The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-17
THE PLEASURES OF ROWING.
An Inheritance from Barbarism--TurIl.
ing Loose Street Arab.

ing Loose n Street Arab.
[Joe Howard in Philadelphia Press.l
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 can not recall the de-
licious pleasure of wandering at free
will in childhood far from schools,
houses and the tasks laid upon us and
leading in the fields or woods a semi
savage existence. In fact, to some of
us now in manhood, there is scarcely
n 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 irresistibly.
Nothing will keep them in school or at
home, Having, perhaps, kind parents
and not peculiarly disagreeable home,
they will yet rove off night and day,
enjoying the idle, lazzaroni life on the
docks living in the summer almost in
the water and curling down at night,
as the animals do, in any corner they
can find, hungry aud ragged, but light
hearted and enjoying immensely their
vagabond life. Probably as sensation,
not ons that the street lad will ever have
in after-lifo will equal the delicious feel
ing of carelessness and independence
with which he lies on his back in the
spring sunlight, on pile of dock lum-
ber and watches the moving life of the
river and munches his crust of bread.
1t frequently happens that no restraint
or punishment can check this Indian
like prol ensity.
recall one fine little fellow who was
honest, and truthful and kind d-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,
a widow, knew only too well what this
habit was bringing him to, for unfortu-
nately 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 can not
win his food from the waters and the
woods, like his savage prototype;
therefore he must steal. He learns
to lie and swear; to pick pock-
cts, rifle street-stands, 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 dowr
word to the society that her son woul1
like place in the country if the EN-
ploycr would come up and take him.
An excellent gentleman was dispatched
to her from the interior who desired a
"model boy" but when he arrived, he
found to his dismay, the lad kicking
through the panels of the door and de,
claring he would die sooner than 60
The boy then disappeared for few
days, when his mother discovered him,
ragged and half starved, about the
docks, and brought him home and
whipped him severely.
The next morning he was of again
and was gone week, until the police
brought him back in a wretched eondi-
ton. The mother now tried the Chris.
tian 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 he was soor
of. Then the Juvenile Asylum was
applied to and the lad was admitted
but here he spent but short probation
and was soon beyond their reach. The
mother, now in desperation, resolved tC
send him to the far west, under the
, charge of the "Chrildren's Aid society.
Knowing his habits, she led him dowr
by the collar to the office, sat by hin,
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 neighborhoo1
/ To the surprise Of everyone he did MOI
at once run away, being perhaps at.
tracted by the shooting he could indulge
In when not at work
At length a chance was offered him
OF being a trappef, and he began bis
royings in earnest From the northern
peninsula of Michigan to the Rocky
J mountains he wandered over the woods
l and wilds for years, making a very good
living by his sales Of skins, and saving
considerable money. All accounts
showed him to be a very honest, decent
: industrious lad-a city vagrant about t
be thief, transformed into country
yagrant making an honest living. tn,
books give hundreds of similar stories
I, where free country life and the amuse
: ments and sports of the farmers whel
| work is slack, have gratifed beautifully
the vagrant appetite The mere riding
a horse, or owning q calf or lamb O
trapping an animal in winter, seems t,
have an astonishing effect in cooling tn
fire in the city rover and making hin
:, contented. / don't know how it mayb
i in Philadelphia, but if you want worl
+ como to New York and try to tame ou
street Indians They are as gamey a
they make 'em.