30 ***** "Oh, Ranger!" 



attention of the rangers, who made the boys get out of the car. As they 

 had only about three dollars apiece, the rangers told them to go back 

 to Cody or some other town and earn enough money to pay their way 

 through the park. 



Of course, the young fellows simply went down the road, then 

 turned into the timber and walked into the park some distance from 

 the ranger station. Several times they thought they could have begged 

 rides, but rangers were always near by and they were afraid to stop 

 the cars. Motorcycle rangers still further increased their fears. They 

 had to spend their remaining dollars the first night in the park for 

 meals and lodging. They were broke when caught. They were told 

 that their bumming days for the present were over ; that they could do 

 one of three things: wire home for one hundred dollars apiece, then 

 leave the park ; go to work on road maintenance in the park at regular 

 wages and stay until they earned that much; or go before the judge 

 with a jail sentence for vagrancy certain to be imposed on them. They 

 finally decided to wire for money, which they received before the day 

 was over. 



The park officials took occasion to lecture these boys, pointing out 

 that they were pursuing a course which was morally criminal. True, 

 they had not stolen anything which the law could punish them for ex 

 cept the bed in the lodge, but they had been stealing happiness from 

 people all the way from their college town, they had spoiled vacations 

 by crowding kind-hearted families, they had eaten food which other 

 people had paid for, they had slept in and perhaps impaired robes, extra 

 bedding, and other equipment which did not belong to them ; in short, 

 they had been thieves of a sort and that after all a thief is a thief no 

 matter what he steals and no matter whether the law can reach him or 

 not. This talk made an impression on the boys and they promised they 

 would never "bum" another ride as long as they lived. 



One night at Yellowstone two attractive girls appealed to the rangers 

 for help. They claimed to be hikers but were broke and wanted to know 

 if there was any place provided by the government where they could 

 sleep. They said they were from Cleveland and had come thinking it 

 would be lots of fun to hike through the park. Asked how long it had 

 taken them to "hike" from Cleveland, they said eight days. Anybody 

 could tell by looking at them that the sun had never shone upon them 

 nor had their feet ever touched a dirt road. But here was a problem 

 that had to be solved, so the rangers called up the laundry and fortu 

 nately found that a few girls were needed. The two were sent to the 

 laundry to work until they could earn enough to travel. 



This type of walker must not be confused, of course, with the legit 

 imate hiker, who comes to the national parks to spend his days afoot 



