The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-06-20

/ ~lioar ~ nom az the time j was anxious
/ 70 eircumvent. Any statements made
here have, of course. only an inferen-
tiaI application to conditions east of
the mississippi Outside OF holding
polItlclan's pass. the most luxurious
way OF making a long jump is to bride
thc porter OF Pullman car for a berth
2n his linen closet. There the well
dressed beat may travel half way
across the continent iu strict seclu-
so Hand secure from interruption. in
a place where the porter is sole auto
cfal. 1 speak of this only from hear
say, since obviously it was impOssible
Tor an ordinary hobo like myself TO win
aani tlance into this stoTehOuse Of clean
linen.
J Conductors. too. are but mortal and
: may be bribed. Boarding a well known
lialn IN Montana. I waited for the con-
/ duct0r in the Vestibule and offered him
- to take me through his run several
HuhaFed m8es. Tt went Five minutes
later with the pasteb0ard IN my hat 1
was sound asleep for an all night jour
ney at bargain rates. A simpler meth
on, adopted by one Of my acQuaint-
ances on the road, was 70 board the
train without being seen by the train
+ crew, go through the smoker and lift
the pasteboard from the nat of some
/ sleeping victim Before the train
, pulled out he was sound asleep him
/ self. The subsequent proceedings,
/ when the conductor, working through
the train, fen upon his unhappy victim,
did not interest him at all, if indeed
! II aroused him. But the method has
! its peculiar dangers and penalties. The
I best way. however of getting over the
line at minimum expense, and one fol-
I lowed by many, IS TO ship out for con-
StructiOn work at some point dlOng
/ the line, preferably beyond where the
/ shipper wants to go, and then jump
{ the shipment. The employment agency
! bulletins in all the western cities are
+ fun of notices of shipments, and by
/ paying the agents fee and producing
/ and checking a bundle of blankets as
3 evidence Of good faith. the beat can
J travel far and comfortably. My own
/ experience win illuminate the process
/ Stranded in Seattle. I wanted to get
I as far east as possible The bulletins
/ announced shipments 10 Idaho. long
( jump. / paid my dollar TO the en-
I plOyment agent and was told 10 report
I al a certain time. with bundle of blan-
/ kets. AS i really Intended to work FOR
. a few days with the surfacing gang
/ for which ] had enlisted / showed up
. with good blankets, but my partner,
! who was only going S far as spokane.
[ where he and his blankets would part
\ company. bought a forty bundle"
{ relic of the KIOndike consisting of
/ filthy blanket rolled around some cot
/ ton waste and corded to appear like a
! genuine outfit
/ Twenty of us rounded up at the sta
/ ton The bona fides of our bundles
/ was examined, but not too critically
/ [ noticed that the man next me was
/ only specifically dirty and had no
1 Callous on his hands, and as his black
shirt opened LsaW, to my surprise, e
: staTched shirt with diamond stud un-
. deTHeath.
! Don't give me away" he said. I'm
a drummer going to Spokane, and 81
/ saved looks as good to me as NJ does
/ to the rest of you boys
/ We reached our destination In Idaho
with twenty bundles and four men,
/ the rest of the gang having deserted en-
/ route. The sixteen unclaimed bundles
/ were added to the pile of several hun
/ dred similar ones I'm the freight sta
ton. But these methods presuppose
{ the possession of a little money. II
I YOU have none and the freights are
! too slow for you. there remains the
most interesting kind of transportation.
riding the blind, or open VestiDule
next the tender. Success at this IS
B the result of combined luck and skill
/ In front is the fireman, ready TO turn
Z on the hose, or worse yet. on a heavy
grade to hale you into the tender to
crew must be avoided at every stop.
In the daytime the possibilities Of be-
+ ing "ditched" are overwhelming and
the majority of "blind" riders finish
/ their journey on the l0wly way freight.
The pilot and the deck have their
advantages. I have seen an old hobo,
his white Whiskers flying i'm the wind,
( going fifty miles an hour on the pilot,
and apparently enjoying it. though
err d n
/ lodged him 20 certain death. On the
( deck of O passenger train one can at
/ least be sure Of not being molested
By the train crew until the next stop.
But the deck is hard to reach, un-
! comfortable and dirty; though much
used I should hardly recommend it.
Nor have the bumpers much i'm their
favor except economy, while on a gray
ell baliasted road the discomfort is eN-
IRENE. Surer and more popular riding
is to be found on the freights. There
the hobo reigns supreme. The hobo
should not be confused with the tramp
"a species seldom met along the west
ern roads He is really ana iJiuerant
workman who pays his own way, and,
when broke, consents to work few
days until he has accumulated
stake large enough to allow him to
move along Your true jack of all
trades. "skiuning" a mule team one
I week and running q planer I'M a saw
mill the next, as "a last resort he works
on the railroad itself He goes to make
an invaluable army of labor for open
ing up a new country, easily mobiliZed
by the prospect of a good job. "a hard
worker while he works and absolutely
dependent at all times upon the uatU-
raj demand for his services, since it is
impossible for such transient and YER
cstfln "a hDf fD ne UuiOuiLad
The hObOs. so far as the railroad lis
concerned, fan into two classes. to
either one of which a given individual
may belong, according to his financial
condition The first includes the pen-
niless beat who rides the rods or
''blind," or takes terrible risks on the
bumpers or pilot out Of seIf-iuterest
the train crew make his Tot as hard
as possible. Indeed, the average hobo
viii tell you that sc is cheaper TO work
for q piece" of money large enough
10 stand off the brakeman than to steal
a ride with it's attendant haTdships.
The second class consists of those who
have money and are riding until it is
gone, with some vague destination in
mind but ready to work when il be-
comes necessary. These are the train
crews prey. Scarcely has the train
been made up and pulled out OF the di-
vision yards when the brakemen begin
a systematic search until an the Does"
are located and their financial stand
inc. ascertained. Under piles of lum-
Der or sacks OF WOOL in the darkest
corner of box cars full of coal. the
shack finds his passenger and the
bargain for a ride begins. "A dollar
rrrrr ~ Trrr IN nj