St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-29
WHERE TRAMps HARBER.


WHERE TRAMPS HARBER.
Welcome For All Who Come In
Nedd to Farmer Beckenbaeh's
Farm.
Philadelphia Times.
In Camden county, not far from Be
lair, at Morrisville, lives plain old
German farmer blessed with big farm
and an abundance of this worlds goods.
His hospitality to the houseless and
homeless wanderers the world call
tramps is known from Maine to
New Orleans, and from ocean to
ocean. On the Beckenbach place
is big barn. In this barn, in winter
and in summer, and on any day OF
the year. whether it be Christmas, New
Year OF the Fourth of July, can be
found women with children in their
arms, a shiftless fisherman with ragged
suit on him and shillalah i'll his hands,
or some sturdy and homeless German
ontcast, perhaps with trunk OH his
shoulder trudging over from the railway
station to the Beckenbach barn, which,
by some fine freemaSOnry among the
tramps of America, is known as
ssSaint's Rest FOR the homeless wan
derer thousand miles away, seeking
rest or idleness, or, it may be. a days
work with pilgrim shoon and scallop
shell.n
If. the stranger sits on the porch OF
any one of the farm houses on the nam
road leading to Morrisville he will be
greeted at any hour of the day with the
inquiry; Doo,,on,,oo h,s
barn?"
And you can tell with your eyes shut
that the inquirer, be he man or WOm-
an. is seeking temporary refuge under
the caves of Beckenbach'S barn.
Now it will be frOwSy-looking wom-
an, with draggled skirts, half a bonnet
and an old shawl, in one corner OF
which is wrapped baby, not old enough
to walk OF talk. If it is a warm day,
she may sit down on the grass, after
getting her bearings and distances to
the barn, with her back up against
tree. and she may pause long enough to
take a nap, with her head hanging over
one shoulder, while her prattling babe,
unconscious of its shabby personal sur
roundings, crawls through the high
grass OF pluckS, with tiny fingers, the
daffydowndilies which dot the sWard
like day stars.
Next it may be great hnlking Ger,
man. with military air, as IL he mad
fought with Won Moltke, or in better
days taken schooner" with BIS,
marck. This man wears hIgh-topped
boots, with great box like sailors an
chest, which is strapped on his shout
ders. and the Teutonic traveller with
big pipe in his mouth pauses long
enough to say: .Vere vos dot Becken-
bach's barn?'' There will be a score or
more along to-day, looking like Fal-
statf's ragged regiment, all kings ana
queens in shreds, tatters and patches.
And it is substantive fact that a
tramp i'm Texas made an engagement IN
mid-Winter with a fellOw-nOmad at I'll
Paso. saving: "Yah! Jacob, l meets
YOU again when dose bease all must be
pick't down by dot Beckenbach barn In
.Iersey.n And when the voice OF the
turtle dove was heard in the land the
two tramps drank bottled beer together
in Beekenbach'S barn after an honest
days toll in the generous Germans pea
patch at Morrisville.
Most of these picturesque trampS al
lege that they are seeking work. Some
of them are. and none go away empty
handed from the honest Germans plan
IdIfOil VIII dlC Willing w Wv ~ 1870 ~
work for good wages.
They begin by picking peas. Beck
enbaefl'S barn is a sort0f agricultural Z
exchange when the Belair farmers come
to get hands, male and female, for the
busy season. After the pea season is
over they struggle through the straw
berry furry only to tackle the tomato
vines. which yield the hOmad workers a
financial harvest of no mean measure.
Then comes the red raspberry. the cul-
tivated blackberry, cherries and cur
rants, down to peach season, cltrons,
canteloupes and watermelons, and when
Jack Frost comes the colony OF trampS
seek a softer climate and mllder SKIES.
There is boss even among tramph
Spanish Dick is boss OF the BeckenDacs
barn. Dr.. Dunbar Hylton says that
Spanish Dick is descended from
Spanish hidalgo, with a bar sinister.
He speaks six languages, and was once
an impresariO in Jenny Lind'S time at
Castle Garden. but has now descended
to be boss among the pea plckers Oh
the old Germans farm. There are
traces of dignity and erudition In the
Wav Hidalgo Dick issues his order Ill
strawberry patch.
Amused at the novel sight of this red
painted barn sheltering so numerous
family of seemingly contented trampS.
sought the comfortable mansion OF the
German farmer to get from him the true
inwardness of his hospitality to the
transforming nomads.
Beckenbach is typical farmer.
Short, even stumpy, in stature, blue
eyed and with gray hair, we'll fed, and
evidently scholar and practical phil
osopher.
When I asked him the true history of
his tramp colony, he said:
when no Beckenbach barn was now al
ready on desc places. In summer time
and IN de Wedder ven it is d-n cold
come dose tramps, mems and women,
ius' like small army in AlSace. 1t
was in December month when first dey
reach nv blaze, and mine frow find a
lettle stove up in dose barns already.
De dramps make no music wild der fists;
makes no salts and batteries before de
courts in Campden. Dey fites not
nit my PEBBLES or in dose barns
nit themselves, so / leaves ZEN alone.
One day his own PEBBLES bnries him III
nv back lodt, and | say nodinks.
Tramps pick me de peas in Gle summer
time, and desc PEBBLES swear not at all,
and dey drinks rum; dey kills nobody,
and don't find it in my heart already
to drive desc PEBBLES out In dc wlnfry
time. For when de swallows fly up IN
de. homeWard time desc PEBBLES go away
hy themselves. Desc men and women do
like dose old red barn. Ven dey like 1T
and behave decent | leaves him in de
Old barn. and l don't neber drive no
tramps away at ALL
.sTO Rent"