The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-27
THE PASSION FOR ROWING.
How the "Savage in the Blood Is Felt by
Poor Boys in Cities.


Joe Howard, in Philadelphia Press.
There is without doubt in the blood of most
children-as an inheritance, perhaps, from some
remote barbarian ancestor-a passion for rowing.
There are few of us who cannot recall the dell
cious pleasures of wandering at free will in child
hood far from schools, houses and the tasks laid
upon us and leading in the fields CT woods semi
savage existence In fact to some of us, now in
manhood, there is scarcely greater pleasure of
the senses than to crafty 'the savage in ones
blood" and lead wild life in the woods The
boys among the poor feel this passion almost ir-
resistibly. Nothing will keep them in school or
at home. Having, perhaps, kind parents and
not peculiarly disagreeable home they will yet
roni life on the docks, living in
the summer almost in the water, and
curling down at night, IS the animals
do in any corner they can find, hungry and
ragged, but light hearted and enjoying immense
ly their vagabond life. Probably as sensation,
not one that the street lad will ever have in
afterlfe will equal the delicious feeling of care
lessness and independence with which he lies on
his back in the spring sunlight, on pile OF dock
lumber, and watches the moving life OF the river
and rnuncbes his crust of bread. 1t frequently
happens that restraint or punishment can
check this lndian-like propensity. L recall one
fine little fellow who was honest and truthful,
and kind hearted, but who, when the rowing
passion in the blood came up, left everything
and spent his days and nights on the wharves
and rambling about the streets. His mother,
widow, knew only too well what this habit was
bringing him to, for unfortunately the life OF
young barbarian in New York has little poetry
in it. The youthful yagrant soon becomes idle and
unfit to work; he is hungry and cannot win his
food from the waters and the woods like his saw
age prototypes; therefore, he must steal he
learns to lie and swear; to pick pockets, rife
street-staEds and break open shop windows or
doors; so that this barbarian habit is the univer-
sal stepping stone to children's crime In this
case the worthy woman. locked the boy up in her
room and sent down word to the society that her
would like place in the country if the en-
ployer would come up and take him. An excel
lent gentleman was dispatched to her from the
interior, who desired model boy" but, when
he arrived, he found to his dismay, the lad kick
ing through the panels OF the door, and declar-
ing he would die sooner than go. The boy then
disappeared for few days, when his mother dis
covered him, ragged ana halfstarved, about the
docks, and brought him home and whipped him
severely, but he wouldn't stay,
The next morning he was off again and was
gone a week, until the police brought
him back in wretched condition. The mother
now tried the christian brothers" who had
fence ten feet high about their premises and
kept the lad, it was said, part of the time
chained. But the fence was mere sport to the
little vagrant, and be was soon off Then the
Juvenile asylum" was applied to and the lad
was admitted; but here he spent but short pro
baton, and was soon beyond their reach. The
mother, now in desperation, resolved to send
him to the far West, under the charge Of the
Children's Aid Society. Knowing his habits,
she led him down by the collar to the Office, sat
by him there. and accompanied him to the rail
road depot with the party of children. He was
placed on a farm in Northern Michigan where
fortunately. there was considerable game in
the neighborhood To the surprise of
everyone he did not at once run away
being perhaps attracted by the shooting he
could indulge in when not at work At length
chance was offered him of being tFapper. and
he began his rovings in good earnest From
the northern peninsula of Michigan to the
Rocky mountains he wandered over the woods
and wilds for years, making very good living
by his sales of skins and saving considerable
money All accounts showed him to be very
honest decent, industrious lad-a city vagrant
about to be thief, transformed into country
vagrant making an honest living. The books
give hundreds of similar stories, where a free
country life and the amusements and sports of
the farmer when work is slack, have gratiied
beautifully the vagrant appetite. The mere
riding horse, or owning calf OF a lamb or
trapping an animal in winter, seems to have an
astonishing effect in cooling the fire in the blood
in the city rover and making him contented. 1
don't know how it may be in Philadelphia but
if you want work come to New York and try to
tame our street Indians They are as gamey as
they make EN-.