Show SECRET CODE OF TRAMPS How a Pennsylvania Man lan With a Knowledge of It Has Been Amusing Himself Peter Sands of or Castle Valley Valle has a a. mysterious power over tramps He makes a 3 mark upon a wall a wall a circle a a. diamond a n. triangle triangle and and ever every even tramp who happens along regards this mark and does docs straightway ay what Mr Ir Sands requires of or him taking to his heels In terror or advancing ad with manifestations manifestations manifesta- manifesta Ions of jO joy Ca Castle Valle Valley Is a 3 hamlet near Doylestown and Mr 11 Sands Is a wealthy wealth widower He lie has given a part of his leisure lel during the last two years ears to a n study of ot the tramp and he has found that there thero really Is as had so 50 often oilen been declared a a. tramp cipher a n. aind kind ind of hieroglyphic lan language which these wanderers write upon tipon the walls wl of houses for the guidance of tho those e who follow after them Mr Sands has lias learned this cipher and there are re reproduced reproduced re- re produced here some of H Its characters A t few of or them them the the circle or the square would be useful to an any man For he who should write In chalk upon his wall either of those two signs would not be troubled by tramps so long hong as QS the they re re- re The tramp language langua e so far as I know It Mr Nr Sands said recently Is Isa a a. er very er simple thing and a a. er very crude direct thing thine It can express itself forcibly for for- upon material matt matters rs It can canEa cansay cansay Ea say This Is Js fine or This is rotten but it tt is quite fulte unable to say i-ay subtle or spiritual things like Sermons In stones' stones or The suns sunsets sunset's ts t's luminous peace It has no rio need Indeed even to be spiritual spiritual spirit spirit- ual or subtle for a a. spiritual or subtle tramp does not exist The Tho tramp is 15 vcr very ery much of ot an ani ant mal Ills language c deals only with animal an an- imal Imal material material things s Men I n women food do dogs flight money and drink are the subjects that absorb his mind And AndIn Andin Andin in his own sl sign n language which Is un Ull- un- un intelligible to the outside world he treats of ot these subjects The rue things he writes arc are criticisms terse criticisms terse strong editorials edi edi- edi- edi flattering or unkind which he ho chalks upon tho the walls o of the houses he has visited These editorials are arc a 0 boon to the tramp who comes after for the they tell him the houses to seek seck and the tho houses houes to a old avoid Tho The diamond Is tho the sign n of the tramps tramp's favor The diamond In tramp language langua e signifies abundance Its appearance appearance ap ap- ap- ap on a n. house waIl wall means that within there i Is good cheer for the hobo hoho The circle is the opposite of the tho diamond diamond dia dia- mond It sl signifies nines zero or nothing It means that the hun hungry r tramp would waste his time be begging In the house It ItIs Itis is affixed to There Is 15 a 3 circle on my 01 myown own residence Mr Ir Sands said with wIlh a smile A cro cross c or X Is as unfavorable a criticism as the circle The cross means They will vili put you rou to work and its meaning orl originated out of its likeness to the saw av horse Sawing wood is about the only work that tramps ma may be trusted to do tIo and therefore a saw horse horse- or X makes for them a very err good symbol symbol sym sym- bol boi of work worl in general The double cro cross means Very el hard work and this symbol his taken Its place in the slang slim of or th Ui day To give gi a man the double double- cross Is to do the worst thing possible to him him to to set et him hint to work according to the tramps tramp's point of view Ie The sign for a man is nn an up and down straight line That for a woman is a kind of or crude hour glass I The These e signs undoubtedly arose from the difference dif di- di ference terence In the male and female appearance appearance appear appear- ance Man is iR more or less Jess straight up and down and woman is more or less pinched In at the waist like an hour glass A sign Ign frequently to be seen een on hO houses ho hostile Ule to tramps Is a hu huge e figuie figure fig fig- uIe ure 10 and T I 1 whereof means mean Man Maii here and the 0 Nothing to he be had That is an unlucky dwelling which has upon Its wall an hour glass and a diamond side b by side No house so FoO decorated is ever passed by a tramp He goes in with an assured front and he gets sets without surprise e a sumptuous meal or a gift girt of or money These Thero things are no more than he had expected for forthe forthe forthe the sign sl-n upon the wall wail had told him that a woman not a man occupied the house and that this woman was sas both rich and generous It is Important for a tramp to know whether or not there them is a do dog about the place that he proposes es to visit for If Ir Irhe he did tIll not know this he ml might ht through carelessness be he bitten Hence there is In his lan language a e a a. sign for a dog doS It ItIs ItIs Is 15 a horizontal line supported at either cither end by J two vertical lines It looks to the layman like a crude drawing drawing- of or a n bench hench but to the tramp It fl looks like a dog log The horizontal line is the back hack backof of that animal and the four vertical ones are Its four our legs s A tramp In en entering entering en- en the yard ard of a n marked marl with the dog sign goes er very cautiously his pockets lockets filled with stones and a club In his hand There is a n. sl sign n much snuck rarer than tramps would like to see and a rectangle rec- rec tancle tangle surmounted b by a semi-circle semi makes It fl This sign means Booze here and when a tramp beholds It on on a 3 ahouse ahouse house houfe wall tahi he hastens forward light hearted heartedly I It Is a rude crude drawing of or a a. beer can cnn or growler the rectangle representing rep rep- resenting the pall pail and the semicircle semicircle semicircle semi semi- circle Its handle F Few Fen w houses arc are ever decorated with this sign On fOn a stone atone wall ali or a n gate on the outskIrts outskirts out out- skirts I of a n town there Is sometimes to be seen a a. square filled with parallel vertical lines When h n a tramp ramp comes conies to such cuch a towns town's outskirts and reads this sign hi he utters a 0 loud oath and turns backward for fol the meaning of the symbol sym sm bol Is They The put tramps In Jail here The upright lines within the square bear hear a considerable resemblance to prison pris pris- on bars and that is wh why the sign came cameto cameto cameto to have e Its pre present ent meaning Mr Sands says ays thit th tramps have some kind of a secret ecret order among themselves with a 0 number of stran strange e ways says of or communicating one with an- an oth othir r. r Their only means of communication communication cation which he has solved thus far Is this sl sign n language Philadelphia Times |