The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-20
PATTER Of THE HOD0ES
Slang That Is Peculiar to the En-
commercial Travellers.
SOME STRANGE PHRASES
Night Chief of Police OBrien a Master
of the Jargon-How He Has
Used Some of the Odd
Words.

Hobo slang, the patter of the uncom-
mercial travellers who count the ties"
and ride the brakebeam or the blind
baggage" was the topic under discus
sion.
I'm willing to back Frank O'Brien
against any of them when it comes to
pattering hobo talk said the night
owl, who has a profound admiration
for the night chief of police. He can
skin EN- all on the lingo.
Il recollect some time ago a hobo
who had been Wised up struck town.
The first thing he did was to chase up
Frank O'Brien to square himself. Mr..
O'Brien,' said he, I've heard you make
it mighty unpleasant for man when
he strikes town broke and doesn't get
work right away. I've been over here
in the Occur d'Alenes and I haven't
got dollar. OF course that's no crime,
but don't want you to think I'm a
hobo
Frank, you know, has heart in
him as big as an OK. The talk the
fellow threw into him sort of softened
him up. Have you eaten?' Frank asked
him. NO the fellow said, j haven't
had a thing to eat since yesterday
With that Frank dug up half a dollar
and told him to get a two-bit meal
and a two-bit bed and to get out and
rustic next day. You might be able
to catch on at the brickyard,' he tells
him.
We'll, the hobo goes off and blows in
the half for booze. Frank heard of it
and got pretty sore, but didn't say
anything. The next night the fellow
goes into the Combination, swipes a
nd i11pES the hack door He
runs down the alley straight into the
arms of O'Brien. All, hal says Frank,
you're a billy-boy, are your and the
gang of us wondered what he meant
until we found billy-boy was hobo for
coat thief.
II heard him use another one once
that paralyzed me. You know, a man
in Franks business has to have an ac-
quaintance among the crooks and must
have a stool-pigeon among them to put
him on to anything crooked that is 60
ing on. Frank had a good one, but the
fellow went away and Frank was up a
stump. He didn't know what the mis-
chief to do until one night one of the
hobo colony came to him with a hard
luck story and a plea to be allowed to
remain in town. O'Brien gave him one
of those flinty, hard, fierce looks of
his.
What's your graft?' he asked. The
fellow replied that he had no graft
and that he was a hard working man.
Yes you are, nit said O'Brien.
But you can stay a few days if you
do little Switching for me; otherwise
the paper train leaves at 4 O'clock
Switching was a new one on me.
When l became initiated ] learned that
it means, in the hobo patter, giving
snaps away. OBrien wanted the man
for a stool"
THAT reminds me-" said Denny
Leary, "of a hobo experience ! had
The fellow comes into my place one
night and gives me a yarn about hav
ing walked from Butte that day and
not having thing to eat. He wanted
to do some work about the kitchen to
pay for a meal. If you walked from
Butte you aren't in very good shape to
do much work. said l. You'd better
get your supper first so l took him
into the dining room and gave him a
good meal. When he got through he
stole my overcoat and sneaked out of
the back door.
Three years after that I was run
ming another place when this fellow
poked his nose in the door. I knew
him at once, though he didn't know
me, and my first impulse was to smash
him one, but got a bunch to wait and
see what he had to say. He came in
and whispered to me, DO you want
any gumps?
'Gumps,' said L; what are gumps?'
Why, Them said he, pointing to some
chickens I had back of the counter
Then I tumbled He wanted to sell me
stolen chickens and gump was hobo for
chicken. How many have you got?'
asked. He replied, I've got a dozen
Well, bring 'em around after awhile,
said I; there are too many people here
now AS quick as he was gone I sent
for the police, but we couldn't find a
single officer. Back came the hobo with
the bag of chickens. He had had them
planted somewhere. I put him off again
telling him there were too many people
around, and started myself to find an
oficer. He saw me go, tumbied to
what I was after and skipped
1.-THE police caught him later, how
ever, and he was brought up before
Justice Frank Kennedy. OF course we
had no absolute evidence against him,
as we could not prove the chickens
were stolen, but I got on the stand and
told of my experiences with him The
judge gave him 80 days on general
principles"