OW

LIFE

IIflvisj

it)

-.

results.Itintersectedwiththecityofpolitics

andn.

money

atoblique

angles,atleastuntil

landlordsfigj

boundaries.

Riotandparade,feastanduprising:thesewereoccasions

amassofpeople,propelled

bysome

collectivejolt,would

toreconfiguretheir

streetsbyoccupyingthem

innewand

ways,festooningthem

withbloodorbunting.Thecarnival tr

themap, turnsspatialandsocial relationshipsinsideou

The

cathartic

buttem

porary.Inotherplacessuch

upheavals

flay

changedlifeinlastingways, butinNewYorktheymerelyled

tocleanup

thedayafter,sometimespreceded

byfire.Night I

Sthe

Per.

manentrevolution,thatoftheglobe. Everysundownthe

stree

becomingsinisterorlibidinous,or,forthatmatter, longer o

Change

r narrower

orunexpectedlytwisted.Thefamiliarrebelsagainstthose w

hopresum

etoknow

it.Themap

isalteredandtimeistelescoped. Daylightrestores

things

totheir

normalcondition,oristhatreallytheir

normal

CO0.

dition?Themapofthe

cityw

rinklesandunfolds,wrinklesand unfolds

C,.

F4yib:i.i;

bnh

wfTT

tV4Cfl

-)35())(i5L

UORPHANS

THEY

WERENOT

ALLLITERALLY

ORPHANS.THEY

WEREOFTENCAST

OUT,

ORTHEY

RAN

OUTTHEM

SELVES,FROMfAMILIESTOOBIGOR

toosmall

tosupportthem.intheprevailing

conditionsof

extremepoverty

children

mightbe

carried

along

bythefam

ilyonly

throughthenursingstage,andthen

they

wouldbe

expectedtoprovidetheir

own

sustenance.Frequentlyenough,therewas

noteven

room

forthem

inthe

corneroc

cupiedbythefamilyinthespacesharedwith

asmanyasfouror

fiveothers,

sothatthey

willy-nillyhadtofindotheraccommoda

tions,often

atan

agewhenchildreninour

timearenotyetallowed

tocrossthestreet.

Historianshavenoted

thatchildhoodwasnot

recognizedasaparticularstateuntilrecent

times,andpointtopaintingsofthe

sixteenth

orseventeenthcenturies,inwhich

children

304

V

______________

Iinvisible

aredepictedasminiatureadults,theirproportionsgrotesquely

matu

InNewYorkthisideawasstilloperativeamonglarge

sectio05of

poorinthe

nineteenthcentury,anditinfact canstillbesaidto

ex1e

todayhereandthere(aswitness thosetabloidaccountsofinfants beit

maim

edorkilled

bytheir

parentsforfailing

torespondProperly

verbalchallenges theycouldnot possiblyunderstand). Childreninth°

nineteenth-centuryslumswerenot only

accorded

allthe

respoflsibile

idesandattendanthardshipsofadulthoodwithout theadvantages o

strengthandexperience;theywereexpectedtocopewiththe

itemofparticular statusconferredupon

them:invisibility.

Untilthe

reformersofthe

l890sbeganmakingpublicthe

plightof

NewYork’spoorchildreninsweatshopsandon

thestreet,suchchil.

dren

simplywentunnoticed. Thishaditsadvantagesanditsdisad.

vantages.Itmadetheft,for example,moreconvenient.Italsomea05

thattodaywe

cangetonly

themost rudimentaryandindeterminate

ideaofthe

numbersinvolved.In1849

itwasestimatedtherewere

40,000homelesschildreninManhattan;inthe

1860s,between10,000

and30,000;in

1871theestimate

was28,610;in1872thefigurewas

put at 15,000;in1876

itwassaidtobebetween20,000

and30,000.

Childrenontheir

ownwereofnecessitymembersofthe

criminaland

Imendicantclasses;iftheywereemployed, theyweredefactoenslaved.

Theysleptonthe

docks,incellarsandbasements,inalleys and

door.

ways.Sleeping

outdoors

wasalready

knownthen

as“carryingthe

banner.”A“countryvisitor”quoted

bythe

reformerandmissionary

]C CharlesLoringBracein1876wrotethat“twolittlenewsboyssleptone

winterintheirontubeofthe

bridgeatHarlem;two

othersmadetheir

bedin

aburned-outsafeinWall

Street.

Sometimestheyensconced

themselvesinthe

cabinofaferry-boat,andthusspent thenight.Old

boilers,barges, steps,and,aboveall,steam-gratings, were

their

favorite

beds.”TheyburrowedIntotheemptyandderelict spaces,notthat

thereweremanyin

acitywhereadultsfoughtfor shelteredhallways

andcellarcorners.Beingsmall

andbeneath

noticegave

them

themobilityaswellasthestatusofrats.

J’)Th

eboys

onthe

streetdividedintotwoclasses:streetarabsand

rI.

ORPHANS•].

rsnipes.Although

thesetwotermshave

cometoseem

tte

..

.—

theyhaddistinctm

eaningsthen:streetarabswereolder

afltougher,gotjobsandstolesignificantobjects,andtheycontrolled

orderedaround

theyounger,weakerguttersnipes,w

holivedon

um

andleavingsandwaste.K

idstappedbarrelsandsackson

the

andinmarkets,cuttingholes

inthe

containersanddrainingas

Imuofthe

contentsastheycouldcarry

away.Theyraidedthe

stands

crates

outside

grocerystores.Theirthieverywasgenerallyre

strict

to0penirlocations,since

theywouldnotbeallowedinto

I5hop.Theymadethemselvesavailabletoholdhorsesforpeoplerun

ningerrands,andafter

theintroduction

ofthe

automobile,thistask

wastranslated

intowatchingparked

cars.

They

begged,whether

straightfowailly,orwith

thetheatricaladditionofacryingorfainting

Iroutine,orwith

aperfunctorymercantile

cover,such

asthehawking

ofpinsormatches.Theyhad,ashasbeennoted

earlier,theirpeddling

specialties:flowers,songs,newspapers,toothpicks,cigarsforgirls, and

necktiesandpocketbookstrapsforboys.Flowergirlsatvariousperiods

wereubiquitous,andtheir

ostensibletrade

couldbe

coverforany

numberofpursuits,

fromsettingup

forpickpockets

tochildprosti

tution.Childreninvariablyaccompaniedorgan-grinders,collectingthe

penniesandalthoughthesew

eregenerallythegrinder’sownchildren,

achildlessgrinderfounditnecessarytohirechildrentoworkup

the

necessarysympathyinhisaudience.Children,particularlyItalianchil

dren,alsoworked

asstreetm

usiciansthemselves,playingharpsand

violinsinpairs

ortrios.2

Sweatshopworkforkids

wasusually

available,butthesejobswere

sogrinding,regimented,andthe

hourssoexcessivelylong

thatthe

children

whoworked

atthem

weregenerally

consignedtothem

bytheirfamilies;few

kidswhohadthelibertytochoosewouldprefer

themtothe

riskyoptionson

thestreets.

Inlightmanufacturing,kids

wereemployedatrepetitivetasksthatwerebestcarriedoutbysmall,

delicate

fingers:cutting

feathersfromcocks’tails,stripping

feathers,

stripping

tobacco,makingtwine,makingpapercollars,

makingen

velopes(whichinthe1890spaid

threeandahalfcentsperthousand),

I

306

C0

WC

FE

I

_______________

IInvisibleCjy

.

makingpaperboxes,makinggoldleaf,makingartificialflowers

nishingchina,sewingbuttons.A

smightbesuspected, m

oregirlst

boyshelddown

thesekindsofjobs.B

oysmoreoften

heldthebot0

rankofmenialoccupations,suchascleaningpigstysor shovelingc’

Theyalsoworked

asbootblacks,and,ofcourse,asnewsboys.

Asarule,

very’youngboyssoldpapersandgraduated

tothe

more

stableandsecureprofessionofbootbiackingaround

theageofte

Newsboyssoldonlythe

eveningpapersandextras,the

morningedi

tionsbeing,bysome

unwrittenrule,

reserved

forthekioskvendors

Competitionamongthe

boyswasfierce.M

erelyobtainingstocks of th

paperwasacompetitiveactivity,especiallyinthe

caseofextraorspecj

editions,andtherewascompetitionforturf,which

wasfought

Over,

paidfor,subcontracted,bequeathed.A

goodcornerwasamajor ne

cessity,

asubwayentranceorElstationstairsor

aferry

landing

were

prime.Newspaperswerethininthosedays,seldom

runningmorethan

sixteenpages,sothatafairnumberofthemcouldbecarried

even

by

asmall

boy;anewsboy’sstockwould,however,bedetermined

byhis

abilitytopayforthe

papersatthepoint ofdistribution.Profits

were

negligible:

inthe1870stheyaveraged

thirtycentsaday,andtwo

decadeslaterthenumbershadnotimprovedsubstantially. Profits w

ere

furthermorereducedbyoverheadcosts,w

hichcouldinclude

paying

fortheuseofsellingspace, forrepresentationofaparticularnewspaper,

orforprotectionortributetoanolderboywhomightcollectweekly

oratlongerintervals,his

feesliterallyextortionate, asm

uchasa dollar

aweek,orhalf

theboys’totalprofits.

Thegreatm

ajorityofnewsboy’s

werehomeless.A

fterthe

Civil

War,

institutionswerefoundedtolodgeindependentand

vagrantchildren,

firstthe

Children’sAidSociety(foundedbyCharlesLoringBrace),

and

thenthe

Girls’LodgingHouseon

St.Mark’sPlaceandthe

FivePoints

MissionforgirlsonCatherineStreet,and,forboys,the

Newsboys’

LodgingHouseon

ParkPlace(later

betweenDuaneandChambers

Streets).Ifwe

considerthatsuchinstitutionswouldreceiveonly

a

fractionofthecity’s

wanderingchildren,the

numbersare

impressive:

inonetwo-yearperiodthe

Newsboys’Houseadmitted8,835

different

9308

L0

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IF

C

F I

AbunchofEastSidekidshoistinganeffigy.Photographby

BrownBrothers

Streetarabs,7896.Thecaptionclaimsthey

lead“acareless,

happyexistence,lookingforsportandmischief

everywhere,”buttheireyestell

adifferentstory

IORPHANS

1309

boys—82,519inseventeenyears.Atleast,we

havethe

administrators’

wordforitthattherewerenorepeatersinthistally;

thoseoftheboys

hodidnotrun

awaywerekeptamonthortwo,dependingontheir

•needforrehabilitation,andthenwereshippedofftofarm

laborinthe

West,effectivelyaformofindenture.Inthe

aforementionedtwoyears,

theHouse’sinmatescontributed

$3,349

towardexpenses;theywere

chargedsix

centsfora

layerofabunkbedandten

centsfor aprivate

cubicle.Contemporaryjournalisticaccountsofthisinstitutionarenu

merous,and

nearlyidentical.TheirgenrewasG

oodLittleDevils,the

wellfromwhich

theBoweryBoysserieswastodraw

muchlater.W

ewould

beshowntheboysbeingpiously

sentimental,indulgingin

tearfulmemories

ofMother,andthenbeingcutelyraucous,expressing

themselvesintheapostrophe-heavycipherthatpolitejournalismsub

stituted

forpopularspeech.Spacewouldbedevoted

totheir

colorful

nicknames:M

ickety,RoundHearts,HoraceGreeley,W

andering Jew,

FatJack,PickleNose,CrankyJim, D

odge-MeJohn,Tickle-Me-Foot,

Know-NothingMike,O’Neillthe

Great.

TheReverend

Lewis’MorrisPease,whenheopenedhisfivePoints

HouseofIndustryin1850,wasamongthe

firsttonoticethe

extentof

theyouthfulunderworld.Justasthestreetgangshadfem

aleauxiliaries,

theyalsohadfarm

leaguesforboys.IntheFivePointstherewerethe

Forty

LittleThieves,theLittleDead

Rabbits,andthe

LittlePlug

Uglies,andon

thewaterfrontthe

LittleDaybreak

Boys.Considering

thatthe“adult”

gangmemberswereoften

intheir

early

teensthem

selves,we

mayspeculate

onjusthowyoungthesetraineesmightbe.

Their

majorvaluetothegangswastheir

size.They

allworked

aslookouts

anddecoys;amongtherivergangs,theywereimportantfor

theirabilitytocrawlthroughportholes.Pease’s

effortstoarousethe

finerinstinctsamongthesewaifsdidproduceoneapparentsuccess.

Heboasted

ofhaving

converted

Wild

Maggie

Carson,whowasthe

leaderofthe

Forty

LittleThieves.He

claimed

tohaveoverseenher

firstbath,attheageofnine,andsubsequentlytohavegottenIer

sewingbuttons.Eventually

hemarriedheroff,

tothescionofapious

family.

L0

WL

IF

CIInvtsible

City•j

Thedetailsofthe

kidundenvortdare

notsignificantlydifferent

whatDickensobservedofitsLondoncounterpart.Therewere

schools,andevenifwe

aretem

pted

tothinkthatnineteenthcentü,

journalistssawthem

everywhereasaconsequenceofhavingreadotj

Twist,astrikingnumberofcriminals

inlateryears

attributedtheir

ownprofessionaltrainingtosuchinstitutions.Childrenasyoung

fiveorsix

wereenrolledtolearnpocketpicking,purse

snatching, aud

cartrobbery,tasks

atwhich

theymightoutdotheir

seniors.One

themostprominentwasrunbyJackMahaney,knownasAmeri

JackSheppard,whohadrunawayfrom

agood

homeattheageof

ten,and

thenfromtheHouseofRefugeafter

thecopspickedhim

shortlyupon

hisarrivalintow

n.Inassociationwitha character named

ItalianDave, heoperatedfromahouseonParadiseSquareinthe

Five

Points,teachingthirtyboysatatime,agesnine

tofifteen,by

a careful

method

thatinvolved

theuseofdummies

atfirst,andthen

went0

tolivemodels

andeventuallytofieldtrips.Inthe

1890sthemajor

faginwas M

onkEastm

an’ssidekick

CrazyButch,whohadalsobegtin

hisowncareerveryyoung.He

proved

hispedagogicabilityby

first

teachinghis

dog,Rabbi,tosnatchpurses,andthenwenton

tocoach

pre-adolescents.He

alsoformedhis

chargesintoanEastm

anauxiliary,

theimprobablynamedSquabWheelm

en. Theyweremost noted

foronetrick: amemberwouldhitapedestrian, preferablyanoldwoman,

withhis

bicycle,andthendismountandbeginscreamingatthe victim,

Asaninterested

crowdgathered,theother m

emberswouldpick

their

pockets.

Mithewhile,therewerenumerouschildren’sgangsindependent

ofolder leadersoradvisers.Theyoften

hiredthemselvesout astouts

orspies

orlookoutsinbrothelsandhousesofassignation,oraserrand

runners andpullers-in

formaverickprostitutes. Byandlarge, kidgangs

engagedinreduced-scale

versions oftheactivitiesofoldergangs.Irish

CatholicgangsrobbedProtestant churchesandinstitutions,andal

though

thereverse

phenomenon

hasbeen

lesswelldocumented,it

undoubtedlywas nearly

ascommon. Somechildren’s gangsappear

tohave

successfully

managed

tocreatetheir

owndomainsandsocial

11uctTesaway

fromthe

adultworld.Thefourth

AvenueTunnel

hang,bestrememberedforhavingbeenled

byfutureTammanyboss

icha’Croker,lived

innichesinthe

traintunnels

leading

outof

Grafl’1Central,awarrenused

today

byhomelessadults.TheBaxter

StreetDudes,ashasbeennoted,faredreasonablywell,andaccrued

largeamountofpublicity,byrunningtheir

owntheaterspecializing

blood-and-thundermelodrama.

Therewasverylittlethatadultgangsterspracticed

orenjoyedthat

childgangstersdidnotcontrive

toreproduceontheir

ownscale.There

.,cereboys’saloons,withthree-centwhiskiesandlittlegirlsintheback

rooms,andtherew

erechildren’sgamblinghouses,inwhich

totscould

bilkothertots attheusualmenuoffaro,policy,anddicegames.About

theonlysignificantactivity

fromwhich

childrenwerebarredwas

Ielecti0)-Pollrepeating,although

theycouldpreparefortheireventual

participation

byworkingasrunnersforthewardheelers.

Elections

wereneverthelessofgreatsignificance

tochildren,criminalornot,

becauseitwastheir

tasktobuild

andmaintainthe

ritualbonfireson

thestreetsthatmarkedtheseevents.Therivalrythatdevelopedbetween

groupsofkidsoverthesefiresformsaninterestingparalleltotheir

elders’rivalries

overputting

outblazes.Theywouldhavefull-scale

pitchedbattlesoverthe

relative

sizesofthe

fires,raideach

other’s

suppliesofwood,fightitoutwith

knivesandbricks,usingwash-boiler

coversasshields.Thesecontestswerealwaysterritorial,andnever had

anything

todowithpolitics,whichstands toreason,sinceinthe

slums

everybodyalwaysvoted

Democratanyway.

Ifitseemsthatthesechildrenmusthave

veryearly

used

upthe

entirestockofadultpleasures—sex,drink,gambling,extortion,rack

eteering, fraud,intimidation,unfaircompetition,price-fixing,terror

ism—itshouldberememberedthatthelifeexpectancyforkidsgrowing

upunderthoseconditionscouldnothavebeenveryhigh.Thewhole

adultorderofhighandlow

sensationshad

tobeexperiencedinfifteen

ortwentyyears

atbestbeforetheysuccumbedtodisease,malnutrition,

exposure,stabwounds,orgunfire.Inanera

duringwhich

NewYork

producedthreeorfouradolescentcrookscalledBilly

theKid,allof

310

[.ORPHANS.1

.311

Lu

:;r,

312

L0

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E

I

______________

IInvisible

City•j

whom

disappearedinsomefashionbeforetheywereold

enough

tovote,

andall

ofwhom

werereportedincorrectlytohavegone

West

andbecomethatBilly

theKid,itisremarkablethatanyyoungpers00

fromtheslumssurvived

toadulthoodatall.Thosewhodidcanbe

assumed

tohavebeen

themostpious,themostenterprising, orthe

mostmurderous—inanycase,theleastchildlikeofchildren.

s •:

flTheDRIFT

THELUCKLESS, THEUNCONNECTED,

THENEWLY

ARRIVEDWHO

HADNO

RELATIVESAND

NOCOMMANDOF

THE

LANGUAGE.THEDESTITUTE,

those afflictedwithillness, thosemade pariahs

bysores orotherdisfigurements,the

insane,

thosemadeinsane

bywar or prisonormore

personalhorrors,

alcoholics

ofvaryingse

verity,misdiagnosedepileptics, theretarded,

thebrain-damaged, victims of allsortsofim

aginableorunimaginablecircumstances, the

anchorites,the

refusers,

theresisters,the

outcasts:they,

too,dwelled

inaseparate

sphereinthe

last century, andpartookofan

invisibilitytothe

general public.Theylived

inasilencethatbroached

thesupernatural,

andmightbe

seen

asomens,asmemento

mori,asdemons,asdamnedsouls,asspec

tersandwalkingreproaches. Charitytoward