Let a number of the common traits of boyhood testify.  There is the gang instinct which is noticeably dominant during the years from twelve to fifteen.  Probably 80 per cent of all boys of this age belong to some group answering dimly to ancient tribal association and forming the first social circle outside the home.  A canvass of the conditions of boy life in the Hyde Park district of Chicago revealed the existence of such gangs on an average of one to every two blocks, and the situation is not materially different in other parts of the city or in the smaller towns.  The gang is thus the initial civic experiment for better or for worse, the outreach after government, co-operative power, and the larger self which can be found only in association.  During this age and within his group the boy does not act as one possessing clear and independent moral responsibility.  He acts as part of the gang, subject to its ideals, and practically helpless against its codes of conduct and its standards of loyalty.

One hot afternoon I ran across a group “in swimming” at a forbidden spot on the shore of Lake Michigan.  As we talked and tended the fire, which their sun-blistered bodies did not need, one of the lads suddenly fired at me point-blank the all-important question, “What do you belong to?” Being unable to give an answer immediately favorable to our growing friendship, I countered with “What do you belong to?” “Oh,” said he, “I belong to de gang.”  “What gang?” “De gang on de corner of Fitty Fit and Cottage Grove.”  “And what do you do?” “Ah, in de ev’nin’ we go out and ketch guys and tie ’em up.”  Allowing for nickel-show and Wild-West suggestions, there remains a touch of a somewhat primitive exploit.

Another interesting gang was found occupying a cave in the saloon district of Lake Avenue.  The cave takes precedence over the shack as a rendezvous because it demands no building material and affords more secrecy.  Beneath the cave was a carefully concealed seven-foot sub-cellar which they had also excavated.  This served as a guardhouse for unruly members and as a hiding-place for loot.  When in conclave, each boy occupied his space on a bench built against the sides of the cave, his place being indicated by his particular number on the mud wall.  This gang had forty-eight members and was led by a dissolute fellow somewhat older than the others, one of those dangerous boys beyond the age of compulsory education and unfitted for regular work.  They played cards, “rushed the can,” and all hands smoked cigarettes. Facilis descensus Averno. The love of adventure and hunting was illustrated in the case of two other boys of this neighborhood who were but ten and eleven years of age.  Having stolen eleven dollars and a useless revolver, they ran away to Milwaukee.  When taken in hand by the police of that city they solemnly declared that they had “come to Wisconsin to shoot Injuns.”