nnatural intercourse" means, talking about it freely, and,
according to my finding, every tenth man practises it, and defends his
conduct. Boys are the victims of this passion. The tramps gain possession
of these boys in various ways. A common method is to stop for awhile in
some town, and gain acquaintance with the slum children. They tell these
children all sorts of stories about life "on the road," how they can ride
on the railways for nothing, shoot Indians, and be "perfeshunnels"
(professionals), and they choose some boy who specially pleases them. By
smiles and flattering caresses they let him know that the stories are
meant for him alone, and before long, if the boy is a suitable subject, he
smiles back just as slyly. In time he learns to think that he is the
favorite of the tramp, who will take him on his travels, and he begins to
plan secret meetings with the man. The tramp, of course, continues to
excite his imagination with stories and caresses, and some fine night
there is one boy less in the town. On the road the lad is called a
"prushun," and his protector a "jocker." The majority of prushuns are
between 10 and 15 years of age, but I have known some under 10 and a few
over 15. Each is compelled by hobo law to let his jocker do with him as he
will, and many, I fear, learn to enjoy his treatment of them. They are
also expected to beg in every town they come to, any laziness on their
part receiving very severe punishment.

How the act of unnatural intercourse takes place is not entirely clear;
the hoboes are not agreed. From what I have personally observed I should
say that it is usually what they call "leg-work" (intercrural), but
sometimes _immissio penis in anum_, the boy, in either case, lying on his
stomach. I have heard terrible stories of the physical results to the boy
of anal intercourse.

One evening, near Cumberland, Pennsylvania, I was an unwilling witness of
one of the worst scenes that can be imagined. In company with eight
hoboes, I was in a freight-car attached to a slowly moving train. A
colored boy succeeded in scrambling into the car, and when the train was
well under way again he was tripped up and "seduced" (to use the hobo
euphemism) by each of the tramps. He made almost no resistance, and joked
and laughed about the business as if he had expected it. This, indeed, I
find to be the general feeling among the boys when they have been
thoroughly initiated. At first they do not submit, and a