American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-01-05
A YOUTHFUL TRAMP.
The Adventures of n New York Boy of 10
As Related to a Newspaper Reporter.
from the New York SUM-

The Adventures of a New York Boy of 10,
As Related to a Newspaper Reporter.
From the New York Sun.l
''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 10 years old.
He has light brown hair and blue eyes,
and is intelligent. He was arrested on
Sunday on complaint of his mother, a
widow, who lives at 1852 James Street.
He returned to his home on Thanksgiv-
ing Day, after an absence of five years,
and his mother, fearing that he was
about to go on another tramp, had him
arrested. Police Justice Jessup sent
him to the Essex County Jail for six
months, in the hope of reforming him.
A Areporter for the Sun, by permission
of Warden johnson, conversed with
Willie in the Jail last evening. Willie,
said: g One day in June, five years ago,
L ran away from home because 1 had
trouble in the Tenth Ward School and in
my SundayISchool. L stayed in Jersey
City for six weeks, and blacked boots
and sold papers at the ferries. A rich
man in New York gave me a suit of
clothes. next went to Port Jervis and
stayed there two weeks. Then I beat
my way to Buffalo on the Erie Railway.
1 rode on passenger train to Chicago,
the conductor not touching me because
1 was so small. I sold papers in Chica-
go, but didn't like the place, so dead
headed to St. Louis, where Istopped for
several weeks. L slept in the police
stations sometimes, and often made a
fire outside the city limits and slept be-
side it. Sometimes l would wake up
and find 40 or so tramps around the fire,
but they were good to me.
81 next beat my way on the Iron
Mountain Railroad to Little Rock, and
there worked for a farmer a while.
Then got lonesome, and l worked the
cars until L got to Springfield, H.,
where L sold apples for three months.
One night 1 was tempted by jewelry in
store, and broke into the place and
got hold of some watches just as a cop
collared me. L was sent to the State
Reform School 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, and had always had lots to
eat''
"When did you go away from home
again?''
''I left in the following May, and
worked a milk and freight car to Read
ing, Pa, where L worked for Mr..
| Lewis, in a furniture store, for three
months, and then played the conduc-
tors on soft stories, and they passed me
to Chicago. [ stopped in Cincinnati,
Columbus, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Day.
ton, Peoria, Saginaw, and Quebec, and
saw life, you bet. Early last spring
beat my way to Omaha, Neb., but was
kicked off of trains three times on the
prairies. / tried to go to San Francis
co, but the conductor chucked me off
the train forty miles beyond Omaha,
and, as it was cold and 1 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 for home without one
cent in my pockets. l got into an
empty freight car one night, and was
locked in, and was carried to Scranton,
Pa. 1 had to strike the Erie road in
order to get home. / meant to stay if
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 ruff
fans. 1t only gives me a bad exam
ple.''
''Did you not fall in with tramps?''
"Oh, yes, met lots of them, but l
travelled alone, because could do bet
ter, for nobodySrefused me something
to eat. 1 did chores for my meals, but
some people would not let me work for
victuals, because l was so small. have
seen tramps tear a good coat from a
mans back. The tramps travel in
gangs of 40 or 60, and there are 10 times
as many in the West as in the East.
Three years ago Capt. Kennedy got up
the German Band in Columbus and they |
are tough set. | met them in differ
ent cities. They would travel by differ
ent routes, and all bring up at one point,
and there they would drink and steal.
met Capt. Kennedy and his gang
there are only five alive now, the rest
have all been kiIled-at Elizabeth last
Thursday. The gangs liked to have
boys to bum the chucks, which means
to ask for victuals. Boys are useful to
fetch in nd-outs-that is, whatever
people will give fellow. Sometimes
they would kidnap boys, train them,
and then sell them in Chicago and New
York-to be thieves, 1 guess. But they
never caught me.
s'The Irish are the most liberal peo-
pie, and New York and Dayton the
most liberal cities. In Philadelphia the
rich folks are stingy and mean. I
could travel over the world without
cent, sir, and 1 know it.''
JACK TYLER, a swindling savings
bank President of San Francisco, has |
followed the example of Henry
Meiggs, and sailed away over the bill