Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-03-31
4 Tin House
A few rods back from the waters edge at

A few rods back from the waters edge al
San Francisco, surrounded by tangle OF
weeds, stands curious edifice, abou, seven
by nine feet and two feet high, constructed
chiefly of strips of rusty tin torn from large
coal-oil cans, with here and there bit OF
board. The entrance to this abode is an
aperture about eighteen inches wide, run
ming across one end, and peeping in, we see
few pieces of old straw mating and car
pet. This is the last surviving relic of q
number of similar edificcs that dec
Grated the spot last Winter, and shell
tered from twenty to thirty men during the
whole rainy season, whose mode of living
attracted much notice at the time. An im-
preston seems to prevail that these men
had adopted their singular life from choice,
prefcrring to exc scanty living from the
refuse of the dump piles to applying them
selves to any active work. Recently re-
porter visited the solitary structure among
the dumps for the purpose of interviewing
its occupant. He found a slender looking
man, upwards of fifty years old, shabbIly
dressed, with full grayish-brown beard,
clear blue eyes and intelligent face, who
expressed himself in excellent language.
1t is said that he was Captain during the
Mexican war, and he reluctantly acknowl-
edged it to be true, seeming very averse to
giving his name or any information by
which his friends or family might learn his
whereabouts and circumstances. He gave
this history as follows:
~ came to California from Boston in
40, attracted by the discovery of gold. ]
never learned any trade, for up TO the time
l came out here il had never been necessary
for me to work. went up in the noun
tains to Sonora, and staid there most of the
time for twenty-four years. In the early
days did very well, never making ten
strike, but very fair wages. Then times
grew duller and | thought would come
down TO the city, for il seemed as If any
one ought to be able to make living
where there is so much to do all the tine.
got few odd jobs of work at first, but no
steady job. Ny clothes kept getting
worse and worse. until finally L was
ashamed 10 show myself 10 the few old
friends had here. The times kept grow
ing duller, work more scarce, and a little
over a year ago had no money, no friends
and was forced to come here, where have
been pretty-much ever since. Sometimes
get little job Of work-sawing wood or
something of the kind, and do little bet
ter for time. San Francisco is hard
place to get work. There is good deal
doing, but too many 10 do it. And then
the Chinese are everywhere and crowd
the white men out.
"What was the general character of the
men who have been living on the dumps
the last eight months ?"
There were men of all trades, farm Ia
bOrers. machinists, carpenters. Among
them there were several who were evident
ly first-class mechanics, who had been en-
ployed in some of the .irst-workshops East.
They lad come here strangers, were unable
to get work, got out of money and had no
other place TO 90. Some of the men had
families back East, but when men come to
that pass they don't like to talk about their
lives. All were hoping for better times by
and by.
"Where have these men gone Owi /"
. The most of them have gone TO the
country and some of them have got work
Others have failed on account of the large
VI NIAlutot VII
should have gone TO the country myself but
| couldn't stand the work on a farm. am
getting too old and broken for that.
Il suppose good many men are brought
down to this on account OF drink
''Not so many as people think. Out of
the twenty or thirty men who were here
last Winter not more than two or three
were brought down by drink. Another
thing-we have been spoken Of as hood
lums. On the contrary, the hoodlums arc
are our greatest enemies. They delight in
making raids on Us and tearing down our
houses. The hoodlums, like all outlaws,
have plenty Of ways of getting money, and
don't need to come here. Sometimes when
they have been committing depredations
they come down ana sleep In the weeds. "
What kind of time do you expect
next Winter?'
Hard to tell, sir. If times don't i'm
prove don't see what poor men will do.
There are thousands Of men in this city to-
day living in a way that would surprise
people if they knew it. In the Winter a
lot more crowd into the city from the coun-
try, to say nothing OF those all the while
arriving from the East. These are hard
times, sir, and no mistake