Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-16
THE ROYING B0HEAxAN.
A Very Appropriate sketch o. One Of tho
busy Bees IN the Newspaper Hive.

IXH42S
The atramp print" or s4tourist,p as b,
prefers ie call himself, has been the subject
Of skerches innumerable. but, strange Il
say, his half brother, the travelling bohs
milan, has never been touched upon
Whether 1t is becaus Of the latter'
natural modesty and his dislike Of motto
riety. or because be llls never been thought
worthy of q sketch, / don't know; but
nevertheless. he is quite as picturesque and
original g character as the nomadic typo,
whom he, along with the 81 aid and settled
scribblers, who always stay IN one place,
has clothed with q halo Of romance and
glory Of fiction.
He differs only from the perigrinatine
compositor in 9 very few respects. the
principal one OF which is that he cares
more Tor personal appearance, and This
not from g matter OF choice or mate pride.
but because it is moi only polite, but abso-
lutely necessary for his existence, as it
often depends upon his dress aud make up
whether he is given q chance to fill q va
cancy, or whether he is turned away by
the stoney-hearted and cold-visaged city
editor, with the st~ersotyped reply, I'VE
don't need q reporters.
To q certain extent he holds the monster
called the city editor, in awe and fear, but
never in reverence aud esteem. The fear is
only begotten by the knowledge that .shis
Nibsn has the power 10 discharge him at
will, and that thero is no appeal from his
decision. Like the tramp prin' who TRAITS
the foreman with the l0ftiest contempt for
fear that the boys might think that he VAS
tanning HIM. the rnving bohemian never
cultivates the city editor. On the con-
trary. he tolerates him only because he
finds it necessary, and treats him AZ au
equal, but never as a superior aud while
he may be respectful enuugh to the "old
man as lOng as he is in the Office, once out
OF the sden, he thinks III him only as he
does of nine-teaths Of the other people
whom he knows, and wonder why he il al
lowed to live at ali.
In his habits, as il naturally to be sup
posed, he is somewhat, If not decidedly,
erratic, and it is hardly fair to assume that
his customs and ways would receive the
unqualified sanction OF the staid matron
OF a reformatory for children, or that the
good deacon OF a church would wink at his
FRANKS or join him in his pastimes. Bot for all
this he is not n bad fellow. and while he
may have, and, admit, for argument !
q hAb VS0AaSocOc9 h0 10 SEy III
but q rogue or IN outcast. Quick aud
alert, with an endless amount of resour-
ces and an astOnishingly developed cheek,
the cumulative result of his contact with
the world, he is never at q loss how to sue
coed in unearthing the minutest details of
any assignment which may have been given
him. He also possesses the happy faculty
OF making himself athome wherever he may
be, and is as much at ease in the parlor OF
the millionaire, where he may be reporting
q wedding or q dance, as he is in the little
back room Of some 'sbesr joint" where he
and his cronies are Won to gather and ex
change experiences or run bluffs Of .sscoopsn
that are to appear in "to.morrow's ISSUE
Perhaps reporting q prize fight the fore
part OF the night, he may be next called
upon to listen to the last words OF the poor
dyif g wretch who was "knifedp by some
one in q drunken brawl. But it makes no
Inference to him. Weddings, funerals,
hangings, horse races, fights, fires, and
other things that go towards furnishing
matter for the average daily paper, are all
to him; and he considers them legiti
mate and proper, just go long as they are
fresh, n the more startling the better
ne likes them.
Faithful to the paper which he may for
The time represent, he never looks upon
ilC 6IVAthUlCA hS ROA 0AO y opOh ILL. 1
as a fixture OF any Office. A few weeks
of work, or that many days, ifhe cannot do
better, is all he asks, and away he goes,
ust as quietly and my~storiously as he
came; no one knows whittier and no one
cares, for he is~generally able to take care
II himself. Before leaving q place, how
he usually manages to provide him
with passes for whatever town he may
in view OF 'doing'' next, and either
the "old man" for the pasteboards,
Or else makes himself solid with q conduc-
Tor or some other person whom he thinks
help him. In this respect also, he differs
rom the print, as the latter is not par
ticular how he travels or What the car in
he may ride is loaded with. The
bohemian, however, is particular,
and as he is never known to be the pos
SCISSOR of more than one suit of clothes, it
him in hand to be SO, al it would
never do for him to land in q place looking
ragged or seedy.
Another difference is that the tramp
print is a flower OF but short bloom, stay
ing in a place only q few days, while the
bohemian generally remains q num-
Der of weeks, and sometimes months, be-
fore he ''pulls out" for somewhere else.
Coming into contact with all classes and
grades OF society, from the very highest to
1u6 very lOWcbU, duO udNluS duOppOAOuuAey |
OF seeing the dark as well as the bright
sides OF life, and all it's mieeries, deceit and
it is not strange that he
should be cynical and inclined to make
OF a great many things and persons
and honored by the world geEer-
ally. He is not slow to express his opin-
ion on any subject or person and usually
in language the purport OF which is not to
be misunderstood. Hating all shams and
he is never so happy as when given
opportunity OF roasting" somebody, a
branch Of the culinary art, by the way, in
which, as a general thing. he is decidedly
proficient, something, as many q city edi-
tor knows to his sorrow. he is only too
ready to do at all times. He is also equally
and prompt to give credit for any
good deed or act, but woe to the mortal
who is trying to "work" him for a puff or
as that particular kind OF man is
the bane of his life.
As yet but few OF him have visited this
part OF the country. it's remoteness from
the large cities and the small number OF
papers, and the equally small forces they
have kept him out. However, the
time will come when he will be quite num-
erous. When he does come treat him well,