The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-04-05
TOLD BY a TRAMP.

/ 49, ~ U.s. coupling pms Nnel tneN
found a hobo riding on the brake-beam
OF a freight car It was terrible walking.
| ana the people who lived IL the scattered
/ houses along the mountains were poor.
/ At Grafton. W Va, Pennsylvania
/ Dutch was seized with a bright idea
he went 10 the printing Office and
/ 'Dummed' a big sheet Of cardboard. on
tins sheet he ruled thirty small squares.
surrounding larger square IL the center,
ana then went 20 call on the leading
J merchants of the little town
m going 70 get out several thous-
and large desk advertising blotters.' he
said to each Of them, and shall distri
/ oute them all over town, leaving one ar
every house. I will print your advertise
! g So
: Pennsylvania Dutch was a beautiful
| talker. He struck thirty out OF the first
! forty men he called on and collected
money enough IN advance TO pay for hav-
( Ing the blotters printed. In the end We
cleared UP something like $50 or the deal
| But, being tramps, we went out and
! spent that $50 in much less time than IT
took US 10 get 1t. One morning we woke
! up still III Grafton and again broke. So
we hit the road up the mountains 10
Martinsville. There at the railroad sta
ton We met a well-dressee and good-na-
tured looking man who came forward and
spoke TO US
Hello, boys he said in kindly way;
you're on the road, 1 take it. Don't want
a nice little job Of work. do you? III
give you 81 day and your board and
III treat you nice.
/" Why. yes said Pennsylvania
Dutch wen help you out for a week
OF two
1T had reached a point with US where
we had TO do something.
All right said the stranger. wen
take the canai-boat up the river tonight.
You fellahs want a drink2'
He took US over town. bought US sew
eral drinks apiece and filed our pockets
~ with cigars Then he glanced down
at my shoes.
% Kid he said. don't you need q pair Of
shoes2'
Yes I answered. my feet are on
the ground, but / don't see any chance Of
getting any. I'm fat broke
II fix you out he said. and led ne
over to shoe store where I was fitted
with pair Of heavy hrogans. Later he
bought Dutch a blue flannel shirt and
fixed Us both up with pound of chewing
tobacco apiece.
Finally we went down and got on
board the canal-boat We rode on the
boat till we got to the little town of
Okonoko. W Va. There we got of and
started 10 walk overland through the
We're to work I thought we should never
get there. It proved to be twelve miles
away, the only connecting link being a
little narrow gauge railroad which was
controlled by the lumber companies We
were dog tired when we turned into the
bunk-house to sleep.
Next morning we were routed out early
ard set to work. Close to the camp was
a huge pile of logs, from two to four feet
in diameter and perhaps thirty feet long.
BY means of hooks and tackle these logs
we're hoisted up TO q power saving ma
chine which squared up the logs by saw
ing huge slab off Of each OF the four
sides. The resulting slabs were in them
selves huge pieces Of lumber I should
guess that they weighed from 200 to 800
pounds apiece, and Dutch and 7, under
the wstchful eyes of orr friend OF tho
night before, were set TO work piling them
W in regular piles. I was a slim boy
of IS and the work was too much for me
1 could hardly stagger under one end Of
slab. When night came I was too
tired TO eat. I simply fell into a bunk
and tossed around until O'Clock in the
morning, when we were routed out again
There was company store on the
place, and the man who had hired US
was always asking us if we didn't want
some article Of clothing. Both Dutch
and I We're pretty shy on clothes and
we bought good many things to wear. /
as we'll as tobacco, pipes. needles, and /
other trinkets
I'VE were TO be paid once IN two weeks. I
and when the first payday came. we
went over to the Office to get our money. /
The nice looking man who had hired us I
was In charge Of the payroll. When il (
came my turn he handed me an envelope.
and 1 went outside to count the money. /
Instead Of money I found only an item /
lied bill showing that after the 81 /
had earned had been deducted ! still /
owed the lumber company the sum OF I
SH. In other words. I would have 70 /
work more than a month 70 get even for /
what I was already charged with
THE brogan shoes our friend had got /
for me in town. for instance, were charged /
UP TO me At s.. They would have been /
high at H.50. A spool Of cotton thread /
was down at . cents. 2 pound Of tobacco [
at 81 and everything else in proportion. /
Even the drinks and cigars which our
friend had forced on us at Martinsville /
were down on that bin at prices which 4
were absolutely startling.
Il was crazy, and Dutch was even
worse when he came out and found that 4
he was in the debt of the company for /
SIS It was plain highway robbery. the /
ioea being TO keep US working ourselves
TO death as long as possible.
THAT night we began to plan how TO
escape, but it did not prove an easy mat
ter When we opened a crack Of the
bunk-house door in the middle Of that
night We saw our friend from Martiusville /
sitting right outside, wide awake. snok-
ing pipe and holding a big revolver FRI
one hand. We closed the door without
attracting his attention and went back 10
our bunizs. We were too wise 10 mako
any complaint and determined to wait
our chances and take the first opportunity
TO cut and yum for if.
ut was a fun week before orr chance
came Our friend kept us close under
MS eye every minute ard ne persisted
ia wearing I'm plain sight big helt with
his revolver ready for instant action.
Il wanted 20 slip up behind him and hit
him with a club. but Dutch would not
allow it.
We're only tramps lie said. "and il
we should use violence on fhis man we'd
he causnt and sent up for II least Ten
3 ears for the 5ob. We've got 20 make q
sneak some way, without attracting his
attention.
In the lumber camp were perhaps
City negroes. who we're always far in
ceat 10 the company ami were rrest-I
even worse than We were Our fre1f
the head ~ the camp. had been bern ana
raised on a Southern u.autatiel AMI
often he used 70 express ln s1aurcrs
language his Wish that o. cor'f '1rl-e
sou DIN nigeehrs at the end 81 2 whip
zone nIght ne got into a qsiarrsl wan
q -rouu cf rcErees. aud ugr-G one ot
hem s-rucE him @ terr t.e blow tle
head wta piece - SGD. lie ua
conscious and the negroes led 4hat ieet
- alone in the CAMP Tith -ae STRICKEN
loss 11 We 1nFU Te remained
ssfsla1ce seuse ve wcuid pro tt
charged with assaultiag hlH1- Sos
90 him Ga Into q ha1k. and leaFE ltl1