The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-16
SINNERS And SAINTS.
DARK SIDE OF LIFE AS SEEN BY KATE
JOfDAN.
Stunning In New york's Great East Side.
At the Florence ofssion-A Ray Of Light.
One of the RecIai OF
Night.
SPECIAL Cfrespondence.l

NEW YORK. jar A-There were four OF
US and a detective We were not under ar
rest, and the p-eeIce OF the law in the
shape of big, bl1ff man in a shaggy over
coat, a slouched Hat and mittens mad no
saddening effect apon US. We were in his
charge only for he eyening-he was taking
Us summing.
One of us w&san artist seeking types, an
other was a stranger in New York and so
far only acquainted with the fashionable
nucleus of the town. The other two-weli.
they were women, and I'm afraid the curse
OF Eve had descended upon them. They
were morbidly curious. They wanted TO
see. They had delightful consciousness
of doing something they should not, and a
-alsodelicious-that they were
going to be horribly shocked.
tn q Historic Locality.
The dingy car went zigzagging through
/ portions of the town never seen at night be-
fore. 1t was Bleecker street. that neigh
borhood of ruins. once the railying ground
of New York s gentility Peering through
the clouded panes at the vile sidewalks, the
old mansions transformed into cheap fish
markets, what was once church ringing
with shouts of ribald laughter and the
banging of a cheap piano, one wondered il
the spirits of dead Knickerbockers ever
came back to wander sadly amid this desc
Grafton of sacred, familiar scenes.
But-fareweH fancy We were at the
Bowery. and ''by the same token" as the
Irishman says, here was a newsboy at our
elbbw singing the hackneyed refrain that
sets forth the temptations of that gaudy
thHoughfare and assuring us he would
never go there any more"
'.And now-wheres" asked Miss Eve,
named after her mother.
Don't ask any questions" said the de-
tective pompously, and we followed him
trustingly, feeling very much like sheep
after shepherd.
A Trip to Chinatown.
Down the Bowery we went. We looked
into gin palaces and saw lines OF hungry
tramps waiting with marvellous patience
for a free meal, went through dark. mys-
terious side streets lined by most offensive
alleyways. We heard words that taught
us how cranped is the vocabulary Of the
polite We saw faces more animal than
human. We were surrounded by vice. 1t
was not pleasurable, however, even as a
forbidden sight We began to feel little
heartsick, and we saw how quickly sin is
robbed of poetry when there is no gliding
We turned corner. Was this New York;
Or had we in some inexplicable way sent
our astral bodies on AN airy journey to Hong
Kong? Yellow skinned Celestials, who
looked as if they had suddenly materialized
from tea caddies, surrounded US. We
heard queer. tinpanny music from some Of
the dimly lit, red curtained shops. We saw
strange names on windows and doors, and
we heard language that was uncanny in
its unusualness.
Chinatown!
care we going to an opium joint?" queried
Miss Eve in a breathless tone. ''Oh, that
would be positively diviner'
''Think so, young woman9 Rather like
the other place, it seems to me- But I'm
not going to show you lot of miserable be-
ings hitting the pipe You'd never forget
It. Stay here. and I'll give you just an idea
OF what it's like"
He left US at the entrance to narrow
alleyway that might fitly have led to In
ferno, so dark was it, so full of eerie oaths
and wailing.
An Opium Layout.
For a few moments we shivered there ere
the detective appeared carrying something
in his hands and followed by q girl of
about a.
This is layout. It's worth looking at
Smell it."
We handled the little tray, the filler, and
shifted at the oddly shaped, dark pipe. The
odor was fat and sickly. There was nothing
seductive about that, at any rate.
Take good look at the GIRL our guide
whispered.
The light from the laundry next door
showed us thin, round shouldered, heavy
eyed creature, her skin yellow, her hair
short and fuzzy.
SCOT froof" she asked. "Huh" az she
received some money. thanks, sarl' and
with broad grin she caught up the lay
out and disappeared.
''She might be labeled as queer speci-
men and one peculiar to this strangely
mixed city of ours. I doubt if you could