River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-07-26
The LONESOME TRAMf
Wisconsin Farmer Got Him Under His
Thumb and Made Him Weary.

A wisconsin Farmer Got Him Under His
Thumb and Made Him Weary.
A farmer living in Waukesha County
had tramp call upon him for a meal,
and after giving him what he wanted
he asked the tramp II he would not go
out in the pasture and drive up the
cows. The tramp declined. He said
he was mo jay" To go around follow
ing cows. and saying ''cooboss.' The
farmer was astonished at the mans re-
fusing to do little favor, after being
provided with meal, and asked him
If he wasn't looking for work.
The tramp said: mo, VIC are not
looking for work this year. We tramps
have organized a society and one of
the cardinal principles is opposition TO
work. We are bound by an oath. In
past years we have claimed to be look
ing for work, but frequently some one
would give us work, and several
of the boys have had their
| health injured by attempting to
labor. Besides, it got so that every
body laughed and sneered when we
said we were looking for work, and our
National convention decided that il
was the square thing to give up lying
and travel on our merits. So We just
ask for food, and if we get it, all right,
and il We don't get it, we move on to
the next place.
Last year, over here in Dodge Coun-
| ~, | applied for work to farmer, and
he engaged me for month. My idea
was TO work that afternoon, driving q
team hauling hay, and along toward
night let the team run away, and skip
/ out in the excitement, or if the team
would not run away, to get up in the
night and leave.
Talk about the oppression of capt
tai, do you know that farmer actually
compelled me to work whole month.
1.-The first night tried to get out OF
a window, when the old granger was
outside with "A shotgun, and he. said il
/ didn't get back in that window and
go TO sleep, and get up at daylight and
milk the cows he would fill my hide
with bird-shot. Then he called a
/ Watchdog and let him smell of me-
| and told the dog to watch me. Well,
sir, l remained in that night, resolved
to kill the dog the next day, and skip
the next night, but the dog wouldn't
have any thing 10 do with me, only &c
watch my pants. When the dog was
not in sight. the old man was around
with a pitchfork, and | pledge you my
word had TO work.
do you know | had to milk four,
| teen cows in an ill-ventilated barn.
yard, with no proper sewerage, before
breakfast. All day long 1 worked, 4
prisoner, sir, always looking for lib
erty, but always under the eye of thai
violent old man and his hungry dog
Finally got so tired at night that
would drop to sleep as quick as | struck
the bed, so | couldn't attempt tC
! escape, and | worked for thirty days
actually. / got so / liked it, but the
| instinct of liberty, which fills every
human breast, was SO strong that wher
my time was up went away with three
dollars, and was to have the balance
| of my months wages after harvest, but
l never went back after it. l felt as
though no tramp was safe around thai
farmer.
Il blowed in my money on the
Fourth of July and got in Jail for thirty
days and rested up from my overwork
No, sir; you farmers are hard on us,
l will hire a man to drive up YOU
cows, if you say so, in payment for the
royal spread you have set before me
but as long as my mind retains the
memory of that sentence of a month al
hard labor on that farm, and the watch.
dog, and the old farmer with the gun,
| will never work again. / will not
even converse on the subject of labor,
| for fear you will construe my remarks
into promise to work. Au revoir,
and the tramp lifted his hat and disap.
,No,-aI DoeL-fo C,y,,