The Heroic Gangster_The Story of Monk Eastman, From the Streets of New York to the Battlefields of Europe and Back
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Among the many very helpful NARA staff I encountered, special thanks to William G. Seibert, R. Reed Whitaker, Kimberlee Ried, and Timothy Rives. My thanks also to Eli Paul, museum director, and James M. Barkley, education program coordinator, at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri; and to Ed Tracy, executive director of the Taiwani Foundation, and Colonel James Pritzker and the staff of the excellent Pritzker Military Library in Chicago. Walter Bradford of the U.S. Army Center for Military History provided much useful information, and my thanks also to Martin Gedra, archivist at NARA; Mitchell Yockelson, investigative archivist, Office of the Inspector General at NARA and author of the excellent Borrowed Soldiers; and Lori Miller, for hunting down material held in the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. My sincere thanks also to Coreen Hallenbeck for her meticulous additional research work for me in the New York State Archives in Albany, and to Sean McCrohon for his enthusiastic, indefatigable, and invaluable work for me at NARA in Washington, D.C., College Park, and elsewhere. My special thanks are due also to the late Edith Evans Asbury, to Barbara Ross of the New York Daily News, and to Roch Dunin-Wasowicz, for their collective help in enabling me to consult the papers of the late Herbert Asbury, which had lain undisturbed in a Manhattan basement since Mr. Asbury’s death in 1963.
As ever, I’m indebted to my British agent, Mark Lucas, and to Alice Saunders at Lucas Alexander Whitley in London, and to Kim Wither-spoon, David Forrer, and Rose Marie Morse at Inkwell Management in New York. I’m also very grateful to Barry Fast for his help and his insights into New York, the manuscript, and—most vital of all—where to go for dinner in Manhattan.
Particular thanks are due to my editor, Andrew Miller, and to Andrew Carlson at Alfred A. Knopf in New York, whose thoughtful and insightful critiques of the early drafts of the book were invaluable to me. I’m also grateful to Maria Massey, Sara Eagle, and the rest of the team at Knopf and Vintage, including the legendary and now honorably retired Ashbel Green.
Finally, my thanks to the Royal Literary Fund for the Fellowship awarded to me in 2007–2009, and to the fellowship officer, Steve Cook, for his help and support. I also acknowledge with great gratitude a grant toward the costs of my American research from the Authors’ Foundation at the Society of Authors in London.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders and the author will be pleased to hear from the descendants or administrators of any copyright holders he has been unable to trace.
Glossary
all-sorts drink also known as “dog’s-nose” or “swipes,” made from wringing out the cloths used to wipe the counters in dives and low groggeries
amusers operators who threw snuff or pepper in victims’ eyes; under the pretext of offering help, an accomplice then robbed them
anglers petty thieves who used hooked sticks or fishing lines through mailboxes or open windows to steal property or keys
badger man who, after his woman accomplice had lured a victim to her room for sex, would burst in posing as an irate husband and confront the victim, but then allow himself to be mollified with cash
bag of nails total confusion, like a shaken-up bag of nails
ballum-rancum ball at which all the dancers were criminals or prostitutes
barrel-boarder lowest kind of drunken sot (because they often slept draped over a barrel or on bare wooden boards)
bat streetwalker who worked at night (also known as an owl)
bedizened dressed in gaudy fashion
betting his eyes a punter who watches a game but doesn’t bet
Billingsgate swearing (after the foul language of the porters at London’s Billingsgate fish market)
billy club or bludgeon
blind pig; blind tiger illegal bar concealed behind an innocuous-looking storefront
blink shut your eyes to what is going on around you
boardinghouse the Tombs, or any prison
booster shoplifter
bounce evict with violence
bucket shop worst type of bar; a dive where beer was sold by the bucket
bufe dog
bufe-napper dog thief; rogue
bull cop
bull traps thieves who impersonated cops
bundle woman; girlfriend
bundle thief robber specializing in targeting women
cab brothel
cadet recruiter of prostitutes; pimp
cant thieves’ argot (also known as flash)
cap name; join in or assist with a job
capper confederate, especially one who makes false winning bets at cards to encourage victims to play
cherry young girl
chopped up stolen goods divided into smaller lots and hidden in different places
City College the Tombs
cold pig victim robbed of his clothes; a dead body
cop policeman (from the copper badges worn by the first police under Mayor Fernando Wood)
courtisans shyster lawyers, especially at the Tombs
cramped killed; murdered; hanged
crimps seamen’s boardinghouses, run by corrupt owners who would drug or blackjack their victims and sell them as crewmen to the captains of outward-bound ships
crow sentry
cut up turned out to be
cut up very fat turned out to be very rich
daylights eyes
dip, dipper pickpocket
dog’s-nose see all-sorts
doorman lookout
doubler a punch hard enough to make someone double up
drab disreputable woman; hag
dropper operator; part of a wallet-dropping gang
dustman dead man
earth-bath grave
elbow turn corner; get out of sight
facer brim-full glass; person who blocked pursuers of a criminal
fence receiver of stolen goods
flash, the thieves’ argot (also known as cant)
flat sucker; mark
floorer knockout punch
four-flusher a cheat, a bluffer (from a poker player who lays down four cards of the same suit, keeping his other card of a different suit half-hidden in the hope of persuading the other players that he has a flush)
Friday-face dismal (executions originally took place on Fridays)
gat gun
glim, glimmer eye
goads cappers
goo-goos reformers (derisive contraction of “good government”)
gorilla, guerilla enforcer, gang member
grafter con man; thief
groaners church and funeral thieves
groggery bar; dive
gropers blind men
gun pickpocket; thief (probably derived from the Yiddish gonif)
gun-moll woman pickpocket
hard metal
heeler operator, part of pocketbook gang, who trod on the heels of the victim to draw his attention to the dropped wallet that was the bait in the scam
high tide plenty of money
hog in armor blustering officeholder
hog in togs well-dressed idler
hoist steal by climbing through window
hook pickpocket; thief
hush-stuff bribe paid to a witness to buy silence
Island, the Blackwell’s (now Roosevelt) Island, especially the penitentiary
jammed killed; murdered; hanged
Jersey justice rough justice
jinglers coins
kettle pocket watch
kidsman a Fagin
kiting restless; on Wall Street, wild speculation
knockout drops chloral hydrate, or any drug that rendered the victim unconscious
knucks brass knuckles; pickpockets
lamp eye
layout faro or stuss term; the oilcloth or green baize on which one of each card, ace to king, is pasted; players placed their bets on the card of their choice before the pack was turned over
leather wallet
leg bail absconding while on bail
long large price
low tide nearly broke
lush drink; a drunk
lush-roller, lush-worker thief preying on drunks
mab whore
mack pimp
moll woman
moll-buzzer pickpocket specializing in targeting women
moon month (usually describing imprisonment, e.g., “He’s gone to the Island for a moon”)
mosh eat and leave without paying
mount give false testimony
mounter one who gives false testimony
mugwump do-gooder
my uncle pawnbroker
nailed arrested
nippers tool used by hotel thieves for turning keys from outside
nook-and-corner men thieves lurking in the shadows or obscure hiding places
office nonverbal signal or information
officer one giving nonverbal signals or information
on a/the string sending someone on a fool’s errand; flirting with or luring a sucker
on it easy and dishonest living, e.g., as a prostitute
owl night streetwalker (also known as a bat)
panel-crib place fitted with a sliding panel, false wardrobe, or other concealed opening or door for the robbery of a victim occupied with a prostitute
panel-thief one carrying out robberies in a panel-crib
peached turned police informer; squealed
penny-weighter sneak thief specializing in switching fake gems for real ones
picker-up roper-in, drawer of suckers to gambling dens, saloons, or brothels
piker one who bets very small amounts
pipe fiend opium smoker
poke pocketbook
prospecting looking for a victim or something to steal
rabbit rowdy person
rabbit-sucker young slummer
rag-water drink of all kinds, sometimes literally the wringings from the cloth used to wipe the bar
red gold; a cent
right bower right-hand man, derived from the name for the jack of trumps, the second-highest card in the game of euchre
rocked in a stone cradle born in prison
roped led on; led astray; tricked
roper-in drawer of suckers to gambling dens, saloons, or brothels
rounder one who hangs around stuss games but does not play
running through not allowing a sucker to win even a single bet
sachem Tammany boss (from a Native American term for a wise man or chief)
school gang of thieves
scratch cash; roll of bills not carried in a pocketbook; also, a line drawn in the middle of a boxing ring—anyone not “up to scratch” at the start of a round was ruled to have lost
second-story men men who broke into buildings through second-floor windows; the term could also carry an implication of cowardice: second-story men were too scared to climb higher, and too frightened of a confrontation with a house-owner to break in on the first floor
shady glim dark lantern
shanty black eye
sheeny Jewish thief; low thief
sheriff bouncer
side pocket saloon in out-of-the-way or unexpected place
sifting going through a purse or pocketbook
skin purse
skull head of the house; boss
slap down cash price of admission
slungshot type of blackjack; heavy weight contained in a leather or cloth sling
smoke lies told to conceal the truth
snake sly thief; one who hides in a building to let in his accomplices after dark
spit out free; remove
stalls accomplices who would get in the way of pursuers
stargazers prostitutes (because they spent most of their time on their backs)
start, old start the Tombs
stiff a corpse; but also anything printed
stun cheat
stuss also known as “Jewish faro,” a card game in which cards were dealt from a metal box, faceup, and placed on the “layout,” where the bets had been laid by gamblers betting on which card would be turned over next
swaddler “The End Is Nigh” type of street-corner speaker who drew a crowd so that his pickpocket accomplices could go to work
swipes see all-sorts
take the shine out lower someone’s self-esteem
tooth music enjoying a meal; good food
touch theft; proceeds of theft
trinkets knife and revolver
turf racecourse
up the spout pawned (from the spout or chute through which bulkier items were sent to a different floor of the pawnshop)
vampire blackmailer preying on “respectable” men who patronized prostitutes
Venus curse venereal disease
waxy light-fingered
weeding taking part of money or goods, but leaving enough to avoid arousing suspicion
whipped cheated; beaten
white slave trade prostitution
wind money
wire pickpocket
working the rattler carrying out robberies on streetcars
yegg burglar; safecracker
NOTES
ABBREVIATIONS
A.E.F.—American Expeditionary Force
AMHI—American Military History Unit
NARA—National Archives and Records Administration; unless otherwise specified, NARA refers to records held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland
Prologue A LOT OF LITTLE WARS
1 FIVE FOOT SEVEN B0100, Physician’s Register, Sing Sing Prison.
2 “THE AFTERMATH OF SMALLPOX” and “AN ODD DANDIFIED TOUCH” Rich Cohen, Tough Jews, 44.
3 “A LOT OF LITTLE WARS” Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York, 256.
4 ONE NAVAL OFFICER New York Times, December 29, 1920.
1 THE HALL OF TEARS
1 OSTERMAN Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York, 256.
2 BORN IN DECEMBER 1873 Census of the United States, New York (Manhattan), New York City, Greater New York, roll T9_896; page 389.1000, ED 610, image 0781; Census of the United States, New York (Manhattan), New York City, Greater New York, roll T623 1092; page 5B, ED 240; Sing Sing Admissions Register, April 23, 1904, NY State Archives, B0 143, page 157, vol. 36, box 14; State of New York, Certificate and Record of Marriage 4106, February 8, 1911.
3 SAMUEL HAD BEEN BORN, ANGLO-SAXON ORIGINS, and A METHODIST PASTOR Borough of Manhattan, death certificates 33332, 29833; New York Times, December 31, 1920.
4–5 THOMAS MCSPEDON and VIOLENCE, CRUELTY Census of the United States, New York Ward 19, District 2, New York, New York, roll M653_815; page 0, image 600; Ninth Census of the United States, New York Ward 13, District 3, New York, New York, roll M593_1031; page 70, image 140; T; New York Times, November 24, 1877.
6 1880 CENSUS, DIED OP CONSUMPTION, and DESCRIBING HERSELF AS A WIDOW Census of the United States, New York (Manhattan), New York City, Greater New York, roll T9_896; family history film: 1254896; page 389.1000, ED 610, image 0781; New York Death Certificate 29833; Trow’s New York City Directory, 1878, 1880; Trow’s New York City Directory, 1887.
7 93 SOUTH THIRD STREET and ALLEGED THAT MONK’S PARENTS Lain’s Brooklyn City Directory, 1883–1899; Asbury, The Gangs of New York, 256.
8 TIMOTHY EASTMAN Census of the United States, New York Ward 19, District 9, New York, New York, roll M593_1042; page 230, image 463; Ninth Census of the United States, New York Ward 19, District 21, New York, New York, roll M593 1005; page 408, image 251; New York Times, January 19, 1859, October 13, 1893.
9 “CHOSE FOR HIS SCHOOL” New York Daily Tribune, December 27, 1920.
10 “TRIUMPH OF MECHANICS” and “A SPARKLING GEM” Sydney Brooks, “London and New York,” 297; Edward K. Spann, The New Metropolis, 137.
11 BANDIT’S ROOST and “SOME FORM OF CREEPER” Luc Sante, Introduction to Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives, xvii, 17; Geoffrey Moorhouse, Imperial City, 82.
&n
bsp; 12 “JEW BREAD,” “AN ENGLISH WORD,” and “THE PIG MARKET” Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 30; Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 91, 89.
13 “WITH RARE IMPARTIALITY” Henry Collins Brown, ed., Valentine’s Manual of Old New York, 16–17.
14 “THE KIND OF DIRTY PEOPLE” and “THE SCUM OF IMMIGRATION” Methodist Bishop James Cannon, quoted in Stephen Fox, Blood and Power, 14; Eliot Lord et al., The Italian in America, 190–91.
15 ONE IN SEVEN EAST SIDE and “ONE FINDS THE BLACKEST” Walter Scott Andrews, “A Study of the East Side Courts,” 23, 22; Charles Gardner, The Doctor and the Devil, 41.
16 “THE SUICIDE WARD,” INFANT MORTALITY RATES, and “THE RICH FLED” Justin Kaplan, Lincoln Steffens, 61; Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 53, 85, 133, and note, 228; Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, 213.
17 “TREAD IT EVER SO” and “THE TRACK OF A TORNADO” Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 11.
18 “IN THE COMMON TRENCH” Ibid., 132–33.
19 “OLD HAGS” Helen Campbell, Thomas W. Knox, and Thomas F. Byrnes, Darkness and Daylight, 364, 374, 371.
20 FIFTY THOUSAND INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS and “A SIGN WOULD GO UP” Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, 317–19.
21 “TAINTED MEAT” and “FRAGMENTS OF BREAD” Campbell, Knox, and Byrnes, Darkness and Daylight, 402–3; Ezra R. Pulling, “Report of the Fourth Sanitary District,” 16.
22 “PAPER WASN’T WORTH MUCH” Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 5.
23 “278 JUVENILE PRISONERS” and “FRIGHTFUL WHISKEY” Jacob A. Riis, A Ten Years’ War, 155–56; Asbury, The Gangs of New York, 225.
24–25 “WILD AS HAWKS,” TWO HUNDRED FOUNDLINGS, and “AN ODD COINCIDENCE” Campbell, Knox, and Byrnes, Darkness and Daylight, 154, 517; Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 141, 143, 134.