THE OMAHA BUNDAY BEE DECEMBER 16, 1303.
Life in the North Omaha Bottoms Where Christmas Never Comes
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R A Li ROAX TRACK. 3 If TUG COORTARDl
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TTPICATj HOVEL. IN NORTH BOTTOMS.
kITH many thouaanfls of homes In only a few boxca, a poor ttva an4 a bed.
Omaha where the Christmas that Is frequently only an old mattress of
aplrit Talrly permeates the at- (B hay tick on the floor, and to make m at
mosphere; where for weeks past ters worse, thlrgrs are not even clean. To
the preparation for this day of call these homes Is a misnomer. If that
all the days of the year has been para- word Is supposed to Imply anything beyond
mount to everything else with the smugr- the mere sleeplnx and eating place. And
Kilns In of mysterious looking bundles and yet these habitations are the only homes
certain stowaway places forbidden to the that scores of families know and into them
children; with the kitchen saturated every each year are coining little lives that must
night after echool with all sorts of de- form their standards from these surround-
llclous odors that the utmost diligence fails lngs and in turn perpetuate them through,
to reveal any explanation of and the whole another generation. But they are not all
house fairly teeming with delightful mys- like this. Some of the very smallest and
tery that nobody has really wanted ex- poorest are clpan and even inviting, from
plained. It Is difficult to realize that there the clean scrubbed doorstep to the newspa-
are also scores of other homes within the per covored walls and the row of bright
city's limits where on Tuesday, December plants In cans that make a cheerful show
25, will be no different from any other tng at the windows. Several days of each
day of the yeai-where Christmas never week the yards of these little homes, for
com oe, these are usually homes, are hung with
washings, other people's clothing, that tells
Hemes Im North Bettoias. the story of some mother's struggle. This
tip on the north river bottoms over the year several tents have been added to the
dge of the bluff that screens It from the colony. Some of these are large and warm,
view of the residence portion of the city, with three or four rooms. This covering has
skirting Cut-Off lake and extending down been oiled to better shed the water, and a
the river among the Ice houses and railroad bank thrown up' around the sides, at once
tracks and bidden back In the bank among hutflnc out the cold and forming a ditch
the weeds aW rubbish that covers the
ftlopuig face of the bluff, a district about
two mllrs lonr and including about 1,009
people, is such a place. To be sure it Is
not all a wilderness; there are some bright
pots tn the way of comfortable, frugal
homes that have tarried behind in the
general exodus of the more prosperous
population that made room for the en
croaching railroad tracks, but In the main
the district Is miserably poor poor In the
fullest, most Inclusive sense of the terra.
Eunshine Is Its one harmony, sunshine and
fresh air. but the latter Is polluted and
the beneficent effects of the former ma
terially diminished by pools of foul-smell-Ing.
stagnant water that occur at frequent
Intervals over the flat territory backed up
by tho track beds or the established street
grades and frequently seeping Into the
very rooms of the wretched little shacks
that are the homes of dozens of families.
60 poor are some of these little habita
tions that they might easily be mistaken
for shelter for cattle or horses rather
than dwellings, and. In fact, In some In
stances they do serve as shelter for both.
The naJority of them are constructed from
odds and ends of lumber, discarded tin
roofing and patches of whatever may be
picked up along the tracks or extracted
from the junk' piles, with now and then a
covering .of building or tar paper and oc
casionally a cheap little frame house or
tent. Others are little more than caves.
In the bluff with a shack built over the
front dugouts that at least have the ad
vanlago of being warm when the winter
wind sweeps down the river and across
the bottoms, but when the weather Is wet
the poorer ones are little more than
hovels.
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STAGNANT POOLS A MENACE.
thorities are called upon If nothing else leesly Into other Influences from whloh
will bring the parents to do their duty. they cannot be reclaimed. To win them
and hold them until they are secured to
'W ork of the torches. uch influences as will serve to guide until
Repeated efforts have been made by va- they may have attained safe standards of
rlous churches to attract the children, uVbig is the work of the missionary which
Knox Presbyterian church having been lB , attractive and so discouraging. It is
Among the most persu-tent. while the rector Bucn thsnkless work, for its reward la
of Good Shepherd's Episcopal church has freQUenUy the basest Ingratitude that
been an untiring visitor, rendering substan- mxlrt fee forgiven, because, literally "they
tlal assistance to many families In distress, vBOW not what they do." With no
as well as to the juvenile court when an ,tandards except those of material gain, for
Interested friend is needed to stand sponsor tnelr very exutence has depended upon
for some of the young people who have thelr aWuty to hold their own against the
come under Its Jurisdiction. In the main, jj, tnolr own an(1 th- oppression of
however. It is the City Mission at Tenth circumstances, thejj must be taught new
and Capitol avenue that has reached the standards. "Do nnto others as they do unto
residents of this district "Miss Magee's too," Is literally the rule by which many
Mission" they call It. for, with few ex- hav. n taught to live, and even little
cepUons, children and parents alike know ohlldren many time seem so hopelessly
the little woman who has for years given bardvned that they afford &aoou raging
her life to work among them, coming Into nuUorlaL Naturally Thanksgiving and the
their homes in times of sickness or trouble honda time affords the best opportunity
and helping the boys and girls through tho the year for attracting these children.
Mission classes, and many of the mothers Qoodles such as they have seen In the sho
through the Mothers' club. With a tact Endows, and perhaps a toy, are to be
born of sincerity, Miss Magee has gone gtTftn awajr to all who will attend the
among them, winning their confidence and jjtsslon or Sunday school olassea, and thlg
then their friendship, and finally their the fu-gt inducement to Join. But some
SUE NEVER HOARD OF SANTA CLAU&
"HOMESTEAD ON Tliifi HILLSIDE."
presence at the Mission classes.
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show of qualification must be maintained
at the ml&sions and the children are (old
that only regular , attendants at classes
may sharo the Christmas celebration.
"Along About Christmas'
As a result the attendance at the tem
perance. Industrial and Sabbath school
classes begins to swell about Thanksgiving
time, and if the weather happens to be
severe the opportunity of the missionary Is
decidedly Increased, The warmth of the
class rooms is an additional attraction for
the poor little homes are not overly com
fortab'e at bust, and usually the little bit
of coal or other fuel that may be picked
up along the tracks by the children after
school, or that the scanty income can
provide, must be saved for the comfort of
a father or mother who will return from
work with Uie darknuss, and not infre
quently In a condition of lntui.lca.tlon thai
4ds the superlative degree to the miserable
conditions for which this curse Is so often
responsible. Tiny as these quarters are,
some of thorn have beun the scene of the
most disgusting carousals that has alone
enabled the authorities to remove the chil
dren from their debasing surroundings.
Ch.ldren are wonderfully lltoral until ex
perience has taught them different, and a
few years of disappointment at the dis
crimination of the Santa Ciaus of which
they have learned at school teaohes them to
lautfh at the loftier senlimnnts of Christ
mas as well as its dear old myth. Deep
down in their child heart Is a longing for
some recognition of his belter Impulses,
said when this recognition Is denied In
contradiction of the promisee of the re
wards that come to "good" boys and girls.
Christmas Sentiments of the Household
TTOfT DTTEIAJWIS AtSO SFRTNXJ TTf. OF THB ROWS UNDER TTTB TZAJFV.
vi iv. vat.,. iiii, ir t"Vipr nv.ii tn,i inriiar rm ni v uuiif iritM- nt u,rir r 1 1 i r.Antihln. The it wretched tittle bouses are not a true Index Shy and suspicious, anything that sug-
onts will be tbe winter quarters of several tho houses and with such disregard for san- truslon of strangers is emphatically re- to the real conditions of the families that getts patronage is a signal for retreat, and It Is little wonder that he accepts hi own
fniu. thMt litn nhii,irn nl ittton . i-it ,iv from ignorance. SHntivl and bv methods rather discouraging occupy them. It Is difficult to believe once their suspicion lias been aroused the methods of gratification and justifies them
aged parents. are stables or pigpens, while dogs, chickens, to many whose visitations are prompted that bright-faced, comfortably clothed chil- work of winning their confidence has to as well. And so, with nothing In the home
geese and children sewrn common to aU. by the best of Intentions. One or tee most a tn ninenai nionu Mrymiuu, iwra- ua uuiia m.n o.d, o"ui-:.
popular means of warning off these well pared with which even less than they have takes only weeks, but oftener months, and one or tne Duierest aisappoimmenui of the
wishers is a little sign posted high on a bodily comforts would be luxury. Some of frequently the needed opportunity does not year to the children of the poor and one
house or some other equally conspicuous the little faces are pinched and drawn to come again until they have drifted hope- of the most embittering experlenoes.
place. "Bad dog here," posted on the be sure, but more often It is a bright smile '
corner of the nearest house, Is the an- or a keen look of Inquiry that greets the
nouncement that greets the visitor who ap- stranger who takes occasion to visit this
proaches by way of the long steps at the neighborhood,
foot of Ohio street. "Look out for gote"
Is a significant warning that appears in Blessings of Childhood.
large letters a little further down the A wl creator has ordained that child-
no matter what later
Inside the sane.
And Inside these houses are little better The water euonlv is Drecarious. The city eese and children settm common
than they are outside. Few have more water Is not piped to these neighborhoods, .
than two or Uu-ee rooms and many have and except where an occasional well of How the Other Half Uvea,
nly the cold, hard-trodden earth fir a necessarily doubtful equally affords the Why do people live BoT Why are such
floor, with perhaps a few boards of old supply, water must be carried from some conditions allowed to exist? Poverty men-
sstcks or a strip of old carpet for covering, of the factory buildings or shops or dipped tal, moral and material, arid a local clergy-
Khe furniture Is of the crudest sometimes from the lake, liver or from some of the tnan who knows the city well from hia own
fashionable congregation to the less for-
' tunate residents of the east end of town
has added to this answer: "Selfishness on
Moore's Classic Poem on Christmas Etc
The Might Before Christsaas.
Jest 'fore Christmas. make things hum.
JTather calls me William, sister calls me But. f " Prllt n' nd earnestly te
Will' 0
Mother 'calls me Willie, but the fellers That mother says to father: "How Im-
MigMy ad I ain't a girl-ruther be a boy. t father, havtu' been a boy blsself, bus- frtabl maU house, within the reach of
Svithout them saphes, curls an' things -vPlulo.ns m . th P"r Perhaps the flrbt attraction to
that's worn by rVuntleroy! When, jest fore Christmas, I m as good as this district, but a few montlis of this en-
XAve to rhawnlc green apples an' go swim. Rm De-
min' In the lake , , ... , A
Hate to take the castor-lie they give me For Chriatmas. w th Its lots an lots of can
tor bellyache! d'M- n to-
liont all the time the whole year round made, ny "ay. for proper kids an'
there ain't no flies on me; not ' naujhty boys;
But lest 'fore Christmas I m as good ul was.u yer face an brush yer hair an'
" w 2 . . lare letters a mtle rurther flown me .i- orwntfr hm
the part of thos. who are amply able to .trMt -n, .tnl ILnnthAP nim rftad ..Fero '.Af a!Th"
( - - - uuvy snail oe JiJ 1 'py
The fact that these houses may be had
for only a few dollars a month and that
Omaha Is deplorably destitute of com-
vlronment unites these neighbors In the
bond of a common level and those who
were only renters originally add another
little shack to the ooktny, thus eliminating
house rent from their expenses and so be-
dog here," this posted high on a ehaft
above a gate that raises It to the street
level.
Children at School.
years may bring, and even such a handl-
frlendly word. When school Is out "Tln-
hts foot.
And his clothes were all tarnished with.
ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on bis back.
And ho looked like a peddler Just opening
ius paoa.
district it has been difficult to ascertain.
They are distributed among three public
school? Sherman, Lake and f'ass-Luk' i nl
Sherman getting the majority, and thete
"i'was the night before Christmas, when all
through tne house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a
mnnae :
can as Is there cannot overshadow that Ane siocKings were uun uj im cuiramy univw
. . . . . with care, how merryl
Inner sunshrine that beams Just because In llupu8 lhttt gu Kicholas soon would be Ills cheeks were like rosea, bis nose Ilk a
uay las ui iisiic, nr vuuirvnn um Bimrjii iLiere. j
The children were nestled all snug In their his aroa mue mouin was arewo up uke a
beds, lw,
While visions of sugar plums danced In And the beard on his chin was as white as
their heads; the snow, -
And mautma in her kerchief, and I In my The stump of a pp he held tight la his
cap, tefth.
Hod just settled our brains for a long win- And the smoke It encircled his head like a
ter s nap .
Just how many children there are in this CKn aneyi tne "Paver road" and other
streets resound with shouts' of laughter
us the youngsters come trooping home,
looking Just like anybody's boys and girls,
for they have snared the Christmas stories
school rooms are contributing to their lives th(t liav) the rewards of the school When out on the lawn there arose such
kin bet
Cot a yeller dog named Sport, sick him on
the ctu;
First thing she knows she doesn't know
where she U at!
Got a clipper sled, an' when us kids goes
out to tilde,
'long comes the grocery cart an' we an
hook a ride; '
But sometimes when the grocery maa la
worried an' cross
He reaches at us with his whip an larrups
up his hoss:
An' thm I luff an' holler. "Oh, ye never
teched me!"
But 'est 'fore Christmas I'm as good as I
kin be.
more than almost any other outside lnflu-
wa)r ence. To a large extent -they are clothed.
especially In winter, through the efforts
coma rjermanent residents. In this
AH ?",Ui-.bU!it out VV "anU,oon nl one house after another has been built.
Say "Vessum" to the ladles an' "Yeesur" ,or th rent of the K"id. is little or noth- , th tl.aol,er, and prtnciimls. With fine
An' when theVs company dont pass ye court that fani
But, thlnkin1 of the things yerd like to see mov out of
upon that trw, the city has
Jilt 'fora 1 tirlHl mn h s b . AV , k
Li " w.r " ' -7 iuoiv uwbiii v vuic llcitt-from ic iod i In rthr n-t
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iiiili n isr iiihiii m. i rri l a iijiii
room, tn common with the other children
whe live "uptown." But the reality of It,
the experiencing It has been denied them.
Oran'ma says she hopes that when I get to
le a man
I'll be a imaslouarer like her oldest brother,
Tin.
As was et up by the cannibals that live In The' upper guest chamber Is Just
iecrets ef the Seesoa.
I wander to the closet where
I keep my best cigars and wine;
When wifey crl-s: "Biay oot of there.
The things within It all aie mine."
Unto the library I werd
My way to rest, to think, to read; '
When wifey cries: "You will offend
Me If you gu In there, indeed."
matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tore open the abutters and threw up the
sash. 1
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen
snow
Gave a luster of midday to objects below;
When, what to my wandering eyes should
aonear
a their reach. , ' th R ma f ut recogmze(lt aml the denial of those thing, that every In- But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-
.w i .t ni.f falls tham Kw hav. Vi hn. QWr.
and who has the right to ludre If these
illiee with children shall v,. arrl anv .,humt children avail themselves of the substitutes
th. disrepuUbl. dlstriPt.'of ar. Matter, of strictest conndenc. betwn rJer. JSTan? w 't.U
sent many famllie. -to th. teachtnl ttnd pupll,. Tne CIotBl u n. "t their .ider. provld. , and .ho U
. v. i. . .. A, ,. k- new thAtje chtlii4sh minds will lnteniret
He had a broad face and a little rouna
riuttr belly
I sprang trom my bed to see what was the Th1 shook, when he laughed, like a bowl
&uii ui jeiiy.
He was chubuy and plump a right Jolly
old elf;
And I laughed, when I saw him. In spite
of myself.
A mink of his eye snd a twist of bin head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to
dread.
He spoke rot a word, but went straight to
ins wwri,
JoyT
Kven the probation oftr. who have as- c ',ully the chll(,r.n w.tehmA that "tlnct tel" them th,y hav rtnt to a'
sisiea in mis work or twinovai nsve naa to ag won es possible after a
admit this and as aAeult an agitation has .vlHB,,t it I. .uni,nrt Ia
been begun that remises to result in some effort- cf money, too. that oomee oft.n com oorM ot P t - hi T' whistled and shouted and callled He sprang to his sleigh, to
tangible schetrtf for providing decent, san- from th9 puro-, of the - teachers, tills is nUal dinners through these same agen- them by name: a whistle,
lese women c,' Ul scnooia ana tne cnurcnes. wnns .now, i.asner: uow, iunceri now, rTanoer , I,ow ue
With a little old driver, so lively and quick.
need becomes ' anew In a moment it must oe Bv.. r. ick.
what roi t of wnea -x nanasgmng ana Lvnnnui m,u u-u wum
And filled all the stockings; then turned
Willi a Jerk,
And laying his finger aside ot his nose.
And giving a bud, up the chimney h.
bis team gave
the down of a
thistle:
on, Dunder and But I heard him exclaim, ere lie drove out
or aigni.
Ceylon's Isle,
Where every prospeck pleases, an' only
man la vile!
But a nun ma sh. has never been to a wild
west show,
Nw read the life of Daniel Boone, or .Ue
I guess she'd know
That BufTlo Bill an' cowboys Is good
enoush for me.
Excep' jes 'fore Christmas, when I'm good The cellar) I at last have found
as I kin be. A corner to myeelf but no;
For wifey cries: "You're set and
And then old Enort he hangs arvund so sol- To see what s hidden down belo
emu like an still; r .
His eyes they seem a-sayln'; "What's the And so I am tabooed at home
matter, little l illr . because my wife has hkldeti stff
i no jiiace 10 sit ana wtave niv song;
When wiey cries: "Oh, no. you muat
Not go where you do not belong."
At least the parlor In the rear
la quite sunvieiit for my dreams
When wifey cries: "Not there .my dei
lou line in poae around, it see ins.
Itary email liuses, where poor families .,,, nh r k,. .v,.
may live fyr small rent and amid whole- themselves know. Eut the rummage sale through the year this watchfulness for q. Jcoln'""OII Cupid'
some siiiToundings. It Is to such a plan nerhaos the most aubstantlat naurre from Indications of condlUons at borne that need niitMn!
that people who cannot give th!r personal wnich the!.- clothing Is supplied. Hundreds remedying adds materially to tbe responsl- To the top of tbe porch, to the top of the ''Hanpv riu-lstmaa to all. and to all a good
worHniy be asked to aubaorib. at a not OI ,rf8ctly good garments are collected Wllty of teachers and principal. If the .wiv av A.mh night I" -Clement Claike Moore.
ti
bound
possibly some of tbe contagions that come to the ckv . ui,
far.dlstant Ome. " ' "I ..." " . J7. . "I .... t,. i-.. .1. wt "w"' way
m , iuu wuinDii vi iu uuurt. urs every J . . s - --. ' ail I
spring and fall and offered for sale in the the" must be a reason for It. Perhaps As dry leaves that before the wild burrican
Freed la Their Penary. vestry or class rooms of iin of -tl.A north these are the Brat symptoms of Illness: ny
Peculiarly unapproachable, through an side churches. The purchasing value of a
Independence that resents any Interference few cents at one of these sales is amazing, to a city's poor, or possibly only the re- So up to the house-top the coursers they
from wnatever motive, it Is necessary to a whole outfit frequently being supplied "u't of having had 110 breakfast or dinner
reach thete parent through the children for a quarter, but this relieves the tran- or perhaps an Indication of too late hours
and when the children are withdrawn from sactlon ot any semblance of charity In the n the street the night before. At any
bettering influences only the authorities eyts of the purchasers, at least, and enables rate an Investigation Is made. Th. child
are able to Interfere. Th. truant officer their well wUhers to provide mora than is questioned, sad If there la Illness th.
has been a valuable and tactful worker, one comfortable garment that would be In- Visiting Nurses or the county physician
keeping the children In school, but t Vv.otiy rejected It offered without price, are culled upon. If lack of food proves to
full of toys and Ht.;
flew.
With the sleigh
Nicholas, too.
And theu In a twinkling X heard ou the
roof
The prancing and pawing of each lltU.
hoof.
As I drew In my head and was turning
a rouna.
Th. old ieat slicks down ff tor perch an' For Christmas presents. Hence this glooml juveuU. court and through It the detention This Is the secret cf the good clothing be the eause the family is Investigated, "wntln chimney St. Nicholas came with
wonder vihats become A wllderneas would be lea tough. T . - . , . , .. . . . , - . ' ,, , " . ... ' ., a bound.
uca euwalee ef hern that used to Horac. beyiuour Keller la New oik Bun. 'Ve freusoUy been employed la th that has misled uuLny to the belief that th aiid U nsgl.ct U found U Juvenile an- jra waa aissW ail la fur from his head te
The Holly Tree.
O hast thou ever stood to see
The holly trse!
The eye that contemplate It well pre
oelvee Its glossy leaves
Ordered by an Intelligence so wise
As might confound tne artists' aophls
triaa And should my youth, as youth la apt
I know.
Home harshness show
All vain asperities I, day by day.
Would wr away
Till the smooth temper of my age should
be
. Lake the high leave ec th holly tr.
ftoiKhefc ,