The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-01-15


tnc best of every; hing she had in addi-
ton. Tho bearing of the man was so
terrifying that Mrs. Perry did not dare
to refuse, and. greatly agitatcd, she
brought the steak and put it over the
glowing Goals. The other work was
also continued, the man meantime
cursing her for being slow so continu-
ally that lie did not hear the wheels of
Il blackboard that was driven up to the
rear of the house, nor did Mrs Perry
hear them.
The blackboard contained Mr.. Perry,
and he could hear the words of the
tramp very plainly. Dropping the
rcins he walked silently toward the
kitchen door just as Mrs Perry APP
preached the stove with quart shaker
full of powdered salt. She poised the
shaker, and By accident shook the
cover off so that more than pint of
salt fell on the meat, glanced at the
door and saw her husband coming, and
then fell in n dead faint beside the
stove.
Without word Perry entered the
room, and, walking to the table, picked
up the carving knife, while the tramp
fell on his knees and begged for life
That WAS the only move that could
save his life. Perry could not kill u
man who begged for mercy, but he
could and did give him n frightful re-
turn for the misery Mrs. Perry had en-
durcd. For n moment lie considered
how he could punish the follow, and
then his eyes fell on the stove.
The steak was bubbling on top and
scorching below over the redhot Goals,
while the salt in browning heap lay
on the middle.
Hold out your hands fiat" said Per-
ry. The tramp obcycd, and with the
knife and fork Perry placed the steak
upon them. The man shricled with
pain, but dared not drop it.
You ordered the steak quick and
you shall have it," said Perry. Now
eat it."
With the ready knife before his eyes
the tramp cholied it down, salt and
all, and then disappeared in the night
The eastern reader may think that
after such an experience the tramp
died on the desert next day, but he
didn't. and the chances arc that bv cx-
hibiting his burned hands and telling
some pitiful story about them he OBJ
tanned more squire meals during the
next week than he had had in three
months before. That Perry was iusti-
fed in his treatment of the man no one
doubts who knows the desert and its
nouiada.
Although rarely II ever done todcath
by the citizens ON whom they prey,
more tramps die violent deaths in this
country than elsewhere. because the
country is desert they must ride on
the cars in the hot months. There is Il
curious rule among the railroads OF the
whole Rocky mountain region that
works to the advantage of the tramps.
The Indians of the rcgion arc allowed
to ride free on the outside of and be-
tween the cars. 1t is great graft" for
the tramp who finds Il group Of Piutes
or Shoshoncs on IL train The train
men do not notice the addition to the
group, and the Indians are not unlike
ly to share their food with the tramp.
But Indians are not often found on the
railroads in this part of the desert.
while tranps are as plentiful as sand
storms. y train never goes over the
road without carrying tramps or with
out fight between them and the train
men. The utter reclllessncss of the
tramps in stealing rides is enough to
unnerve the inexperienced spectator.
1t is useless for them to try to board q
train that is standing at station in
the daytime. so they walk up the track
and wait there till the train has started
and attained Il speed at which it would
be dangerous for an ordinary man to
try to climb on or even lump from the
platform, and then, graspng the rods
that brace the floor timbcrs OF a car.
they swing themselves under and land
on the brake beams. This is done to
some extent by tramps in the east,
but railroad men say that the tramps
here can board brake beam on
train going from twenty-five to thirty
miles an hour. The tourist hears this
told SO often and SO candidly that he is
obliged TO believe it. But sooner or
later the nerve or the muscle of the
tramp fails, and lie drops under the
wheels. Sonnny tramps are killed by
the trains that the local papers give no
more attention to events of the kind
than New York papers give to the
manning of children by rccklcssly
driven trucks. The stories of railroad
hccruch'S OH Iic neSert arc telcSraphcd
to the east only when the lives of pas
sengcrs have been lost. so eastern read
ers do not hear about the killed tramps;
but Il railroad man told the writer that
out OF seven collisions involving freight
trains, with the details of which he
was familiar, trainps had been killed
in four.-E. y. Sun