Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-10-16
HOW VA0ABONDS LIVE.

As rule the "poke-out' beggar has
but one meal day. pnd it is usually
breakfast. This is the main deal with
all vagaHonds. and even the lazy tramp
makes frantic efforts to find it. Its
quantity as we'll as its quality depends
largely ON the kind of house he visits.
His usual breakfast if he is fairly
lucky, consists of coffee. little meat.
some potatoes, and punk an plaster. :"
as he calls bread and butter. Coffee.
more than any thing else. is what every
man of his kind wants early in the
morning.
The clothes of the "poke-out" beg
gar are not much. if any, better than
his food. In summer he seldom has
more than shirt. pair of trousers,
coat, some old shoes, and a battered
hat. Even in winter he wears little
more, especially if he goes south.
While ] lived with him | wore these
same togs. shall never forget my
first tramp suit of clothes. The coat
was patched in dozen places, and was
nearly three sizes too large for me; the
vest was torn in the back, and had but
two buttons: the trousers were out at
the knees and had to be turned up in
London fashion at the bottom to keep
me from tripping; the hat was an old
Derby with the crown dented in num-
erous places, and the only decent thing
l had was flannel shirt. 1 purchased
this rig of an old Jew, and thought
that it would be just the thing for the
road. and so it was, but only for the
"poke-out" tramp's road. The hobos
laughed at me and called me "hoo-
doo," and never got in with them in
any such garb. Nevertheless I wore
it for nearly two months, and SO long
as I associated with lazy beggars only
it was all right.
1t is by no means uncommon to see
"poke. out" vagabond wearing some
sort of garment which belongs to
woman's wardrobe. He is so indiffer-
ent that he will wear any thing that
will shield his nakedness, and have
known him to be SO lazy that he did
not even do that. One old fellow I
remember particularly. He had lost
his shirt somehow, and for almost a
week went about with only a coat be-
tween his body and the world at large.
Some of his pals. although they were
of his own class. told him that he
ought to find another one, and the
more he delayed it the more they
labored with him. One night they
were all gathered together at a chang
to- not far from Lima, Ohio. and the
old fellow was told that unless he
found shirt that night they would
take away his coat also. He begged
and begged. but they were determined,
and as he did not show any intention
of doing as he was hidden they relieved
him of his jacket And all that night
and the following day be was actually
SO lazy and stubborn that he would
not yield, and would probably be there
still in some form or other had his
pals not relented and returned him the
coat. AS | said, he went for nearly a
week without finding a shirt, and not
once did he show the least shame or
embarrassment. Just at present l un-
derstand that he is in limbo, wearing
the famous zebra the penitentiaIy
dress. 1t is not popular among tramps
and they seldom wear it, but | feel
that that old rascal, in spite of the
disgrace and inconvenience that his
confinement brings upon him is tickled
indeed that he is not bound to find his
own clothes. .-Harper's Weekly.