The Hogs That Created America’s First Urban Working Class

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On his first visit to America in 1842thoroughfare大道，大街。,Charles Dickens found plenty to ridicule1—America’s money obsession,their manners, their tobacco chewing habits. But the biggest target of Dickens’ humor was New Yorkers. Specifically, their pigs.

[2] Stepping onto Broadway, New York’s biggest commercial thoroughfare2thoroughfare大道，大街。, Dickens encountered “two portly3portly肥胖的，過胖的。sows” and “a select party of half-adozen gentlemen hogs4hog（尤指喂肥供食用的）豬。” among the brightly dressed ladies and a bustle of coaches. Even more than this strange sight of pigs roaming the city’s streets,Dickens was captivated5captivate迷住。by the free and easy swine lifestyle—a “roving, gentlemanly, vagabond kind of life.” Scavenging6scavenge（在廢物中）尋覓。curbside trash in droves7indroves成群結隊。, New York’s wandering pigs were on “equal,if not superior footing8footing地位。” with humans—a model of self-sufficiency.

1842年第一次訪美，狄更斯看到很多可笑的地方——美國人財迷心竅，舉止粗魯，喜歡嚼煙葉。但是狄更斯打趣的最大目標是紐約人，尤其是紐約人的豬。

[2]一踏上紐約最大的商業街百老匯，狄更斯就在打扮得漂漂亮亮的淑女以及來去匆匆的馬車中看到“兩頭肥嘟嘟的豬太太”和“五六頭上流紳士做派的豬先生”。這么多豬在馬路上游蕩已經是一幅奇特畫面了，比這畫面更吸引狄更斯的，是那種豬一樣自由懶散的生活方式——“端著一副紳士派頭四處晃蕩，居無定所”。紐約的豬成群結隊在路邊垃圾堆里翻來找去，享有自給自足的生活模式，和人類“享有同等地位，即使地位不比人類地位更高”。

1 ridicule嘲笑，取笑。

[3] “They are never attended upon, or fed, or driven, or caught, but are thrown upon their own resources in early life,and become preternaturally9preternaturally超自然地，異乎尋常地。knowing in consequence,” remarked Dickens inAmerican Notes10《美國紀行》,1842年出版，記錄了狄更斯第一次訪美見聞。雖然向往已久，雖然受到熱烈歡迎，狄更斯依然對美國感到失望。. “Every pig knows where he lives, much better than anybody could tell him. At this hour, just as evening is closing in, you will see them roaming towards bed by scores, eating their way to the last.”

[4] Though it’s hard to know exact numbers because no one was counting, during pig-ownership’s peak years,in the early 1820s, some 20,000 hogs roamed the streets of Manhattan, says Catherine McNeur, professor at Portland State University and author ofTaming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City. That works out to one hog per every five humans—slightly higher than the ratio of cars owned by Manhattan residents today.

[5] This problem that so amused Dickens rankled11rankle使人耿耿于懷（或怨恨不已、痛苦不已）。New York’s leaders,real estate developers, and wealthier residents, who feared that parading pigs deterred12deter嚇住，阻止。tourists and investors.Pigs weren’t just dirty; they were also dangerous, disrupting traffic and occasionally threatening children, and were thought to spread disease. Well-heeled13well-heeled富有的，穿著考究的。Manhattanites were fleeing across the bay to Brooklyn14布魯克林在1898年被劃入紐約市，此前紐約市只包括曼哈頓島。—grim tidings15tiding消息。for a city that funded itself primarily through property taxes, says McNeur.

[3]“這些豬沒人照顧，沒人喂養，沒人驅趕，也沒人捕捉。它們就給扔在那里，從很小的時候開始自生自滅，所以極其聰明世故，什么都懂。”狄更斯在《美國紀行》中如此寫道。“每頭豬都知道自己住在哪里，誰都不如它自己清楚。在現在這個時刻，夜晚即將降臨，你可以看到一群群豬慢慢走向棲息地，邊走邊吃，走一路吃一路。”

[4]很難說清那時紐約到底有多少頭豬，因為沒有人數過，在19世紀20年代早期養豬最為興盛的那幾年，大概有2萬頭豬在曼哈頓街區游蕩，這是凱瑟琳·麥克諾爾提供的數據，麥克諾爾是波特蘭州立大學教授，《馴化曼哈頓：南北戰爭前的環境斗爭》的作者。這也就是說，豬和人的比例是1∶5，略高于今天曼哈頓居民的車輛保有率。

[5]讓狄更斯樂不可支的這件事讓很多人頭疼不已，包括紐約市政府官員、房地產開發商，還有紐約的富人，他們擔心在城區來回巡游的豬會嚇跑游客和投資商。豬不僅僅臟，還很危險，會擾亂交通，有時又驚嚇兒童，而且人們認為豬傳播疾病。麥克諾爾說，有錢的曼哈頓人紛紛逃到對岸的布魯克林去了——由于紐約的收入主要來源于財產稅，這對該市來說是一個令人沮喪的消息。

[6] So why did pigs rule Manhattan for the first half of the 19th century—and what finally led the city to shed its swine?

[7] The answers have to do with the alignment16alignment結盟，聯合。of interests of the city’s government and wealthier New Yorkers in strengthening bureaucracy17bureaucracy政府機構。and driving up property values, at the expense of poorer residents who owned the pigs.In this seemingly obscure18obscure晦澀的，不清楚的。history of New York’s pig woes lies the beginnings of conflicts America still grapples with19grapple with盡力解決。today, such as gentrification20gentri-fication貴族化。gentrify（地區、人等）進行改造以適應較高階層的人。,the extent of the government’s responsibility to its citizens, and the tenuous21tenuous脆弱的，不穩固的。economic security of poor and working class Americans.

[6]那么，為什么豬會在19世紀的上半葉統治曼哈頓呢，又到底是什么促使紐約最終擺脫了豬？

[7]答案是：紐約市政府和紐約的富人利益一致，他們聯手加強城市治理，抬高地產價格，其間遭受損失的是養豬的窮人。關于豬給紐約帶來的種種煩擾，其歷史似乎并不廣為人知，但美國的社會矛盾恰是在這一時期初露端倪，美國人直到今天都在盡力應對這些問題，例如城市中產階級化，再如政府對居民所負責任的范圍，還有美國窮人和工人階級極不穩定的經濟保障。

A social safety net made of bacon

[8] More than America’s other major trade hubs, New York was a city in seismic22seismic由地震引起的，震撼世界的。transition, thanks in large part to the opening of the Erie Canal23伊利運河是世界上第二大運河，僅次于中國的大運河。它橫亙紐約州，連接伊利湖和哈德遜河，最初設計目的是為了打通紐約市到五大湖區的水路，1825年開通后，極大推動了紐約州、紐約市乃至美國的經濟發展。in 1825. People from all over America and Europe swarmed into Manhattan, turning farmland and field into shophouses,tenements, and factories. Despite this urbanization, non-wealthy New Yorkers continued to raise hogs. In fact hogs were a crucial commodity in this teeming24teeming充滿（移動著的人、動物等）的；擁擠的。metropolis, reflecting the turbulent25turbulent混亂的；激烈的。economic and social upheaval26upheaval動蕩；劇變。that accompanied this change.

[9] As land to raise hogs disappeared,New York’s working folk came upon a simple solution: let the pigs loose on the city’s streets.

[10] The city’s new and growing wealth was spread unevenly, and even in good times, laborers and artisans—many of them African-Americans and European immigrants—struggled to find regular work and decent wages,leaving them forever teetering27teeter搖晃；上下移動。on the brink28brink邊緣。of poverty.

[11] For these families, pigs were a crucial social safety net—an insurance policy that paid out in bacon. A family short on food could always slaughter29slaughter屠宰。one of its hogs; preserved by curing30cure（用腌、熏等方法）保藏（魚肉等）。or smoking, the meat could feed a household for a long time. Plus, pigs were a source of instant liquidity31liquidity流動資金。for a cashpoor populace. Since pork was a staple of the American diet, butchers were always eager to buy hogs.

豬肉組成的社會安全網

[8]和美國的其他大貿易中心相比，紐約經歷的轉變更加劇烈，這在很大程度上得益于1825年伊利運河的開通。美國各地乃至歐洲各地的人紛紛涌入曼哈頓，把農田變成商店、住宅和工廠。在這城市化的進程中，紐約的窮人繼續養豬。事實上在這個擁擠的大都市里，豬是至關重要的商品，反映了伴隨上述轉變所發生的經濟和社會劇變，整個社會因而動蕩不安。

[9]養豬的土地消失了，紐約的勞動大眾想出了一個簡單的解決方案：把豬放養在城市街道上。

[10]紐約新近獲得并不斷增長的財富分配很不均衡，即使是在景氣的時候，工人和工匠們（其中大多數是非洲裔和歐洲移民）也很難獲得正規的工作和體面的薪水，永遠在貧困線上徘徊。

[11]對這樣的家庭來說，豬就是至關重要的社會安全保障體系——一份以豬肉為支付手段的保險單。哪家沒有食物了，總是可以殺掉自己名下的一頭豬，豬肉腌一腌或者熏一熏，可以保證這一家很長時間都有東西吃。而且，對于缺乏現金的普通民眾來說，豬還可以立即帶來流動資金。因為豬肉是美國人的主食，肉店總是愿意購買活豬。

The case against pigs

[12] For their owners, pigs offered economic security, but there were plenty of reasons to oppose the free-running pig custom. Wandering hogs spooked32spook驚嚇。horses, caused carriage accidents,tripped33trip絆倒。pedestrians, and blocked traffic. Constant rooting34rooting（豬等）用鼻子拱（地）。destroyed street pavement. Pigs made the streets seem dirty, of course, but also diseased, catching the blame for the city’s frequent and lethal spates of cholera (mostly unfairly,it turned out). More banal35banal平庸的。maladies like headaches were pinned on36pin on sb將責任推到某人身上。pigs too.

[13] For decades, pigs stained New York’s image. Many visitors besides Dickens ridiculed New York’s porkers.Tour guide books of the time offered tips to would-be visitors of where to avoid the pigs. Even other Americans looked down on New York.

反對養豬

[12]對豬主人來說，豬提供了經濟保障，但總是有很多理由來反對讓豬自由自在跑來跑去的習俗。亂跑的豬會驚嚇拉車的馬，造成馬車事故，絆倒行人，堵塞交通。豬一直不停地拱地，破壞了鋪好的路面。由于豬的存在，馬路看上去當然很臟，也造成病害。紐約經常爆發致命的霍亂，而豬被當成罪魁禍首（大多這樣的指責最終被證明并不公平）。像頭疼這樣更常見的疾病，也被說成是豬導致的。

[13]有那么幾十年，豬玷污了紐約的形象。除了狄更斯，還有許多游客嘲弄過紐約的豬。當時的旅游指南印有小提示，告訴可能會來紐約的游客在哪里可以避開豬群。甚至其他地方的美國人都看不起紐約。

[14] Wealthier Manhattanites were increasingly outraged about sharing their streets with pigs that sullied37sully弄臟；玷污。their city’s good name. But notions of the purpose of public space were changing too. While pig-owners likely saw the urban commons38commons公共用地。as fair game for private gain—if they thought much about it at all—wealthier folks and city leaders were developing a different vision.

Pork vs. parks

[15] In the 1820s, the city of New York bought a potter’s field39potter’s field，又稱paupers’ grave或 common grave，是窮人或姓名生平不可考的人葬骨之所。potter這個說法源自《圣經》，陶土不能用于耕作，但可以用作墓地。on the western edge of Manhattan, turning it into a military parade ground (that these days is known as Washington Square Park), a public space where volunteer militia40volunteer militia志愿民兵。美國歷史上先有民兵后來才有了常備軍，在19世紀20年代，民兵為自愿征募。could train. Suddenly, property values around the square shot up. Developers, speculators, and wealthy resi-dents began spiffing up41spiff up把……收拾得整齊漂亮；裝扮。neighborhoods by chiseling42chisel鑿，雕，刻。tiny parks into the street grid—Union Square, Madison Square,Gramercy Park, for instance. Home prices climbed there too.

[16] The park craze, McNeur emphasizes, was motivated by health as well as wealth. The medical experts of the day believed disease to come from miasmas43miasmas（腐敗有機物發散的）毒氣。, as dank44dank潮濕的。, stinky air was known. Clearing parks and gentrifying neighborhoods helped cleanse45cleanse凈化。the air of pig-stench. The city increasingly split between pro-pork and pro-park.

凱瑟琳·麥克諾爾

[14]曼哈頓的富人越來越不能忍受和敗壞紐約好名聲的豬共享街道。而當時人們對如何利用公共空間的認識也在改變。豬主人（如果他們仔細想過的話）很有可能認為使用城市的公共空間贏取私利是正當的，而富人和紐約市政府官員卻在逐漸產生截然不同的想法。

養豬還是建園

[15] 19世紀20年代，紐約市在曼哈頓西側買下一片公共墓地，用作軍事訓練場（今天這片地叫作華盛頓廣場公園）。志愿民兵可以在這片公共區域訓練。一夜之間，這片場地周邊的地產價格飛漲。房地產開發商、投機商、有錢的紐約人開始在城市的道路網中打造出一片片小公園，把一個個社區裝扮得漂漂亮亮的——聯合廣場、麥迪遜廣場、格拉梅西公園等，都是這個時期建好的。這些公園周邊的房價同樣也有上漲。

[17] The pig-fan masses had less political clout than their richer Manhattanite opponents. As a result, over the first half of the 1800s, the city banned pigs repeatedly.

[18] The drive to make a “modern”metropolis was gathering steam. Turning on notions of a market economy and strong government bureaucracy, this vision left no room for porcine46porcine豬的。—or poor Manhattanite—self-sufficiency.

The pigless metropolis

[19] In 1845, the city established a professional police force which rounded up thousands of hogs and drove them north of the city. The construction of Central Park—a beacon47beacon指向標。of healthful-ness hailed as “the lungs of the city”—in 1857 forced a lot of pigs even further north. By 1860, pigs were banished to the shantytowns48shantytown棚戶區；貧民窟。and sleepy49sleepy安靜的；冷清的。hamlets50hamlet村子。north of 86th Street. With piggeries driven out and the stink lifted, real estate around Central Park’s perimeter51perimeter邊界。soared in value, boosting property tax revenues for the city.

[16]麥克諾爾強調，推動興建公園熱潮的，既有健康因素又有金錢因素。當時的醫學專家相信疾病源自瘴氣，就是陰濕骯臟的空氣。開辟公園，改造街區，能夠凈化空氣，除去空氣里的豬臭氣。紐約人日益分化為養豬派和建園派。

[17]比起曼哈頓那些更為富有的對手，贊成養豬的民眾擁有的政治影響要弱得多。因此，在19世紀上半葉，紐約屢次頒令禁止養豬。

[18]越來越多的人要求把紐約建成“現代化”大都市。“大都市”所倚賴的觀念是市場經濟和強有力的政府管理，沒有給豬以及曼哈頓的窮人留下自給自足的生存空間。

沒有豬的大都市

[19] 1845年，紐約建起一支職業警察隊伍，把數千頭豬圍趕到城市北邊。被譽為“城市之肺”的中央公園是健康的象征，1857年建造過程中大批豬被趕往更北的地方。到了1860年，豬被驅逐到第86大街北側的棚戶區和冷清的村莊里。養豬場清走了，空氣里的臭味散去了，中央公園周邊的房地產價格飆升，為紐約帶來大量的不動產稅收。

[20] Hog ownership was the last vestige52vestige遺跡，留存。of economic self-sufficiency—a way of living that protected families from the market economy’s violent swings. It gave them a modicum53modicum少量，一點點。of control over the value of their work by providing an alternative or supplement to wage labor. As Manhattan’s pigs vanished, a vast stratum54stra-tum社會階層。of people emerged whose daily meals were dependent on what government and private companies chose to pay them. New York’s leaders might have thought they were kicking cholera, boosting tax revenues, and dodging55dodge躲開；（尤指不誠實地）逃避。more bad PR. But by getting rid of the city’s pigs, they also happened to make New York the home of America’s first urban working class. As McNeur puts it, “They suddenly had to make ends meet or move to New Jersey.” ■

[20]養豬是經濟自給自足最后的遺跡，這種生活方式保護家庭免遭市場經濟劇烈動蕩帶來的影響，提供了工資的替代品和補充，使人們能略微掌控自己的勞動價值。隨著曼哈頓豬群的消失，一個人數眾多的階層興起，他們的一日三餐完全取決于政府和私有公司發放的薪酬和福利。紐約市政府官員可能覺得他們在消滅霍亂、提升稅收收入、避免不良公共關系，但在趕走豬的過程中，他們恰好在紐約催生了美國的第一批城市工人階級。麥克諾爾的說法是“一夜之間，這些人不得不量入為出，要么就得搬到新澤西州去”。 □