Mose the Fireboy
Encyclopedia
Mose the Fireboy was the pseudonym
of an American folk hero
and supposed leader of the Bowery Boys
during the 1840s, possibly based on Mose Humphrey
. One of its most celebrated leaders during the period, he and his lieutenant Syksey
were well-known for battling members of the Dead Rabbits
and other Five Points
gangs. His identity remains unknown, and it has been suggested by historians that he may have been a tall tale
or urban legend
, however ballads and songs were sung of him in the Bowery and was a common battle cry among the Bowery Boys throughout their existence
Herbert Asbury
describes the Bowery leader in the 1928 book The Gangs of New York
.
He was said to have possessed the strength of ten men. When other Bowery Boys went into battle with the common brick-bat or stave, Mose carried with him a great paving stone in one hand and a hickory or oak wagon tongue in the other. When losing his bludgeons in battle, he simply pulled up an iron lamp post from the sidewalk. He was also said to favor a butcher's meat cleaver as opposed to the knife as the Bowery's weapon of choice. Once during a street fight with the Dead Rabbits, when they had overpowered his gang and threatened their clubhouse, Mose uprooted an oak tree with his bare hand and held it by the upper branches using it as a flail
"smiting the Dead Rabbits even as Samson smote the Philistines". The Dead Rabbits fled before Mose who chased them back to the Five Points wrecking two tenement buildings while the gangsters hid in their "Paradise Square" dens. Mose then stood against a hundred of the best thugs and brawlers in the Five Points "ripping huge paving blocks from the street and sidewalk and hurling them into the midst of his enemies, inflicting frightful losses".
Outside of battle, it was common for him perform similar feats in his daily life. Sometimes he would lift a horse car off the tracks, with its passengers still onboard, and carried it on his shoulders for several blocks before setting it down with a laugh. His laughter caused the car to tremble on its wheels, trees to sway as though in a storm and fill the Bowery "with a rushing road like the thunder of Niagara". Mose would often unhitch horses from street cars and pulled it himself the entire length of the Bowery. He once was said to have lifted a street car over his head, with the horses still dangling from the traces, and carried it on the palm of his hand from Chatham Square
to Astor Place.
When a becalmed sailing ship on the East River
was drifting dangerously close to the rocky shore of Hell Gate
, Mose took out a rowboat began smoking a cigar. The cigar was over two feet long and, once lit, "sent such mightily billows of smoke against the sails that the ship was saved, and plunged down the river as though driven by a hurricane". The force of the puffs from Mose's cigar were so powerful that the ship had sailed into New York Harbor
and past Staten Island
before it would respond to the helm. Mose would often amuse himself by sailing out to the middle of the river and blocking ships from passing him by simply blowing ships away. Indeed he was very much at home in the water often diving off the Battery and coming up on the beach at Staten Island, this distance usually taking steamboats 25 minutes to cover. He could swim the Hudson River
in two strokes and only six to complete a lap around Manhattan Island. When he wanted to cross the East River to Brooklyn, he simply jumped across the river instead of swimming the half mile.
His appetite was equally legendary. He quenched his thirst only after drinking a drayload
of beer specially ordered from a brewery and, in the summers, he had a fifty gallon keg of ale which he wore from his belt in place of canteen. The butchers of Center and Fly markets would have to prepare meals days in advance, preparing meals of roast hogs and cattle, holding huge feats in order to satisfy his hunger. His consumption of bread alone was enough to cause a panic in the flour market
. He could also consume four quarts of oysters as an appetizer while soups and coffee were served to him by the barrel. Mose, who was fond of eating fruit for dessert or as a light snack, was supposed to have tore up the cherry tree
s of Cherry Hill
and the mulberry trees of Mulberry Bend and ate all the fruit from them not wanting to wait until they could be picked. Historically however, the trees were removed due to the building up of the city during the mid-to late 19th century.
Shortly after his death, he was the subject of a play written by Benjamin Baker entitled Mose, the Bowery B'hoy which was performed by Frank Chanfrau
at the old Olympic Theater in 1849, the same year of the Astor Place Riot
. The success of the play created a near mythic figure of the gang leader, becoming known as "America's first urban folk hero", which toured throughout the United States during the late 1840s and 50s.
Dreamland
by Kevin Baker
.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of an American folk hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
and supposed leader of the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
during the 1840s, possibly based on Mose Humphrey
Mose Humphrey
Mose Humphrey was a printer at the New York Sun and member of Fire Company 40. A parishioner of St. Andrew's Church, he inspired an urban folklore character of Big Mose . He was said to have a height of and hands as big as Virginia hams, able to lift trolley cars over his head and rescue babies...
. One of its most celebrated leaders during the period, he and his lieutenant Syksey
Syksey
Syksey was the pseudonym of an American criminal and member of the Bowery Boys. He was supposedly the lieutenant and longtime companion to Mose the Fireboy during the 1840s, often the storyteller of his feats, and is credited for coining the phrase "hold 'de but", a common expression used during...
were well-known for battling members of the Dead Rabbits
Dead Rabbits
The Dead Rabbits were a gang in New York City in the 1850s, and originally were a part of the Roach Guards. Daniel Cassidy claimed that the name has a second meaning rooted in Irish American vernacular of NYC in 1857 and that the word "Rabbit" is the phonetic corruption of the Irish word ráibéad,...
and other Five Points
Five Points, Manhattan
Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...
gangs. His identity remains unknown, and it has been suggested by historians that he may have been a tall tale
Tall tale
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "that fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely...
or urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
, however ballads and songs were sung of him in the Bowery and was a common battle cry among the Bowery Boys throughout their existence
Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury was an American journalist and writer who is best known for his true crime books detailing crime during the 19th and early 20th century such as Gem of the Prairie, Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York...
describes the Bowery leader in the 1928 book The Gangs of New York
The Gangs of New York (book)
The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld was a 1928 non-fiction book by Herbert Asbury about New York gangs in the 19th century, and was loosely adapted into the film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. It details the rise and fall of gangs prior to the domination of...
.
He was said to have possessed the strength of ten men. When other Bowery Boys went into battle with the common brick-bat or stave, Mose carried with him a great paving stone in one hand and a hickory or oak wagon tongue in the other. When losing his bludgeons in battle, he simply pulled up an iron lamp post from the sidewalk. He was also said to favor a butcher's meat cleaver as opposed to the knife as the Bowery's weapon of choice. Once during a street fight with the Dead Rabbits, when they had overpowered his gang and threatened their clubhouse, Mose uprooted an oak tree with his bare hand and held it by the upper branches using it as a flail
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
"smiting the Dead Rabbits even as Samson smote the Philistines". The Dead Rabbits fled before Mose who chased them back to the Five Points wrecking two tenement buildings while the gangsters hid in their "Paradise Square" dens. Mose then stood against a hundred of the best thugs and brawlers in the Five Points "ripping huge paving blocks from the street and sidewalk and hurling them into the midst of his enemies, inflicting frightful losses".
Outside of battle, it was common for him perform similar feats in his daily life. Sometimes he would lift a horse car off the tracks, with its passengers still onboard, and carried it on his shoulders for several blocks before setting it down with a laugh. His laughter caused the car to tremble on its wheels, trees to sway as though in a storm and fill the Bowery "with a rushing road like the thunder of Niagara". Mose would often unhitch horses from street cars and pulled it himself the entire length of the Bowery. He once was said to have lifted a street car over his head, with the horses still dangling from the traces, and carried it on the palm of his hand from Chatham Square
Chatham Square, Manhattan
Chatham Square is a major intersection in Manhattan's Chinatown. The square lies at the confluence of seven streets: Bowery, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street and Park Row. The postal ZIP Code is 10038.-History:...
to Astor Place.
When a becalmed sailing ship on the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
was drifting dangerously close to the rocky shore of Hell Gate
Hell Gate
Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens from Randall's Island/Wards Island ....
, Mose took out a rowboat began smoking a cigar. The cigar was over two feet long and, once lit, "sent such mightily billows of smoke against the sails that the ship was saved, and plunged down the river as though driven by a hurricane". The force of the puffs from Mose's cigar were so powerful that the ship had sailed into New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
and past Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
before it would respond to the helm. Mose would often amuse himself by sailing out to the middle of the river and blocking ships from passing him by simply blowing ships away. Indeed he was very much at home in the water often diving off the Battery and coming up on the beach at Staten Island, this distance usually taking steamboats 25 minutes to cover. He could swim the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in two strokes and only six to complete a lap around Manhattan Island. When he wanted to cross the East River to Brooklyn, he simply jumped across the river instead of swimming the half mile.
His appetite was equally legendary. He quenched his thirst only after drinking a drayload
Wagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
of beer specially ordered from a brewery and, in the summers, he had a fifty gallon keg of ale which he wore from his belt in place of canteen. The butchers of Center and Fly markets would have to prepare meals days in advance, preparing meals of roast hogs and cattle, holding huge feats in order to satisfy his hunger. His consumption of bread alone was enough to cause a panic in the flour market
Flour Riot of 1837
The Flour Riot of 1837 was a riot that broke out in New York City in 1837. The riot was caused by a combination of poverty and the rising cost of flour, which had increased from $5.62 a barrel to $12 a barrel....
. He could also consume four quarts of oysters as an appetizer while soups and coffee were served to him by the barrel. Mose, who was fond of eating fruit for dessert or as a light snack, was supposed to have tore up the cherry tree
Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree may refer to:* A tree that produces cherries* An ornamental cherry tree that produces cherry blossomsPlaces* Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States* Cherry Tree, Oklahoma...
s of Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill
-Places:In the United States:* Cherry Hills Village, Colorado* Cherry Hill, Baltimore, Maryland, a neighborhood** Cherry Hill in Maryland*Cherry Hill, Michigan, an unincorporated community in Canton Township, Michigan....
and the mulberry trees of Mulberry Bend and ate all the fruit from them not wanting to wait until they could be picked. Historically however, the trees were removed due to the building up of the city during the mid-to late 19th century.
Shortly after his death, he was the subject of a play written by Benjamin Baker entitled Mose, the Bowery B'hoy which was performed by Frank Chanfrau
Frank Chanfrau
Francis "Frank" S. Chanfrau was an American actor and theatre manager in the 19th century. He began his career playing bit parts and doing impressions of star actors such as Edwin Forrest and of ethnic groups. In 1848, he appeared as a Bowery b'hoy named Mose in A Glance at New York...
at the old Olympic Theater in 1849, the same year of the Astor Place Riot
Astor Place Riot
The Astor Place Riot occurred on May 10, 1849 at the now-demolished Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City and left at least 25 dead and more than 120 injured...
. The success of the play created a near mythic figure of the gang leader, becoming known as "America's first urban folk hero", which toured throughout the United States during the late 1840s and 50s.
In popular culture
Mose appears in the 1999 historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
Dreamland
Dreamland (Kevin Baker)
Dreamland is a 1999 novel by American author Kevin Baker, published by HarperCollins Publishers. It centers on the colorful underworld of turn-of-the-century New York City, with much of the action taking place in the Coney Island amusement park of Dreamland.It is written about the adventure park...
by Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker is an American novelist and journalist. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in New Jersey and Rockport, Massachusetts....
.
Further reading
- Adams, Peter. The Bowery Boys: Street Corner Radicals and the Politics of Rebellion. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-275-98538-5
- Allen, Oliver E. New York, New York: A History of the World's Most Exhilarating and Challenging City. New York: Atheneum, 1990. ISBN 0-689-11960-7
- Blair, Walter. Tall Tale America: A Legendary History of Our Humorous Heroes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. ISBN 0-226-05596-5
- Botkin, B.A. New York City Folklore: Legends, Tall Tales, Anecdotes, Stories, Sagas, Heroes and Characters, Customs, Traditions and Sayings. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976. ISBN 0-8371-9310-9
- Dunshee, Kenneth Holcomb. As You Pass By. New York: Hastings House, 1952.
- Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.
- Jagendorf, Moritz Adolph. Upstate, Downstate: Folk Stories of the Middle Atlantic States. New York: Vanguard Press, 1949.