The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-02-15
4 Youthful Tramp.
A BRIEP OUTLINE OF HIS FIVE YEARS
EXPERIENCE.

A BRIEr OUTLINE OF HIS FIVE YEARS
EXPERIENCE.
i rode thousands of miles on rail.
roads without paying one cent said
little Willie Van Houten In the Second
Precinct Police Court. Newark, yester-
day morning. Willie is only fifteen
years old. He has light brown hair and
blue eyes. and is intelligent. He was
arrested on Sunday on complaint of his
mother. widow. who lives ct No. 1862
James street. He returned to bis home
on Thanksgiving day, after M absence
OF five years. and his mother, fearing
that he was about to go on another
tramp, had him arrested. Police Jus.
tice Jsssup sent him To the County jail
for SIX months, in the hopes of reform
ing him.
A reporter conversed with Willie in
the Jail last evening Willie said: One
day in June. five years ago, Ian away
from home because | had trouble in the
Tenth ward school and In my Sunday
school. staid in Jersey City for six
weeks. and blacked boots and sold
papers at the ferries. A rich man in
New York gave me suit of clothes.
next went to Port Jervis and staid
there two weeks. Then Leaf my way
to Buffalo On the Erie railway. rode
on passenger train to Chicago. the
conductors not touching me because
was so small. l sold papers in Chicago,
but didn't like the place. SO / dead
headed to st. Louis where I stopped for
several weeks. slept in the police
stations sometimes. and | often made q
fire outside the city limits and slept
beside it. Sometimes would wake up
and find forty or fifty tramps around
the fire. but they were good to me.
4 next beat my way on the Iron
Mountain Railroad to Middle Rock. and
there worked for farmer awhile.
Then got lonesome. and l worked the
cars until l got to Springfield, Illinois,
where sold apples for three months.
One night was tempted by jewelry
store. and l broke into the place and
got hold of some watches just as q cop
collared me. was sent to the State
Reform School at Pontiac for several
months, After got out beat my way
home on the railroads. l got home in
February. had been away two years
and eight months, ard had always had
lots to eat
When did you go away from home
again
L left in the following May. and
worked milk and freight Car to Read
ing. Pennsylvania. where worked for
q Mr.. Lewis in furniture store for
three months, and then played the con-
ductors on soft stories, and they passed
me to Chicago. lstopped in Cincinns.
ii, Columbus. Detroit. Fort Wayne,
Dayton. Peoria. Saginaw and Quebec,
and saw life. you bet. Early last week
beat my way to Omaha, Nebraska.
but was kicked off Of the trains three
times on the prairies. tried to go to
San Francisco, but the conductor chuck
ed me of the train 40 miles beyond
Omaha. aud i. was cold. and l WAS
afraid Of Indians. l beat my way back
to st. Louis. The Omaha people were
hard set. After visiting all the cities
in the West, made tor homo without
one cent in my pockets. got into an
empty freight car one night and WAS
locked in. aud was carried to Scranton,
Pennsylvania. I bad to strike the
Erie road in order to get home. l meant
to stay If my mother would only let me
alone; but she has enough to look after,
and ! can make my living away from
home. 1t don't do me any good to
lock me up here among thieves. tramps
and rutiisns. 1t only gives me bad ex-
ample.
Did you not fall in With trampss'
oh, yes, met lots Of them. but l
travelled alone. because / could do
petter. for nobody refused me some
thing to eat. / did chores for my meals,
but some people would not let me work
for vic,uals, because was so small. I
have seen tramps tear good coat from
. msu's back. The trsmps travel in
gangs of 40 or so, and there are ten
times as many in the West. As in the
East. Three years ago Csptsin Kenne-
dy got up the German baud in Colum-
bus. and they ere tough set. l met
them in different cities. They would
travel by different routes. and all bring
up at one point, and there they would
drink and steal. l met Captain Kenne-
dy aud his gsng-there arc only Eve
alive now, the rest have been killed
at Elizabeth on last Thursday. The
gangs liked to have boys to bum the
chucks, which means toask for victusls
Boys are useful to fetch in handouts
that is. whatever people will give .
fellow. Sometimes they would kidnap
boys, train them. and then sell them
in Chicago and New York--so be
thieves, guess But they never caught
me.
The Irish are The most liberal people.
and New York and Dayton the most
liberal cities. In Phiiadelphia the rich
folks are stingy and mean l could
travel over the world without cent.
and / kaow it,