The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-01-30
ENGLISH HOP PACKERS.
Magazine of Art.l

lNAkA&lnC VI fLt.I
 The race of hoppers is not unknown tc
 the most superficial of newspaper readexs Their sins and misfortunes are a tertii;
 theme, and the paternal legislature ha.
 taken them in hand. Considered from a
 picturesque tourists point of view, the
 hopper is an unconventional-l looking per.
 son, who camps about on the river bank
 in a manner not uHsuggestive of the
 aboriginal savage. "Camps" is exactly
 the right word. for rows of tents placed
 in the line of military precision are to be
 seen in the fields. Here the hopper Just come from Whitechapel-cooks his
 dinner at a gypsy-6re, and hts squaw
 mends rags close by. In other places the
 gipsy-fres add rsg-meading go on unde,
 convenient hedge. Elsewhere two old
 women, of witch-like features, may be
 found, with half dozen children about them, squatting under the protection of
 steam roller. Three crooked sticks
 propped up against one another over about as much fire as would ill a mod crate sized saucer stand in front, and at this kitchen they are cooking something mysterious in passing strange fashion.
 Hoppers arc of all ages, of both sexes, and, as far as can be seen, of various ranks. The great majority are ragged enough, though even about them there is vague something which suggegts that the rags are at least partly voluntary
 Many are obviously too well led to belong to the utterly poor who go half-naked :; and if their attire is of the toughest, it may be partly because they are too wise to camp out in more decent raiment. They have bundles, obviously full of something, with them, and a large va riety of pots and pans. Now and then one sees men, and even women, among them who belong, apparently, to the class of work people in pretty regular em ployment. At times, to be sure, one catches sight of a close, cropped bullet head, suggestive of very recent six months" but it is the exception. On the whole, the hoppers give one the impress sion that they are a much more orderly body than seems consistent with the mo- madic nature of their trade. For many of them, indeed, the work is regular enough. There are some families which come yearly to the same farms, and write carefully beforehand to ask when the hop ping is to begin. On the whole, the hop ping season seems to represent their month at the sea-side-a holiday of work under healthy conditions. In rainy weather they must have bad time, par ticularly those who are Tod ,ed in tents. A large proportion are put into long out houses, built for the purpose, and used for no other. These sheds are wind and water tight, and abundant clean straw is supplied for beds. Though not luxurious, these houses are not actually indecent, and are decidedly superior to the average London slum. Doctor Johnson, who be- lieved in the healthiness of Londoners, would have been grati6ed to learn that the Kent farmers prefer the town hoppers to the country, or, as they are called, home hoppers, because the former stand bad weather better than the others, who have been accustomed to an open air life all their days. In point of character, the hopper reaches to certain level of re spectability. He or she belongs to the race of Autolycus. They cannot resist any triAe they find lying about, but sell dom meddle with serious thieHng. Vio- fence is not unknown among them; but in the remoter parts of Kent, which may be said to include the Midway valley, it is reported to be the exception.