Evening star., 1896-08-01

~M N o o y fraternity
EA were planning their
S campaigns tor the
RG- following day. The
reporter Joined them
for an hour. and encouraged them to spin
yarns of themselves and their adventures
The night was an excessively hot one and
as they were used to the open air and
cared not for early hours. they seemed per-
fectly content 10 sit and enjoy the report
ers tobacco and tell incredible yarns IL
frequently happens that party of tramps
consists entirely of persons OF The same
class.
Soldier Tramps.
These men were soldier tramps" When
the call for troops was sounded i'm the early
sixties, they had enlisted in the army: they
had served until the war closed and then
they became wanderers This class of men.
though, is rapidly growing smaller Its
decrease is accounted for principally, IL not
ehureiy. by the age of the man. The death
rate among them is large. and as the
weight Of years becomes increasingly heay-
Ter, they cease their meanderings and NUT
INTO the Soldiers Homes. These four men
mad been on the road almost continuously
since they left the army. They all received
small pensions, and with that aid were able
10 move the more conveniently from place
to place.
brOthers and Partners.
TWO were brothers, and they told with q
touch of pride that they had not been
separated for twenty years. 1t seemed
that they served throughout the war in a
wisconsin regiment They spent a year
after the war closed at their old home and
then took to the road. The reporter asked
them IL they had trades They replied.
with surprise. that they had not In fact
a knowledge OF any special branch of in
dcstry or art would have been of no value
to them, for they certainly would moi have
followed it. They had become tramps-
they said, and they enjoyed the life. They
had just reached this CITY having coma
througf Pennsylvania. Last summer was
spent IN the region of the great lakes In
the fall they went into Indiana and grad
TALLY 1ourneyed east Until they reached
western pennsylvania, where three months
were spent twhether forcibly or not they
did not say. and the reporter did not ask.
The elder brother seemed to be the mouth
piece of the firm and at the conclusion Of
his little tale of their travels he said: We
allus pools our funds. Ii don't make diff
funce which one o. us strikes il rich, me
and Sam divides ever time"
Kinder Sad Like.
one OF the little party was a son of old
Ireland. The others poked fun at him fire.
qUently, but he cared little for their ieers.
He seemed to prefer not to do much OF
the talking himself. but was an attentive
| listener 10 the stories of the others The
reporter subsequently learned from one OF
the men that Matt had been wounded I'm
the head and that made him kinder sad
like His career had been that OF a tyni-
cal tramp. as was shown by his story.
which, piece by piece, he slowly unwound
ne was In one of the regiments recruited
from New York city. He had only been in
active service two months when 10 use
ms own term, he was hurried" After he
left the hospital he spent several years
psrair
During the centennial he came east and
took up his quarters in the vicinity of this
city While he waited for the allowance of
| a tension which was a long time coming
Finally, however he received in. then he
took to the road in earnest
win pride he remarked that he had
never had his pension sent to the same
pest Office twicc-meaning that he wa.
always on the move. His pension was
only trif1e and with il he Invariably
bought new suit and treated as MANY
ol tne BOYS as happened to be handy. The
| reporter asked him what became of the
new suit usually. With a sly twinkle ba
replied Il pawn ii within a fortnit" Matt
| confines his travels to the eastern section
OF the country. Occasionally he said ne
went over the line into Canada but rarely
was far from the coast. Possibly he
waited 10 be as near the emerald isle as he
could without crossing over.
Red Tip"
The fourth member Of the group was a
pis leHoW Wnom the others called Red
Tip, presumably because his nose resern-
bied red ripe strawberry of unusual nro-
portions. He carefully explained the con-
dition of this member. as well as his nick
name, by drawing out, Folks always
think bin drinkin'. but II is the effect
or tn sun on m face" That the cause
was something besides the sun not one
or the party doubted. No one however
said so, for he was the biggest and strong
est hobo in the crowd. His army service
years thereafter he ran an engine so he
said, on one OF the large railroads, and
was only forced to retire from that posi-
ton because of falling eyesight Either he
was led to engage in rairoading because
OF his rowing disposition else that voca-
ton greatly developed his love for travel.
His Country His Home.
Possibly both, for it was his boast that
his home was the whole u. s." He was
jest in from Philadelphia. Last winter
he spent doing" the west Then he took
out across the northern boundary of tho
country, staying awhile, he said, in Chi
cago and Buffalo, and finally left Boston
In sailing vessel, on which he stayed
from force Of necessity, until PhladeIphia
was reached. His pension would be due
again in September, and he was going 10
remain in and around the city until that
time. In fact that is probably what they
are all here for. They will not stay here
steadily, hut will camp in the vicinity
until another instalment of their govern
ment stipend shall become due. Then
they will return to their chosen life on the
road with renewed energy and this little
| visit at the capital will become one of the
- . tha