The times., 1898-11-10
RUSSIAN TRAMPS THRIVE.
Religious Mendicants Protected by
the Church.


the Church.
There are two types of tramps in Rus
sia. and they may be classified as author
lied and unauthorized, says the New
York Commercial Advertiser. The first
are the so-called religious mendicants,
who are protected by the church and toll
Grated by the police: the second are the
common vagabonds. 1t Is these last who
constitute, from the Russian point of
beggars are considered an inevitable
church class, and are taken care Of al
most as conscientiously as the priests
The common tramps. on the other hand.
are looked upon as very unnecessary
burden, and ever since the conversion OF
Russia to Christianity laws have been
passed and Institutions founded for their
suppression and reform. 1t Is estimated
that in European Russia alone they num-
Der over 100000. and In Siberia their c.ass
represents an even greater proportion OF
the population.
Their national name among themselves
is 'Goriouns.' mourners. or victims Of
grief. The word is an invention of their
own. but Is supposed to come from the
Russian word gore" meaning sadness.
In Russian proper they are called bro
diagi." II you ask them why they do
not work-and the great majority are
perfectly able to. do so-they reply in the
forlornest voice mortal ever heard: Mas
ter. l am Gorioun-a victim of sorrow''
They seem to have accepted the philoso-
ply that certain number of human be-
ings are foreordained to a life of mis-
cry and sadness, and they pose as mem
bers OF this class. On many of their pass
ports 1 saw such expressions as Burn
ed out" Has lost all his relatives :
Has no home "Will die SOON rs
possessed of the pitiful spirit" and 9th
ers OF like nature, which they bribe
officials to write. or themselves forge.
l could have had similar explanations put
on my own passport. There are tramps
who make regular business of this
Kind of imposture, and 1t is another evil
dence OF how difficult il is to make even
a passport tell the truth. In Germany
the same trick Is practiced by tramps.
ana In both countries the beggar can buy
ialse passes which the police cannot de-
tect. saw several In Russia which
looked exactly like the genuine thing.
and. mad l wished to pose as Russian.
could have bought one any day for 10
rubes
In looks and dress the .'Gorioun'' acts
out TO a nicely the story which his papers
are supposed to sub5tantiate. Never have
seen such sad faces as these men and
women nave when begging. At heart
they are capable of considerable fun and
bolsterousness, but they affect look of
dependency. which many OF them retain
even when off duty. In other respects
they resemble very closely the ordinary
peasant, or mujhik- They all have an i'm
mense shcck of hair. parted in the mid
die ana chopped of roughly at the edges
Inc face Is generally covered with a huge
beard. which gives them a backwoods-
man look not always indicative OF their
character In America for instance they
would be taken by tranps for -hoosiers. -
but. in their way. they are Just as clever
and sharp as the hobo who would laugh
at them. Indeed, know of no hobo who
can equal them in facial trickery and pose.
and wherever this is the necessary quaii-
fication for successful begging they are
past masters. Their clothes are inyari-
ably rough and patched, and il by some
chance they get good suit it is pawned
or sold Immediately The usual peasant
shirt or blouse takes the place of a coat
and the trousers are tucked into the boots
also in peasant fashion. a teapot hangs
at the belt. and a bundle, containing all
their possessions. is slung over the shoul-
der. Thus they tramp about the country
from village to village, year in and year
out. and are always distinguishable from
the fact that on meeting a Gospodinn, or
anyone else of whom they can beg. OFF
come their greasy caps. down go their
great shocky heads, and they say: Rad
Krista.
When tramping on the highway they
"a hnt sfaey a
great many never made over five. One
old man on the ''Kursk road" between
Tula and Orel, told me that he was sat
isfied IL he covered three versts a day-a
verst is two-thirds of a mile-and he ex-
pected that 1t would take him the entire
( autumn and part of the winter to reach
Oressa, whittier he was bound In this
respect the "Goriouns' are like all other
vagabonds-they love rest and II they find
good place stick to it as long as posi-
be. In the country they make their
homes with the peasants. sleeping In
summer in sheds and haystacks and in
winter in the peasants cabins. Plaques
though they are, the peasant always
gives them shelter and II very seldom
happens that they die of cold or starva-
tion in districts thickiy populated. l could
have stopped for days in every village |
passed through and the peasants would
even have protected me from the police
If ii had been in their power Their own
life is so hard that it comes natural TO
take pity on the tramp and they all have
the feeling that favors thus shown pre-
pare place for them In the heaven of
| their imagination. Indeed, the "Gori-
oun' plays on this feeling in begging of
them. l have often heard him say in
asking for aims, 1T will help you out
above" and his humble friends seemed
| pleased to be thus assured.
Men predominate in the "Gorioun''
class, but in no other country that have
] visited are there so many women
and families on tramp. They are all
mixed up together, men, women and
children. and no great effort is made to
/ keep even the families intact l was told
] by tramps that in the peasants cabins
! there is very little separation even be-
! tween the peasants and the vagabonds.
I and on very cold nights they all curl up
in a heap on the tops of the great piles
of masonry which serve them as stoves
In large cities they live in lodging houses
and night shelters. In St. Petersbure
these places are found mainly in what
is called the "Siennaia.' about five blocks
behind the Kazan cathedral
Mark Twain and the Kaiser.
1