The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-20
WALKED FROM TEXAS TO NEWARK.
The Roberts Family's Long and Ardu-
Gus Tramp.

lOlA tAlG new lOth sun.
A tall gaunt man, with stringy side
whsikers and clothing so torn ana tattered
that il threatened to fan off, entered police
headquarters at Newark about o'clock
on Saturday night, and, walking up to the
lieutenant in charge. said: "Guv'n er, kin
l an mine squat here for a timer
What DO you mean" asked the lieu
tenant.
We'll" said the man, weather amt
none too likely out, an men my family
wants shelter fer the night"
"Oh, / guess we can fix you" replied
the officer. but where's your family?"
"Pn git en-" said the man, walking to
the door he opened it, and sticking his
head out cried: Come here you uns; you
Sary and you Hennery, come on all of
YOU" In another moment the lieutenant
beheld parade the like OF which he never
saw before, and which he says he hopes
he'll never see again. The first person to
respond to the mans call was a middle
aged woman. She was dressed in a most
dilapidated gown of the Mother Hubbard
style; her matted and unlxempt hair hung
down her back, while her dirty face was
screwed up into a sorry-looking smile.
The lieutenant looked aghast at this ap-
partition, but there was more to come.
One after another five children trooped in
four boys and one girl all wearing the
same smile Of confidence that had first
shown itself on the woman, and all so
ragged and dirty that they looked as
though they had been put through
threshing machine and then rolled in the
mud.
rs this the family?" gasped the lieu
tenant.
'Them's my Youngsters and this is my
woman" said the man.
Where did you come from, anyway"
Texas"
How did you get here?"
Seven grins greeted the leutenants
query, and then came the laconic answer.
walked"
The man then went on to tell a remarka-
BILE story of how he and his family had
come all the way from Texas, walking
when they had to and riding when they
got the oppoI tunity, which was not often.
Penniless, ragged, and hungry as they
were, they nevertheless, seemed happy.
When the chief of police and every one who
amounts to anything on the Newark force
had been consulted, it was decided to put
them all in one of the rooms usually kept
for witnesses. The man, who had given
his name as Charles N. Roberts of Brown
county, Texas. accepted the offer, and the
family were led to their rude quarters.
each one still wearing a grin and appar-
emily happy.
Yesterday Roberts and his family were
seen by a Sun reporter Il amt no Texan
myself" he said, when asked to talk about
his long walk. AN / don never wanter
be. I was born in this here part er the
country, but I went down there ten years
ago when I was broke, an here ! am back
again, an still broke IN So years old
myself; my wife Saray here is 46, gittn'
onter A; Belle, the little girl, is jes' turnin'
Il; Hennery is u; an them twins, John
and Tom" pointing at two youngsters
who were engaged in d. terrific battle on
the floor are 10 apiece. Then, there's
little Isaac there, he amt no more'n 6,
an that's the whole family"
An hands greeted the reporter enthu-
siastically, the twins even stopping their
fight long enough to say "Howdy"
Them farms in Brown county ain't much
good" resumed Mr. Roberts. Il jes' man
ager ter make Twin up rcS four months
ago, when 1 had ter quit. l rented the
old place any way, but the COW and the
horse was mine, an when the drought
came / had ter throw up my hands. I sold
the cow, and the old horse had to 60. too,
and then, with blankets fer all hands and
hunk er money about SEQ, we started to
walk to Newark here Y see 1 have a
brother somewhere here, cuz he sent me a
letter bout seven months ago an said as
how he was Twin AT Newark 1t was
three months and a week ago whe4l we
started. We rode far as we could on
the money had, an then we started out