Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-07

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gang.
Red was born in Ryan street. The coun-
try In which his childhood was spent was
bounded on the north by Houston street
and on the south by the Battery It's arle-
rial river was the Bowery. The Bend was
his school. his religion. his kingdom Red
memory retained only faint imprint OF the
patient, careworn face of his mother lie
lad ONLY an indistinct recollection of wake
over her coffin, at which the occupants OF
tenement house got little more drunk
than usual He remembered man with
black coat who came the next morning and
read something out of a book-Red had long
ago forgotten what-before 'dey took her
awav" The man had glanced at Red
dirty face and the group of disheVeed wo-
men watching the dead wagon she Is
better where she is had been his only COM
ment as he disappeared around the corner
All this happened long time ago. 1t was
about three months before Reds father
did Ills first time Ever since then Reds
father had habit of appearing on Ryan
street at irregular intervals with his hair
cropped very short and a consuming desire
to avoid being seen by a policeman Such
habits were 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-
of sixteen years of blows and battles with
any would-be usurper who made bold
enough to try Ito boss de gang
Req may have had some other name but
neither he nor anybodr else knew it. 1t
came from the shocks of auburn hair which
partly hid his long, thin face. Hewas
USUAL are. He was freckled and rather
round shouldered No stretch of the most
powerful imagination could ever call Red
either handsome a hero. In fact. he
would not have been at all complimented
Ehdd any one ever attempted it. He was
just tough. rejoicing in his toughness.
The kind of boy who is the bane of po-
Hcemen's lives and the incorrigible of East
Side missions. 1t is harder to tell what Red
did not do for living than what he did.
There was scarcely any phase of youthful
avocation in which he had not dabbled
He had sold cigarettes on excursion steam
ers, he had peddled tips on the track
he had sold tickets on comm SsiOn for East
Side balls had BACKED boots and carried
the hand luggage of incoming travellers
What he didn't know about the worst end
of New York was not worth known It
wouldn't he 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 insisting unon living
RYAN street trails it's twisted length of
asphalt pavement and tenement houses in
to Butterick place. 1t does not proceed di-
rectly, for doing things in a direct course
Is no more the habit of the streets than it
Is Of its inhabitants. In order to get to
q
extension of Ryan street called Shinbone
alley.
1t was at Shnbone alley that Red Nc
cams Kingdom came to a sudden stop.
once across the narrow f1agstone boundary
line. and YOU We're in the domain of Rarney
Muller In Butterick place Barney's sway
vas as absolute as Reds. was in Ryan
street All of the Butterick gang swore by
him and wershiped him. Barney was
about two feet taller than the rest He
had tawny yellow hair and broad should
ers, the result of his life on the docks as a
stevedore's helper In girth and weight he
was FAR the superior of Red. Barney was
something of prize fighter in his way.
and sometimes talked vaguely TO an ad-
miring crowd about belts and gate receipts
Between Barney Muller and Red McGann
there was an undying hatred. such as only
monarchs can know. There were not many
things in life that Red Mccain loved but
there We're several things that he hated.
and at the head of the list was the name of
Barney. Their feelings for each other
Were shared by their followers Scarcely
q pleasant summer evening passed on the
Bend without clash between de two
gangs. Nobody knew exactly what they
Were fighting about. No one cared The
only certainty was that whenever a num-
Der of Ryan streeters" made a raid across
the border into the hnterand of Shinbone
alley from the dozen tenement houses
would issue number of Barney's men to
give them battle royal Black eyes and
broken heads We're the inevitable sequence.
The conflict usually lasted until the police
man 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 match for the
leader Of Butterick place. Sad the
knowledge was to him. Red usually avoid
ed trial by fists with his rival. On two
or three occasions, when Barney had
nered him. Red gave him one rght-hand
blow down and fed; but in strategy and
fnesse the Barneys We're no match for the
Reds
Crouching behind a brick wall or the
front steps of a tenement house. Red Nc
Cams followers would sometimes wait for
hours for the foe. armed with brlckbats
and sticks. and often they succeeded in
surprising the foe.
In one respect the Mullers had the adj
vantage of the McGanns Their kingdom
was the more complete in that they had
queen well a king on the throne.
Barney Muller's sister shared the homage
Of the gang with her brother. She was
little older than he, and by far the pref
test girl in Butterick place. She had the
dark hair and the round blue eyes that are
occasionally found in tenement house
types Although she his older sister
great big, bury Barney watched over her
with an interest that can only be described
fatherly.
She was very proud of him and took a
keen interest in all of his struggles and
the battles of his gang. When Reds fol-
lowers made their raids Into Barney's ter
ritory, she often took hand In the fray
herself. A large part of the dislike in
which Barney was held by the Ryan's gang
. was shared by his sister. She was rather
proud of being placed the same level as
combatant with her brother.
EFF Red Mccain ever catches me- she
frequently said, with an air of superiority
to other girls in Butterick place. The will
punch my face in de same way as he would
BGrney's."
And the listener would inwardly regret
that she was not privileged to have a
Header brother.
1t was during Reds fifteenth tenement
house summer that Jim Slattery first APP
peared in Butterck place. Jim. who was
the sensation of the hour: Jim. the hero
Of many prize-ights. whose picture in
combative attitude had adorned the pages
OF the Gazette. All Ryan street was sad
and depressed at the thought of what an
acquisition Jim was to its rival.
Jims acquaintance with Barney had be-
gun at some ringsde. His was a flasher
type than Rarney's. There were broad
stripes across his shirt front. and paste
diamonds on his fingers. His record" was
In the Gazette. Barney admired him in
tensely- 1t was the height Of his ambi-
ton to initiate him. Jim was installed as
sort of privy council to Butterick place
He was recognized by all OF the gang as
the kings confidential adviser
But as often happens with royal favor
ina