DEPARTMENT OF PARKS. 25 



good and useful were also stowed away there and for- 

 gotten. So, among the sweepings 3 leaves, ordure, brush, 

 dead trees, timber and lumber, were run in, wagons, sleds, 

 sleighs, scrapers, rollers and all sorts of utensils and imple- 

 ments used in the park. All this mass of rubbish rotted and 

 enriched the ground so much that a dense undergrowth sprang 

 up and hid all these things from view, so that they were for- 

 gotten, choking and killing many of the fine trees there. This 

 tangle of briars, weeds, bushes and vines was so dense in 

 many places that a bird or rabbit could not get through it. 

 Parts of it were very unsightly and other parts when in full 

 foliage, very picturesque. There were a number of places 

 where holes or paths were cut in it into which persons could 

 crawl, but could not walk. It was currently rumored that a 

 number of workmen were in the habit of retiring to this place, 

 after answering roll-call, to play cards and drink. In 

 cold weather the adjoining sheds and stable buildings were 

 used instead. This dense, overgrown, secluded tangle, soon 

 became known to the vicious and wicked and was in great de- 

 mand for immoral purposes. Some of the Commissioners 

 heard of it, and on investigation found such a state of things 

 to be true. And this den of infamy was within sight and hear- 

 ing of innocent children in the picnic woods adjoining. The 

 Commissioners at once discussed the matter and decided to 

 break it up immediately. Inasmuch as the old picnic grounds 

 had to have rest, and this site possessed all the requirements 

 necessary to make a good picnic grove, it was decided to use it 

 for this purpose. The Superintendent was instructed what to 

 do, and to do it as soon as possible. It was an undertaking of 

 some size, but it was pushed with vigor. The valley on the 

 left (see plate) is where old Fifth street was. It has a sewer 

 running through it connecting with the picnic shelter. A new 

 sewer was laid through the valley, draining it off to the right. 

 This sewer is to be extended to the stables and surrounding 

 buildings so as to secure proper drainage. 



In the clearing out of this thicket, in removing dead trees 

 as well as the surplusage of ill-shaped and overcrowded ones, 



I 



