The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-04-05
RACE OF VAGABONDS.
STRANGE CHARACTERISTICS or
THE TZIoANES.
A Cias. Of Nomad, Who Make Hungary
Their Sstieaag Home and Who Gen
orally Resist Al Attempt. To ClriIise
Them.

Them.
FASHIONS fondness Of Hungarian or
ehestras the world over and recent
society scandal In which an American
girl was implicated have drawn the
attention OF two continents 10 those Gu
rlous people called TzlglnCs IN Hun
gary. Bohemians In France and gypsies
IL England and the United States. says
the New York Times. Hungary is the
home 81 the Tzigancs. 10 80 far as they .
have any home In M other European
countries they were pCreutfd fer cen
turtles as emlssaries OF the evil one and .
enemies o. Christianity. But Hungary F.
took pity on them and treated the wan
derers like lost children. II was 10 tho .
fifteenth century that they frst made .
their appearance there. King Sigs-
mond received them Hospitality and /.
recommended to the charity and pity
OF the public these poor wandering .
people. without home ard bounded .
by every one"
There are now ab-lt $4,000 OF there
Tziganos In Hungary. ncy nay be
divided into three Cllsses those vho
20 bareheaded and barefo1.cd. tie wan
dering gypsles; those who wear head
gear and shoes on Sundays. The semi
nomads. and those who always wear
hats and shoes. and who have 20
great extent abandoned the nom'dlc
lives Of their ancestors. These latter
are the most civilized. and ere general
ly musicians who excel In the playing
of Hungarian tune When the Til
games arrived in Hungary they we're
not trained mugically. bat tdcy soon ar
propriaicd Magyar music aud out ~ h
have made crude and weird art ~
their own. Their fayoritc instrument
Us the has alis.' as they term the
violin. Some play the harp. bat they
have marked aversion Tor the plano
for the reason that IL cannot be- easily
moved about In Hungary no fc.o or
festival takes place without q Tzirane
orchestra. A. election time q Tzlgane
band always heads the electoral pro
cessions. and no wedding Is considered
complete without their music f1r the
dance. The Tzigaucs have become "a
tural musicians. playing from lnsplra-
ton. and generally being unable 10
read music. List. who made q study
of the Tzignnog. says that music is 90
them a sublime language. a mystic
song. which they often make urc ~ ir-
, stead of conversation. aud that they
have. In fact, invented o music OF their
own.
One ~ the f,vorl'c ahodes OF these
strange people Is near The frontier Of
Croatia. Il is there that the typical
Bohcmians are seen az their best
/ Their camps are always sot up az
some distance from the nearest town o.
village. often IN close proximity 90
some forest. The Tzlgar. huts flr
they are nothing more corsls' Of a
single room. unlcrs the owner Is ey-
tremely well-to-do. and renerai'v de-.
| void of furniture. The TzIglnes eat
and sleep on the bare boards. At an
times Of the day there IS a smolder.
ing FIRE In The hut. over which hangs a
sandstone pot. for the TzIgane has no
fixed hour for his meals. but eats
whenever be feels hungry. The ord.-
nary bill Of farc consists ~ potatoes.
stcws. milk and lard On festive occa-
sions such tIt-bits are INDUCED In as
hedgehogs. foxes and squirrels Cats
are considered boy the Tziganes a
| prIncely diet Dogs are trained 20
hunt hedgehogs aud foxes. They have
peculiar manner Of cooking foxes.
They are placed In running water for a
couple Of days and then cooked under
hot Goals In hole in tho ground. The
4 Tziganes have a Partially Tor the flesh
Of dead animals. and whenever a farm
or stable takes FIRE they rush 10 tho
scene In the hope o. finding the carcass
Of some dead animal. Like certain
oriental races. they nee their fingers
In conveying food 10 their mouths.
Tzlgane women. as a rule. 20 ahou,
half-nakcd. the young girls wearing
nothing but a small apron. excepting
when they 80 to the neighhorIng town
The men wear but little clothing. and
until the time of their marriage. M
between ~ and u years of age. they 20
about almost naked After marriage
however. they attire themselves In the
gaudy Hungarian national costume. OF
which they are very proud. Cast.on
garments Of some Magyar nobleman
they have a great weakness for. and
when they are able 10 obtain bright
red coat their satisfaction Is complete
Tho Tzlganes have horror Of work
or restraint Of any Kind Even those
who have fixed residence Ike 10 roam
about when they feel so inclined. So
hrm 70 this wandering instinct with
them that they have no word In their
language to signify 'femlIu." Most
Of the trades they adopt are suitable
for a nomldic lie. They are either
horse dealers. hlarksm.tbs. sheep shear.
err. or and above all lorglrs % ia
quite impossible 10 take country
drive through some provinces N Hun
mry without coming across q band ~
Tzganes some one Of whom win sure.
~ follow q carriage Tor q hllf-houf or
more until he has received @ coin. The
Tzigancs haze given themselves the
nickname Of poor men" and the habit
4 of begging Is 80 thoroughly rooted In
/ them that oven ,sall-to-do members oi
their race. whom one OCCASIONALLY
meets In Budapest driving pure blood
ed horses end wearing costly Jewels.
cannot resist the temptation Of asking
Tor money.
Many unsuccessful attempts have
been made to restrain the vngahond