who were in Wash
ington during Grants term, or earlier,
who have not heard of old JONES' who
ran a restaurant and grogshop in a
familiar sporting quarter of the capital.
Jones had four sons, all of whom
turned out to be motor ious gamblers.
In 1878 the Jones brothers faro bank
was one of the best patronized in
Washington. It stood on the corner of
Thirteenth street and Pennsylvania
avenue, at the east end of what is
known as Rum row. Rum row was a
line of rum and gambling shops ex-
tending along Pennsylvania avenue and
ending at Four teenth street in another
notorious place kept by Doc Palmer
The Washington Press club now occu-
pies the suite where Doc Palmer's
gambling paraphernalia used to be
stored. In both of these establishments
some of the most prominent statesmen
OF the day took regular turns at buck
ing the tiger
when the gambling fever had firm
hold on Washington there were three
notorious localities where gambling
went on at full blast. They were
known as Rum row, Murderers' bay and
Hell's Bottom. Murderers' bay was the
most notorious of these. 1t acquired it's
title because a series of appalling muir
ders had been committed within its
limits during short period of time It
extended to the very foot of the White
lot, which is now a part of the presi-
Dental grounds. In those days the old
canal ran up through the locality and
its borders were lined with dropping
willows, and it was in the gloom and
shadow OF these surroundings that most
OF these fiendish murders were COM
mitted. Murderers' bay was product
Of the war and was rendezvous for the
worst charac tiers in the army and the
hangers-on, who always follow in its
wake, at the time when the soldiers
were camped in Washington. Gradually
the profigate whites dispossessed the
colored tenants in that region. and the
latter repaired to section in the north
ern part of the city called, because of
Its peculiar topography, "Hell's Bot
tom." where they reigned unmolested
for long time as counter-irritant to
Murderers' bay.
HelPs Bottom beca me SO notorious in
the course of time that special detail
Of mounted police was put over it day
and night to check the growth of crime.
Rum row fronted on Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. In its center was the old National
theater building, and with this single
exception the rest of the entire locality
was given over to gambling rooms.
Three large houses running day and
night caught nearly all the large fish,
such as the diplomats and politicians.
Jones place was raided frequently
when the crusade began against the
gambling houses before it was finally
driven out. Some big fish were caught
in this pool Once prominent senator
was arrested there and taken to the
police station, where the sergeant re-
fused to accept his word as to his iden-
tity or release him on his own recogniz-
ance, and as the senator couldn't afford
to inform his friends of his predicament,
he remained in the station over night
Another story is related of two diplo-
mats and a senator who were in Doc
Palmer's place one night when it was
raided, and escaped by jumping out of
back window and hiding in coal bin
As the place was kept under surveil-
lance almost night and day, the diplo-
mats and the senator remained in hid
ing until driven out by hunger, when
they managed to escape by crawling
out of a coal hole, blackened with SCOT
and coal dust, and, hailing neighbor-
ing cab, closed the doors, and were
driven home by way of a back alley.
HelPs Bottom is now respectable
quarter of Washington, and in view of
regeneration is now designated by
the title Of Paradise Regained."
Rum row disappeared with it's contem-
poraries and is given over to commercial
tntereSts-N V Times