96
                  A �free� Street-Fight.
men quitted the car, the insulted negro doing
the same.      Forthwith he marched up to the
March, pitched into him, blacked his eye
and gave him a richly deserved licking.  The
neighborhood of Varick Street being a low and
niggery one, Africa had plenty of champions,
black and white.    O�Brien was collared and
throttled and Shepherd, taking off his coat,
had a turn up with a red-shirted rowdy, whom
the others told him he vanquished.      It was
a �free fight� and the �swells� got generally 
mauled.      Shepherd went into a grocery-store,
�to get a cheese-knife or something,� and on emer-
ging saw Marsh knocked down by a blow
�straight from the shoulder� of the African Her-
cules.      Finally the three well-dressed rowdies
were hustled into a car and discharged at a
drug-store in the 6th Avenue.      There Marsh
insulted the shop-man on the old abolitionist
question and another fight was imminent �
being only prevented by the accidental presence
of a coachman or hack-driver who knew and
championed Shepherd.     Anon the three adjourn-
ed to Reilly�s tavern, in University place and
got very drunk indeed.     Shepherd concluded
with the intimation that he was �going to Jenny
(at �30�) to get doctored!�         Marsh and