Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-09-13

| ana then we strlke one VINO has re-
volyer and big dog, and they make
1t warm for us. have hole through
my left leg, that woman in Steuben
county, New York, put there. And
my pardner was nearly finished by a
bulldog, and then the men came up,
and they beat us nearly to death.
But Their amt no biznis that you
don't have to take chances in"
off you can get all that you want to
eat, without invading houses, what
do you want to take these chances
for ?n
''Eatin' amt all Their is of life.
| Clothes don't bother US much, but
Their is likker and tobacker. Them
you have to pay for, in suthin', for
you can't walk into a s'loon and bluff
'em out of them. No indeed | wish
we Good. But them we must hay"
then we like to Icy jamborees when a
lot of us git together, and then we
hev to take keer of our Wimmen, and
one woman viii drink more and
smoke more than two men. They
git crazy and are very expensive. No,
we hev to hey suthin besides our
| eatin'."
eff you prefer the country when it
is warm, why don't you 60 south in
the winter ?"
"We tried that, but it won't work.
We kin git along with the weather,
but you see the country is so sparsely
settled thatit tax % too much walkin'
to git from house to house. and then
they don't live well enough. they
cook terrible, and [ won't live on
hog and hominy and all sorts Of
| grease. could have done it once,
but my stomach amt what it used to
be. ! am gittin' old and have to
have have things better than used to
| feel it all day if | don't have coffee
in the mornin', and / must have q
great many othor things witch they
amt used to in tho south. And
besides oil this, they are too handy
with their wepons down Their. In
the north when they git after us they
arrest US, and takes US very carefully
to q jail, and they brings us tracts,
and treats US kindly, so as to reform
us, and the wimmen visit us, to try
the effect of kindness on us erin
ones, and they feed US mighty well,
and altogether, it amt bad thing
for rest. And then we gifts out,
and goes our way, recooperatid, and
good for q great deal of walkin'.
Now down south it amt thai way at
all. If you 60 into a house and
scare the wimen, the men amt far
off, and they git on their horses
aud hunt us. and they don't arrest
US mother. Whom they Gene up
with US, they are just as likely az
not to put charge of buck>shot
through US, for thor amt no inquiry
about SIGH thing. Out of party
of about fourteen OF us that went
down into North Carolina, onlv five
ever got back north. And then
don't like niggers and you have to
do a great deal of stain with 'em.
niggers amt to my taste. nevor
did like EN-, and [ can't overcome
the prejudis. They are an inferior
race"
"Don't you find it rather hard to
find comfortable places to sleep, in
the city ?"
Sometimes. Now and then We
get into the statioO-house, and there
are always empty boxes, and warm
corners. 1t ain't as pleasant az the
Windsor Hotel, but we are satisfied
"Why don'ryou try work little
while p
The mans face took curious cx
| preston.
"Work wo work Why, we
might IS well be labrin'men to once
None of that for me. There is one
city in tho west which [ got into
last Fall, whore they arrest US, and
put US in q stone yard, breakin
stones for the streets-Toledo. They
got me once, and kept nc ct it two
weeks, i wouldn't go within hun
drod miles of that city, if knew it,
for fortune. Think Of workin' ten
hours day, and feedin' us on bread
and water They don't know how
to treat people ther.'
The vagabond went away, with
an expression Of sadness on his
countenance. The remom brance OF
his brief stay in Toledo, where the
city is wiso enough to make them
earn the bread they eat, was toe
much for him. He doubtless brooded
over it all the day.
What Toledo does, every city arc
town in the country should do, The
moment beggar appears on the
streets of the city, be is arrested, i:
taken to barracks provided for sucf
cumbcrers of tho earth, and if able
to work is set to breaking stone
When his time is up, he is given /
loaf of bread and piece Of meat
! and is dismissed with the assurance
! if he returns he will be retained {
still longer period. None of then
return. Evory State IN tho Unior
; ought this winter, to have legisla
ton empowering magistrates tt
commit these pests, at sight. Tht
city will have fifty thousand of them
within its borders this winter, whC
will go out as soon as spring opens
to infest tho country. Every one
Of them is thief, whenever thievinG
can be done safely, and murder
is only abstained from because il
isn't safe. The tramp proper came
to this country from England, but il
wasn't long till the American vaga
bond adopted his tactics. They have
signs and language of their own, and
where one or two are seen, you may
be sure there are more. They work
in gangs, and can be rallied within a
few hours. They are vicious, useless
and dangerous, and society owes il
to itself to extirpate them.
There ought to be the most strin
E gent legislation against them in al
the states, this winter.
Political.
We Of New York are looking anx.
, iously to the western states that hold