Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-12-23
Tramps who are as NOmadic as
BedOuin Arabs.
THE Nsw YoRk PoLIcE STATIONS BEsiEGHp
BY ArrIlcAN,s roR NIGnrs' LODGINGS.

ny ArrllcAS,s roR Nlsurs' LopeINGs.
rramps are as nomadic as the Bedouin
Arabs: but they scorn tn burden themselves
with tents. Free from all ties and bonds,
thev are as independent as millionaires, and,
like the gilded butterflies of fashion HE them
selves AWAY To green fields and woods when
the first warmth of summer clasps the eager
earth. They roam up and down the country
in leisurelv, happy. go-lucky fashion, with
nc distinct objective point before them nor
any lengthening chain behind them. When
the summer wanes and autumn begins TO fade
into winter thev return from seaside and hill
side To the shelter of the city To whose streets
their footsteps are familiar.
From the time the leaves fall until they
bud forth again. tramps may be found IN
every quarter of New York. The metropolis
is their favorite winter resort and IN 1t they
can alw avs contrivc TO exc out living, or at
least an existence, for the latter seems to be
all 10 which they aspire. Throughout the
day the tramp roams lazily through the streets,
beg sing tor money when his eyes fall upon
one who promises TO he victim to his
persistencv. visiting basement doors, where
he obtains cold yictuals, and emptying beer
kegs whose dregs supply his craving for
inebriation When not employed in this
industrial routine he may be found seated on
the benches in the public parks, gazing about
him with the listless air of one whose mind
has succeeded in banishing all care or thought
Of the past. and to whose present comes no
disturbing thoughts of the future.
At night the tramp either betakes himself
to the shelter of a station house, or wanders
through the streets entreating each passing
pedestrian to give him a few pennies Ito pay
tor a nights lodging" If luck is favorable to
him, he may not only obtain the price Of
nights lodging, but also enough to buy of
the vilest whiskev quantity sufficient to pro-
cure him the dull, leaden sleep of drunken
ness.
As evening is approaching there may daily
he seen outside the greater number of the sta
tion houses in the city, long, patient lines OF
men and women--for in the tramp-world
women have attained the happiness of equal
rights-dressed in tattered, grimy garms nts
which seem TO be held together merely by
"reminiscences of better days. They stand
there waiting sometimes for more than an
hour for the time 10 arrive when the door shall
be opened and they can enter into the enjoy
ment of warmth and shelter from rain or
snow As the station house accommodations
for dodgers" are limited, and the number of
would-be dodgers apparently unlimited, this
waiting in line has become a necessity for
those who are pcnniless and would sleep with
a roof above them.
The quarters provided for them are not of
the most luxurious description, and general as
is the rage for household decoration, il has
not vet obtained an entrance to the lodging
rooms OF our station houses. The walls are
of stone. with n coating of whitewash; the
floors are tagged, and mt side runs a long
frame supporting number of thick pine
planks. placed at regular and very close in
tervals. These planks are the beds on which
IL 4 IL. 4
vided for men and women are similar. Atnight
the rooms are heated. and the occupants can
at least comfort themselves with the reflection
that they are better of than many of their fell
lows who are compelled to walk the streets
that they may keep their bodies from freezing.
Not all of those who succeed in gaining ad-
mittance to the dodgers rooms are fortunate
enough to obtain plank to sleep on. Es-
pccially in evil weather, the door-nen permit
larger number of lodgcrs to enter the sta
ton house than can find sleeping room. The
late comers are forced to sit upon the floor
and rest their backs against the wall. Those
who secure corner regard themselves ~
peculiarly favored by fortune.
In conversation with q Star reporter, Il
Police Sergeant who has been the force
tor several years said that all through the
summer thcv have applications for shelter at
night. but the number then is comparatively
small With the first breath of frost the num-
Der of seekers after lodging becomes largely
increased. Those who have scattered them
selves through the country return to the city
and reappear at their old haunts with the reg
uarity of the seasons themselves. Asa rule
tramps mainly confinc themselves to one sec
ton of the city. and at the station house doors
NAV be seen the same faces night after night
Each of them seems to select one favorite sta
ton house. and thereafter considers il rs his
home. returning to it every morning with
greater regularity than many hotel guests dis
play. Occasionally "A face is missed for a
time, but it usually appears again after an
absence more or less prolonged, during which
the proprietor of the countenancs has been
rnsticating on Blackwell's Island.--N. y
Sfur.