Omaha daily bee., 1897-08-20
BOsToN's RAT ALLEY.
An Underground Thoroughfare That
Puzzled the Police

During the big Boston fire. when Rrorn
field and School streets. with the included
territory, We're all roped off and admission
was possible only by means of cards issued
10 owners of property in the burning dis
much mystifed at the crowds of gamins,
boys ana men, who continually appeared
inside the lises. How did they get there?
Al the officers on duty We're sternly ques-
toned and all declared with one voice that
their sections of the defences had been
urchin, ducking under the arms of one man.
ran headlong in.o these of another and
mus mus brought TO bay, he was induced by the
secret Pointing with one dingy thumb
over his shoulder at a door marked "Pri-
HaRle aIey he 5erked tS n out under his breath,
flash. but still safely within the lines
- Rat alley" but where was the alley?
and carefully descending the five stone
steps, dangerously slippery. dark, stone
Underground, at the far end Of which is n
tiny gleam of daylight. Proceeding along
the narrow four-foot way, five more steps
on the right, up through a half-door near
The ground, is stretched the body of a man
the dun rumh.lng OF an engine reveals lis
presen e, The metallic elnk of hammers
can be heard. while. from a cosey little
debris one can easily imagine a wharf raj
looking askance upon the strangers tres
passing in his terrestrial paradise belt
runs along overhead, and the whole place
Jars with the moving machinery. High up
on the ceiling a ladder is hung, Tor natur-
ally, every "up-to-date" rat must have a
gymnasium training, and a ladder affords
very good exercise.
on reaching the end of the alleyway and
locking back toward Province court a dull
CLEAN Of l!ght strikes the eye-the engine
is evidently angry al being disturbed but
a little newsboy scuttles safely through
Tor TO him u is "main-traveled road" and
not an undiscovered country" Coming out
ilto daylight again. the CHEEKY sight Of an
electric car Is caught. a snort distance
away, from between tall buildings. But the
place Is blocked up with heavy teams Sus-
pended high overhead, like the sword of
llamocles, and looking only too willing TO
drop on intruders heads is a huge knife
a visual sign OF the Industry piled within
while all over the building run enormous
lettered signs. each trying 10 outdo his
nelghbor and attract most attention 10 him
self
Entrance to this snug rat domicile from
Washington street Is plain If only one
knows how 10 look for il: for, upon passing
through certain court nearly opposite
MIX street, the entrance is in the far left
hand corner, and one can see straight
through the subterranean passage; hut The
INITIATED stranger, going in from School
street and taking his first left-handN turn
thence proceeding along the left. might
walk back and forth for days, dld he moi
know the open sesame Of certain shabby
door. Should DR.. A. Conan Doyle desire
an American situation for one of his thrill
ing detective stories, his firm allies the
street urchins, could easily track the most
de- ermined villain through just such a rat
hole as this, but until thai time Mr. Rat
free in these, their chosen headquarters
from which each day many foragers are
sent Out IN search OF supplies for the fami-