The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-10-08


street gang.
Red was born in Ryan street. The
country in which his childhood was spent
was bounded on the north by Houston
street and on the south by the Battery
Its arterial river was the Bowery. The
Bend was his school, his religion. his
kingdom. Reds memory retained only
faint imprint of the patient, care.
worn face of his mother. He had only
an indistinct recollection of a wake over
her coffin, at which the occupants of a
tenement house got little more drunk
than usual. He remembered a man with
black coat who came the next morn
ing and read something out of book
Red had long ago forgotten what-be-
fore 'dey took her away" The man
had glanced at Reds dirty face and the
group of disheveled women watching the
dead wagon" "She is better where she
is" had been his. only comment as he
disappeared around the corner.
All this happened long time ago. 1t
was about three months before Red's
father Ibid his first time Ever since
then Reds father had a habit of APP
pearing on Ryan street at irregular in
tervals with his hair cropped very short
and a consuming desire to avoid being
seen by policeman. Such habits We're
not at all exceptional in Ryan street,
and the fact that Mr.. McGann was able
to come home at all was an argument so
much to his credit that Red constantly
spoke Of it with pride.
Reds title of leader had not been con-
ferred or thrust upon him; it was the
result of 16 years of blows and battles
with any woHld-be usurper who made
bold enough to try to boss de gang"
Red may have had some other name,
but neither he nor anybody else knew
it. 1t came from the shocks of auburn
hair, which partly hid his long thin
face He was understood and why, as
slum children usually are. He was
freckled and rather round shouldered
No stretch of the most powerful imag
ination could ever call Red either hand
some or hero. In fact, he would not
have been at all complimented had any
one ever attempted it. He was just a
tough" rejoicing in his toughness. The
kind of boy who is the bana of police
mems lives and the inc0rri:shla of
East side missions. 1t is harder to tell
what Red did not do for a living than
what he did, There was scarcely any
phase of youthful avocation II which he
had not dabbled. He had sold cigar
cites on excursion steamers, he had ped
died tips on the race track, he had sold
tickets ON commission for East side balls,
had BACKED boots and carried the nand
luggage of incoming travellers. What he
didn't know about the worst end Of
New York, was not worth knowing. le
wouldn't be exactly truthful to say that
he often went through long periods Of
financial stringency and hard times,
because he never had any good times.
His life was spent in successfully in
sisting upon living.
Ryan street trails it's twisted length
of asphalt pavement and tenement
houses into Butterick place. 1t does not
proceed directly, for doing things in a
direct course is no more the habit of the
street than it is of its inhabitants. In
order to get to Butterick place you walk
up little narrow extension of Ryan
street called Shinbone alley
1t was at Shinbone alley that Red Nc
Cams kingdom came to sudden stop.
Once across the narrow hagstone bound
airy line, and you were in the domain of
Barney Muller. In Butterick place
Barney's sway was as absolute as Reds
was in Ryan street. All of the Butter
lex gang swore by him and worshipped
him. Barney was about two feet taller
than the rest. He had tawny yellow
hair and broad shoulders, the result of
his life on the docks as a stevedore'
helper. In girth and weight he was far
the superior of Red. Barney was some
thing of a prize fighter in his way, and
sometimes talked vaguely to an admlring
crowd about belts and gate receipts.
Between Barney Muller and Red Nc
Gam there was an undying hatred,
such as only monarchs can know. There
were not many things in life that Red
McGann loved, but there were several
things that he hated, and AT the head of
the list was the name of Barney. Their
feelings for each other We're shared by
their followers. Scarcely a pleasant
summer evening passed on the Bend
without a clash between de two gangs.
Nobody knew exactly what they were
fighting about No one cared. The only
certainty was that whenever a number
of Ryan streeters" made "a raid across
the border into the hinterland of Shin
bone alley from the dozen tenement
houses would issue number of Bar
news men to give them battle royal.
Black eyes and broken heads were the
inevitable sequence. The conflict usual
ly lasted until the policeman on the
block came on the corner, when, with
SSH. de cop!" the combatants would
scatter to the four Winds Barney and
Red frequently led their forces in per-
son. Physically. Red was no npaIhch for
the leader of Butterick place. Sad as
the knowledge was to him. Red usually
avoided trial by fists with his rival.
On two or three occasions, when Barney
had cornered him, Red gave him one
right-hand blow down and fed; but in
strategy and finesse the Barneys were
no match for the Reds
Cfouching behind a brick wall or the
front steps of tenement house, Red
McGann's followers would sometimes
wait for hours for the foe armed with
brickbats and sticks, and often they
succeeded in surprising the Barneys.
In one respect the Mullers had the
advantage of the McGanns. Their
kingdom was the more complete in that
they had a queen as we'll as a king on
the throne. Barney Muller's sister
shared the homage of the gang with
y - Il 4 Al