Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-04-04
A TRAMP AND HIS PAL
The TRAIL THAT ONE MADE TO GUIDE
THE OTHER.

II EnabIea appetite Din." After His
Term In Jail vgas Eonc, to Unerr-
Ingly Follow His Partner From
: Cincinnati to Hocstcn.
I'VE have a good many tramps up in
our part of the country" said sugar
planter, "and I've made something of q
study Of their pecuHarities. The old
idea that they carve marks and signs
on fences that can be read by all other
members OF the fraternity is pure non-
sense. of course, but have known sew
cral instances in which one tramp
would leave trail, SO to speak, for the
guidance Of partner who might not
put in an appearance for months.
'The first case of that kind l ever
encountered was rather amusing. l
was riding. one spring day, down a
road that passes through my place.
when l noticed a typical hobo indus
triously carving a sort of hieroglyphic
on a big post standing near the fence.
The mark consisted of n square and
triangle side by side, and he was just
putting on the finishing touches as l
arrived.
MY curiosity was at once aroused,
and determined to find out If possible
exactly what the thing meant. SO l pro-
cecded to collar the fellow. and after a
little vigorous bluffing he told me he
was putting up directions for his part
ner. who would be along some time in
the fall. He assured tie that the marks
meaEt nothing in particular. except
that he had passed and was going IN
tie direction of the point of the TRAN
gle.
His partner. according TO the story
which l dragged out of him piecemeal,
was doing a six months jail sentence
for, slugginc policeman in Cincinnati
and when he got out on Sept. would
strike soutk. following q trail of cary
ings on water tanks. depots. barns and
fenceposts. When the first tramp
struck good place to loaf, he proposed
to stop and wait for the other to catch
up.
whats your partners nameT l
asked.
Its by rights William Sparks said
the hobo. but everybody calls him
appetite Blli" on account of his al
ways being hungry. He carries n sack
to pack grub in and has red whiskers
and n funny looking wart on one side
OF his nose
Il was satisfied from my prisoners
manner that he was telling me the
truth. so l took him up to the house.
gave him good dinner and sent him
on his way rejoicing.
"Now for the sequel" continued the
planter. "One afternoon in the fall l
was driving home from the station
when l passed n very dilapidated hobo
with red stubble On his chin and gun
ny sack under his arm. and some in-
stinct told me that Mr.. Sparks. alias
Appetite Bill.' had at last arrived.
He seemed to be looking for land
marks. and when lie reached the big
post I saw him stop. scrUtinize the
carving and then start off with a new
and confident step. That settled it.
and drove ahead aud intercepted him
at the house, half n mile farther on.
"'Helio. Eillr | said. 'How's your
appetite this EVENING"
Appetizer he stammered and gave
his guEny sack.
why. yes said l. Perhaps they
didn't feed you very well at Cincin-
natl
AT the word Cincinnati he turned
liYid ard g.srcd around with such evi-
dent intention OF boiling that made
haste to cXpiain.
Don't he alarmed said. i met
your side partner few months ago.
nnI be told re to look out for you 1t
took me some time to dissipate Bills
but when | finally succeed
ed in convincing him that 1t was all
right lie told me & most interesting
story of his journey across the coun-
try.
"A professional hobo will follow the
track of another hobo with an accura
cy that is curiousiy suggestive CT wood
craft All the way down from CiEcin-
natl Bill had never once lost the trail.
and before he left | gave him an ad
dressed postal card and got him to
promise me he would put 1t in the mail
at whatever point he caught up with
his partner Less than month later l
received the card. bearing a Houston
(TeX.) date mark: SO I presume 1t was
there they met.
Both of these tramps could read and
write. and | asked Sparks particularly
why his friend didn't use some brief
in place Of the bieroglyph.
He replied that it would attract too
much attention, and other hobOes
would be likely to add misleading
words. while the little square and tri-
angle passed unnoticed.
"Sincc then | have encountered two
other nearly similar cases, In each of
which a tramp was leaving cipher
trail for q crony to follow when he got
out of Jail. and l infer that the prac-
tice is tolerably common. st any rate
It is a curious feature of tramp life |
which | have never seen mentioned in |
any Of the numerous papers and maya
zine articles that have appeared on the |
subject during recent years."-New Or. |
leans TimeS- Democrat.
Easily Fixed.
Awful affair at our hotel this after |