The Terrors of Belltown: Youth Gangs and Civic Chaos in 1870

Complaints are frequently made by our citizens of the mischievous and reprehensible pranks of a number of villainous boys who roam about the city at all times of the day and apparently are able to do so without the least restraint placed upon them. It is only a question of time, and unless some restraint is placed upon them, either by their parents or the authorities, they are certain to go from bad to worse as they grow in years. One of their favorite amusements is following up young girls whom they chance to see out, and insulting them, making use of the most disgraceful and obscene language. One of the last of their exploits that has come to our notice was the pushing of two little girls into the water on Tuesday last—one the daughter of Mr. I.C. Harmon, and the other the daughter of Mrs. Griffin. They were playing on the beach near the New Hotel, and were on a log that projected out into the water, when some of these young scamps came along and frightened them out onto the further end of the log where the water was deep. They then jumped up and pushed them off into the water. Had it not been for Mr. Monroe Baldwin, who saw the girls and went immediately to their rescue, they would in all probability have been drowned. Another annoying practice with them is to gather up a lot of old tin pans, kettles, etc., and at 11 or 12 o'clock at night start out into the suburban streets and halt under the bedroom windows of our citizens and commence a fearful racket, yelling and hooting all the while like a band of savages, until they hear the people angrily aroused, when they scamper off and disappear in the darkness.