Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1900-02-16

" NONDoLA" WILSON was not a
I tramp, because he knew "a trade
and he had been known 70 work He
was a tramp in this. however, that he
consistently refused TO pay Eailway
fares. Hence hi. maine. Cordoba is
submerged lcuth Tor Flat car"
He was "a iourucyman Of thv'restless
kind. When he had been three weeks
IN Milwaukee, then ST. Paul seemed a
more desirable place of residence.
When 10 ST. Paul he had tiredhanker-
irg to see the NorcisSr- 'uaesiegg ,la-'''.'e
400 ,,,-Sd.~ as4a-bo had arrived at the
NaFoissus he began to watch the trains
starting for Cincinnati and .longed to
curl himself on a truck and Jolt away
10 where the muddy stream fronts the
sloping warehouses.
Once he'was away from the Narcissus
for a whole year. During his absence
he Ind been put away" To be put
away" is TO he held prisoner in penal
or refOrm0tory Institution.
The purpose of this story is 10 relate
how "Gondola" Wilson, having no Grim
inai intent, became a criminal under
circumstances which are not usual
On the day of his return to the Mar
cissus (the prison palor on his face and
his head cropped to show the white
scars six inmates were sitting near
the windows reading a morning news
paper. They had torn the paper into
sheets and divided It, The man who
bad drawn the small lads" was discon-
tented. He could find nothing on his
sheet except Help Wanted" He low
Aered his paper, and before him sat "Gon-
'dola" Wilson. seeming yellow in the fill
tered light
Where's the eommittee?" asked
"Gondola." Where's the triumphal
nrch Welcome Homer
You're alive, then?"
"Alive an kicllin.'"
eff you're alive. it follows that you're
ldclSiu'. How long has it been?"
"A year--next month"
eve missed YOU when it come to the
roundup last fall Nobody'd seen you
You've been under a roof, amt your
Hospital2"
put away year"
"You had to so crooked at last, did
you?"
well, that's what they called it. I'm
lucky they didn't hang me. Some of
'em wanted to-"
"Tea me what You done. LIANT the
court"
SAY, listen, aIi' see if ever you heard
the likes before. It wuz in October
o year ago last October I'd walked
from Loneyville over 10 Terry Hut with
n nigger that played the mouth harp.
We hid in the yards at Terry Hut an
got into an empty stock that we
thought wuz headed for Danviile. Some.
time in the night brakeman seen us
an fred us oM. I'd been asleep, an the
first thing / remember was fallin' out
O. The car an lightin' hard, with the
coon comm after me- We didn't know
whore we wuz, bnt could make ont
side track an a chute for loadin hogs.
About mile oil we could see some
lights, an we judged we WIZ near a
purity good-sized town. Ne an the
coon started to walk toward The town.
an then / stopped him on' says Here,
81 ve go TO driilin' around town nt This
ainlc o. night am one O them country
eoppers gets n peek at US. he'll shoot
ATS first an then ask ms our names after
ward. Let's crawl in somewheres an
sleep tin mornin' an then wen GO in
town an try to round mp a hand-out'
Wen. just as ! WIZ sayin This we hap
pened 10 be wqllein' along past a tau
fence looked through the cracks an
could see one or two lights quite Il dis
lance off, an right near as wuz long
bulldin that looked somethin' like a
barn. II WIZ gettin' chilly an ! said
10 this pardner of mine Coon, I'll me
boost over this fence an think we
canshnd a warm place here. So we
skinned over the fence an come to this
buildin 1t wuz big an / still thought
IT wuz a barn We walked around
loolin' for q door or window soft we
coEld crawl In. AT last this pardner Of
iniNe-~his name ~ JEFF an I'm kill him
II eter ! lay eyes on him again-Ieff
found a little door that wuzn't locked,
an we went in, feelin our way along
thinkn, you know, that we might find
some hay or straw to sleep on. Purity
soon JEFF follower somethin' an land
ed on top Of him. We felt around as
an discovered that we'd run into a lot
O. wutrmelous layin' on The floor. !
s'nose ne coon was sorry 10 meet .N'es1