Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-24
'TkAMPS On RAILROADS.
FHEY GET OVER GREAT DISTANCES
ON SCHEDULE TIME.


Tribe Dangerous.
While trainmen are of one mind in re-
gard to the annoyance which tramps
cause the railroad companies they dis
agree about the methods of these indi-
kiduals in sdoing" the country. In
spite of the strict rule of all railroads
prohibiting tramps, these professional
travellers get over the road somehow or
other with astonishing rapidity. They
have been known to come from San Fran
cisco to New York In but trifie longer
time than it took Mr.. Mackey on his
record breaking trip. 1t is by no means
certain that one of these nomads didn't
accompany Mr.. Mackey part of the way
across the continent on the fast mail
train. Tramps a7e partial to mail
trains. The t1asks are roomier than
those of the ordinary coach or freight
car. Whatever doubt there was about
Mr. Mackey's beating the record there
certainly wasn't any doubt that Mr..
Tramp beat the railroad company.
There are tra1nps and tramps. Many
poor fellow who has spent his last cent
and is out at the elbows wants to try his
luck in another part of the country, but
he has no means of getting there except
his heels. These will not carry him far
without hunger staring him in the face.
He sinks about some freightyard, and
when train is pulling out begs train
man to carry him along a bit. He ad-
mits that he is tramp, but he isn't; he's
a beggar and a tenderfoot. There are
Others, who have just got their hand in,
travelling from town to town, and when
a trainman catches them slowed away
in a box car they whine piteously and
recount their sufferings or those of
sick family miles away which they are
anxious to get to.
HOW REAL TRARPS ACT.
"These are no tramps," said brake
man. "There is nothing interesting
about them and they are nuisance.
The professional tramp is a character,
and sometimes you meet with one SO
slick that he deserves to beat his way.
The real tramp makes no excuse when
he is discovered. Nine times out of ten
he makes threat, and as good many
of them go armed it is dangerous to
meddle with them. For if there is a
human being who might be expected to
value his life cheaplyit it is a tramp rather
than q burglar. How many times have
/ had tramp snarl at me with a string
of oaths and wind up by threatening to
put hole through mel''
Probably tramps will hang on to
most anything, from the brakeshoe to
the wheel box" suggested the reporter.
I NO." said a trainman Of the Central
Railroad of New Jersey. '.Many people
have erroneous ideas about the habits of
tramps. Personally never saw tramp
on truck, but others say they have.
Tramps generally pull for an empty box
car, If there is one open. 1t is curious
to see them search the yard over, inquire
about the departure of trains and
their destination and the stops they make
along the way. Why, Saturday night,
Sust before leaving for Phillipsburg,
went to search my train for tramps, and
found an empty Fall Brook car full of
them, right next to the train shed. They
knew somehow that the car was going
home, and that it went to the end of the
Journey. They always seem to want to
60 as far as possible.
"These fellows set up whining and
begged me to let them go along. They
all had sick families, or something just
hs bad, to go for, and one of them said
he wanted to go to Phillipsburg to attend
the funeral of his brother. drove them
all out. None of them was professional.
They didn't know one another, and they
all scattered in different directions,
/ REVENGE FOR ILL TREATMENT.
| "Of course they will get into any car
that is left open, and if there is anything
eatable they always help themselves. II
there isn't an open car they will try to
find car of lumber. That is more ex-
posed, but there are always some vacant
hooks between the piles Of boards, and
they make very good hunks. When !
was running on Long Branch train we
had an experience with tramps at Mata-
wan. We picked up a car of lumber
there. A gang Of tramps had learned of
its time of departure and that it was a
through car, which just suited them.
They always try to get through sleep
er,' like passengers who pay their way.
One of them, who had a wooden leg, they
put on top of the lumber in plain sight,
and then they appeared to go away. Of
course the trainmen wouldn't put de-
formed man off, and apparently he was
the only one who was going along. But
no sooner did the locomotive signal to
start than the gang lit upon the lumber
car like swarm of bees We went back
and pulled them all out from the crew
ices, and we got curses in return.
"The next night when freight train
came along the switch at Matawan was
open, and the train smashed lot of cars
bn siding. The tramps were around
aater to see the results, and they asked
the agent whether that was Porter's
train. No, said the agent, and they were
very sorry that they had made a mis-
take.
San empty box car or car of lumber
lacking, they look for a car with good
sill at the end. But not many cars are
built that way now. Where a car has
ladders within reach of the bumpers
tramps will stand on the bumpers and
make long journey sometimes in that