Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1893-01-19
THE DESERT TRAMP.
Incidents Of Nomad Life in the
Land of Thirst.
Plenty of Feed In Spite OF the Aridity-
Instructed in Applying for Work
Got q Beefsteak In Harsh
Fashion.

Cue people OIL Lle OeSGrG mining cam pS
that. like Daggett, California, are To-
Gated on railroads, believe that three
times as many can be found there in
proportion to the population as in any
other part of the country. Wretched as
this country is as site for human hab-
itation, devoid of all human necessities
devoid, even, of water save at the
stations-and cursed with climate all
but intolerable, day never passes
without a tramp coming to the doors
Of some of the houses and begging
for food. Nor do they confne them
selves to begging. They browbeat and
terrorize women found alone in tneir
homes and the Chinese cooks employed
in restaurants and kitchens, very
much as tramps do elsewhere, and this,
too, in spite of the reputation which
desert men have for taking the law in
their own hands in dealing with such
cases.
Then, too, the reputation of the aver
age desert man as a maH-killer Is unde-
served. There are desperadoes ON the
desert, and they do the killing, as a
rule. The men who have wives and
kitchens are not desperadoes. They
are respectable citizens, willing to en-
dure great privations in the hope of a
future competence. They are like re-
spectacle citizens elsewhere in their
slowness to take bloody revenge for
a personal injury. The tramp knows
this very we'll, and acts on his know.
ledge. In a journey that included the
widest towns on the Mojave desert
the writer did not hear of single
tramp who had been killed for his
temerity nor did he find more than one
house that was at all free from their
visits, and that house did not enjoy en-
tire immunity. 1t was left compara-
lively free, however, because of the
vigorous treatment which the nomad
received at The hands of its master.
Mr.. j. w. S. Perry, Of Daggett. is
the superintendent of borate, OF
lime mine in the Calico mountains,
nine miles from there. H office is in
his house there, where he lives with his
wife, who, during most of the year,
keeps no servant. When they first
came there the tramps swarmed about
the house. Mrs: Perry is California
girl, aud could not bear to refuse.a m an
who asked for food in respectful Ian.
guage. But one day came tramp to
the kitchen door who was not respect
full. He walked right in without a
word. AS luck had it Mr.. Perry hap
pened to walk in at the dining-room
at the same instant.
Superintendent Of desert mines are
accustomed to dealing with all kinds
of men and are particularly prompt in
action.
''What do you want?' said Perry to
the tramp.
Il came to see you about getting q
job" replied the tramp, who was try
ing to make the best of a bad case.
''And you thought the way to get
work was to come around to the kitch.
en- door and enter without knocking,
did you?" The tramp made no reply,
and Mr.. Perry continued:
Il will conduct you to the Office door
and show you how to get in there in a
proper way"
At that Perry turned the tramp
around, kicked him out the kitchen
door, kicked him around the house to
the Office door and stood him up there
and said:
''Now knock on the door,
The man knocked and Perry opened
it and entered. ~
Come in,' he said, and the tramp
followed.
do you want work or have you got
rather more than you wanted?o Perry
continued.
The man glanced up and then fed.
Perry is six-footer, who can kick like
desert mule.
It was a long time before Mrs. Perry
was troubled by tramps again; but, OF
course, there was no escaping them al.
together. Even the purchase of a won.
derfully intelligent and well-trained
dog did not keep them away alto.
gether. Mr.. Perry had to drive to the
mine, nine miles away, several times a
week, and the wife was often left
alone for several hours at a time. One
afternoon something at the mine de.
tanned Perry so that he could not reach
home until after dark. Mrs. Perry I'M
derstood the matter, and did not begin
to prepare supper until after nightfall.
She was going to broil.a steak that
night, and, having lighted the fire and
a lamp, was putting the broiler on the
stove when q tramp stalked in at the
open kitchen door, having in some way
escaped the dog. The frightened look
that came to Mrs. >Perry's face at once
showed him that he was master of the
situation, and. sitting down at the ia
bic, he babe her go on and get the
steak ready in haste and to fetch out
the best Of everything she had in addi-
ton. The bearing of the man was so
terrifying that Mrs. Perry did not dare
to refuse. and, greatly agitated, 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 he did not hear the wheels of
a buck board that was driven up to the
rear Of the house, nor did Mrs. Perry
hear them.
Inc DUCK board contained Mr.. Perry,
and he could hear the words Of the
tramp very plainly. Dropping the
reiDs 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 ashland coming, and
then fell in dead faint beside the
stove.
Without a word Perry entered the
room. and. walking tosthe table, picked
up the carving knife. while the tram
tel on his !knrss anu begged for life,