The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-05-18

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9 had been kindly treatedPa Il said Is.
Whether 4 had any reasons to, regrH
having known them? to which l. sal,
No. ~ Then they asked IN
iwhether dJI9cl had 81 said Tsh that
4 desired TO become. one ,ofgtheirr number
and before | could answer that sques
ton a young girl about ten years old
the prettiest creature | think L eve
saw, ran up, to me and Cayenne what
5 afterwards found out was bunch o
1twild ifiowerso She got upon the stool
4 took me around the neck andwhisperes
in my ear to say Yes I loved tn,
fchild, and when she asked me to sa,
Yes, would have done any. thing fol
her; 4 said | was willing to Join them
whereupon the women folks commencet
to chant some verses, and several girl
4 ran to NE and, kissed me.us This
afterwards, learned, was all trick o.
trap laid ont by the old folks to catcl
meS31ThenI i was told to kneel down Oh
the palms. 1 did so Mr. Muren stood
.up. and told me to repeat after him th,
words that he read out I don't re
member them exactly as he read then
or said them to me- | only know tha
it was fearful, terrible, binding oath
soiemnly swOre that L would always
be with and live for the people l haC
/ chosen as my future companions.
swore never to desert them never tC
reveal their secrets; never to complain;
to be satisfied at all times and under all
circumstances, and always to do all in
my power for the. good of those who
were around me. Iswore by the stars
and number of other signs. Then ]
was welcomed, my hands were shaken
tah around, they had more music, the
fre was relighted, and we had merry
time.
7ei-.ss- - REPENTANCE. 80 - C
'eThat's how was made a gypsy.
When L got to the tent my head was all
in a daze. | could not sleep, as l more
! fully realized what had done. After
ward ] found cut that my misgivings
were well grounded, The next day
was gradually let into the secret of beg
ging as it is done by the daughters of
the forest, astheysometimescall them
selves. For. two days had to listen to
the old woman giving me Instructions
in fertune-telling. bFoTsthe first season
II was only ,tos tell fortunes for young
girls. Twas to Judge them and say most
about love subjects. Afterward was
allowed to tell any body. lfI could lay
my hands on any thing worth having L
could do so, but it was nobOdy's busi-
ness where'I goti it. l was never asked
where got things. Lwas pleased with
the idea of telling fortunes. was
dressed in bright red colors, which were
a strong contrastto my dark skin. I
always wore my hair hanging down and
string of big yellow beads hung around
my neck. I had a bracelet made of
snake skinand Twas careful to- let every
body see it. | got along well al. fortune
telling. I Ipicked up fast, and before
the first season closed [ knew how to
read human nature very well and could
read character tolerably. will not say
much about stealing, for I am ashamed.
Some of our wagons had false bottoms,
so that whenever the camp was searched
nothing could be found. If the officers
came they were given full privilege to
search all around, and in this way thsy
were led to believe many times that we
were really innocent. There is no truth
at all in fortune-telling. We said just
what came into our minds. fa.r., g.
Zone time a. young man in Tennes-
~ o,,sl fo11 n n,
certain house and induce a young girl
to have her fortune told. He told me
what to say He was in love. with her
and wanted to marry her. l understood
him, and / earrird out my part very
we'll. l sung her a song about the
ysung lover, and the beautiful girl got
as white as snow, then red, and then
gave me So. She could we'll afford it.
/ got SO from the man. He had been
discarded, but before we left the place,
Murfreesboro, L think it was, saw the
pair out driving. It's alltrickery, with
those bands that are not regular blood
ed foreigners. They are mighty few in
America, tell you.r L fell in love with
the life. 1t was romantic, if it was bad.
was paid well for my labor, and I be-
came very healthy. We travelled all
around the West and wintered in Tex
as. l got the chills in the Red River
country. In the winter we practised
new lodges. .cre sirl .p-7.f --'s
DISSATISFIED. 81.
"At last / became tired of the life.
| was abused several times because l
was in hard luck. / also wanted to
keep up my appearance, which made
some of the other women jealous. They
commenced to spread evil reports about
me, and said that Twas guilty of COM
hitting crime that l had fought hard to
overcome and escape. Business got bad,
and all my money was either lost or
stolen from the wagOn~g1gzr n1ra
, Zone night last SUMMER I determined
to leave. I mounted a fast-running
horse, but before | got three miles to-
ward. Cumberland, Nd. l was over
taken by one of the young men, Then
they wanted me to get married. Right
or wrong, must become the wife of
the Oldest son of a gypsy horse doctor.
They thought that would keep me with
them.s They told me of my oath, and
at last l promised not to run away II
they would not make me marry that
man. They consented, and last winter
we went down to Georgia and wintered
there. But firmly made up my mind
to get away this spring just as soon as
they came North. was tired of being
held in bondage. An nay Hfe seemed
to be a frauds-We did nothing but lie,
cheat, deceive, and lead astray. Dur
ing my first two years | saw two young
women taken into gypsy life. Where
they are now can't say, for their bands
separated from ours last season. 7
pitied them, but said not a word. The
men are as bad as the women. They
buy up old horses, and then fix and doe
tor them to sell or trade. Farmers are
their victims. They are swindled and
plundered in many ways. But gypsies