Lights and Shadows of New York Life

J >> James D. McCabe >> Lights and Shadows of New York Life

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The division consists of four brigades, and numbers about 13,000 men.
The regiments comprising it are as follows: First, Second, Third, Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Twenty-second,
Thirty-seventh, Fifty-fifth, Sixty-ninth, Seventy-first, Seventy-ninth,
Ninety-sixth, Washington Grays (cavalry), First Cavalry, Second Cavalry,
and First Artillery. The United States provides the arms and uniforms
when required. These, when furnished by the General Government, are such
as are prescribed by law for the Regular Army. The best regiments,
however, prefer a handsomer dress, and provide their own uniforms. The
city makes an appropriation of $500 per annum for each regiment, for an
armory. The other expenses, such as parades, music, etc., are borne by
the regiment itself. Each regiment has its armory, in which are
deposited its arms and valuable property. An armorer is in charge of the
building, and it is his duty to keep the guns in good order. A
reading-room and library are attached to some of the armories, and are
used as places of social reunion for the members of the command. Drills
are held at stated times, and a rigid discipline is maintained. The men,
as a general rule, are proud of their organizations, and are enthusiastic
in military matters. They are all well drilled, and will compare
favorably with any troops in the world, in both appearance and
efficiency. Nearly all saw service during the late war, and there is not
a regiment but treasures some smoke-begrimed, bullet-rent flag, as its
most precious possession. Out of the 13,000 men comprising the force,
9000 were in the field in active service, at one time during the war, and
the division gave the country 3780 officers for the struggle. The total
force furnished by the city of New York during the war was 100,000 men.
Of these 9000 were killed or wounded, and 37,000 were officers at some
period of the war.

The most popular and efficient regiments are the Seventh, Ninth, and
Twenty-second. The Seventh and Ninth are the best known. The latter has
the finest band in the city, and one of the best in the world.

The parade of the entire division is a sight worth seeing, and always
brings a crowd upon the streets. Every available place for viewing the
march is eagerly sought. The shop-keepers along the route of the
procession find it an easy matter to rent their windows and balconies at
large prices. Even the housetops are filled with spectators, and the
sidewalks are "jammed."

Each regiment as it passes is greeted with greater or less applause,
according to its popularity. The day is a sort of holiday in the city,
and the parade is one of the sights of the New World, for New York is the
only city in the country which can put so large and splendid a force of
troops in the field in a mere parade.

But the First Division is not a holiday force, and parades and receptions
are not the only occasions which bring it upon the streets. The city of
New York contains a population hard to manage, and which can be
controlled only by a strong, firm hand. The police force, about 2000 in
number, is utterly inadequate to the repression of an uprising of the
criminal class of the city, and the scoundrels know it. The police have
never been lacking in emergencies, but their task is wonderfully
lightened by the knowledge that behind them stand 13,000 disciplined and
well-equipped troops to support them if the task of enforcing the law
proves too great for them. The roughs of New York know that they are no
match for such an army as this, and they are influenced greatly by this
knowledge. The respectable class, the men of property, and the heads of
families find no little comfort in this certainty of protection. They
know they can trust to the troops, for the members of the National Guard
represent the best part of the population of New York, and are to a man
directly interested in preserving the peace and prosperity of the city.

The troops are always ready for duty. They are scattered all over the
city, pursuing various useful callings, but at a certain signal sounded
from the City Hall bell, they will rally at their armories, and in an
hour there will be a strong body of trained troops ready to enforce the
law in any emergency. No one can doubt that the summons will be obeyed,
for the past history of the division proves that even the men who are
careless about attending parades, etc., are very careful to be at their
posts in the hour of danger.

The employment of this force is not open to the objections that are
brought against the use of the military in a free country. These men are
not mercenaries, but are useful and honorable citizens and members of
society. They have a good record, and the history of the city contains
several conspicuous instances of their gallantry and devotion. In 1837,
when the banks suspended specie payments, they alone prevented a terrible
and destructive riot. In 1849, they promptly suppressed the Astor Place
Riot, which was brought about by a disgraceful attempt on the part of a
band of ruffians to mob the English actor Macready, who was then playing
at the Astor Place Opera House. They prevented a serious riot at the
time of the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force, compelled Mayor
Wood and his partisans to yield obedience to the laws they had sworn to
disregard, and put down the disturbances which afterward occurred. In
1863, when the famous Draft Riots commenced, they were absent from the
city, having been sent to meet Lee at Gettysburg. They were summoned
back by telegraph, and returned in time to take up the battle which had
been for two days so gallantly fought by the police. They made short
work of the mob, and soon restored order. In July, 1871, they were
called on by the City Authorities to protect the Orange Lodges in their
right to parade. An ignorant, brutal mob declared that the parade should
not take place because it was offensive to them, and made preparations to
stop it by force. The Mayor of the city tamely yielded to the threats
and demands of the mob, and forbade the parade. Fortunately for the
credit of the city, fortunately for the moral power of the law, the
Governor of the State revoked the order of the Mayor, and assured the
Orangemen of full protection in their right to parade. The city, which
had rung with indignant cries at the cowardly surrender of the Mayor to
the mob, was now jubilant. The regiments ordered on duty by the Governor
for the protection of the procession responded with alacrity, and came
out with full ranks. The mob, still defiant, still thinking themselves
masters of the situation, made an attack on the procession and its
military escort. The troops submitted in silence, until some of their
number were shot down in the ranks. Then wheeling suddenly, they poured
a fatal volley into the midst of the rioters, who broke and fled in
dismay. There was no further attempt at violence. The lesson was a
useful one, and the effect fully worth the valuable lives that were laid
down in the defence of the law.

XXIX. NASSAU STREET.

If you will go to the southern extremity of Printing House Square, on the
east side of the City Hall Park, you will see the opening of a narrow
street between the offices of the _Tribune_ and _Times_ newspapers. This
is Nassau street. It runs parallel with Broadway, and terminates at Wall
street. It is about half a mile in length, and is one of the narrowest
and most inconvenient streets in the city, being less than fifty feet in
width. The houses on each side are tall and sombre looking, and the
street is almost always in the shadow. The roadway is hardly wide enough
for two vehicles to pass abreast, and the sidewalks could never by any
possible chance contain a crowd. Indeed, the street is seldom thronged,
and the people you meet there seem to be possessed of but one desire--to
get out of it as fast as possible. A stranger would, at the first
glance, unhesitatingly pronounce it an inconvenient as well as a
disagreeable thoroughfare, and yet the truth is that it is one of the
most important streets in the city in respect of the amount and variety
of the traffic carried on within its limits.

It would be hard to describe its architecture. Scarcely any two houses
are built alike. At the lower end, in the vicinity of Wall street, iron,
marble, and brown stone structures flourish, but above the Post-office
the buildings are a study. The most of them are old, but all show signs
of vigorous life, and from cellar to attic they are jammed full of busy,
scheming, toiling men.

[Picture: NASSAU STREET.]

Along the street are some of the best known and most trusted banking
houses of the city, and millions of dollars are represented in their
daily transactions. The great Post-office receives and sends out whole
tons of matter every twenty-four hours. The bulk of the periodical, and
a large part of the book-trade are carried on here through the agency of
the great news companies. Real estate men flourish here. Struggling
lawyers seem to think this street the road to success, for here they
cluster by the score. You may buy here diamonds of the purest water, and
others that had better be kept out of water. The most valuable of
watches may be obtained here; also the most genuine pinchbeck timepieces.
If one is a judge of the article he is buying, he may frequently purchase
to advantage in Nassau street, but as a rule he must examine his purchase
closely before paying for it, and be sure he receives what he has
selected. The variety of the pursuits carried on here may be ascertained
only by a diligent perusal of the signs that line the street. Perhaps in
no other thoroughfare is there to be seen such a multitude of signs. The
fronts of the houses are covered with them. They appear in nearly every
window, and the walls of the halls of the buildings, and even the steps
themselves are covered with them. Every device of the sign maker has
been exhausted here, and they tell their stories with more or less
emphasis, according to the ingenuity exercised upon them. They tell you
of "Counsellors at Law," Publishers, Artists, Dealers in Foreign and
American Engravings, Jewellers, Engravers on Wood and Steel, Printers,
Stock Brokers, Gold Beaters, Restaurant Keepers, Dealers in Cheap
Watches, Agents of Literary Bureaux, Translators of Foreign Languages,
Fruit Sellers, Boarding House Brokers, Matrimonial Agents, Book Sellers,
Dealers in Indecent Publications, and a host of others too numerous to
mention.

Go into one of the numerous buildings, and a surprise awaits you. You
might spend half a day in exploring it. It rivals the Tower of Babel in
height, and is alive with little closets called "offices." How people
doing business here are ever found by those having dealings with them is
a mystery. Many, indeed, come here to avoid being found, for Nassau
street is the headquarters of those who carry on their business by
circulars, and under assumed names. It is a good hiding place, and one
in which a culprit might safely defy the far-reaching arm of Justice.

Along the street, and mostly in the cellars, cluster the "Old Book
Stores" of New York, of which I shall have more to say hereafter, and
they add not a little to the singular character of the street. The
proprietors are generally men who have been here for years, and who know
the locality well. Many curious tales could they tell of their cramped
and dingy thoroughfare, tales that in vivid interest and dramatic force
would set up half a dozen novelists.

The Post-office draws all sorts of people into the street, and it is
interesting to watch them as they come and go. But, as has been said, no
one stays here long; no one thinks of lounging in Nassau street. Every
one goes at the top of his speed, and bumps and thumps are given and
taken with a coolness and patience known only to the New Yorker. You may
even knock a man off his legs, and send him rolling into the gutter, and
he will smile, pick himself up again, and think no more of the matter.
On Broadway the same man would not fail to resent such an assault as an
intentional insult. Every one here is full of unrest; every one seems
pre-occupied with his own affairs, and totally oblivious to all that is
passing around him. In no part of the great city are you so fully
impressed with the shortness and value of time. Even in the eating
houses, where the denizens of the street seek their noontide meal, you
see the same haste that is manifest on the street. The waiters seem
terribly agitated and excited, they fairly fly to do your bidding,
pushing and bumping each other with a force that often sends their loads
of dishes clattering to the floor. The man at the desk can hardly count
your change fast enough. The guests bolt their food, gulp their liquors,
and dart through the green baize doors as if their lives depended upon
their speed.

So all day long they pour in and out of the marble banks, in and out of
the great Post-office, in and out of the dingy offices--the good and the
bad, the rich and the poor, the honest dealer and the sharper. Few know
their neighbors here, fewer care for them; and gigantic successes and
dreary failures find their way into the street, adding year by year to
its romance and to its mystery. At night the street is dark and
deserted. Yet away up in some of the lofty buildings, the lights shining
through the dingy windows tell you that some busy brain is still scheming
and struggling--whether honestly or dishonestly, who can tell?

XXX. THE METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

The history of New York has been marked by a series of terrible fires,
which have destroyed many lives and swept away millions of dollars worth
of property. In 1741 the first of these conflagrations swept over the
lower part of the city, consuming many houses, among them the old Dutch
fort and church. On the 21st of September, 1776, during the occupation
of the city by the British, 493 houses were burned, and great distress
entailed in consequence upon the people. On the 9th of August, 1778, a
third fire destroyed nearly 300 buildings east of Broadway and below
Pearl street. In May, 1811, a fourth fire broke out in Chatham street
and consumed nearly 100 houses. In 1828 a fifth fire destroyed about a
million of dollars worth of property. On the 16th of December, 1835,
began the sixth and most disastrous of these conflagrations. It raged
for three days and nights continuously, swept over an area of 45 acres,
destroyed 648 buildings, and entailed upon the citizens a loss of
$18,000,000. In the face of this great disaster the insurance companies
unanimously suspended. On the 19th of July, 1845, the seventh and last
fire broke out in New street, near Wall street, and swept in a southerly
direction, destroying 345 buildings. The loss was $5,000,000.

As a matter of course, a city that has suffered so much from fires is in
especial need of the best known means of preventing and suppressing them.
Since the year 1653 there has been a Fire Department in New York, and it
would be an interesting task to review its history had we the space to do
so. In its early days it was considered an honor to be a member of a
fire company, and some of the best of the old-time citizens were to be
found in the ranks of the various organizations. The city took care to
keep the force provided with the most improved machines, and every effort
was made to render it as efficient as possible. As the city increased in
wealth and population the character of the firemen changed. The
respectable men left the organization, and their places were filled with
men who were drawn into it by the excitement which was to be found in
such a life. Soon the department passed entirely into the hands of the
Bowery boys and other disreputable characters. The engine houses were
rallying places for the worst characters of the vicinity, who amused
themselves in their leisure hours by fighting among themselves, or by
assaulting respectable passers-by. A fire was the dread of the city, not
only for the damage the conflagration was sure to do, but for the
disturbance it brought about on the streets. As soon as an alarm was
sounded the streets were filled with a yelling, reckless crowd, through
which the engines and hose-carriages dashed, regardless of those who were
run over. Pandemonium seemed to have broken loose and taken possession
of the great thoroughfares. If two rival companies met on the streets
they would leave the fire to work its will and fight their battle then
and there. There was scarcely a fire without its accompanying riot. The
fires themselves were disastrous. Very little good was accomplished by
the firemen, and the losses were tremendous. Adjoining buildings were
often broken open and robbed under pretence of saving them from the
flames. In short, the whole department was a nuisance, and thinking men
saw that it was a great nursery of criminals and blackguards. Efforts
were made to remedy the evil, but without success. The members of the
department were volunteers, and were particularly impatient of control.
Many of the companies owned their own engines and other apparatus, and
refused to submit to any sort of restraint. There was but one way to
bring good out of this evil, and at length the best men of the city
determined upon abolishing the old system entirely. The demand for a
change grew stronger every day, and at last the Legislature of the State
set on foot measures for the abolition of the volunteer system and the
substitution of a paid force.

In March, 1865, the Legislature passed the bill creating the Metropolitan
Fire Department, and it at once received the Executive signature. The
friends of the old system resolved to resist the attempt to overthrow it.
A case involving the constitutionality of the bill was brought before the
Court of Appeals, which body sustained the law. Efforts were made by the
newly-appointed Commissioners to get the new system at work as soon as
possible; but in the meanwhile the partizans of the old system endeavored
to be revenged by disbanding the old force and leaving the city without
any means of extinguishing fires. The danger was great, but it was
averted by detailing a force from the police to act as firemen in case of
necessity. By November, 1865, the new system was thoroughly organized
and fairly at work. Each succeeding year has witnessed some fresh
improvement, and at present New York has the best appointed and most
efficient Fire Department in the Union.

The force, as at present organized, is under the control of five
commissioners, appointed by the Mayor of the city. They make rules and
regulations for the government of the force, exercise a general
supervision over its affairs, and are responsible to the municipal
government for their acts. The force consists of a chief engineer, an
assistant engineer, ten district engineers, and 587 officers and men.
Each company consists of twelve persons, viz.: a foreman, assistant
foreman, engineer of steamer, a stoker, a driver, and seven firemen.
Each company is provided with a house, with engine room, stables,
quarters for the men, and rooms for study, drill, etc. The basement
contains a furnace, by means of which the building is warmed and the
water in the engine kept hot. Everything is kept in perfect order. The
houses are clean and neat, and the engines and hose-carriages shine like
gold and silver.

The men are all paid by the city. The firemen receive $1000 dollars per
annum, and the officers a higher sum, according to their duties and
responsibilities. The men undergo a rigid physical examination, and are
required to present proofs of their good moral character before they are
admitted to the force. The object is to have none but men perfectly
sound and free from habits tending to impair their usefulness in the
force. They are generally fine specimens of manhood, are noticeably neat
in their dress and habits, and are just the opposite of the old-time
volunteer firemen. Furthermore, they may be relied upon in any
emergency.

There are thirty-seven steam-engines in the department. They are of the
second class or size, and perfect in all their appointments. They were
built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, of Manchester, New
Hampshire, and cost $4000 a-piece. There is also a powerful floating
engine located on a steamboat, and used for extinguishing fires on the
piers or on vessels in the harbor. It is kept near the Battery, so as to
be convenient to points in either river. There are four hand engines,
located in the upper part of the island, and twelve hook and ladder
companies in the department. Several engines are kept in reserve, and
are not counted in the active force.

The horses of the department are 156 in number. They are large and
powerful animals, and are kept with the greatest care. They are groomed
every day, and are fed punctually at six o'clock morning and evening. If
not used on duty, they are exercised every day by being led to and fro in
the streets adjoining the engine-house. They are thoroughly trained, and
will stand with perfect steadiness under the most exciting circumstances.
They know the sound of the alarm-bell as well as their driver, and the
moment it strikes they exhibit an impatience to be off which is
remarkable. They are kept harnessed constantly, and it takes but a few
seconds to attach them to the engines.

The men are not allowed to have any other employment. The department
claims their whole duty. A certain number are required to be always at
the engine-house. In case of an alarm being sounded during the absence
of a fireman from the engine-house he runs directly to the fire, where he
is sure to find his company. A watch is always kept in the engine-room
day and night. After ten at night the men are allowed to go to bed, but
must so arrange matters beforehand that they shall lose no time in
dressing. The horses stand harnessed in their stalls, the boiler is
filled with hot water, and the furnaces are supplied with wood which
burns at the touch of a match. It requires but fifteen seconds in the
day and but one minute at night to be ready for action and on the way to
the fire.

Scattered through the city are lofty towers, from which men keep a
constant watch for fires. They are thoroughly acquainted with the
various localities of New York, and can tell at a glance the exact
neighborhood of the fire. From their lofty elevation they see the first
cloud of smoke if it be day, or the first red glare if at night, and the
next instant the alarm is sent over the city on the wings of electricity.

All signals and messages connected with the Fire Department are
transmitted by telegraph, and for this purpose there is a distinct line
through the city for the use of the department. By means of this line
the various engine-houses are brought into communication with each other
and with the central station and police headquarters. As the
station-houses alone, however, would not suffice for the prompt
communication of alarms, signal-boxes are scattered through the city at
the most convenient points. These boxes are so situated that they may be
reached from any point in a few minutes. They are several hundred in
number, and are being multiplied as rapidly as possible. The engraving
accompanying this chapter shows the appearance and mechanism of the
signal box.

The box is attached to the telegraph pole, and is about twenty-four
inches high, by twelve inches wide, and five inches deep. Every officer
and member of the Fire Department, every officer and member of the Police
Force, and every officer of the Fire Insurance Patrol is furnished with a
key which will open all the boxes. A key is also deposited with the
occupant of a building near the box, and a notice showing the location of
this key is always placed in a glass case at the top of the box.
Key-holders are cautioned not to open the box except in case of fire; not
to give an alarm unless sure of a fire; not to give an alarm for a fire
seen at a distance; not to pull down the hook more than once in giving an
alarm; to be sure, after giving an alarm, that the door of the box is
securely fastened; and not to let the key go out of their possession
except when demanded by proper authority.

[Picture: FIRE ALARM SIGNAL-BOX.]

The engraving referred to will show the manner of giving an alarm. There
are two doors to each box, an outer and an inner door, lettered
respectively F and G in the engraving. The door G is to be kept closed
unless it becomes necessary to repeat the alarm. The outer door, F, is
opened, and the catch A is drawn down firmly. This winds up a spring, by
means of the lever B, which sets in motion the wheel C, and strikes the
number of the box on the gong D and on the instrument at the Fire
Department headquarters. Should it be necessary to give a second or
third alarm, the door G is opened and the Morse key E is struck ten
times.