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as to make a
Christian out of that chap." The general public became skeptical of these meetings at the "rat pit", and a public inquiry was made to investigate the relationship between Burns and the missionaries. It was Burns himself, however, that was the first to turn against them. He and the other Water Street dive keepers were angry at having been paid less than half what John Allen had received. One night, during a nightly meeting, he announced to reporters present that "them fellows have been making a pul-pit out of my rat pit and I'm going to purify it after them". Burns gave the signal and his barman began pelting the congregation of "ladies and clergymen" with rats while the regulars taunted the crowd with insults. Burns mandated a nightly show soon afterwards and "referred to his sacrament as one that 'ratified' the meetings". However, the hall operated a few weeks before the police shut the building down.
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197:, were sometimes starved for several days beforehand and set against each other as well. Burns had two of his favorite dogs stuffed and mounted over the bar. The first, a black and tan colored terrier named Jack, reportedly set an American record by killing 100 rats in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The other dog, Hunky, was a champion fighting dog "that expired after his last great victory".
228:, the proprietor prospered and waxed rich. His rat and dog pits were known far and wide, and nowhere could the molochs and thugs find such delectable divertissement as Burns' pits afforded". Behind the building was a small space, which reached through a narrow doorway that could be defended against a police raid, which was built to seat 250 people, but attendance often reached 400.
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pit was filled up very comfortably, and Mr. Van Meter made his appearance and took up a position where he could address the crowd from the center of the pit, inside the barriers. The roughs and dry clerks piled themselves up as high as the roof, tier by tier, and a sickening odor came from the dogs and debris of rats' bones under the seats.
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Burns later mocked the movement calling it "sheer humbug" and said, in reference to John Allen's holding an evangelical meeting in his establishment, "I've known Johnny Allen fourteen years and he couldn't be a pious man if he tried ever so hard. You might as well ask a rat to sing like a canary bird
200:
Sportsman's Hall occupied an entire three-story frame house, and the "rat pit" took up the first floor. The pit was described as being "arranged as an amphitheater, with rough wooden benches for seats. In the center was a ring enclosed by a wooden fence about three feet high." His son-in-law
Richard
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in their establishments. Though he had declined their offers several times, he eventually allowed his "rat pit" to be used for a high fee. It is claimed he rented out the building for one hour each week in exchange for $ 150. One such meeting held at
Sportsman's Hall in September 1868 was described
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The Water Street prayer meetings are still continued. Yesterday at noon a large crowd assembled in Kit Burns' liquor shop, very few of whom were roughs. The majority seemed to be business men and clerks, who stopped in to see what was going on, in a casual manner. In a few minutes after twelve the
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that led to the final closing of
Sportsman's Hall when it was raided on the night of November 31, 1870. It was recognized at the time as the city's largest dogfighting ring and, that same night, Burns held his last event in the rat pit. He offered 300 rats to be "given away, free of charge, for
220:(1883) as "an eating cancer on the body municipal, and within its crime begrimed walls have been enacted so many villainies, that the world has wondered why the wrath of vengeance did not consume it. But with all its festering and mephitic odors and criminalities, together with its votaries of
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where he was buried. His Water Street establishment was carried on by his son-in-law
Richard Toner and the English rat-catcher Jack Jennings, but they closed Burn's infamous "rat pit" and instead turned Sportsman's Hall, or the "Band-Box", into a full-time saloon. His widow later stated her
169:
Born
Christopher Keyburn in New York City on February 23, 1831, Burns joined the Dead Rabbits as a young man and, by the late 1840s, co-led the organization with Tommy Hadden. Both men started their own businesses in the Bowery with Burns opening his Sportsmen's Hall on Water Street. His
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gentlemen to try their dogs with". It was this advertisement that caught the attention of Bergh and who personally led the raid. Burns and all involved were arrested for violation of an anti-animal cruelty law passed by the New York state legislature four years prior.
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sporting resort and dance hall during this time. It was also a central meeting place for the New York underworld in the Bowery and old Fourth Ward areas for nearly two decades until it was finally closed following a campaign by
320:
Although little of the original structure remains, Sportsman's Hall occupied the land where the Joseph Rose House and Shop, a four-unit luxury apartment house, now lies and is the third oldest house in
Manhattan after
262:
Kit said, "I'm damned if some of the people that come here oughtn't to be clubbed. A fellow 'ud think they had never seen a dogpit before. I must be damned good looking to have so many fine fellows looking at
201:
Toner, known as "Jack" or "Dick the Rat", would regularly bite the heads off rats; he would bite the head off a mouse for 10 cents and a wharf rat for a quarter. Another Bowery character,
532:
Thomas N. Doutney: His Life-Struggle, Fall, and
Reformation, Also a Vivid Pen-Picture of New York, Together With a History of the Work He Has Accomplished as a Temperance Reformer
304:
home was attended by "a motley crowd of young street urchins, grown-up rowdies, hard-faced men, 'sports' and women" who accompanied the funeral procession from
Sackett Street to
240:, then called the "Wickedest Man in New York", and it was soon reported in the press that he and others had been "reformed" by religious leaders and agreed to hold
216:
The hall was especially popular in the city's underworld, not only in the Bowery but throughout
Manhattan, and was referred to by James William Buel in
953:
309:
intentions to apply to the common council, or Judge Joseph Dowling, for compensation when police disposed of a cage filled with rats in the
426:
On the Town in New York: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution
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Mysteries and Miseries of America's Great Cities, Embracing New York, Washington City, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans
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The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York City
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and official "bloodsucker" during prize fights, or more precisely, sucking the wounds of the participants to prevent
237:
357:(2008) by John Vernon; his character in the Borges' novel was confused with his son-in-law Jack the Rat, however.
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67:
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322:
761:
For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States
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and died on December 19, 1870, shortly before he was to go to trial. The funeral service at his
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Burns also founded Sportsmen's Hall, also known as the Band Box, which served as a popular
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Kit stood outside, cursing and damning the eyes of the missionaries for not hurrying up.
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Kaufman, Martin and Herbert J. "Henry Bergh, Kit Burns, and the Sportsmen of New York."
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in a recent raid ordered by Police Commissioner Bergh. She also wanted damages for a
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Burns was one of several saloon keepers targeted during the public crusade against
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112:(February 23, 1831 – December 19, 1870), commonly known by his alias
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Heritage of Care: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
687:. St. Louis and Philadelphia: Historical Publishing Co., 1883. (pg. 42, 45, 49)
716:
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225:
210:
297:
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Reckoning With The Beast: Animals, Pain, and Humanity in the Victorian Mind
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Tramps and Reformers, 1873-1916: The Discovery of Unemployment in New York
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as well as featuring such entertainment as the infamous "rat pit" where
696:
Murrin, John M., Paul E. Johnson, James M. McPherson and Gary Gerstle.
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221:
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743:. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2008. (pg. 29-30)
507:
The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld
385:
All Around the Town: Murder, Scandal, Riot and Mayhem in Old New York
136:
883:
New York, 15 Walking Tours: An Architectural Guide to the Metropolis
783:. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. (pg. 25)
317:, valued at $ 100, which was also seized by police during the raid.
408:
The American Metropolis from Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time
276:
160:
141:
700:. 4th ed. Belmont, California: Thomas Wadsworth, 2008. (pg. 272)
611:. Morrisville, North Carolina: Patrick Burns, 2006. (pg. 45-46)
568:. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. (pg. 84, 89, 96)
632:
Sports in American History: From Colonization to Globalization
885:. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003. (pg. 49)
552:. Philadelphia: Jones Brothers & Co., 1868. (pg. 388-392)
863:
All Around the Town: Amazing Manhattan Facts and Curiosities
634:. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2008. (pg. 156-157)
509:. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 45-46, 53-55, 298)
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Though everyone was acquitted at the trial, Burns caught a
741:
Slumming in New York: From the Waterfront to Mythic Harlem
698:
Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People
763:. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2006. (pg. 75-76)
723:. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. (pg. 280)
654:. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1973. (pg. 85)
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and allow the fight to continue for as long as possible.
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were captured and set against dogs. These dogs, mostly
674:. New York; Fleming H. Revell Company, 1906. (pg. 103)
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Gems, Gerald R., Linda J. Borish and Gertrud Pfister.
534:. Boston: Rand Avery Company, 1887. (pg. 355-356, 358)
481:. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle, 1988. (pg. 66)
461:. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1980. (pg. 52)
387:. New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 1929. (pg. 126, 129-130)
865:. New York: Fordham University Press, 1999. (pg. 57)
921:
King of the Jews: The Greatest Mob Story Never Told
170:establishment was widely known for holding illegal
95:New York gang leader and underworld figure; he and
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410:. London: The Authors' Syndicate, 1897. (pg. 101)
672:S. H. Hadley of Water Street: A Miracle of Grace
218:Mysteries and Miseries of America's Great Cities
165:“A Dog Fight at Kit Burns' ”, New York, ca 1868.
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909:. Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Bros., 1967.
124:during the mid-to late 19th century, he and
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721:Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York
588:. New York: Random House, 1974. (pg. 184)
448:. New York: Coward-McCann, 1961. (pg. 244)
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189:took place. In these events, large gray
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428:. New York: Routledge, 1998. (pg. 104)
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832:"The "Band-Box" of the Late Kit Burns"
779:Lane, Marion and Stephen Zawistowski.
586:The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!
157:Early life and the New York underworld
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128:being the last-known leaders of the
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923:. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
566:John L. Sullivan and His America
232:Role in the Water Street revival
120:keeper and underworld figure in
347:A Universal History of Iniquity
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907:Jerry McAuley and His Mission
116:, was an American sportsman,
954:Criminals from New York City
337:Burns was referenced in the
914:New York Folklore Quarterly
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530:Doutney, Thomas Narcisse.
132:during the 1850s and 60s.
916:. 28 (March 1972): 15-29.
801:"Funeral of "Kit Burns.""
609:American Working Terriers
58:, New York, United States
959:Criminals from Manhattan
548:Martin, Edward Winslow.
477:De Andrade, Margarette.
203:"Snatchem" George Leese
670:Chapman, John Wilbur.
479:Water Under The Bridge
424:Batterberry, Michael.
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683:Buel, James William.
564:Isenberg, Michael T.
296:which developed into
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964:People from Brooklyn
650:Ringenbach, Paul T.
345:(1997) by Tom Dyja,
327:Morris-Jumel Mansion
739:Dowling, Robert M.
444:Dillon, Richard H.
172:bare-knuckle boxing
110:Christopher Keyburn
30:Christopher Keyburn
343:Play For a Kingdom
333:In popular culture
281:cruelty to animals
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881:Wolfe, Gerard R.
861:Bunyan, Patrick.
351:Jorge Luis Borges
339:historical novels
323:St. Paul's Chapel
275:, founder of the
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48:December 19, 1870
40:February 23, 1831
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175:prize fights
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130:Dead Rabbits
126:Tommy Hadden
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101:Dead Rabbits
97:Tommy Hadden
50:(1870-12-19)
949:1870 deaths
944:1831 births
717:Sante, Lucy
404:Moss, Frank
355:Lucky Billy
273:Henry Bergh
187:dogfighting
183:rat-baiting
146:Henry Bergh
99:co-led the
74:Nationality
938:Categories
361:References
349:(2001) by
311:East River
238:John Allen
226:Nana Sahib
211:blood loss
191:wharf rats
84:Occupation
36:1831-02-23
847:31 August
816:31 August
298:pneumonia
152:Biography
148:in 1870.
114:Kit Burns
20:Kit Burns
325:and the
195:terriers
181:such as
144:founder
315:bullpup
245:by the
222:Jezebel
207:bouncer
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277:ASPCA
142:ASPCA
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353:and
294:cold
263:me."
224:and
185:and
45:Died
26:Born
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