St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-11


chance in friendly box car saving
10 each other, We'll, Jack, where
are you from % or Jack, where are
you bound?" and Jack" will
answer, calling his uuestioner
Jack" in turn.
WELL POSTED IN A WAY.
The hobo is well informed on cur
rent events. He reads every scran
OF print that comes his way. for it is
only IN the rarest instances that he
is unable to, read. 1t is no unusual
sight to see two hoboes reading the
scraps of torn newspaper, which
they Will exchange. They know poli-
tlcs better than the majority of rem
utable citizens, and when thew meet
around some campfire in the woods,
their discussions are likely to be
quite as logical and lucid as the re-
marks OF the gathering of men in
the average smoking room. These
camps, by the way, are odd affairs.
The fires are built in some sheltered
nook, and the spot becomes known
among all the craft, so that when a
hobo passes that way, he will stop
and be sure to find a comrade or
two there.
Hoboes are not unacquainted with
alcoholic beverages, of course. but
the genuine hobo is not a drunkard.
When he reaches that state he be-
comes known to his mates as an
"alky," and "alkies" commonly herd
together. They drink whisky. and
very bad whisky at that, but even
the worst liquor is not strong enough
Tor them, and they add raw alcohol
to it, or drink alcohol and water.
The vagabond is generous and i'm
provident. He will divide his last
cent with a friend in misfortune,
but in fair weather every man must
Shift for himself He is fond of
music, too, and the sentimentalIy
pathetic music hall ballad is his ia
vorite song. "The Fatal Wedding"
is popular, and so is 1.-The Streets of
New York." and all songs that tell
of home and mother.
II IL 10 hEEN OF' IL IL.
For keenness of observation nobody
can excel the hobo. When he is well
treated at any house he fixes the spot
in his minds eye, and to the next
tramp he meets he will say:
THAT house with the shutter of the
middle upstairs window broken is dead
easy-no dog, or nothin'.''
Or perhaps it will be broken wealth
er-vane that has attracted his atten-
ton, or an implanted gate, but, what
ever it is, he. will always give his
friends description that is unmistak-
able, and one that nobody but hobo
would think of.
He has observed men andd things
all over the world. too. There are
many men to be met ION the road
who have been nearly round the world.
Many of them have slowed them
selves away in cattle ships for Aus
tralia, and not a few have tramped
along the coast towns of Europe in
England the hobo infests only the
coast towns. for it is impossible to
steal rides on the railways, and per-
sons caught walking on the tracks are
promptly arrested In this country the
hobo who has served his apprentice
ship has crossed the continent at least
once. A favorite route is across the
country by the Union Pacific, in the
spring and summer, bringing up in
Texas, which is the tramps winter
rallying ground. firing of such long
journeys, it is no uncommon thing for
the hobo to select some short run
New York to Philadelphia, for exam
ple-and travel over this till he be-
comes too well known to continue or
the beaten path. Routes that have col
lege towns on them are favored, fol
college boys are generous with their
old clothes.
RIDING ON THE TRAIN.
And as to travelling, everybody re-
members Happy Jacks account OF
how he and his partner rode on the
trucks. Truck-riding is dangerous and
uncomfortable. The best place on an
ordinary passenger train Is the blind
baggage"-that is to say, the front
platform of the baggage car, which has
no door opening upon it. On this the
hobo rides secure and comfortable, for
even If he is seen he can not be dis
| lodged, though if the baggage car Is
next the engine, the engineer and fire.
man will frequently amuse themselves
| by throwing Jumps of coal at him. If
the train is one that takes water with
out stopping, he will be drenched, OF
course.
The top of the .vestibules of a vesti-
bule train is a good perch for a tramp
! but the freight train is his common
means of travel, and the empty box
car his haven of refuge. Even in the
box car he is not always secure. He
may be locked in without food, or he
may be mistreated by train hands.
Worse than that, he may be set upon
by desperadoes of his own class, robbed
of what little money he has, and, as in
the case of some men Scranton Red
and his gang robbed last fall, he may
be compelled to jump from the moving
train. He leaves the train, if possible,
just before reaching a town, and enters
the place on foot His favorite weapon
of defense is a coupling pin or a sling
shot. He dares not carry anything
that is not easily disposed of, for if he
is arrested with concealed weapons on
his person he will receive an additional
sentence. He has abbreviated names
for the railroads just as trainmen have,
and for towns as well. Baltimore Is
"Balty;" Philadelphia, "Philly;;" Pitts
burg, Pitts" and Chicago, Chi"
The slang of the hobo is. of course,
unique. The remark of a discouraged
looking tramp out near Benning's, one
Sunday morning, for example, would
be Greek to the uninitiated. He was
complaining of his hard luck. Said he:
81 went out an tried to bum a hand
out. I got two sit-downs, an 1 was
afraid to try again, cause I couldn't
eat any more"
TRAMPs' SLANG TRANSLATED.
ITO bum is to beg, and "hand-
out" is one of the little lunches sym>
pathetic housekeepers make up for
hungry tramps. He had wanted to
collect enough eatables to last all day,
for a hobo keeps Sunday if he pos
sibIy can, not, perhaps, so much from
religious sentiment as because the
man of the house Is most likely to be
at home on that day.
Instead of Handouts, he had been
invited in to sit at a nice clean table