Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-10-20


tically doing nothing to check thu
growth of an army of brigands sucl
as now infest some European coun
tries. If anyone questions this state
ment let them read "Tramping Will
Tramps," written by an intelligent
college-bred man who Struck thu
road" il order to study the life oil
this law-defying cl SIS at close range
Let me quote from it. The author
says;
There are four distinct ways by
which boys and girls set upon the
road Some are born there, some
are driven there, others are enticed
there, and still Others go there volun-
tarily.
"Of those who are born on the
read, perhaps the least known are
the children OF the ambulanters. The
name is tramp invention, and not
popular among the ambulanters
ther Gelves. They prefer to be called
gypsies, and try at times, especially
when compelled by law to give some
account of themselves, to trace their
origin to Egypt; but the most of
leans. How they hi have fBSSHct65fhheA g8eY8
a question which permits of much
conjecture, and in giving my own eX-
PLANTATION l do not want it to be
taken as applicable to the entire class,
| know only about fifty families, and
not more than half of these at all
Familiarity, but those whom / do know
seem to me to be victims of pure and
simple laziness handed down from
generation to generation until it has
become a chronic family disease.
From what they have told me conf
dentially about their natural history,
| picture their forefathers as harm
less village do-nothings, who
lounged in corner groceries, hung
about taverns, and followed the fire
engine and the circus. The second
generation was probably too numer-
Gus for the home parish, and, inherit
ing the talent for loafing, started out
for roomier lounges. 1t must have
wandered far and long, for upon the
third generation, the one that | know,
the love of roaming descended to
such a degree that all North America
is none too large for 1t. Go where
one will, in the most dismal woods,
the darkest lanes, or on the widest
Drairies, there the ambulanter may
be found tenting with his large, un-
kempt family. He comes and goes, as
his restless spirit dictates, and the
horse and wagon carry him from
State to State.
1T is in Illinois that ] know his
family best. Cavalier John, as he
proudly called himself, / remember
particularly. He gave me shelter one
night in his wagon, as l was toiling
along the highway south of Ottawa,
and we became such good friends
that | Travelled with his caravan for
three days. And what a caravan it
was! A negro wife, five little mulat-
toes, q deformed white girl, three
starved dogs, sore-eyed cat, bias
phemous parrot, squeaking squirrel,
bony horse and a canvas-topped
wagon, and all were headed Texas
way John had come from Maine
originally, but he had Picked up his
wife in the West, and it was through
their united efforts in trickery and
clever trading that they had acquired
their outfit. So far as I could learn
neither of them had done an honest
stroke of business. The children
ranged from three years to fourteen
and the deformed girl was nearly
twenty. John found her among some
other ambulanters in Ohio, and,
thinking that he might make money
out of her physical monstrosities as a
side show cruelty traded off an old
fox for her. She ought to have been
in an insane asylum, and l hope John
has put her there long ago. The 9TH
er 'kidlets,' as they were nicknamed,
were as deformed morally as was the
adopted girl physically. They had to
beg in every town and village they
came to, and at night their father
took the oldest with him in his raids
on the hen-roosts. 1t was at town
and county fairs, however, that they
were the most profitable. Three
knew how to pick pockets, and the
two youngest gave acrobatic exhibit
tions. None of them had ever been
in school, none could read or write,
and the only language they spoke
was the one of their class. l have
never been able to learn it well, but 1t
is a mixture of Romany and tramp
dialect with dash Of English slang
"On the journey we met another
caravan, bound west by way of Chi
cago. There were two families, and
the children numbered sixteen; the
Oldest ranging from fifteen to twenty
and the youngest had just appeared.
We camped together in a wood for a
night and a day, and seldom have
sojourned in such company, John
had given me a place with him in the
wagon, and now the woman with the
babe was given the wagon and John
and l slept, or tried to, in the open.
In the other wagon, both sexes, young
and old, were crowded into space
not much larger than the ordinary
omnibus, and the vermin would have
made sleep impossible to any other
order of beings. The next day, being
Sunday, was given over to play and
revel, and the poor horses had a
respite from their sorrows. The chill
dren invented queer sort of game,
something like shiny and used a
dried-up cats head as a block. They
kicked, pounded, scratched and
cursed one another; and when the
play was over all was we'll again and
the block was tucked away in the
wagon for further use. Late at night
the journeys were taken up once
more, one caravan moving on to-
ward Dakota, and the other toward
the Gulf.
II wonder what has become of that
little baby for whom l sat the night
out? 1t is over ten years ago now,
and he has probably long since been