The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-11
THE HoBo's LAMENT.

Say, pard, when YOU get this letter,
don't pass it along as bluff;
But put the boys wise to my warning
don't think that I'm giving you
CUFF: s4+stzsrss
So gather the boys around you. wher-
ever you happen to be,
And read 'em aloud this letter. as SOL
emn' warming from me.
They all know me-''Jake, the Josher''-
never mind my eglar name;
amt bin voting lately and 1 hardly re-
member the same.
But there amt a bum, nor "con' talk
man, nor fakir from east to west
That don't know me and won't tell you
used to be one of the best.
There aren't hardly con or brakey
from Maine to the Golden Gate
That amt carried old Jake the Josher
slowed away somewhere on their
freight.
/ used to be King of the Hobos, but, say
old man, I'm stalled.
I'm out; I'm reg'lar dead un; my bluff s
been seen and called.
You remember Sam the Spieler, what
worked with a medicine show.
And how he could throw the English
when once he started to go.
Well, Sam and me last winter was stick
it out in Chi;
We was both of us up agin il with a
limit ten cents high.
/ was half dead with roomattics; We was
doing anywhere
Pretty near freezin' to death sometimes
and steaks comm awful rare.
Sam he started to spiel one night down
in a State street joint
About some bloomin' Paradise where
you'd nothin' to do but point
Right to the thing you wanted and
girl 'ud come runnin' up
And bring you Tom and Jerry mixed
in a golden cup.
Grub it growed on the trees down there
breadfruit, bananas and all;
Pineapples growed in the medders, sum-
mer and winter and fall;
Cocoanuts, figs and guavas, all kinds Of
fish ins the sea,
And pretty brown gals to catch EN-, while
the whole shootin' match was free.
You oughter ave heard him preachin'
away from that golden text;
Twas down in Hawaii, so he said, what
we've lately annexed.
A white man was put at a premium;
you didn't have nuthin' to do
But lie on the grass and sleep and eat
and f1irt with your dusky Lu.
Sleep all night in the open, never bother
ABOUT no clothes;
Climate the very finest, no bioomin' colds
in the nose;
Not even a golderned watchdog-they
fattened 'em all for food.
Well, talk about a pipe dream-Say. it
sounded a bit too good,
We all. give Sam the ha ha, but Teller
what come from the Coast,
What was pretty nigh gone with con-
sumption and looked like bloom
in ghost,
Swore on the word of dyin' tramp that
Sam had spoke the truth;
And the matter dropped. The next day
Sam moved along the road to Du-
luth;
And me with some other fellers started
out California way;
We was starvin' an freezin' where we
was, so we tried for a Western lay.
Say! it was just as bad out there-no
graft for honest bum.
was loahn' around the docks one night
for pal that had promised to
come,
When gets plunk on my head-piece-
one, two, must went out.
When I woke / found / was shanghaied
and sailin' away to the Sout'.
Twenty days on the bloomin' sea, sick
and talk about work!
With lousy old Scotchman for skipper
and never a chance to shirk.
grinned and bore 1t, pardner, for the
boat was a sugar ship
And bound for the bang-up Paradise
Sam spelled about that trip.
Well, got here, pardi and III stay