- Obvious printer errors and missing punctuation fixed. Archaic and inconsistent spelling retained.
- The table of contents has been created and added by the transcriber.
- The cover has been created by the transcriber and placed in the public domain.
| Bennett, Barnum, and Gerard. | 1 |
| The Fourth of July—General Washington in Tears—The Decline of American Integrity and Patriotism. | 2 |
| Mayor Daniel F. Tiemann’s Forced Seduction of a Lady on Randall’s Island—Simeon Draper’s Lascivious Propensities—Most Damning Revelations. | 3 |
| Advertisements. | 4 |
STEPHEN H. BRANCH’S
ALLIGATOR.
Bennett, Barnum, and Gerard.
Three precocious villains stripped to the skin.—Precious,and startling, and thrillingunder-current revelations for the people.—Read!Read! Read!
Bennett’s daily urgence of the immediatecreation of a Tax Payer’s Party is one of hisold tricks, and is the detected burglar’s hoarsecry of stop thief. Bennett got me to introduceAlfred Carson as a Candidate for Mayor,just after his exciting Fire Report of 1850. Iwrote several articles in favor of Carson forthe Mayoralty, and Bennett published them,when lo! one rainy morning, I awoke, andopened the Herald, and the hypocritical oldvillain had another Candidate. I asked himif he intended to drop my old friend Carson,and he said no, but he thought he would tryto bring another candidate into the field, justfor a little fun, and that I could write aboutthree editorials a week for Carson, and flatterhim as much as I chose, and he would publishthem. This was on Monday. On Wednesday,I caught him closeted with a formidable candidatefor the Mayoralty, and on Saturday, hevery cautiously introduced a third Candidatefor the Mayor’s honors. As thesewere all wealthy men, and as Carson wasvery poor, and perceiving that Bennett unquestionablyintended to sell Carson, and perhapshad already done so, I went to him in atowering rage, and charged him with treacheryto myself and Carson. He smiled likeRichard and Iago, and assured me that heshould support Carson down to the last hourof the election. But I could not believe him;so I went to Carson, on Sunday morning, andwrote his famous declination of the Mayoralty,which rocked the parties of that day totheir foundations with infinite delight, as everytraffic politician had trembled to his toes, sincethe introduction of Carson’s potent and honestname for the Mayoralty. When I carriedCarson’s Card to the Herald of