Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-05-22

IffA. MN
M',IlL.-., M thousand boys
Nt45ssssSslsSsSSA t4s5 SsSSslsSSSA ID in the United
lINsS,SStl5fss. HFtSyS5 I States who live,
l&RsS59 q, Syy-T from one end
fiAsS4%r--, .M III Il of the year to
I.+.sNVSS \ St----p the other, eX-
j ] ]: !. ! !. !. !.
ef},RES s. clusively in
El;c5,iA u Il wv ~ tramp life. 1t
nv S-IS1 VIII w is impossible to
I0EF{%---yHai u n tlI take an exact
! MN [1MI I'll f%\,t census of all
XIX, ~ W " Y they are too
rgs.sj,sf I<r@Il ~ NJ I migratory-but
l base my estimate on over ten years
acquaintance with American tramp
life, and on travels with tramps which
have taken me into thirty States. In
winter, there are easily five hundred
tramp boys in New York City alone
! OF course, there are more than this
/ number who have to pick up their
/ living in more or less tramp fashion,
/ but refer to the lads who actually
belong to the tramp fraternity and are
part and parcel of its manifesto
tions. They are called "kids" and
'prushuns" in the hobo's vernacular,
and when they take tramp names, al
ways have to add the sutfix "kid" to
the name Of the town from which
they claim to have come, and by which
they are distinguished, but they are
known to the general public merely
as truants and "incorrigibles. No
one acquainted with the tramp world,
however, would mistake than for
anything but what they are. Stylish
clothes and BATH could not change
their shambling gait, rounded
shoulders, harsh voices and ex-
aggerated "tough" manner. Even
upon the youngest the life has had
its effect, and tramp could easily
single them out in a miscellaneous
collection of boys. Their average age
is about fourteen years, but there are
some nearly eighteen and others not
yet ten.
They are in tramp life, to use q
homely expression, because the tramp
''needs them in his business. The
tramp, as class, or the hoboes
(hautes beauxl, as Iprefer to call them,
came upon the scene not long after
the Civil War, and many Of them soon
discovered that it was much easier for
a boy to excite sympathy than for a
man, and they began to entice young
| sters into the life. 1t was immate-ial
to them where they found the boys or
who were their parents, SO long as
they were quick, intelligent and will
ing. These are the necessary qualifi.
cations for successful "prushun, y
and although there are some boys
much more willing and active thar
others, the great majority of them are
bright and attractive. Rich and poor
alike contribute to their class.
e millionaire's son, if hobo can catcl
) him near railway watering tank ant
0 fascinate him with interesting stories
: Is as liable to conscription as the
young hopeful of a poor workingman
The only thing necessary is that thu
t lad should have romantic tempera
B., ment. If he has gone through I
i course of "dime novels" before th,
hobo meets him it makes it all th,
y easier for the latter to fire his imagin
n alton with accounts of wild Westeri
a life, but there are youngsters unable t.
a read that he has influenced.
= In New York City 1t is the boy c
u the slums that the hobo is most likel
e to reach. While in the city he spend
= most of his time in the congested dis
e tricts, they are the best places TO
q him to find charity, as well as to hid
his yagabondage, and he naturall
I sees a great deal of the local boys
/ If he is in search of one to take ava
with him on his travels, he prowl
about the streets, acquainting himsel
with the boys Fairgrounds aud gath
y ering places. Before long he is sur
n to find collection of lads which II
II thinks he can influence, and then II
10 tries to get the boy who seems to hil
- the most promising. Watch him O
his preliminary work. He is seate
~ on an ash barrel, q crowd of gamin
70 gazing up at him with admiring ewes
It When he tells his stories, each on
i thinks that he is being talked to ius
- as much rs the rest, and yet, some
" how, little by little, there is fayorit
Is who is getting more and more tina
Ii his share of the winks and smiles
= soon the most exciting parts of tn
y stories are gradually devoted to hir
II alone, but in such an artful way tina
, he himself fails to notice it at first
II Tt is not long, however, before h
II feels his Importance. He begins t
i, wink, too, but just as slyly as hi
II charmer, aud his little mouth curl
d into return smile when the other
s are not looking. "I'm his favorite,
IS am" he thinks "He'll take me wit
v him, he will, and show me things"
) He is what the hobo calls ''petrified,
whioh means as much as anythin
else, hypnotized. The stories that h
has heard amount to very little i
themselves, but the way they are tolt
a the happy -go-lucky manner, the subtl
l. partiality, the winning voice and til
sensitiveness of the boys nature t
=. things of wonder, all combine to tur
= his head. Then his own parents car
not control him as can this slouchin
wizard.
=, In the country the favorite gather