, 1884-02-06
RAILWAY TRAMPS.
Their Ways OF Securing Free Rides
D il'' ITO exc on the Traina-
Experiences OF ADMINISTRATIONS of
surroptitious Passenxers----A
brakeman who Was Left
In the Lurch.


While standing ON tho Oakland wharf yes.
terday afternoon, watching an arriving
freight train, a Chronicle reporter observed
four dusty and ragged men issue from Il box
car by the end window. They walked mod
estly in the shadow Of the train a short dis
tAncs, rs II anxious to escape observation,
then stalked dsfantly out and moved of,
mingling with the crowd 5.aI 4..
who do you suppose those fellows are and
where do they come fromr' asked the re-
porter of a railroad man who had also no
ticed the movements Of tho unknown men.
ooh, some of these fellows who are preju-
diced against paying railroad fares. There
is q perfect army Of them and they are in one
respect like the wind-no man knows whence
they come or whittier they GO" Then grow
ing communicative, the railroad man CON
tinusd; II tell you, sir, those fellows are a
perfect study, IL q man takes an interest in
observing the ways OF men They probably
stood In with some brake who managed
to smuggle them into n car. They belong to
the rougher kim Of tramps-ride in any and
all kinds Of ways, In between cars, on the
brakes, behind baggage, or any way at all.
They don't seem to care for anythif6 as long
as they are moving and they make life a bur
den for the trainmen."
RIDE
sThis reminds mo-" he continued, al had a
talk with a gang that arrived here over the
Southern Pacific route some time ago. There
were three Of them, and they came through
from Deming, N. NJ, without a stop. Two
Of them were likely young fellows; talked
we'll and seemed highly pleased at the sue
ceszful manner in which thsy had worked tho
racket They said they had made the 40
quaintance Of the sealer at Deming, and
he had sealed them up in q car loaded
with syrup. They were provided with
rations and water and staid in this
voluntary confinement for six days, They
gave a graphic and feeling account OF tho
trip and its hardships. the worst feature be-
Ing the intense heat While passing through
Arizona the heat was almost unbearabla.
Tho mon said they rode the entire distance
from Deming TO Cotton, Cal, wholly Invested
Of clothing, and were scarcely able TO breathe,
the car being close. and there being no posi-
biiity of ventilation. Thsy were unanimous
In the assertion that q trip through the great
American desert in tho early part of Sop
tember in a box car Is an experience to try
mems souls aud were not a little pr oud Of
having had the grit to stand IT," -si
THE TRAMP's OPPORTUNITY.
"What do you mean by the blind baggage
racketr" IL
@Why, you know there are plenty Of bag
gage cars which, while they lave the end
| platforms just like passenger cars, nave no
doors opening out on them, 30 that when the
train is in motion there Is no way OF reaching
these places Of safety for bums. Tho tramp
watches his opportunity, gets on one OF these
platforms just as the train starts out, and
cannot be detected, or, II detected, cannot be
dislodged until the train comes to a stop. He
then gets of and keeps out of visw until the
engine pulls out, when he again assumes his
| position on the blind OF course, the train
men make q hard fight against this, but they
can't give their whole time to outwitting
tramps and are often beaten by them"
as riding the brakes a popular method Of
beating trainsr l.ue . .fs' nHE
MOI: not at all 1t Is dangerous and very
tiresome, and Is rarely rssorted to except
when 1t Is not easy to beat the train other
wise, as, for instance. by riding between carr.
This Is usually done at night The bum
hangs around the train until it begins to
move quite rapidly aud then jumps on by
means of the ladders at the enda of the cars.
He keeps = sharp lookout for the trainmer
and lodges around when one Of them passes
over the tops OF the cars in his round Of duty,
The brake or conductor, as the case may be,
| always carries a lantern, which enables tine
rider TO observe his approach and keep out OF
the way by climbing to the side of the car
when he passes" .-.r.s... I
PRINrEh o EXPERIENCE.
Here another railroad men came up, a nd
after listening for some time, remarked that
the men who rode in the ways described
were the common run" of beats, and fol
lowing up this observation, he said: There
are some fellows who have got it down to a
much finer point, and they do some very nice
work; for instance Printer Joe,' who used
to 60 wherever he liked and rarely under
| went the inconvenience which the other fell
lows had to endure. He was a hard one to
stand OF, and was known among railroad
men all over the country. / don't believe
that follow would pay his fare from one sta
ton TO the next II he had n fortune In his
pocket It's against his principle-that Is, II
he Is still living, which l suppose he is. l
knew him five years and he was the boss OF
them all"
An interested lot OF listeners had now
gathered around, and n desire to hear more
of the famous Joe having been expressed, the
last speaker went on as follows:
well, among the things which / remem-
Der Of him was the way he beat me when I
was running a Baltimore & Ohio train into
Cincinnati a few years back. 1t was an &C
commodation train-that is, not one Of the
fastest--and stopped pretty often. Tho ex-
pres on that line was fast in those days, and
I guess 1t is still. Well, one day / found Joe
hpoaIu- ne WAS riuinR IN the car next 20 the
baggage. / saw him at once, but didn't ap-
pear TO recognize him, although l knew him
all the time. SO / said to him, Ticket
He looked at me In a rather amused
way and pretended to pay nc atten-
ton to me. But 1 insisted upon the ticket,
whereupon he took ne aside and said: MY
friend. 1 observe that you arc a new man on
the line and don't know me. / am director
-. of the Baltimore & Ohio, and. Of course
have free transportation over the roadr i
was vexed, and told him I understood his
game, and that II he did not get off at the
next station he would nave reason to repent.
He readily promised to get of, and kept his
word, for / saw him walking away from the
train. 1 was glad to be rid OF him 30 easily,
and you may imagine my chagrin when l
came upon lin again as l went through the
train. said nothing this time, but when we
came to the nert station l put Mr.. Joe Off in
q way which was much more forcible than
polite. 1t was OF no use, At every station /
had 10 60 through the same process, and once
l stopped between stations, although we
were behind time, and threw him out Of the
smoking car. We pulled out as fast as
possible, but he caught on to the
last platform, and at the next stop
be stopped OF. looking as well pleased as Il
he had boon riding In a Pullman I was 30
mad when l saw him that l swore he should
go no farther. and when we were ready "a
1tart I took him nv thu oollnr trinp.d hirn