The evening times., 1895-08-21
TRAMPs' MEALS AND CLOTHING
Poke Out" Beggars Usually Manage
to Find u Subsf q MT iaI Breakfast.

Poke Out" Beggars Usually Manage
to Find u Substantial Brea kfast.
As rule the poke out" beggar has but
one meal Il day and 1t is usually breakfast
| This is the main meal with all vaga bonds,
and even the lazy tramp makes frantic ef-
| forts to find i. Its quantity as well as its
| quality depends largely on the kind of house
! he visits. His usual breakfast, IL he is
fairly lucky, says u writer in Harper's
Weekly, consists of coffee. a little meat,
some potatoes and punk an plaster"
as he calls bread and butter. Coffee, more
than anything else, is what every man of
his kind wants early in the morning
The clothes OF the poke out" beggar are
not much. IL any. better than his food In
summer he seldom has more than shirt,
pair of trousers, n coat, some old shoes and
battered nat. Even in winter he wears
little more, especially IL be goes South.
While L 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 trou-
sers were out at the knees and had to be
turned up in London fashion at the bot
tom to keep me from tripping; the hat was
an old derby, with the crown dented in
numerous places, and the only decent thing
| had WAS a flannel shirt. purchased this
rig OF an old Jew, and thought it would be
just the thing for the road, and so il was
but only for the 'poke-out" tramp's road.
The hoboes laughed a me, and called me
-hoodoo,r and / never got in with them
in any such garb- Nevertheless, wore it
for nearly two months, and go long as as
sociated with lazy beggars only, it was all
right.
lt is by no means uncommon tn see a
''poke-Out'' vagabOnd wearing some sort
of garment which belongs to a wuman's
wardrobe. He is so Indifferent that he
will wear anything that will shield his
nIketlness, and have known him to be SO
lazy that he did not even do that One
old fellow l remember particularly. He
had lost his shirt somehow. and for almost
a week went about with only 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 :nore he delayed
1t the more they labored with him. One
night they were all gathered together at
"hang-out" not far from Lima, Ohio,
and the old fellow was told that unless
lie found a shirt that night they would
take away his coat also.
He begged and begged, but they were
determined. and as they did not show any
intention of doing as he was hidden. they
relieved him Of his jacket. And all thas
night and the folio wing day he was actually
so lazy and stubborn that he would not
yield. and probably would be there still.
Iii some form or other, had his pals not re-
tented and returned him the coat As /
sad, he went nearly a week without finding
a shirt, and E-t once did lie show the least
shame or embarrassment. just at present,
/ understand. that lie is in limbo, wearing
the famous .'zebra''-the peDitentiary dress.
1t is Dot popular among tranIps, and they
seldom wear it. but feel thatth old rascal
in spite of the disgrace and Inconvenience
that his confinement brings upon him, is
uckied indeed that he is not hound to find
his own clothes.