Nebraska Newspapers

    THE oarAITA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY , DECEMBER 20 , 1S95.
i
ifr LIFE AMONG THE HOBOES.
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ftc- An Otnnltn fltnn's Trnttip Tltroujth Arkansas , Texns , I tut Inn
Territory nml Missouri.
OT T T 75 ? ? 5 J4r'SJf ' ? ra
it has boon ruld upoa vvliDt Is suppo l to
lie excellent authority that one-half the poo-
jilo In the norld do not know how the other
half get along , It Is wltliln the bounds of
truth to ay that not one person In fifty ha
a fair Ideal of the Bufferings and hardships
which the man/ endures who finds himself nt
the b'KlnnliiK of winter out of money and out
of work. Yet there Is not a city or town In
thn United States that drei not odd one or
jnoro names to the Iht of needy who must
look to charity to lido them oxer until the re
turn of Hiring , when work can bo found.
That the number of men and women who n lt
rcllff from the charitable orgfliilratlons lo on
the Inrrcaea Is evident fiom the Increased
amount of supplies annually distributed among
the unfortunate. Still there la a targe num
ber of men la every city who ha\e neither
money nor work , but who , nevertheless , do
not ecck alms from the relief committees , and
yet It la a blustering day when they get left.
They nro a clars luioun as hubocu , and It la
with them thin nrtlclo has to deal.
In October , 1834 , I was removed from my
position an government tagger at South
Omaha for reasons which It Is not nccc'unry
to rtpoaC here. Klndlng , like IJuvy Crockett ,
my occupation gene , I resolved to leave this
part of the country and seek employment
elsewhere With this purpose In view I begin
reading the want ads In the papers. At that
tlmo there was a standing advertisement In
The Doe which , as mar as I can remember ,
read oomcthlrg Ilko this-
\VANTUD , 1 DOO M12N POrt MEMPHIS. All-
knni-n City , Helena nnil l.ouUlnna Hood
VVIIKM Ship IdtilKht. Krnmcr & O'11 earn ,
I.abar Agency , corner llth nnd 1'nriinm streets
I answered this ad In person at the- little
olHco 1n the old frame building at the corner
of Hleventh and Farnam stieets , and was
confronted by a young mm , who , for frigid
dignity , was head , shoulders and body abo\o
anything that It had ev r been my fortune to
come acroBi. Indeed , so important was he
that I could not get ji civil answer to the
questions I asked him , and was obliged to go
clsonhero to get the Information I vvaa sack
ing There was another oneof those agencies
close by , under the management of a Mr ,
Hubert ; , who had a similar place of business
In Kansas City. A woman was In charge of
the Omaha end , and to my Inquhlcs as to
what a ticket to Memphis would cost was
politely Informed $1050 As that was more
money than I had In my poursslon I told her
I would bo back next day and buy a ticket
In order to do this I had to pawn my wntch ,
which I did , securing enough to purchase
the ticket nnd have left $ J SG.
BOUND POR MEMPHIS.
, - The next day I went back to the offlce
and paid In the { 10 GO , for which J got a
receipt , and was told that the train would
leave the Webster Street depot that night at
0:20. : There were nine of us bound for the
uamo place , and as there was but the one
ticket for the nlno we hid to stay together.
We left Omaha the llth of December for
Memphis , from which place1 we took boat
up the river fifty miles and were landed at
1 a. m. In a dense forest. We camped In
the woods for the night and the next morning
started for the levco cimp , which wo found
to bo two miles distant. It was my first
experlenco In , a place of this kind , and In
truth the ( list tlmo I had ever seen an > thing
of the like. Wo were to receive $1.25 per
day , with a proviso that we would bo dis
counted 25 per cent If we left or were dls-
charg'ed before we had worked twenty-six
days. This proviso proved to be a financial
success In two ways It enabled the con
tractors to pay off their men at starvation
wages , besides keeping them on the move ,
thereby making room for the new contingents
ivhlch were arriving every day from the
different employment agencies up the country.
Tbero was one thing I noticed among the
men nt the camp and which impressed me
not a little. It was the utter Inability of
the men to remain still , cither standing or
sitting , for the shortest space of time. I
could not Imagine the cause , and not wishIng -
Ing to show my Ignorance by making In
quiries , I resolved to smother my curiosity
until the secret would bo out. I had not
long to wait , as the third day after my ar
rival I found myself shifting about In my
Beat bcforo the evening flro. Somehow I
had caught onto the custom of the camp ,
and was as uneasy as the rest of them.
Indeed , so restless had I become that sleep
was out of the question. In order to be
satisfied In regard to my condition I went
out Into the woods and examined mjself.
I was forced to admit when the evidence
was nil in that I had "got 'cm. " The
m > stery was explained. The vermin weie
GO thick in the camp that to a now beginner
Ufa was made miserable until his cuticle
KOt toughened by friction nnd ho by degrees
cot used to It.
Another thing about thosa comps , which
was made clear If strong circumstantial
evidence can make anything cleir was the
understanding between the employment
ngencles and the contractor to fleece the
laboring man. I hive seen good men dis
charged upon one pretext or another In order
that the new men sent out by the different
ngents , and who were guaranteed work , could
bo given employment for a few days
After working in this camp for two weeks
I left In company with a joung man who
vas also from Omnlm. Wo had coma to the
camp together and had earned after the 25
psr cent discount had been deducted $7. Two
dollars of this sum was given to reach Mem
phis , In which place we expected to llnd
something to do. Wo were not successful ,
Jiowovcr , and our funds getting low , we came
to the conclusion to strike out on foot across
the country. This we- did , nnd after two
days walking without finding work of any
Ictnd , wo reached a little town called Wynn.
We had walked thirty miles that day , nnd
were tired and hungry , but our money was
BO nearly exhausted that a sandwich V\OB all
that wo could allow ourselves for supper.
This wo duplicated for breakfast and left the
town that day In a drizzling rain and had
Jiad walked twelve miles when night came
on. Wo had but 3r cents In our possession ,
and as wo could not put up at a hotel for
that amount , had to ask the privilege of
oloen'ni ' ; In the pchool liousj for the night ,
vhlch was readily granted. We bought 20
cents' worth of checso and crackers for our
supper , built a nro In the stove , and made
ourselves as comfortable as clrcumBtances
would permit. The , next morning we > started
toward Helena , fifty miles distant. On this
morning we had no breakfast , nnd about 0
o'clock wo parted with our last 15 cents for
three cups of coffeo. On that same day
Sumln > I gave my overcoat to a negro for
two meals , the first we had to cat since our
si eal of checso and crackers the night before
In the school house. When night overtook
us vvo built a flro In the woods nnd lay
down to get Homo rest. How long I slept I
ilo not know , for wo were- awakened by lirgo
drops of rain spattering through the branches
overhead. There was not a house within half
n mlle , and the only shelter to bo had were
the , trunks of the huge trees. Never before
ImiJ I witnessed so grand a sight , Dash
uftcr flash of lightning followed so close
upon no another that each crag nnd limb
looked Ilka an electric light. When the
etorm was ovar wo restarted our firs , dried
ourselves and slept until morning. That
morning my companion gave away his over
coat for our breakfast. Ho also sold his
mackintosh for $1 to a section foreman. That
afternoon It began raining again and about
4 o'clock wo went up to a planter's house and
luXed to bo 'aken In for the night. The
owner , n joung man of 30 , and single , said
that wo wcra welcome If we could put up
Nltli what he had to offer. This was not hard
to do , considering that we- had had only one
Ineal n day for the two days previous.
This plantation was eight miles north of
Il'lenu , and like all other places of Its kind ,
ouulda the sugar Elates , was on the retro-
erado. Indeed , there Is nothing In the couth
, wlicit will Impress the observer more than
( hog ? old plantations which are rapidly drift
ing Into decay. Tiny no longer constitute
the orbit of society , round which.tho sat
ellites of fashion IrrlJIate. but are , on the
contrary , deserted by ttiHr former owners ,
j\ho have left the country for the town.
THi : OniOINAb 1101)0 ) ,
After suppir , Mr. Lowry , the gentleman
Jvho owned the plantation , gave us a short
history of Sandy Rowland , the original Ar
kansas Tiavcller. Sandy , It scemi , wa qujta
a tiobo In his day , but ho traveled on horse
back Instead of oa foot and In box car * .
All the world b * beard of him since the
tvenlng he rode up to the cabin of Mr
Jorcs and Inquired cotcrrnlng , the lay of th
country. The conversation which took plac
Is familiar to every school boy. "The mon
arch of n shed" was sitting before his dee
saw'ng ' on an old violin and was so busily
engaged that he would not take time to
answer Ho\vland's question * . To the Inqu'ry '
"Whero does this road go to' " was recelvei
the reply , "It don't go ( fiddling ) nowhere
It Is alwavs here In the morning when
get up" Finally becoming exasperated a
his non-siicc'ss In obtaining Information
Sfndy asked with some asperity , "Why don'
you play the other part of that tun1
Jpres , who had not stopped playing upon the
one part of the tune , now arose , walked eve
to his visitor , und said"Strang r , toke
the fiddle and iilav It jours If" There , sit
ting astride his horse , according to my In
fotmnnt , was first played the other part o
the tune , Known far and wide as the Arkan
sas Traveller. It Is needless to Kay that thor
was nothing too good for Sandy In the Jon
rabln that night. Mr. I.owry stated till
his father was personally acquainted vvltl
Jones and that the facts ale , substantially
as herein narrated. All over Arkansas cat
bo found ImltnttiM of Mi Jones and I
Is a vtryi pool family Indeed , where jou
will not find n violin hanging on one of th
four walls of the cabin. I have stood befor
thOEo cabins on an evening , watching th
master of the house , his body swaying to
nnd fro , as though In mortal agony , th
perspliatlon oozing from every pore , saw
Ing awny a If his llfo depended on th > num
her nnd variety of motions he could make
These would-bo Ole Hulls are not conllnct
to any ono locality , but nro found In th
rural districts In nil pirts of the state
Wh'n I was n boy I used to hear It said tin
when a fiddler died he went neither to hel
nor to heaven , but to a place called I'ldillT'
Green , three miles below had s. If thn
can be true , It Is evident to those who wlsl
to Investigate that Tiddler's Green Is located
within the borders of Aikansas.
STRIKING THi : HOAD.
After fating our breakfast next morning
wo bid Mr. Lowry good by and started fo
Helena , eight miles distant. Wo searched
for employment the whole day after getting
there , and , as usual , were unsuccessful Ou
last GO cents , which remained from the
sale of the mackintosh , was given for a
bed. The next morning 1 asked a con
ductor to carry us to Clarlndon , which he
did It may not be out of place to state
her1 , by the way of parenthesis , that sev
eral yeirs of my life were spent as a rail
road brakeman and switchman. I lm <
work d as a switchman In the Union Pn
clfic yards at Omaha In the spring of ' 93
and before leaving Omaha I called upoi
Superintendent Sutherland and r celved a
letter , duly stamped , certifying that my
work while there was satisfactory and tha
I had loft the service of mv own accord
My government commission and remova
servfd as a clearance In the great strike.
After arriving In Clarlndon our first though
was for something to eat. It was already
noon nnd we bad not yet tasted food tha
day. I had a watch chain which cost m
$350 nnd which I tried to sail , but couU
not get an offer on it. Wo had to hav
something to cat , and to get It I gave th
chain to a hotel keeper for our dinner
After eating n hearty meal we went to th
Cotton Belt depot. There was a frelgh
train standing on the track headed In th
direction wo wanted to go. I asked th
conductor for a rldo to Jonesboro , show In ;
at the same timemy letter and strike clear
ance. After looking them over he told m
to go back to the cabboso and get on.
then told him about my companion , and wa
told he could not ride unless he couh
"show up" as I had done. I then aske.
the conductor If wo could get Into an empty
box car , and ho replied that If I rodewiti
him I would have to ride In the caboose
That sittled It , and we started up the trad
on foot toward Brlnkley , which wo reachec
nt 7 o'clock. That night we asked the mar
shal to let us sleep In the Jail and give u
our suppers , but be refused both requests
Wo stayeJ in a saloon until 12 o'clock , when
a train came along. We determined to rid
this train , If possible , Into Jonesboro. My
companion was to take our bundle , consist
Ing of three or four shirts , some underclothing
and a book , which I valued so much that :
brought It along from Omaha. He was to
got Into an empty box car , If there were
any on the train , and rids to Jonesboro.
was to rldo In the caboose and trust to 1115
letters to carry me through. If It happened
that ono of us was put off the train , the one
who was successful was to await In Jones
bore the arrival of the other. I had no
trouble In convincing the conductor that 1
was a railroad man in good standing , and was
told that I could ride.
We had gone about thirty miles when the
train stopped at a siding to let another ono
pass. My companion , not finding an empty
box car that he could get Into , had got upon
a fiat car. When the train came to a stand
the head brakeman started over the train
from tbo engine toward the caboose. My
partner , who was still on the flat car , saw the
light coming and endeavored to let himself
down by reaching to the ladder on the side
of the adjoining box car , but the night was
so cold that bis hands had become benumbed
and In trying to catch the rounds ho fel
backward. In his fall he threw his arms
behind him to , protect himself , and striking
the palm of his hand against the frozen
ground , ho broke his arm at the wrist.
NO CASH , NO CURE.
When we arrived nt Jonesboro we went
straight to the railroad company's physician
who wanted $10 for reducing the fracture
Wo did not have 10 cents and made him
aware of this fact. Ho was obdurate to
our appeals and we left the olllce feeling
very blue. Wo went to another physician ,
but when he found wo had no money he was
as hardened und Inflexible as the first.
Somewhat discouraged with our pad plight we
made up our minds to seek the major and
make known our unfortunate condition.
Wo found the -mayor In his office , and after
making our business known asked him It
he could give us an order to the city phy
slclau. He Bald that the city did not cm-
ploy a physician. Then wo asked him If
ho could not send us to some doctor and
have him lire-suit the bill to the council for
payment , to which he answered that there
was no ordinance for anything of that
kind and furthermore * that the city was not
compelled to take care of every tramp that
came along. As1 wo turned to leave , ho
asked us with a leer that would have done
credit to Mr , Hyde , If there was any fur
ther Information that we would llko to have ,
to which wo simply answered "nothing , " and
walked out. U was now 11 o'clock and we
1 ad had nothing to cat since the day before
at noon. Something hail to be done to get
out of the predicament wo were In. With
a determination born of our sad situation
wo came to the conclusion to go over tea
a drug store near by , ask for bandages as
though wo Intended to buy them , and when
they were wrapped up take them , walk out ,
stand the consequences , whatever they might
be , and sat the fracture as well as wo
word able. To the drug ctore wo went und
were Informed that they did not keep an > thing
of the kind , but that there was a doctor's
olllce next door where wo could gft them.
With some misgivings wo entered the place
and made our mission known. It was our
last chance , as liq wag the only physician In
town on whom wo had not called. Ho
proved to ba a gentleman whoic humanity
was not measured by dollars or cents , After
setting the limb he stipulated to the patient
that If he over found himself financially abU
he would forward $10. This ho promised
to do.
Twenty-four hours bad now elapsed since
our bit meal , and to say that we were
bungry doe's not half express It. There
were a number of brakemen standing In
front of the hotel * of the town , and to ono
of them I showed my railroad letters , ex
plaining at the same time our present cir
cumstances , and asked him If he could not
Elvo us omethlnc to oat. Without ca > lng
a. word he took us Into the hotel and ordered
our dinner. When , our wants were mtls-
Hed we had time to reflect upon the situa
tion In which wo found ourselves. Whether
to go back to Memphis where there was a
hospital , or send t } Orpaba for money with
which to return was th6 aubject of an hour's
lebate. The Utter pan was preferred , end
that afternoon my companion telegraphed
borne fqr money. Hi secured a placa to
joard oa bl promlss to pay > noon at tbe
money nrrlVfd from home. I Mayed with
him that night and next morning we bid
etch other Rooiltiy and purled ,
A I'OI'tn AH UKSOrtT.
We were going to 1'oplir Illuffs , Mo. , with
the expectation of obtaining work as switch
men , when the accident tvirratod above be
fell us. I now started alone toward that
point , which was about seventy-five mll-a
from Jonesboro I reached Poplar Dluffs
tometlmo during the night and was told
by one of the braktmen that I could tiny In
the switch shanty for the night. To the
shanty I went , and found It to be a build
ing obout fourteen feet square , and there
were , by actual count , twenty-three hoboes ,
all In a wor t > fix than mjsclf , sleeping
there that night nvcrv train that pulled
Into the yards from either direction brought
a number1 of theae poor wretches , and ,
strange as It may appear , they were all
famll'ar ' with the location of the sw tc'i hou e
I could not find nnv thing to do In I'cplar
lllfffs and departed for Little Hock , which
was 1S5 miles south. I ask'd a conductor
for a ride , but was refused. His refusal did
not cut much figure , however , as I got Into
the. Ice box of a refrigerator car , which was
In his train , and rode to l.lttlo llock without
b'lng observed. Things seemc-d to be going
from bad to wor e There was nothing to
b3 had In the way of work at Little Hock
nnd my appearance was commencing to
look rather seedy. I had given nwoy my
surplus clothing , and every little article
that I poses9od , for something to eat. Now
I had arrived at the end of the rope , soto
speak and must approach back doors nnd
depend upon charity like every other so-
celled tramp. Another thing which 1 noticed
was the fact that a man with n ragged coit
and no monfy In bis pocket had on enemy
In every policeman he chanced to meet. II
n hoboe happened to se'k the shelter ol
an empty box car to protect himself from
the cold of a winter night , he wa ; , In all
probability , arrested for trespassing or vag-
rai'cy before morning. If ho went to the
outtklrts of the city or town to build n fire
to keep the blood from becoming chilled In
hU half-clad body , It was more than likely
that ho would b discovered by the eagle-
ejcd Javerts nnd either got thirty dajs or be
told to "movo on. "
HUNGER'S LAST RRSOHT.
From Little Rock I went to Tort Smith.
I had read an advertisement In the St. Lculs
Globe-D'mocrat to the effect that teamsters
were wanted at Huntlngton , and ns It was
thirty miles distant , I though' I would stop
In Tort Smith until morning , as the saloons
of the phcs kept open all night They were
ths only places In town where n man without
mon'y or friends could stop and not be
molested. Delng weak from , JaaJng , I
walked Into the country a mile or two to
try and get my supper. It was the first tlmo
In my llfo that I had ver asked for bread
nt a private hous * without being able to
pay for what I received. There was a largo
house close to the railroad track upon my
left , and to It I went. A girl was carrjlng
In weed nnd to her I addressed myself. I
asked lur If she would not allow mo to do
some kind of work for my supper or anj-
thlng In the way of edibles. She said they
did not have nn > thing1 cooked , nnd that they
wwe tired of feeding tramps who were too
lazy to work. Try as I might , I could not
keep back the- tears after this rebuff , so
I sat down on the railroad and had a good
cry. Over on the adjoining farm n man was
plowing , and to him I went , telling him
that I had no money , but was willing to
do work of any kind for my supper. Ho
said that he did not have any work to do ,
but that I could go ever to the house and teli
his wife that he had sent me , cautioning me ,
at the same Urn ? , to look out for the dogs
I was given a good supper and 5 cants by
his wife , after which I returned to the
saloon and slept on the floor for the night.
The next day I left on foot for Huntington.
About 4 o'clock In the evening It began
raining Over In the wood there was a
log cabin , before which a man was chopping
I naked him If he could keep mo over night ,
telling him where I was going , with the
remark that I would not bo able to reach It
because of the storm. Ho made answer that
his wife was not at home , but would be
dliectly , and If I could wait until she ar
rived he could let m& know. While ho
was talking , bis vvlf ? came home. She had
been out to one of the neighbors to- try
and borrow some flour. It transplicd , as I
leained the next morning upon taking my
leave , that if she had been unsuccessful
In securing the flour , they would themselves
have had to go supperless to bed. He
was a miner , but hid been out of work for
some months and was In very hard circum
stances , jet , with all their poverty , I was
welcomed as though their wealth was un
limited. Indeed , In my year of wandering
through seven states and two teirltorles ,
I found It was the poor who were the most
liberal givers Seldom , If ever , have I been
refused a crust of bread at a poor man's
home when I nskod for it. I cannot say this
of the class that is known as the well-to-do.
THE DOUIJLG CINCH.
At Huntlneton I was given emplojment and
worked thnre nine da > s when , for a trifling
ciusec'lghteen ' of us were dlscrmged. I
found tha same rule in effect here- that they
had upon the levee , with this difference , that
If jou left or were dlschaig- l before jou had
worked twenty-six days , you were discounted
10 c = nt Instead of
per twentj-flve per cent
With such a rule in force It was Impossible
for an > oue to pJmaln at work any length of
time , when men were as plentiful as they
were last winter. On leivlng Huntlngto-n I
hid $3.95. The 95 csnts was given for rail
road fare , the first and last I paid for trans
portation until leaving Sioux City for Ne-
b-aska , th-p fall following. When I got back
to Fort Smith I bought a pilr of shoes for $1 ,
and after staying two days left the town with
5 cents in my pocket. I walked five miles to
Van Bui-en , cronslng the Arkansas river on
the Ice ( something unusual ) and left there
that night In n box car for McAlIster , In th
Indian Territory , 150 miles distant. It was
a very cold nUht , the ground being cove-ed
with saow and n strong wind blowing from
the north. I staid In the box car until wo
had gone absut twenty miles , when I came
to the conclu'lon that I wouid have to get
out or freee I chow thp former course ,
getting out and going bick to the caboose
When the train had started and the con
ductor saw me he was somewhit mirprlsed
and wanted to know whsro In the d 1 I had
coino fiom. I made him acquainted with the
facts and told him I was a railroad nun gene
to seed and was going over to McAlIster to
go to work on the1 new road building there. 1
rods with him to AVagner , changing cars
there nnd again at MUB\OBO ? , arriving at
McAlIster twelve hours after leaving Van
Huron. The next day I went out along the
line and sacurej , a job on the giade. I
worked tli-c'ro ' ten days , when I accidentally
upllt my thumb to the bno handling rocks.
As I was disabled from working , nnd not
wishing to etay around the camp and pay
board , I called for my time. I found the
yimo rule of discount In force on thin road
which marked the other camps In which I
had worked. They also kept out of each
man's pay 50 cents every mcnth aa a hospital
fco , yet there was no place provided for thosj
who chanced to get sick , and if mien a mis-
Tortuno happened to befall anyone lit > hud to
pa'y bis boatd or loivo thti camp at which ho
was working , The only bsnefit received. If
jenefit It could ho called , was the riding over
: ho line of u so-callod doctor whti would dis
tribute two or thros pills to each man onca a
week , but not , however , without asking for
: hem. There waa something llko $1,200 col-
ectcil O3cli month from this source , and the
brauty of the scheme was , that th ? promoters
did not have to glvi an equivalent In return.
Tho-o was , In one of the camps , a > oung man
of 18 who waa taken down with the measles
and who died of ne lttt and want of medical
treatment. Vft , If he had only worked two
da > s upon the construction of the reid be-
'oro ' ho died , the CO cents hospital fee would
> o kept out of his wages. Hera Is a rece-Ipt
which I received from a subcontractor for
whom I worked-
Section 57 , 4-4 , ' 95. Received of H. Haurl-
gan f.0-100 dollars as doctor's fees for tbe
nonth of April , ' 95. CULLIN BROS.
The contractors who had the construction of
his road were W. S Good , a man from Phila
delphia , and Michael n. Kerr. clerk of the
ast house of representatives. This man Good
lad such a dread of the vvorklngmen along
he line that he uluayj had a United States
deputy marshal with him when he rode out.
THE BOX CAR ROUTE.
At the tlmo I left the road there was an
advertisement In the Globe-Democrat to the
fleet that COO men were wanted for the con-
tructlonofa new railroad at Texarkana. As
could not work for some dayi on account
f my hand , I came to the conclusion to go
lure. With this object In view I got InteL
L box car at McAllister and twenty hours
ater I was In Little Hock , 310 miles from
rhere I started. An Incident connected with
lit * trip may be worth rotating. At Wagner
bad to take tbe Iron Mountain railroad ,
lecesiUatlng a change , as I had come from
JcAlllster over tha Mlicourl , Kansas &
Tctas. The brakeman on the Iron Mountain
put mo Into nn empty car. H was a very
d rk night , go dark , In fact , that object *
along the track were Invisible through the
partly open daor of die car. When the train
started , I lay down ntnl went to sleep. I
was awakened by the sound of music , which ,
as near ns I can tell , seemed to be coming
from the roof of the csh I raised myself on
my hand and listened. There was no cessation
of the music and n fi-ellng rlmllnr to that felt
by Jean Valjean when he first heard the cold
clods roll down tiprin his coffin ltd passed
through my body. Iknew that there was no
ono In the car when I cot In , ns the brakeman -
man had been there with his lamp. When
I could stand the uncertainty no longer I
cried out : "Hello , there. " nnd was answered
In turn , "Hello , boss , has you'sa waked up ? "
I was not alone , ns it ! transpired that my
companion , who was d ncfero six feet toll , had
given the brakeman 25 cents nt old Tort Gib
son for n ride to Van Duren nnd had got In
the car while I was asleep Ho had a moutl
harp nnd was playing upon It , nnd It was
that which awoke me. At Little Hock I In
duced an emigrant who was bound for Texas
to store me away In his car so that I would
have no trouble In getting through the small
pox quarantine nt Malvern. When Texarkana
was reached I had Just n cents loft , and with
It I bought n leif of bread nnd then started
to walk out to where the work was going on
At noon I stopped at n tie camp which was
close to the track , nnd got my dinner
Among the tie makers was n man who llvci
In Omaha and who was Just on the point of
starting for the place where I was going
When dinner was over we started off together
nnd had gone three miles when we came to
the Red river. Neither of us had a cent with
which to pay the ferrjman , and footmen were
not allowed to cross the railroad brldno. The
only way we could get across was con
structing n raft. We got an nx from ono of
the negro cabins close by nnd went to work
Wo got the raft completed nt sundown , am
everything being ready , got on and pushed
out Into the stream. Wo succeeded In get
ting across , but were almost a mlle below
where we started In. Wo retraced our steps
got back on the railroad and stalled on our
Journey.
H was now dark , nnd we wcro discussing
the feasibility cf building a fire nnd camping
for the night , when wo came to a saw mil
and n large dwelling house , to which wo went
nnd asked If we might sleep In the siwmtl
for the night. Wo vvero told that we might
nnd had turned to go , when wo were asked
If wo had had any supper
Upon our replying no , we were
taken Into the house and set down to
the table. It was the first and only tlmo
while hoboclng it around the country that I
was Invited to n meal. After our supper we
went down to the saw mill and burled our
selves In the shavings. When I awoke 1
looked for my companion , who had lain down
beside me , but he had disappeared , nor have
I seen him from that day to this.
A USKLESS TRIP.
After leaving the sawmill I wont up the
track toward the work , but bad not gone far
when I met a number of men returning from
there who Informed me that because of a resurvey -
survey 'the work had stopped and that I
would be disappointed If I went. Wo all
went hick to the river , lay In the woods
until midnight and then stole across the
bridge vvlillo the watchman was asleep.
When across the river T left them , going to
the tie-camp , while they went on to Tex-
nrkana. I worked at the camp two days In
my stay of n week , It having rained the
balance of the time. At the end of a week
the camp broke up , the men going to different
places. Texarkana was only eight miles
away , and to it I went. The town vvni quar
antined against the smallpox , but I was not
aware of It. At the'south ' side of town was
a largo saw mill. The sawdust from this mill
was convejed thiough Iron pipes a distance
of about 100 jards from the mill and was con
tinually burning , alorig with slabs and waste
material. Around this fire were githered
every night the hoboes who chanced to bo in
town. On this night there were thirteen , be-
s'des mi self , sitting1 around the fire. Never
before had I seen such dejected or wretched
specimens of humanity. , Some of them had
not washed their faces for weeks , others
were shoeless and Bockless as well na half-
starved and filthy. To make our condition
had set
worse , a drizzling rain
in which cast an additional
gloom over the melancholy
features of the llttfc group around the fire
Sleep on such a night , in such a place , was
not to be thought of , BO'wo ' sat down to wait
for dajllght to appear. We were thus situa
ted at 1 o'clock in the morning , when sud
denly two policemen came up , conveying al
thesime tlmo the Inf6rmatlon that we could
consider ourselves under arrest. We were
about to scatter In different directions when
they told us that we need have no fear as
wo would be given our breakfast and let
go In the morning. We went with them
and for the first tlmo I slept behind the
bars. The next morning we were taken
before the -major , who was a sort of Judge
Jeffreys In his way nnd sought to magnify
his own Importance by billttling ours.
When he got through with us wo were put
In charge of a guard and "drilled" five miles
out of town. When the guards left us we
scattered. Myself and another went through
the woods and got over In the Texas part of
the town , where wo got a leaf of bread from
received no breakfast
a friendly baker , having
fast from tbe authorities by whom wa were
arrested ,
A LESSON IN CHARITY.
After leaving Texarkana I went to Den-
nlson and sta > ed there two days The
first evening I was In Dennlson I went out
to g't my supper , calling at several houses
and offering to work for what I received ,
but was refueed at every place. Somewhat
chagrined at my nonsuccess In abtalnlng
something to eat I was about to give up
trying and wait until morning , when I saw
a man making Hover beds In a garden which
was attached to a largo brick house. In
fact it was one of the largest and finest
bouaas In Dennlson. I went up to the nun
and asked him If I could not assist htm and
get my supper In return. He wld , "My
friend , I am sorry , and If I could afford It
I would willingly comply with your request ,
but " ho continued , "you see how I am
working. " Across the- street was St.
XavIer'B college , and to It I went. When I
got Inside the yard I v.as confronted by about
fifty girls , varjlng between the ages of 10
and IS. I would have retreated , but I was
io ncrvade the
* " - - . . . .
C"7UI1 MI4V4 W * * ,
place as soon as I was percelv-ed. I walked
up to the sister who was upon the porch
and told her the reason of my visit. With
out asking me any questions I was taken
nto the kitchen and given all I could eat
jesldcs a lunch in my pocket when I was
'olng. That night there was an open moet-
ng In behalf of the A. I' . A. , and some
cyclone or other , as they called him , was
? olng to speak , and , having nothing elro to
do , I attended. Imagine my surprise , If
you can , when upon entering the hall I
leard the man who lived In the big brick
louse and who had refuted me my supper ,
denouncing those who had fed mo aa vicious
and uncharitable.
1'rom DennUon I went back to McAllister ,
riding In the hay mow of a stock car. from
McAllister I went across the country to
Oklahoma City on foot , a distance of 120
miles. Trom Oklahoma City I rode the
Santa Fe railroad Into Kansas City. There
was at that time In Kjansas City an Insti
tution called "The Helping Hand. " It was
kept up principally by donations from the
charitable people of the" city nnd was supposed -
posed to bo run upon the same plan as
characterized the management of Rescue
Hall In Omaha In the winter of ' 93 and'94 ,
But how different was the reality from the
supposition ! Every evening there was
preaching there by one of tbe pastors of the
city , in which the management would take
the leading part In the tinging and prayers.
But when tbo xercl e vvero over th& fangs
of the wolf would appear through the sheep's
clothing. Indeed , the , men would leave the
place and seek tbo shelter of saloon * and
sleep ou their floor for the night before they
would stay at the Helping Hand and take
the abuva that would tie helped upon them.
A FAMILIAR FACE.
There was no work to be bad In Kanias
It was th ro that I saw the flrit familiar
face I had eee-n since leaving Omaha. It was
that of the aaiUtant cashier of the Stock
Yards bank , who was riding on a street car.
I tried to look unconcerned , and thought I
wculd not bo known In my hoboo ftttlre ,
but I know that I was recognlzid , and the
fact , at the time , did not tend to quiet my
peace of mind. From Springfield I went
buck to Arkansas and went to work at
Siloam Springs. I worked there nine days
and then left , going across tbe country on
foot tvv nty-five miles to the San Francisco
railroad , where I took a box car and rode Into
St. Louis. It was now tbe middle of May
and I thought It would ba no trouble to got
work of oma kind In St. Louis , but the tup-
ply of men was full to overflowing. I staid
In the city ono month , Retting a day's work
now and then find sleeping In box cars itnd
lumber piles , when I could not find anything
to do. The 16th of Juno I went out Into th <
country and went to work harvesting ,
worked here until the Mh of July , when
got what money was owing m > , which I
stnt to Omaha , except four dollars , for the
watch which I had pawned the fall before
When It arrived , I started off for the harveo
field of the north , and rcnch'd Minneapolis
by box cir pas age In throe dnjs. U wni
my Intention to go to North Dakota , bu
there were s many men going that waj
that I came back to Albert Lea , going ou
to the west rn part of the state. I was to <
soon for th harvest , nnd , as my money hai
Riven out , I had to do ns the rest were
doing , tlmt Is , forage on the potato patches
of the neighborhood. A week lal r there was
plenty of work for every one at good wages
I workel there three months nnd then re
turned to N braskn , somewhat wiser , bu
not much better off financially than when
left.
STATISTICS OP IDLKNESS.
How many men are there on the rcat
out of cmplo > ment7 That Is a qucstloi
hard to answer with any degre ? of accuracy
It wMl b remembered that during the Herr
Harvey debate In Chicago , one of the con
tc&tants gave It as his opinion that there
were 4,000000 tramps In the Unltci
States , who could not find work. The oilier
controvcrUd this statement with governmcn
statistics , siIng that there were not more
than half that number.
Government statistics In regard to this
bruich of Information arc Incorrect , for the
reason that census enumerators do not go
to box cars , lumbT plies nnd barns for the
purpose of counting noses. Every tlmo the
census Is taken n largo number are over
looked , nnd they nro In nearly every cas
those who have no flxexl residence nnd are
commonly known ns tramps. So , In my
judgment , If one of the disputants failed to
hit the bull's cje , tbo other missed the tur
get altogether.
A great many klnd-heartfd men nnd womci
are laboring under the false Imprcslon tha
If the charitable people would r-fuse to
feed the hordes of Idle men , their numbe
wculd roon bo diminished , This Is a sai
mistake , ns the supply of men Is In < xces
of the amount of work there Is to do. There
U another phisD of the question which few
realize , and that is , that it Is a harder tnsl
for a strong man to cat th bread of clmrltj
than It is to work nt honest labor. To be
sure , there are professionals , or "Johnnie
Yngens , " ns they call themselves , who wll
not work for money cr bread. They hav ? a
cheek of adamant nnd will beg clothes , money
etc. They are fellows who carve thel
names , or , to be more carrcct , the name
they give themselves , upon box cars , section
houses and water tanks. Th y have a Ian
KUago particularly their own , which is be
yoml the comprehension of n ftrst-clas
linguist. Among themselves they are known
by such high sounding titles as Ohio Red
San Francisco Pete , Alabama Slim , and BO
on. Th y constitute a very small per cen
of the men op the road , and between them
and the hoboes there Is a bill r enmity
which occasionally finds vnt In blows.
EMPLOYMENT AGENCY EVILS.
The worst obstacle at the prcssnt time
which the laboring man finds along his way
Is the omplojment agent. You may notch I
In jour memory aa absolutely true , that when
an emplojment agent advertises for a largo
number of men , in nine cases out of ten the
agent and contractor hnvo a compact with
each other that bodes no good to the men
sent out to work. There may be men
enough tvvlcs over at the places to whlcl
they are shipping , but that make no differ
ence with them , and as long as they can In
duce men to pay their fee they will bo profuse -
fuse with the promises of steady work nnd
good pay. So pernicious has the evil be
come that some contractors will not employ
anjono who does not come through nn em
ployment office. An emplojment agent by
the name of O'Mera , whoso place of busi
ness Is on Walnut street , and I think , b ° -
tween Sixth and Seventh streets , St. Lotil"
had a standing advertisement In all the
principal papers of the city to the effect that
men were wanted to shovel coal. The wages
for this work were $1.50 per day , and were
paid every Saturday night , and besides the
work was In the cltjAs there were be
tween 6,000 and 10,000 men Idle In St. Louis
at that tlmo who had nothing to eat and no
place to sleep I thought it strangs why such
an opportunity should bo let pass. Hero
was the chance that I was looking for , anO
although it was Saturday afternoon I de
termined not to let It slip , so to the ofllco
I went. On reaching there I was told tint
it would cost me $1. I had but CO cents at
the time , and told him so. Ho was then
willing to take GO cents , sajlng that the
other half dollar would be kept out of my
wages at the works That was enough ,
as the same old "nigger In the woodpllo"
was plainly visible to my mental vision.
Had I paid the fee It would only have been
a day or two until I would have been dis
charged to make room for some other man
who had been sucked out of $1 by those
human leeches.
There should be n law enacted In every
state of the union , making It a misdemeanor
for any person to run an employment agency.
As at present constituted they are a sort
of a custom house , where the poor man haste
to pay a tax In order to bo given work.
It may sound strange , but It Is nevertheless
a fact , that In this day and generation men
who have committed no crlmo are arrested
by the dozens and thrown Into Jail simply
because they cannot find work and have no
money. The more fact that some pollc0-
man has a suspicion that a poor footworn
creature is not altogether right is deemed
sufficient evidence not only to arrest him
but to sentence htm for thirty days at hard
labor. This vicious practice la doing more
toward Increasing the number of criminals
than all other causes combined.
RICHARD HAUHIGAN.
Fremont , December , 1895.
An OIil Solillrr Cured of Chronic
Dliirrlioca.
During the war John L Ilase of Mill
3roek , lii. , contracted chronic diarrhoea , which
Inconvenienced him very much , and at times
greatly Impaired his strength. Ho says :
"Ono dose of Chamberlain's Colic , Cholsra
and Diarrhoea Remedy has always relieved
me , ard two doses cased me so that I could
at once go about my business. I alwajs
cecp the Remedy at hand. "
ins 1'iiiim AVAH WOUMJIMJ.
Iiiillnn KlKliU-r AVIui I ' "on ml 1111 I'naii-
Iu-fc'Iu < I > c 'I'oiiHorluI ArtlNt.
The man who was "next" no I took a
chair In the barber shop , saya the Detroit
r"reo Press , had hair down on his Bhouldcrs ,
he regulation cowboy hat , and at the cnJ
of his wntch chain dangled the claw of a
grizzly boar.
The barber who was ohavlng me looked the
man over , but didn't eay anything , but after
a bit the other observed :
"Quito a change from Indian territory to
New York City. "
"You have been out vvcjt , eh ? "
"Yes , sir. "
"Hunting rabbits ? " '
"Rabbits ! No , sir ; Indians. "
"Oh ! Find any ? "
"You bet ! I have seven scalps In my
runk. "
"Yes. What did they cost you apiece ? "
"Cost me ! " shouted the wild and woolly.
'Why , hang It , I was wounded In three
places ! "
"Gun go off accidentally ? "
"No , It didn't. What sort of a man are
you , anyhow ? "
"Beg pardon , but can they ralso nrtl-
hokes out there ? "
"Artl-Hallfax ! Why don't you ask how
many Indians I killed at Wounded Knca ? "
"Anybody wounded In the knee out there ? "
asked the barber , as ho reached for the bay
um. "Bad place to bo woundtd lu , I broke
my knee cap onco. Next ! "
"Not by a Jugful ! " exclalmel the -watting
man , as ho reached for his overcoat. "I
vas Intending to have a hair cut , shave and
got my whiskers djcJ , but jou're not the
nan lo do It. I'll go to lorn * chop where
hey kn&w Eomethlng nnd have gumption
nough to draw a feller out. "
Old I'fiiiilc.
Old people who require medicine to regulate
he boweU and kidneys will find the true
emedy In Electric BIttnra. This medicine
does not stimulate and contains no vvhlikey
nor other Intoxicant , but acts as a tonic and
Iterative. It ucU mildly on the stomach
nd bow eli , adding strength and giving tone
o the organs , thereby aiding nature In the
lerformnnco of tbe functions. Electric Bit
ers Is an excellent appetizer and aids dlgfu-
lon , Old people find It just exactly what
hey need. Price fifty cents per bottle at
Cutin & Co.'s drug ctoro.
OF NEW YORK.
RICHARD A. McCURDY , President.
Statement for the year ending December Of st , 1894'
liSCOMK.
lU-i-rlvril for premium * . . . . . . . . . , , , . . , . . . .if.KI.I-Il,1lin S2
I'rom nil other < itirev * . . 1 lst)7VOtl , IS f IM , msoi > t > 4
DISIUlltSKMENlS.
To pulley liolilrrn for rlnlins li > ilenth . $1 1.0-0.704 04
To policy holder * for emlim menls , lUvltleiul' , elc 11,1.1 ! ) , IDS 14
for nil other ueeouiitN 0,7s | ) , < m 18
ASSISTS
t'liKed ' SIntci lioniln nnil other rriirltle * , . . . . . . , . , . $ St : , ! > 70 , < IW > 07 ,
rirnt llfii loan * on 1mml nnil mortmiKC > Tt.it.'tl ) . 115 OU
IiOiitiM mi NtoekN nnil lioiiiti , I lil,100 : ( ! ( < )0
Ural estate i ! ! , ( ! ! > ITIKI Hit
OilHli In linnl.M anil tru > i ( eonipmiiles. . . . l > , ( ir > , * VtllH ) Dt
AcorntMl Iiiti-reiit , ili-fcrieit pi fiiiluni < < , i > li > , ( IIt ! . " > , ( ! IT OT
HOHITIC for iiolloloN nnil other lliilillltlt" * , roiiiimii'N ntiitul-
nnl , AincrliMUi I jier i-ciil S51SU.1OI ) , I Ml 11
suriiiiiH . . . .1 ? _ ' _ , r ii > , : tii7 su
Iiiniirnnro nnil ninitiltlcM iixnuiutMl nml ri-iu-vv nl . TrO-IT7 ( ( ! 07
Iiiniirniioo nml nntiiiltloM In foroiDee. . Ill , IMM. . . . . . . hrir > , ' - n7i77HIII
I lin > c carefully examined the fitreuoliiK Mtnleiiieiit mill Unit ( he niiina
to lie eorreet. Oil Vltt.US A. 1'lt | . ; iliit , A ml I tor.
From the surplus a dlvklctul will 1)2 npportloncJ ns usual.
The statement of The Mutual Llfo Insurance Company at Now York for the year
ondlnp December 31 , 1S94 , exhibits as the result of one > cir'B business the followliiR'
Inereiine lit tolnl liieoine 1 ? < lOtl7,7-t 20
Iiiereaso In premium Ineoiue H.r. .S r H
IncreiiHO III tiNHetH 17IK1l,1ln Sa
liicretiNo In nnriilnn lr > 7ll,71S Ol
Increiinc of liiMirimoe. mill niinultlcH In foree r.lOUt : , ( > : it OO
Report of the Examining Committee.
Office of the .Mutual Life Insurance Compjit } of No" York. H
Fobrnnry 7 , 805 ,
At n racothiR of the Tlonrd of Trustees of Hits Company , belli on the 2IHh day
of December last , the untlorslfjnetl ivoio appointed a C'oinmlttoo to oxtunino the
nnnunl statement for iho ycnr ending December 31 , ISO I , and tovotlfy the same
by compatlson with the ussots of tbo cnmpaiiy
The Conunlitoo have carefully performed the the duty assigned to thorn , and
hereby certify that the statement Is In all imi tlenlars cjrtoct and that the assets
spoolllod therein are In possession of the Company.
In matting this eorliflcato the Committee bear testimony to the hijrb charac
ter of the investments of the Company and express their approval of the system ,
01 dor. and accuracy with which the accounts and vouchers have been kept , and
the business in general ti ans.iclod.
H. C. VON POST , Cium.ns E MILUH , THKO. A. TI.VVHMI
J. IIOIJAUT IIUKKICIC , ClIAltLKS U. llKNDLHbON , ROlinitT SUVVCLL.
MANAGERS FOR IOWA AND NEBRASKA
OMAHA , NEBRASKA.
. . . Furniture Co.-
Furniture
The best assort
ment and newest
designs at the
lowest prices.
Brass and Iron Bedsteads
1115-1117 Farnam.
from $4 to S50. .
JlnnUli , btrtiliKth and VJjtnr
TO A RIPE OLD AGE.
'Ilioslnaof joutliful Isiiornno , the dissipation ,
llio\\mkiioatlImtruViiuLjnhr ] to murilogu
tlieio are Ilio tiling Jint nro ilully iiliinUiiK
IliouwmU of imu lutu ncum'ltloii cr utter ruin
Tbo vuistcd parts. eMiliiloriniipr\c > usi ] < Finn < l
iihjlcal ilt.bllily iillriHuliliii ; from ciljusfsnml
1'xcciic1) , continue to nnptlio llfonnny rlinply
licuuinii IliOHUlTerorlM liluluiornncctatooliuMi *
f ul , too fur 6o o I n n nhrliiMng t ( .ur of discovery
( o make UIIOWM li'fl ' condition or to biok cut n
filoiid , U 1 1 UiU liickofcournBe , Uilsbllclilltiff ,
tmtknard fimr ttmt Imi prompted me tuinnko
Unovvn torn , ry man , \u' k mill vvnrn nut from
< lliilmtlou ) or necret fins , tlmt tlu ro li a clmiico
fur you , mi opportunity v. iiurcby jou ninylu
lifted out of tlmtntatoof dr > al nod ilrrpulr ton
liojiny condition < f c l f rc prrt nn 1 minify cour-
n-f. I , too , ha I cotrotly ( .ulTircd fur > r I ) lit
tlirouith tlionjoncyofiir irinrkl ) > run I > I.im
nowu Imjipy , vigorous limn eiijos ( UK to tlif f ullcst
monitiro tlie litesalnes und pmlle/j"n / Hint only
( omploto manhood can litatotv , I " 111 oenJ
( boalucl ) tlia rirlpo of this wonderful rnmily
Kill ; ! ; to nuy uulTiirer vvlio will wrltu tuino.
Ilcured miiufifrinrryllitMKflso ja4 failed , au-t
II will cure jou. Addrosi ,
< ! . H.Mullcr , IJox )320 , KulauinzooMlcli.
Searles
SPECIALISTS IN
Nervous , Cliroilu
mid
Private
WEAK ( HEX
All I'rhntu DUn.iin
unit DUiiriloriuf Moil
I riuitmi nt liynull
CUIlHIllUltlOU frOB
SYPHILIS
nd IirJCTAI. UUJEIW. IIYUHOCKI.K ANI >
VAHICOCKLi : permanently and u < xe fuly !
cured. Method new and unfalllnf.
STRICTURE AND GLEET
uuv inelhod without pain or cultl&v
Call on ur addrtu with itamp
Ur Scarles & Searlcs 110 H. lltliSt , ,
, , 0.m.a.NoU ! ,
( My mama us-id Wool Soap ) ( IwltUmmoaA
jyOOL7 ? < YS\vl\lnotslirlnk \ It
_ . , _ , , , ' mcd In flic laundry ,
\rnol8oaplsi1cllcntennilrufrfililiiulorliutlii ur-
poses 'Ilio liostoli'iinscrIIIIH burnt yuurdialen.
0 wo BliLu : toilet ana ) .iuiili7.
Kawortli , Scliodde t Co. , Makers , Chlcaro.
.ICfmllmiiM llottnu. in Lonnnnl rU ,
Nuw Vcirk.V.7 CJjuMuut. tJL.Bl. Louis.
f Mclifif < % i''i rnjtlfgn iiiumunn ifrana.
Orff Inulfind Otiljr ( jtnul
lArCi aJaj > r lUbli. IADII
Uruttlit fur LMckuttrt fil l < 4 tilt
nmklUiaaittt Ilrrtuji 6uUliitlilUo
boi i E ftlfrl MltL llu * rll Um
* other * Iltfutdangtrtul
I int/afvru At 1'ru/iiili , or ien44i * ,
ft ( , ' ropi for itrlloulail uitlniotilkU auj
* I'lttllLt furl nlltf"lnltiiir.ljrclurt
'
-V ff' 5 > .4ii.
. .
N. - / fliliIir l . ' "
KM Ur U L * . ! Uruuii'uT l'iaiid' "T' I
J'l'MMUMlHlreeiA'J'iiil.nlgni , t
( HICK Hnrrinnl lurrlil urliaciU I
Use ttaiiJtaj tsatisfied. .
* r fVOH MOHL CO. .
SoU 4utrfm ! Jl ioli , Uuilmitlt , CM ) ,
CURED AS IF BY MAGIC ,
Victims ol Lost Manhood uliotild ecml nt
OIHO lor n boolc
Hint , or plains how
full iniuily vlifor
IB laully , quickly
nnil poriimnoiitly
luloioil. h'oiniin
milforlnu from
weakness can af
ford tnlgnoiothu
timely iiilvluv.
llook tolla liow
full etruiKtli , do
velnnmetit and tone ino d to eturj
portion of . tliu body. Bunt vtllh Y > oaltlvi
proof t ( dtulod/i ) ce to any inuuon upiillcutloa
ERIE MEDICAL CO , , BUFFALONYf