The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-08
AMERICAS ROMANY FOLK.
FOUND IN ALL GLASSES OF III
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Their ways ana lAnEuaEc-GSpsy hA'nhs
and 0uccns-whnt the Homads Eat ana
where The Go-Fascinntions or tho
Pnttrin TraiI-A Clergyman who Wnnders-

-ONutd NOUN UbpSb rVih WV
''Thc gypsy race shows no sign of extinction.
The Romanys arc IA strong and as numerous To-
day ms they have ever BEEN"
Thus spoke Paul Kcstcr, cthnologist and stu
dent of the lives. habits, and language Of gyp-
sizes. Mr.. Kcstcr Is ono OF the greatest living
authorities upon tho American Romany. In
his play "Zamar,' one Of the late Alexander
Salvini's successes, he dealt broadly with his
favorite subject.
''Thc gypsies." continued Mr.. Kester, "camo
originally from Hindoostan. The migration
of the race occurred during the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. The sobriquet 'Egyp-
tian,' which they assumed, was. 1t Is supposed,
owing TO their temporary sojourn In Egypt.
Tho name ltomany cthnologists derive from
the Hindu rom, n man. Armed with protect
ing letters from one or moro OF the Popcs. they
appeared in Germany, and thereafter swarmed
over Europe. / cannot say when they first came
to America, but certain 1t is that they were not
long after the first white colonists. Spain
sent her Zincali to Mexico, while from France
and England gypsy families crossed the Atlantic
in purs uance of their roaming instincts.
"Thero arc many thousands of them in the
United States, and they pcrn,catc all branches
of society. ! know of all eminent and respected
Episcopal Clergyman in Boston who has
Romany blood in his veins. Once a year tho
old wandering fever comes over this good man,
and then. hey presto! the pulpit is temporarily
abandoned and he follows:thc pattrin trail, or
lounges contcntedly among his kindred in tho
shade Of the caravan tent. In many of our
cities there are wealthy men and women. mil
lionaircs and so-callcd society people, who arc
Romany-chals tgypsy mem or Romany-chis
,gypsy girls. and who cannot resist following
the pattrin when summer timc.comcs round.
but, of course, the great majority Of the race
live in their caravans all the year round, tell
ing fortunes and trading in horses for IA living
going South with the approach of winter, and
returning Northward when summer is ut hand.
A generation or two ago polygamy was prac-
tiscd among them in isolated cases; but to-day
it exists no longer. An American gypsy has
only one wife, and IA very good husband he gen
orally makes her. He is an excellent father.
too. In all my long experience l have never
seen u Romany father beat his offspring.
.'Since the death of Matilda Stanley ii. of
Dayton. o., a few years ago, the American gyp-
sizes have had no generally recognized queen.
This Matilda succeeded her aunt of tho same
name Matilda Stanley l., whose great funeral
and the vast horde of gypsies that attended it
will still be remembered. The lrish-American
and a mcrican gypsies have rulers Of
their own. There arc $50 families OF German
American Romanys, and their queen is Sophia
Frcyer, n ltonany-chi of nearly so years. For
many years old John German was king Of the
Itomany. He was succeeded
by his wife, Queen Bridget, who in turn gave
place TO her son, BARLEY German. the present
king. King John German and Queen Bridget
came to New York from Ireland in the ~forties,
bringing with them their wagons. Since then
they have rOamcd the country over aud multi
piled greatly. Their chief vocation is horse
trading. Henry Palmer, a millionaire gypsy of
san Francisco. who claimed to have succeeded
Matilda Stanley ii. as sovereign of all tho
Romanys in America. died in 1894. His giant
form and great wealth made him IA familiar per-
sonago. in California.
4 the gypsy families have two Names. e.,
their Romany patronymic and its equivalent in
tho language of their adopted country. Here. as
in England. the principal families are the Lees,
Smiths. whartons. Cayitields. Bucklands, and
families are known respectively as Purrums. or
Leeks; Bar.moscro, or stone people; Rossar-
mc5cro, or durk people: Caumloes, or love
makers: GryS. or horse people: Vardo.mescro.
or wheelwrights, and Petulengroes. OF horse.
shoers:, 1t will be seen that in translating
their Romany names they generally attempted
a play upon words. when they could not find
the exact equivalents. In the same way the
gypsies have Romany names for most OF the
big cities in England and this country. They
are quito opposite, too, as may be judged by
the following short list, picked up around camp
Itv!nor,Gav, or Beer-town Milwaukee and St,
white doorsteps; Purcno.Gay. or old-town Bos-
PSu%~dge.Gav. or 'BridEetoSwn, Brooklyn: BeiHSni,,
Gay; or Queen ETY. washington, and Match
ter, Mass, and other sea coast towns.
as in less settled lines. When the R Ron an t" was
forced to travel in large numbers for ~sclf-pro-
lection. From twelve To twenty persons make
up the average caravan to-day. although in
T"m9 large SGss' b 1ns " IS the n faInSa. f nns Of Of w sihty; old ID
Chivodine Lovcl is tho chief. Every year
the Boulevard. Thee Lovcls are over sixty
in number, At one time they were suspected
haired boy found in their camp and supposed to
be little Ross was proved a nephew OF old Chivo-
tamcy. Chief stanley'Ts bis family yearly en-.
camps on Crow Hill, Kings county, y. y. In
the suburbs Of Denver; Col, the gyp;ies ruled
branches of the STANLEY family OF Ohio encamp
near Dayton, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.
''Thc pattrin is the code Of signs by which
Eypsics tell each other the road to be followed.
The word comes from the Sanscrit %patt,d. a
scattering of little tufts of grass or tiny bundles
OF, leaves along the route pursued. straw,
sticks, Gebb,Iss, and crosses in the earth are
also used; The form OF ~Iattrin for night guild
nncc, is the placing of IA small forked stick up.
ward in ne ground. with q smaller stick poised
~ NV " w wv tIf ullttlIOn. .NONu'lHNS \,
however. the gyIsies are getting so unromantic
that they do a great deal Of tclographing. Odd.
ly enough, tho great gypsy exchanges in tho
various, cities are, livery stables and pawn
brokers shops. Tho first fact is explicable
when one recalls the horse trading Of tho
Romany; but the second calls for explanation.
Gypsics are the pawnbrokcrs' best customers.
They buy lavishly all sorts of gold. silver. and
amber and cOwrie and nearly all
their dealing is done with the pawnohops. The
gypsy woman has an oriental taste in jcwclry,
and every ROmany-Chi possesses a box full Of
trinketS, especially in silver, amber. and Tin
heritancc from Hindu anCcstorsl cowric beads.
The pawnbrokcrs keep in touch with tho vari.
Gus caravans, and nj the sign OF the three golden
balls. the ltomany learns the whereabouts OF
relatives and friends.
at is difficult indeed to win the gypsy's conf.
dcncc. He Is distrustful of the GorgiO. or Cen
tile. by whom he has been prosecuted. whom
in turn he has hated and preyed upon for ages.
II took me four long years to break the ice with
II single ltomany family; but. once broken, the
rest was easy; Very soon had a good, colo
auial knowledge OF Romany. My friendship
with The one family. and my acquaintance with
the mystic pattrin code, proved adequate intro
ductiOns to the gypsics everywhere. The Amer
lean gypsy, AS n rule, has no real religion. FIRE
Qucntly he ostGnsibly follows some faith, but
lie does il with his tongue in his check. Their
,,..,I F~, cod - n.tyn' 81. l..snl 49,