The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-07-28

Teta ElzDieta, 1t was Jonas VINO SuS-
gested that they all 60 to America,
where friend Of his had gotten rici.
He would work, for his part, and the
women would work, and some Of the
children, doubtless-they would live
somehow. Jurgis, too, had heard OF
America. That was country where,
they said, a man might earn three
rubles day; and Jurgis figured what
three rubles day would mean, with
prices as they we've where he lived,
and decided forthwith that he would
go to America and marry, and be a
rich man in the bargain. In that
country, rich or poor, a man was free,
II was said; he did not have to go into
the army, he did not have to pay ont
his money to rascally officials-ne
might do as he pleased, and count
himself as good as any other man.
So America was place of which low
ers and young people dreamed. II
one could only manage to get the
price Of a passage, he could count his
troubles at an end.
It was arranged that they should
leave the following spring, and
meantime Jurgis sold himself to a
contractor Tor a certain time, and
tramped nearly four hundred miles
from home with gang of men to work
upon railroad in Smolensk This
was a fearful experience, with filth
and bad food and cruelty and over
work; but Jurgis stood it and came
out In fine trim, and with eighty
rubles sewed up In his coat. He did
not drink or fight, because he was
thinking all the time Of Ona; and for
the rest, he was a quiet, steady man,
who did what he was tod to, did not
lose his temper often, and when he
did lose 1t mace the offender anxious
that he should not lose It again
When they paid him off he lodged the
company gamblers and dram.shops.
and so they tried to kill him; but ne
escaped, and tramped 1t home, work
Ing at odd Jobs, and sleeping always
with one eye open.
So In the summer time they had all
set out for America. At the last mo-
ment there joined them Maria Ber-
czynskas, who was a cousin of Ona's.
Maria was an orphan, and had work
ed since childhood for rich farm. r
OF Wilma. who beat her regularly. It
was only at the age of twenty that H.
had occurred to Maria to try her
strength, when she had risen up and
nearly murdered the man, and then
came away.
There were twelve in all in the pa--
ty, five adults and six children--and
Ona, who was little of both. They
had a hard time on the passage; there
was an agent who helped them, but he
proved a scoundrel, and got them into
a trap with some officials, and cost
them good deal of their precious
money, which they chung to with such
horrible fear. This happened to them
again In New York-for, of course,
they knew nothing about the country.
and had no one to tell them, and it
was easy for a man In a blue uniform
to lead them away, and to take them
to hotel and keep them there, AMI
make them pay enormous charges To
get away. The law says that the rate.
card shall be on the door of a hotel.
but 1t does not say that It snail be IN
Lithuanian.
1t was In the stockyards that
Jonas's friend had gotten rich. and
so to Chicago the party was bound.
They knew that one word--Chicago--
and that was all they needed to know
at least, until they reached the city
Then, tumbled out OF the cars without
ceremony, they were no better off
than before; they stood staring down
the vista Of Dearborn street, with its
big black buildings towering in the
distance. unable to realize that thew
had arrived. and why. when they said
Chicago" people no longer pointed
In some direction, but instead looked
or laughed, or went on
without paying any attention. Thew
were pitiable In their helplessness:
above all things. they stood in deadly