The Monte Vista journal. (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.) 1888-1921, 1905-08-05
sr'~-sr..sr''.sr-.i;|
: Last of the Bowery |
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES '',a'~-'~ss~--'t-~t
Especial Corrospondence.)

No longer is the Bowery the place
where they say such things and they
do such things as the old song has
it. The zest OF the old-time Bowery
as one Of the show places OF New
York has departed. From the rural
home of the simple and serious. minded
Dutch colonists In the time of Peter
Stuyvesant, through gradual transit
ton TO post road 20 Boston bordered
by the houses of the prosperous; then
the playground of vigorous youth Civ.
en- TO freaks of folly and madness;
next a camping ground for half-idle
and vicious British soldiers sent here
to put down the revolutions; drifting
from that into halfhumorous and
half-dreaded portion of the city visited
alike by the unsophisticated and the
vicious, the Bowery is soon to be
turned over to the business building
and Office skyscraper. The tide has
already set in that direction. There
was time, not SO long ago, when the
Bowery never slept. Nowadays, soon
after midnight, ii is deader than
doornail.
II certainly has taken the Bowery
n great many years to earn the uncn-
viable reputation it is now striving to
get rid OF. All sorts OF. things have
happened in the Bowery at one time
or another, from robbing innocent hay
seeds to burning negroes at the stake.
Bouwerie Lane was series OF large.
wooded farms In the early history of
Manhattan island, Il sylvan retreat of
remarkable beauty. The little Dutch
boys whose names are now represent
ed in New York's Oldest families used
to rob old Peter Stuyvesant's orchard
In the Bowery. The Roosevelts. the
Bayards, the Beekmans and the De
Lanceys. the De Peysters. are all rep.
resented in the historic annals Of the
Bowery. The FIRST milestone ever put
up down there to guide travellers on
the high road TO Boston. was at Riv.
ington street. which is Just one mile
from the city hall. The arrival ard de.
rarture Of the old mail coaches. once
4 month, was an event of great i'm
portance. The good burghers used TO
gather around them and worry the
coachman half to death for infor.:a.
ton abou, the doings OF the shrewd
Connecticut Yankees. OF whom tl.ey
were ever suspicious. The broad ave
nue. was lined with little low-b,iit
Dutch cottages. with their trim gar
dens ard thrifty families. who arose
Al dawn TO rout out idleness and dirt
First 0owerr Rowdyism.
The first time the Bowery gained
reputation for rowdyism was during
the negro insurreci!on Of i7ti. There
were about 1900 inhabitants of this
town then, including 1000 negro
slaves. In n sudden ou,burst Of pas
sion race war broke out that was
brief bu, terrible. The mob rushed
the negroes to the woods that Dor.
dered the Bowery and burned them
alive Mt the stake.
Al the time Of the American rovolu.
ton the Bowory had become a well.
established resort for saloons. There
were thirteen licensed liquor resorts
between Chatham Square and Grand
street. The orderloving burrhers
were In ferment about the incr.as-
Ing influence OF the saloon element
IN politics. Then the British army
Of encampment came. Historians
trace the traIl OF tie serpent DER the
Bowery from that hour. Drinking
places increased. and low places Of
amusement were established to min.