"The Tables Turned," New York Times, Feb. 21, 1860, p. 8

Henry Swarton, with several companions, were amusing themselves on Sunday night at the expense of a miserable drunkard, who lay insensible on the floor of a room in the house No. 2 Vandewater-street. (Click here to see a map) Having played the inebriate a number of tricks, they finally determined to arouse him by exploding a small flask of powder near his head. It exploded prematurely, however, in Swarton's hands, breaking his wrist and terribly scorching his face, so that he had to be removed to the hospital, while the intended victim was unharmed.

"City Intelligence: Incidents of City Life," New York Times, Mar. 20, 1860, p. 8

.... MARY SMITH, cook on the canal boat Plymouth, lying at Pier No. 5, East River, was shockingly misused in a Water-street saloon, on Sunday night. Officer LOGAN found her afterwards lying insensible in Chatham-street and took her to the Hospital where she lies in a critical condition... CORNELIUS COLLINS, while driving a light wagon through the New Bowery, ran his vehicle over CHARLES DILLO, a boy three years of age, and injuring him severely. Officer TOOLE, of the Fourth Precinct, arrested COLLINS on a charge of reckless driving.

"Spoiling the Sport," New York Times, May 7, 1860, p. 5

Just before midnight on Saturday, the cheering and unusual noise on the pier at the foot of Roosevelt-street (click here for map), induced coxswain Simley and boat's crew No. 8 of the Harbor Police, to land and ascertain its cause, when they found that the prototype of the "great international mill" was in course of representation by moonlight, before an audience of two hundred or more thieves, loafers and other sporting men. The combatants were Charles Cann and Thomas Mullen, two Fourth Ward ruffians, ambitious of pugilistic fame, who had fought four rounds in artistic style, and were just coming to "time" for the fifth when the Police broke into the ring and secured them. The seconds, referee, bottle-holders and all the spectators precipitately fled at the irruption of Officers, and the fight will probably be considered a "drawn one." The principals, each bearing the marks of the other's prowess, were yesterday morning taken before Alderman SMITH, actice Justice at the Tombs, and fined $10 each for disorderly conduct. As, however, all their funds had been wagered and placed in the hands of stake-holders, who had deserted them in their trouble, they were consigned to the cells for non-payment of the penalty

"Serious Riot among Firemen: Four Persons Shot and Others Badly Injured," New York Times, July 4, 1860, p. 8

A feud which has existed for a long time between the members of Engine Company No. 21, lying in Worth-street, near Church, and Engine Company No. 13, whose house is in Duane-street, culminated last evening in a very serious riot. The alarm was given at about 10 1/2 o'clock for a fire which occurred in the wine-cellar of MAT. GOODERSON'S saloon, No. 9 Chatham-street, which was quickly answered by a numerous body of firemen and engine runners. (click here for map). Among the earliest at the fire was 13's Company, and in a short time thereafter, 21's men came at full speed up Centre-street. When near FRENCH'S HOTEL, the two companies came into collision, but which were the aggressing party it is very difficult to say, each of course claiming that they only acted on the defensive. The fight continued for at least ten minutes, and was marked by even greater ferocity than is usually exhibited by such a class of combatants. The weapons used were clubs, stones, wrenches, trumpets, fire-caps, pieces of iron and pistols, as many as a dozen shots having been fired in the course of the melee. Sheer exhaustion on the part of the belligerents caused a termination of the fight, platoons of Policemen from the Second Third and Fourth Precincts having reached the scene in season to witness the close of the fray. Officer FULLERSON, of the Fourth Precinct, who was the only officer present while the fight was at its height, exerted himself to the utmost to quell the disturbance, and took one of the rioters into custody. The friends of the prisoner rushed to the rescue, and released him, but the officer retained his fire-cap with the initials "J.O.C." upon it and the number "21," which trophy is now at the Station-house. The combatants fled in every direction, when the police came down upon them, and not one arrest was made. While the fight was in progress No. 13's engine was turned over and badly smashed, making the second time during the night that it had received such treatment, it having been overturned by the rival company in Broad-street, between 6 and 7 o'clock in the evening, where it had gone in response to an alarm which proved to be false.

A number of persons were severely injured in the encounter. The names, as far as could be ascertained, of those wounded most seriously, are DENNIS RYAN, JOHN RYAN, WM. LOOMIS AND JAMES SULLIVAN, members of No. 21, who were taken to the Hospital, suffering from bruises and gun-shot wounds, of, fortunately, a not very dangerous character. JAMES McCULLOCH, foreman of No. 21, is also in the Hospital. He sustained a fracture of the arm and a terrible scalp-wound. All the injured were placed under the care of Drs. WEIR and BELL. JOHN HALEY, of the District-Attorney's office, THOS. PERSON, JOSEPH WILLIAMS, members of No. 13's Company, received cuts and other injuries, and were removed to their residences by their friends.

The fire was caused by JOHN HALL, GOODERSON'S bar-keeper, who, in drawing liquor from a cask in the cellar, held a light too near it. He rushed out, shrieking" Fire," with his hands and hair very much burned. The flames were extinguished before more than $500 damage had been done. The stock in the coffee and cake saloons of OLIVER HITCHCOCK and THEODORE UDELL, in the basements above which the fire occurred, was somewhat injured by water. Probably in each case the loss will amount to $100.

"Fires," New York Times, July 6, 1860, p. 5

At 8 1/2 o'clock P.M., a fire occurred at No. 64 James-street. and after it had been extinguished and the firemen were returning, an attack was made upon the members of Engine Company No. 16, when near the corner of New-Bowery and James-street. The men were driven from the rope and a serious riot was imminent, but a section of the Police from the Fifth Precinct rushed in and put the belligerents to flight. The attack is said to be made by runners attached to Engine Company No. 13, the same company which participated in the riot opposite French's Hotel, on Tuesday night. One man, JAMES MILLER, belonging to Engine Company No. 16, was very badly beaten, and the Police took him to the New-York Hospital, where he is still confined. Officer HEPP, of the Fifth Precinct, arrested one of the rioters, named WILLIAM SHERMAN, whom he caught is the act of throwing stones in the midst of the crowd. He was locked up in the Fourth Precinct Station-house, whence he subsequently escaped. The building where the fire originated was used as a stable by TIMOTHY RYAN, MICHAEL O'BRIEN, and others, who had three of their horses burned to death. Their loss on building is estimated at $500 -- insured in the Market Insurance Company.

"Another Probable Murder: A Man Dangerously Stabbed on an Excursion Trip" New York Times, July 10, 1860, p. 1

Yesterday morning an organization known as the Barry Musketeers, composed on young men from the Fourth and Sixth Wards, and named after the Alderman of that District, went on a pic-nic to Biddle's Grove, S.I. On the grounds a dispute arose between JOHN PHEELAN, a member of Hose Company No. 10, residing at No. 3 Dover-street (click here for map), and MICHAEL WELSH, a character well known to the police of the Fourth Ward, in the progress of which PHEELAN was stabbed by his opponent three times, once in the groin and twice in the chest. The sufferer was immediately sent back to the City by special conveyance and placed under the care of Dr. BELL at the City Hospital, who has not the least hope of his recovery. The police were informed of the occurence, and a platoon of men, under the command of Sergeant WILLIAMS, awaited the arrival of the boat in the evening at Peck-slip, having the excursionists on board. As she approached the dock the officers were observed, and the friends of WELSH, anticipating their object, succeeded in concealing him by creating confusion on board. Subsequently he was traced to a house in Roosevelt-street, where the officers found him; but he a second time escaped by extinguishing the lights in the room. The police, however, have little doubt of eventually effecting his arrest.

"Police Reports. Arrest of an Alleged Burglar -- Deadly Assaults," New York Times, Aug. 7, 1860, p. 8

On the night of the 28th of February last, the dwelling house and liquor-shop of Frank Hughes, No. 103 Cherry-street (click here for map), was burglariously entered by means of false keys, and robbed of $350 in bank bills and gold coin. The burglar, who is alleged to be Pat Conway, was seen in the act of breaking into the premises, by a woman named Mary Johnson, but before she could sound the alarm and get help, Conway had escaped with the treasure. Search was made for the fellow, but he was not seen again till the 30th ult., when James Donovan, of No. 33 Cherry-street, met Conway. They had a few words together concerning the burglary, whereupon Conway drew a bowie knife of immense size, with which he struck Donovan across the arm, inflicting a very severe wound. The assailant then escaped, and kept out of the way till Sunday night, when he was arrested by Officer Creighton, of the Fourth Ward. The moment he was seized, Conway showed fight, and struck at the officer with the same bowie-knife with which he had attempted the life of Donovan, but fortunately without doing any damage. He was secured after a severe struggle, and subsequently taken before the magistrate at the Tombs, and committed for a hearing on two charges of assault and battery, and likewise for burglary.

"General City News: Fatal Result of a Stab -- Escape of the Perpetrator" New York Times, August 8, 1860, p. 3

JOHN MAGNIN, the man who was stabbed late on Monday night last, during a fight which took place at the corner of Catharine and Cherry streets, died in the New-York Hospital, yesterday afternoon. The friends of the deceased allege that, seeing an altercation on the corner, he ran to quell it, or otherwise interfered, when some man at present unknown, stabbed him in the pit of the stomach with a knife, and ran away. A sailor's boarding-house runner, well known in Water-street, is strongly suspected of being the assailant and the Fourth Ward Police are in search of him. Coroner COLIN was notified, and will hold an inquest on the body to-day. Deceased was a single man, about 40 years of age. He lived within a few doors of where his death-blow was received.

"Descent Upon Disorderly Houses" New York Times, August 20, 1860, p. 5

The Fourth Ward Police, on Saturday night, made a descent upon the houses kept by John Frank and Robert J. Wilds, at >Nos. 21 and 23 New-Bowery (click here to see a map), and arrested about seventy-five abandoned characters of both sexes whom they found there. The places had long been nuisances to the neighborhood, and complaints against them had frequently been made. The proprietors were held to bail to answer charges of keeping disorderly houses, and the others were some of them sent to the Penitentiary and some discharged.

"Police Reports" New York Times, August 29, 1860, p. 5

"Outrage upon a Girl"

On Monday night, the Fourth Ward Police, made a descent upon a house of prostitution kept at No. 6 James Street, by Adolphe Marks and his wife Mary, and arrested the keepers, together with ten abandoned females who were its inmates. Marks and his wife were held to answer at Court, and the others were disposed of as vagrants. The complaint was made by a young girl named Mary Ann Murphy, who stated that about a week ago the woman Marks hired her to do housework, but on the night of her arrival at the house, ordered her to follow the course of the other female inmates of the house. She refused, and on the following night she received a similar order. She refused again, and then started to leave the house, but Marks' wife seized her and beat her unmercifully. One of the vile inmates of the house also made an attack upon her, and bit one of her fingers nearly off. The girl, continuing to resist, the wretches set a large dog upon her. The animal threw her to the floor, and bit her hand completely through the palm. After a desperate struggle she got out of the house, and made her way to the Fourth Ward Police-station, where she told what had occurred. The girl was promptly conveyed to Bellevue Hospital, where she lies in a precarious situation. Her hand is terribly lacerated, and it is feared tetanus may set in. The Police then started for the infamous den, and arrested the parties, as above stated.

"A Mariner Beaten and Robbed"

On Monday evening a sailor named Samuel Brown was passing the groggery, No. 71 Cherry-street, when he was accosted by another sailor, named James Ball, who asked him to step in and treat. Brown entered the place, when, as alleged, Ball and some others instantly seized him, and after throwing him down, robbed him of $68. He managed to get away from them and inform the Police, but by the time the latter reached the place the robbers had left. Yet, however, Ball was arrested and Justice KELLY locked him up for trial.

"A Man Stabbed in Nine Places" New York Times, October 17, 1860, p. 8

At a late hour last night WILLIAM TOTTEN, a hand employed on board the schooner Louisiana, lying at Pier No. 47, East River, engaged in a drunken brawl at the corner of Roosevelt and Water Streets, with one JOSEPH BAKER , a resident of the Fourth Ward. After fighting desperately some minutes, BAKER drew a pocket-knife, and before he could be disarmed he succeeded in stabbing TOTTEN, in nine different places about the face and body, disfiguring him in a shocking way, some of the wounds being of a serious description. Officer COAKLEY, hastened to the scene of the affray, and took BAKER, into custody. He, as well as his victim was taken to the Station House where the wounds of the sufferer were dressed by DR. WELLS, and he was made as comfortable as possible. Today BAKER, will be arraigned before a magistrate to answer for the assault.

"The Stabbing Affray at a Fourth Ward Dance-House: Death of the Victim and Inquest Upon the Body," New York Times, October 26, 1860, p. 8

WILLIAM P. GREEN, bar-keeper at the dance-house, No. 275 Water-street, who was stabbed on Wednesday night by a sailor named JOHN McGUIRE, died at 5 o'clock yesterday monring from the effects of the wound. Coroner SCHIRMER was summoned to hold an inquest upon the body, and the proceedings were conducted at the Fourth Ward Police Station. It was shown by the testimony that the place in question is kept by JOHN GREEN, the brother of the deceased, and that McGUIRE, who is a hand on board the schooner Sunny South, lying at the Atlantic Basin, went there, accompanied by another sailor named JAMES E. HORTON, bent on having some fun. Both men drank several times at the bar and talked with the women, after which they went away. A short interval only elapsed ere they returned to the saloon, when they commenced jostling about as if they desired to create a disturbance -- the prisoner, McGUIRE, being the more boisterous of the two. Fearing that the man would break a looking-glass that hung against the wall, GREENE [sic] bade him leave the premises, but he did not immediately comply with the request, and angry words followed. Finally, however, the prisoner was induced to go out of the place and after he had reached the sidewalk, he drew a sheath-knife from his belt and brandished it, threatening to kill any person who should approach him. These threats he accompanied with taunting language, addressed to [the] deceased, who at last came out of the dance-house, and asked him to go away from the door, and not make a disturbance there. McGUIRE made no reply, but at once sprang toward [the] deceased, and thrust the knife into him. The wound thus inflicted was two inches in length, and the knife having entered the lower part of the abdomen of [the] deceased, severed the smaller intestines and caused the bowels to fall out. The occurrence was witnessed by a large number of persons who had been attracted to the place by the noise, and when the prisoner ran away, which he did as soon as the mischief had been done, he was pursued and overtaken in Water-street, between Fulton and Beekman. Before his arrest was effected, however, he made an attempt to stab another man, but who fortunately warded [off] the blow with a dinner kettle which he had in his hand. Officer SIMONSON, of the Second Precinct, heard the hallooing of the crowd in pursuit of the fugitive, and he succeeded in stopping him. For a second McGUIRE seemed inclined to resist, but thinking better of it, he gave up his knife and said he was willing to surrender. His face at this time was covered with blood, his nose was bleeding, and his left hand was badly cut. He said that he had been struck on the head with a club, and what he had done was done in self-defence. He did not appear to be drunk and he was very much excited. The officer took him to the Second Ward Station-house, and afterwards conducted him to the scene of the affray in Water-street, where he was fully identified by the deceased as the person who had stabbed him. After GREENE [sic] received his wound, he walked unassisted into the house and his friends immediately summoned medical aid, but nothing could be done for his relief. Dr. GEORGE P. BOUTON made a post-mortem examination of the body, finding a wound in the abdomen about two and a half inches in length. Several of the intestines had been cut into, the knife having been driven nearly through the body. The case was submitted to the Jury, and they immediately rendered a verdict of death from stabs at the hands of JOHN McGUIRE. The prisoner was then committed to prison by the Coroner to await his trial for the deed.

The dance-house in which the disturbance originated is one of several disreputable dens which have for years disgraced that locality in the Fourth Ward. The witnesses against the accused mainly follow a business similar to that in which the deceased was engaged, and their testimony was unanimous to the effect that no blows were given by the deceased in the course of the affair. The statement of McGUIRE to the contrary, however, would appear to be verified by the fact that his countenance exhibited a severe bruise.

The jail, officially titled the Manhattan House of Detention for men, 100 Centre Street