The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-05-24
HUNGRY HIGGINSES
DrummOnd Depot a Popular Registry
Point for HObOes.
SOME QUEER CHARACTERS
How the Box Car Tourists Manage
to Keep Posted on the Mover
ments of Their Friends ,
A Happy Gang.

Drummond, May 23.-The outer walls OF
the depot at this place form a register OF
all the migratory birds of passage that
pass here, and the Wandering
Willlies, Dusty Rhodses and Tat
tered TONNES all leave their rec
ords on the brown walls of the building as
they pass back and forth. Appended to
| each name or group of names is q series
OF letters or symbols which conveys to the
travellers that follow after information as
TO the whereabouts of the writer's, but are
uninteiligibie to everybody else. Some of
the names are written with lead pencils,
some with chalk and still others are
deeply craven in the boards with jack
knives. Some of the names appear sew
eral times under different dates, indicat-
ing that their owners have a fondness Tor
thls section OF the country and travel back
anu forth across 1t in preference to ex-
tending their pergrinations to the coast.
Ii Is supposed that the symbol, "B. W.,
which appears below several of the names,
signifies ''bound west" and ''B. E." means
bound east" The date of registration is
usually appended to these letters and in
tits way the lone wanderers are enabled
10 keep cases on their acquaintances who
are on the road ahead of them. Some of
the names are familiar to those who OBJ
serve such matters, as their possessors
their names somewhere at every station
along the line. At Garrison and Silver
Bow, the points where tramps most do
congregate, these names are seen, and at
Mlssoula and Arlee they are also craven
or scrawled on the water tanks or m the
sand houses. -
Most of the names are combinations
that indicate the nativity and some per-
sonal popularity of the men who bear
them: For instance, Colorado Fatty"
would naturally be supposed to be a cor
puient individual who halls from pbeCen-
tennIal state, and dayton Curfy,s a. ma
tive of the Buckeye region whose locks
are kInky. The list is long one and in
dicates an inventive turn of mind on the
part of those who evolved them. There
are ''Hamv, the Buck" "Wardner
Spider" "Coxey Ross" Joe Beef"
philadelphia Fatty" "Smiler joel
who must be either a very happy fellow
or a man addicted to hitting the bottle
Rochester KID" London Hobo"
sailor Dutch" "Cullie, the Tough"
Boone" Cheyenne Kid" and many
others of similar nature.
Colorado Shorty" registered "B. w.
6-l2-93," which IS supposed to signify that
he was counting the ties between Drum
mond and Missoula on Dune IL, 1893.
groups. In one place, the names of
"Yorky Frank, "Spot Kid" and "Minne-
apolis Billy" appear IN the same hand
writing and ii is probable that this
precious trio was travelling in company.
"Blinde Boone" was here only few DAYS
ago, as his name is followed by the COM
bination, "West, 5-13-95' and BILLY
Smith" must have staid here last night,
as he registered East, 5-22-95."
There are numerous reminders of the
recent strike on the clapboards of the
depot walls and il is evident that the A.
II. Z. had numerous sympathizers of the
tie pass tourists. On all sides are promi-
nent requests that the Diety will, at His
earliest convenience, condem the deputy
marshals to eternal punishment in Hides
and the Northern Pacific Repeatedly
characterized as no good. There are evil
IDENTITY admirers of the poets among these
wall decorators, as there are several in
scriptlons like the following:
"Scabs may come,
And scabs may go,
But the A. II. U. goes on forever"
These indicate that, combined with a
warm sympathy for the followers of Debs,
was determination to express that feel
ing in the most preseutable manner.
Others have not been SO considerable in
their manner of conveying their opinions
to the public. "Walla Walla Joe" ap-
pended his name to the following bold
and expressive lines: "This Dam r. II.
is No Good, it stands in with Sir George
Pullman and il aut to be Bloing up.n
As tramps arrive at thus registry point,
they spend considerable time IN exam
lining the record and in discussing the
probable fortunes of their absent friends.
Then they add their own names to the
list and rest awhile. If they can work
Jim Featherman for a drink, they rest
longer, but if they cannot, they move on.