New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-09-04

/ ton that he would never turn adistressed
tramp from his doo..
II at night the front-do bell rang at
about 10 80, and Mr.. Hawkins got out of
bed and went down eta rs in a sleepy
butsstill a benevolent frame of mind. He
found three tramps- two of them women
and esother 3 man lying UNCONSCIOUS
Lon his piazza. He dragged them into
! the hall, revived them with VINE. and
having listened to their pitiful stories
concerning their dying children in the
next town, fed them and sent them-aw
4 He did not, however, give them any
money, for although he believed their
stories, he felt that the volume of tramps
was becoming rather TOO large for his
/ purse. Still he returned to his bed feel
ling that he had done his duty, and that
his quiet conscience stood in need of a
good deal of sleep. Between 1920 and
Sl2 10 seven more tramps rang the 'front.'
Saoor bell, and were found by Mr.. Haw-
kins lying in seven distinct dead faints
on, the piazza. Five he relieved, and
then lost his temper. The last two
tramps had to revive themselves, and the
three additional ones that tainted on the
piazza between six and eight the next
morning did not receive even a mouth
full Of cold breakfast.
A great change was noticed IN Mr..
Hawkins when he appeared at Within an s
/ store early in the day, and bought half a
gross of large carpet-tacks and ten
yards of oil-cloth. He wore stern
and determined look. and when Mr..
Whitman said that all the tramps in the
State had heard about the poor woman
whom he had helped, and were on their
way to seehim, Mr.. Hawkins used an ex-
preston that would have sounded better
in his wife's mouth had she applied it to
dilapidated stockings. Going home with
his purchases, Mr.. Hawkins was met, by
Stebbins, the stage -driver, who told him
that he had passed more than fifty
tramps on their way from Utica to Moose
vile. MI. Hawkins made no reply, but,
as Mr. Stebbins afterwards said, S'looked
blackern- thunder" -.
Just after dark Mr.. Hawkins front
piazza was carfully laid with oil cloth,
through which six dozen of carpet tacks
had been thrust with their points up-
ward. When he had completed the
work he smiled grimly, and remarked to
Mrs. Hawkins--who had claspe1 her
sshands and said, 90, father! it will hurt
'em ? ---sServe :em right by gosh!'' At
Inine o'clock Mr.. Hawkins went to bed and
waited to hear the first summons of the
hell It came at 9:35, and was almost
instantly followed, first by wild yell,
mingled with profane expressions and
thensby a sound of rapidly .retreating
footsteps. In the course gof the night
this phenomenon was repeated twenty
three times. There wasaa great variety
| in the oaths which assembled to.Mr. Haw
kins' window, though they all expressed
very nearly the same degree Of surprise
and indignation. There was good deal
of blood and a large amount of rags on
4 tue piazza in the morning, but not sin
/ gle unconscious tramp lay awaiting
resuscitation. For thenext week an oc-,
casional tramp tried to faint on the pisz7
"a, but never failed to abandon that in
tention, and to go away In in unchristian
frame of mind a
AS for Mr.eHawkins,h has laid in sew
eral large dogs, there is no man in Moose
|ville who is more firmly. convinced that
tramps never, under any circumstances,
deserve charity. W ss