Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-09-08
HOBO FOR TWO MONTHS
EXPERIENCES OF A COLLEGE STU.
DENT WHO STARTED OUT
TO SEE LIFE.
HOW TO RIDE FREE.
Oscar F. Aschman Tells Some of the
Interesting Secrets of the
Profession.


work in the fields Oscar F. Aschman. a
! Junior at Union college, New York, is
on his way home after being a tramp for
| two months.
Was Tramp for Two Months.
! Yes, said Mr. Aschman at the Re
publican house, Il have been u hobo for
/ the last two months, and l must say |
! have had enough of it. 1t was my first
| experience of the kind and it ought to
be my last; and yet I'm afraid that next
| year the fever will be on me to try it
again. This IS not the only time l have
| been i'll Milwaukee. / passed through
here about June 20 on my way west
For obvious reasons l didn't stop at
| hotel or go sightseeing very much.
! came in at II O'clock midnight on
| freight and went out on another freight
| twenty minutes afterwards.
| THE people generally don't know any
| thing about the travelling that goes on in
this country by men who don't pay their
| railroad fare. When | left | thought of
course that that l should be obliged to
| take the passenger trains in some places.
| But here | am after a trip from Batavia,
| New York to San Francisco and back
| again to Omaha and / never paid a cent
! for riding on a train.
AT Omaha where / have relatives |
| ripped some bills out of my vest, bought
some clothes and have travelled the rest
! of the way in style.
Work for Those Who Want 1t.
! ''All through the west / found plenty
| of work lying around for any one who
| wanted it. AT Butte common laborer
! is paid So a day. If a man knows
| trade he gets more in proportion.
worked week there pushing cement
! car III new building. Then l quit and
made hike south to some of the
ranches. The work there is hard. They
| pay. you well. but you are on your feet
| in haying time from 8 O'Clock in the
morning till late at night. l had all
wanted at that game in a few days.
| In Missoula | formed a partnership
| with a hobo who had been hitting the
| trail since the year one. He was a little
bit of everything; seemed to have
worked at about every trade under the
| sun and he carried a nice bright Smith
| Il Wesson in his back pocket. We didn't
| loaf any on our trip, you can bet. There
| wasn't freight train in the schedule
| from the time we left 'Soula to the morn
| ing we plunked down in Seattle. Most
| Of the way we rode passengers. How?
/ Well, it wasn't ON the cushions, but we
| got there just the same.
How to Ride for Nothing
IF you've ever noticed passenger
| car you'll remember the sort of broad
! inverted trough that runs along the top.
| Well you flatten out on that about 8
J O'Clock at night when its nice and dusky
and there you are. At stations you
/ climb down to the off side and hide and
] when the train starts up you get on top
| again.
The only real danger is from falling
| asleep. Ii you do you're apt to be
! a goner, because you may relax your hold
| and then-goodbye to you. Another
! thing which makes it dangerous on some
roads is the tunnels. OF course a short
one is all right but you take long hole
! and the fresh smoke of the engine to-
gether with the bad air that's already
! inside is enough to suffocate almost any
| body. We only struck one-but that was
enough for ne. | thought there was
! going to be an unidentified corpse found
| alongside the track the next day, sure.
| AT Seattle we separated and by
slowing away in a lumber boat | worked
my way to Frisco. There was another
| fellow on board alsa a stowaway. His
name was Flanders and he claimed to
be student ut the University of Mon
tana. At Frisco we found a number of
ships coming and going and Flanders
was fol working our way to the Philip
pines or some other place. | caught his
fever for while and thought there
us we frequented the water front quite
| n lot
| "There was Il full-rigged ship lying
in the stream, named the Mary Il.
| Horne. She was going from Frisco to
| Hong Kong, loaded with American
goods The captain was looking for a
crew but we knew a little too much to
| travel that way. Those sailing ships
nd-iammers as they call them-some-
| times take two-thirds of a year for the
| China trip when the winds don't blow
right Besides the treatment and food
! is ant TO be more or less unsatisfactory.
! No Mary Il. Horne for ours.
"Well, one night we were down by the
water front and Flanders saw the ship
| ping agent who had tried to get us for
| the Mary. The agent was going into
saloon. Flanders left me where | was
and hurried in after him to find out
about a coalship just in. | waited for
five minutes, but Flanders didn't show
up. | got little nervous and looked in
the door. A couple of men were by the
bar. but no Flanders and no agent.
Where's the man who came in here
minute agoY / asked.
Bartender Became Excited
"The bartender pretty nearly jumped
over the bar to get at me.
~ didn't see no one come in here
minute ago" he said, land Willie boys
like you don't come in here, anyhow.
Git"
Il called the nearest policeman and
we searched the place. but there was no
trace of Flanders. Then the officer got
disguised and thought l was putting up
some sort of a bluff. That night | re-
ported it 10 police headquarters and
| they promised to look it up first thing in
the morning.
THAT sounded all right. but when l
came down in the morning the Mary
b. Horne wasn't in the stream any
more. The natives said she'd been
tewed out TO sea along about > a. M.
| And I'm just as sure as l am that | am
/ standing here that Flanders went with
| her. Poor chap, he'll see the world ali
j :.. -... 49,. $3.50. L-.-