The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-25

roadside objects for the information of their fellows who come after.
 London describes how he once found seven different signs chalked upon a water tank in a little town out West. The first meant main drag fair" indi- eating that the main street of the village yielded fair results when worked for handouts" or food wrapped up in par cells and passed out at the back door. The second sign meant bulls not hos tile;" that is, the local police force was inclined to be lenient towards the gen. tlemen of the dusty highways. The third sign meant round house good for kip ping" Ripping means sleeping. The fourth sign meant "north-bound trains no good;" that is, the north bound trains offered poor facilities for beating ride or the trainmen were too vigilant The fifth sign gave the information that "pri- yates are no good" meaning that the private residences of the town turned the cold shoulder to hobo appeals. The sixth sign said restaurants good for cooks only" indicating that the local res- taurants were of no use to hoboes who did not know how to cook The sev- enth sign showed that the local railroad house was good for night work only,' which meant that jobs good for nights sleep or hand-out were to be had only
 
 ter disposed towards hoboes than the day force.
 the United States. For instance, there is the 'tomato-can vag," as the tramp lingo describes him. He Is the lowest down member of the profession, the out cast of his kind. The "gay cat' who is held in only a little less contempt will occasionally work when his begging courage oozes out in the face of peculiar circumstances. Blanket stiff'' is the Western tramp who often carries blan- ket around with him. Besides these classes, there are the ''kids," or the young men of the hobo profession the natives" or middle-aged and experi- enced tramps, and the "old bucks" who have grown old in the profession.
 Different signs obtain in different sec- tions of the country and hobo belong ing to one class or caste frequently is not able to read the signs of another. Be- sides the signs found mostly along rail- road tracks, as mentioned, there are oth- CT symbols used along the highways and in the country districts
 tary farmhouse, situated possibly on a D by-road or at the end of lane. He is uncertain as to the reception he may get Then on a fence post, rock, or the smooth surface of a tree he comes across a single symbol or else a whole set of hieroglyphics. Immediately he knows what to do. A single scratch means say, "hand-out." This means that he will get parcel of food from the house for the asking. A different scratch says to him "set down. meaning that the people of the house will invite him to sit down at table and partake of a meal on the spot. Another sign stands for the single word mark" This means to him that the inhabitants will believe any kind of story and will hand ont clothes, food, money, or almost anything asked for Still another symbol says ''meal ticket" meaning that the house is good for an appeal for food, but not for anything else. Perhaps there are two or more hi- eroglyphics They will mean to the hobo reader that if he is young there is a chance for him, as the son of the house has died or disappeared if he is old there is nothing doing" However, it may be that the sign means none of these. Pos sibly 1t is double cross or an arrow pointing back to the main road. That is enough for our hobo It means that there is a biting dog around the house or that the farmer is of choleric or vio- lent disposition. And our friend immedi- ately removes himself far hence