The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-04-28


The owner would have wished to ask,
but it was better than he expected un-
der the circumstances, and it involved
nc transportation, so the deal was CON
cluded, and with what little money he
had remaining after paying FOR the
old poles, Terradell hired help to take
them over to the swamp and there
plant them. The corner stone of the es-
adjustment, if a corner stone can be
made of wood, was laid when the first
pole4was firmly planted upright on the
edge of the swamp. a circle of poles
was formed, and in the middle Terra
dell set a barrel and a seat. That was
the office, and the hotel was declared
formally open.
The next thing was to find dodgers.
The founder went out to the railroad
track and sat down to wait. He didn't
have long to wait. Three tramps pres
emily appeared, and one of them was
recognized by Terradell, who pos
sessed that quality invaluable in an
organizer-a tenacious and accurate
memory. He hailed his former ac-
quaintance.
Hello, Hardy! Don't youremember
me? I gave you a lift from Bristol
one when you were padding on a bum
stump" Walking with an injured
leg.)
"It's the engineer said the tramp.
Lost your job? Are you on the pad,
foo? Come along with us. 1 made a
good touch back on the path and I'll
stake you to half my pile"
you come along with me- said the
other; you and your friends, and I'll
put you up for the night. I've started
a lodging for the boys"
Whats the hold-up?" asked one Of
the trio.
Nothing unless you want to, But I
want a little help"
"Come along, boys said Hardy.
Hes on the level" so the party set out
for the swamp. With some old nails
which Terradell had picked up and
stones for hammers the four soon had
n sort of shelter built across a small
segment of the circle in which they
slept that night. Two of the tramps
took the road again early in the morn
ing, promising to tell any of the guild
whom they might meet of the new hos
telry. Hardy stayed several days help
ing T~erradell about the place, and
when he left he contributed a pair of
good secondhand blankets which he
had bought in town. It wasn't long be-
fore the hotel was known on every high
road in this part of the country, and
dodgers came in rapidly. None was
turned away by the proprietor, but
each man who was able was expected
to do an hour or two of work about the
place, with the result that it was soon
completed and a stranger-loOking
building was probably never raised
since the day when every man was his
own architect.
The place was orderly, for the pro-
p%rietor, while liberal in his allowances
for hobo nature would tolerate no riot
BUSINESS. He was an unwise hobo who
attempted to disregard orders, for Ter
radell had too many friends among
the tramps who were ready at n
minute to take up his cause. A case in
point is that of a tramp who was found
unconscious beside a roadway near
Railway several years ago. The police.
thought they had a murder mystery
on their hands, but the man recovered
after a long stay in the hospital and
finally left, refusing to tell how he
came by his injuries. Two years later
a vagrant who was Jailed revealed the
secret. The injured man had fallen in
with some of his fellow hoboes and,
being drunk, had boosted of having.
robbed TerradelI's till of half a dollar.
w~hereupon the whole party set upon
him and beat him into insensibilityj
That was the only time the till was.
eve robbed; indeed, most of the time
it would not have paid anyone to rob
it.
Work was found for TerradeTr5
tramps when they wanted it. He set
up a wood-cutting industry and made
a little money that way which he used
in improving his place. Trenton peo+
pie, who had become interested in the
experiment, found jobs for the lodg-
ers, and though by far the greatest
part of the hotels clientage was of THE
strictly transient order, some few from
time to time would express a desire tb
stay and make a regular living,
Unremitting toll and devotion
brought about, in the course of years,
the wonderful transformation wrought
by the penniless and unemployed Tet-
radell. In the swamp land where his
curious structure of telegraph polds
and boards had sheltered his hobo
friends rose the four-story building df
vitrified brick with brownstone trim
mings, and around it small cottages
were put up, ~ in all, for such families
as might join the new community.
Where and how did Terraden get the
money for such an establishment?
People asked this question with won
der, but nobody ever answered it.
Doubtless there were rich men who.
believing in Terraden and his project.
gave literally to help him, for not
only was his building costly, but the
land which before was regarded as so
much waste space had acquired a value
and nearly $4,000 was laid out on land
alone. TerradeH himself worked with
the builders, squirting them on by his
awamD1n and vyhaB Al, H.