Birmingham state herald., 1896-11-08

no ambition. Let them work what wants to work. Most of 'em die owin' more than they was ever worth anyhow Ain't I better off than them? I don't eve noth- in. an the world owes me livin. When I drop off, me an the world is square, ain't we? Wal I'm satisfied to let 1t go at that. I ain't kicking
 But don't you feel as if you wanted friends?"
 Friends. God bless you. boss. I've got plenty of friends. I run across old pals pretty nigh every month of my life, all the way from here to California. I've got friends enough
 But how do you keep track of them?''
 That ain't hard. We've got our lan- guage and there ain't a water tank in the country what ain't got friendly message for some old lost pal. You've seen them water tanks where engines stop for water, haven't you? Wal, if you'd ever looked at em close you'd see chalk marks and signs. Them are buns messages to their pals. and they tell them where they are goin and how long they will hang out In the towns along the way. Every bum you meet is goin' somewhere. If it is In the spring you will find him goin' north or west. In the summer he stays round somewhere where folks don't begrudge a 'handout to a feller what's down on his luck, and dogs and consta- bles ain't too numerous"
 Aren't you arrested sometimes for begging and sleeping out?'
 "Once in a while they nab us in the towns"
 linen why don't you keep in the coun- try?"
 'Oh towns has their advantages. Most of the smaller cities has their wood- yards, and when we want to lay quiet a while and get cleaned up, we go there.'
 What are woodyards?'
 Big yards full O woodpiles, where n feller can get meal for every five sticks of wood he saws. They give you pretty decent food and lodgin. Most of 'em has missions, an every night you've got to go to the meetins an pray an sing an give your experiences A small blum sees you through that all right, though.
 GETTING BAPTIZED IN BALTIMORE.
 Suppose you strike town where there is no woodyard?'
 "Oh, then we've got to hustle for hand outs, an sleep out when 1t don't rain. Durin' the day we spot place to lay at , night, and then when 1t gets dark We go there. If cop comes along and tells us to move on, why, then We move. They used to arrest us here for that, but they have stopped it now Everything's full, and they've got no place to send us to when they sentence us. If 1t rains, we go to a police station, an they give us a nights lodgin'. Baltimore's the dandy town, though I tel lyou. They have a big woodward there, and when you go in you have to go into big room. take off your duds and tie them to big strap. This swings everything you've got on earth clean up out of sight. Then they take you to the wash room and make you take bath. When you finish they give you big wooden night shirt and when you get your togs next mornin' through a little winder they smell alfred bad O sulphur smoke, but everything that lived in em, except the man that owned 'em, is dead. Yes, Baltimore Is fine town
 Do you have much trouble with train- men?"
 No, not often. Once in a while they ditch us, but they don't give us much troubleTheyre pretty decent lot, train men are, and feller can't blame them
 for gettn' mad sometimes. You see, some durned fools have way of brakin' the trains, and that makes 'em furious. Sometimes when the train is going full speed, some fool hobo takes 1t into his head he wants to get off. Then he goes to a brake and tightens 1t up, mebbe two or three brakes. This slows up the train an he jumps off. The brakemen have to climb up out of the caboose and run along the train, tryin the brakes until they find the one that's turned Human natur' is human natur', and, of course, | they get mad. Then, again, some fellers l take it into their heads to kindle fires l in the box cars. They tear the wood- 1 work from the sides of the cars and burn l 1t on the floors. You can't blame the bralsies for gettn' mad at that, can your"
 But what pleasure do you get from the l life?" asked the unsophisticated young | man.
 Wal. don't know" returned the par I iah refiectively There's a sort O free l dom about 1t thar sort of agrees With me: What pleasure does any one get out or | life? When city folks get tired of their work, they go out into the woods and green fields to gaze on natur', don't theyI Wal, that's just about what we do. 1 tell you, young feller, there's nothing better in this here world than good bazin' fire under the big trees. away from cops, an justices an work 'usses, with a pot of steamin coffee an chick ems, an'-never mind where the chick ems come from-an' a lot of pleasure-lov- in feller critters Hyn' round you. Sleep in in the woods ain't always bad, an when a feler gets tlrdet of that, there's haymows. Now, where's the man what don't like the smell O hay?" ManteI and file sf2 5O-Mayberry 6 Watson.