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[Most of the pipes in]

About This Item

  • Title: [Most of the pipes in]
  • Date: 18 December 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00675
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 18 December 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Elva Moreno Del Rio Conner Lynn Samantha Gilmore Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "[Most of the pipes in]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 17 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00675.xml (TEI)
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☞Most of the pipes in this District were filled with water and preparations to clean and test the same were made yesterday. In some of the streets the hydrants were allowed to run for a short time to the great satisfaction of citizens, who were thereby assured that the water was "there." Last evening about 10 o'clock some of the "boys" connected with an up-town fire company, anxious to test the capabilities of the new water-power, applied the hose to one of the hydrants and had a good "squirt" for about a quarter of an hour. When they wished to shut off the water, however, they discovered, much to their consternation that the thing couldn't be done. There was some difficulty in the arrangements—they didn't work well—and the water continued to flow despite the best endeavors of the rash experimenters. Several of the latter made desperate trials by inserting plugs and by other expedients to stop the leak, but the only result was that they got soaking wet without diminishing the flood in the least. In this emergency an employee of the water-works was sent for, who, in attempting to screw down the faucet, broke it, and matters were worse than ever. Ultimately, to save the 16th ward from being submerged, they were obliged to shut the water off at the mains. The "boys" have been pretty well laughed at for the result of this, their first experiment with the water-works.

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