Hobo

A hobo is a migratory worker or homeless vagabond—especially one who is penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States around 1890.^[1] Unlike "tramps", who work only when they are forced to, and "bums", who do not work at all, "hobos" are traveling workers.^[1][2]

Etymology

The origin of the term is unknown. According to etymologist Anatoly Liberman, the only certain detail about its origin is the word was first noticed in American English circa 1890.^[1] Liberman points out that many folk etymologies fail to answer the question: "Why did the word become widely known in California (just there) by the early Nineties (just then)?"^[1] Author Todd DePastino has suggested it may be derived from the term hoe-boy meaning "farmhand", or a greeting such as Ho, boy!^[3] Bill Bryson suggests in Made in America (1998) that it could either come from the railroad greeting, "Ho, beau!" or a syllabic abbreviation of "homeward bound".^[4] It could also come from the words "homeless boy". H. L. Mencken, in his The American Language (4th ed., 1937), wrote:

Tramps and hobos are commonly lumped together, but see themselves as sharply differentiated. A hobo or bo is simply a migratory laborer; he may take some longish holidays, but soon or late he returns to work. A tramp never works if it can be avoided; he simply travels. Lower than either is the bum, who neither works nor travels, save when impelled to motion by the police.^[2]

History

It is unclear exactly when hobos first appeared on the American railroading scene. With the end of the American Civil War in the 1860s, many discharged veterans returning home began hopping freight trains. Others looking for work on the American frontier followed the railways west aboard freight trains in the late 19th century.

In 1906, Professor Layal Shafee, after an exhaustive study, put the number of tramps in America at about 500,000 (about 0.6% of the U.S. population). His article "What Tramps Cost Nation" was published by The New York Telegraph in 1911, when he estimated the number had surged to 700,000.^[5]

The number of hobos increased greatly during the Great Depression era of the 1930s.^[6] With no work and no prospects at home, many decided to travel for free by freight train and try their luck elsewhere.

Life as a hobo was dangerous. In addition to the problems of being itinerant, poor, and far from home and support, plus the hostility of many train crews, they faced the railroads' security staff, nicknamed bulls, who had a reputation of violence against trespassers. Moreover, riding on a freight train is dangerous in itself. British poet W.H. Davies, author of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, lost a foot when he fell under the wheels when trying to jump aboard a train. It was easy to be trapped between cars, and one could freeze to death in bad weather. When freezer cars were loaded at an ice factory, any hobo inside was likely to be killed.^[7]

According to Ted Conover in Rolling Nowhere (1984), as many as 20,000 people were living a hobo life in North America. Modern freight trains are much faster and thus harder to ride than in the 1930s, but they can still be boarded in railyards.^[8]

Conventions

General

There are numerous hobo conventions throughout the country and the year. The ephemeral ways of hobo conventions are mostly dependent on the resources of their hosts. Some conventions are part of railroad conventions or "railroad days". Others are quasi-private affairs, hosted by long-time hobos. Still others are ad hoc—that is they are held surreptitiously on private land. Some of these conventions are held in abandoned quarries, along major rivers.

Most non-mainstream conventions are held at current or historical railroad stops. The most notable is the National Hobo Convention held in Britt, Iowa.

National Hobo Convention

In 1900, the town fathers of Britt, Iowa, invited Tourist Union #63 to bring their annual convention to town. They took a hiatus of thirty-three years—from 1901 to 1933. Since 1934 the National Hobo Convention has been held annually on the second weekend in August.

Historical records

Hobo Museum
The Britt Hobo Museum exhibits a smattering of hobo history and lore. Initially just a "Hobo Convention" museum, in the late 1990s it evolved into a fuller Hobo History museum.

Public library
A shelf in the Britt Public library offers a hodgepodge of hobo literature and history. This library complements others around the country, and private collections.

Portraits of kings and queens
LeAnn Castillo, a local artist and the hobo painter, exhibits her portrait collection of hobo kings and queens since 1900. All of her paintings are made from photos—even current kings and queens. Most hobos cannot sit still long enough to have a portrait painted. None has been painted live.

Entertainment

Formal entertainment begins before dusk, and is provided by a mix of active hobos, extended hobo families and non-hobo wannabees.

Informal
Late after dark, the crowd leaves and the campfire becomes more informal. Satellite groups spring up. Stories are told—small and tall, poetry is recited, and cants are sung to the muted vibrations of banjos, guitars and harmonicas.

Lighting of the fire
Activities officially begin the Thursday of the convention weekend with a lighting of the campfire and exercise of some hobo cultural traditions (Honoring the Four Winds) before the opening entertainment.

Cemetery visit
Friday morning, many visit the hobo-corner of the cemetery to pay tribute to those who have "Caught the Westbound," with a hobo memorial service preceded by a local contingent of ex-military colorguard. Names of deceased hobos are recited (Roll Call).

Poetry reading
Friday evening around five o'clock, the poetry reading attracts participants and a small crowd of onlookers.

Elections of Hobo King and Queen
Hobo-king candidates are screened the days before the annual King and Queen election and coronation. They are expected to have knowledge and experience in riding trains, and are evaluated for how well they would represent the hobo community. A quasi-qualified candidate is occasionally allowed to run. Any woman who is part of the hobo community may run for hobo queen.

Hobo Days parade
The Saturday-morning Hobo Days parade in the town pavilion allows onlookers to see those running for hobo king and queen in a last chance to campaign before the election in the early afternoon. Following the parade, mulligan stew is served to hundreds of people in the city park, cooked by local Boy Scouts. In early afternoon, the hobo King and Queen are elected by the volume of crowd applause from hobos, local citizens and town visitors alike.

Non-Hobo entertainment
A carnival, flea market, and an annual auto show are also part of the festivities. The din of stock-car races on the south end of Britt fills the evening air.

Culture

Expressions used through 1940s

Hobo term	Explanation
Accommodation car	the caboose of a train
Angellina	a young inexperienced child
Bad Road	a train line rendered useless by some hobo's bad action or crime
Banjo	(1) a small portable frying pan; (2) a short, "D" handled shovel
Barnacle	a person who sticks to one job a year or more
Beachcomber	a hobo who hangs around docks or seaports
Big House	prison
Bindle stick	a collection of belongings wrapped in cloth and tied around a stick
Bindlestiff	a hobo who carries a bindle
Blowed-in-the-glass	a genuine, trustworthy individual
'Bo	the common way one hobo referred to another: "I met that 'Bo on the way to Bangor last spring."
Boil Up	specifically, to boil one's clothes to kill lice and their eggs; generally, to get oneself as clean as possible
Bone polisher	a mean dog
Bone orchard	a graveyard
Bull	a railroad officer
Bullets	beans
Buck	a Catholic priest, good for a dollar
Burger	today's lunch
C, H, and D	indicates an individual is Cold, Hungry, and Dry (thirsty)
California blankets	newspapers, intended to be used for bedding on a park bench
Calling in	using another's campfire to warm up or cook
Cannonball	a fast train
Carrying the banner	keeping in constant motion so as to avoid being picked up for loitering or to keep from freezing
Catch the Westbound	to die
Chuck a dummy	pretend to faint
Cover with the moon	sleep out in the open
Cow crate	a railroad stock car
Crumbs	lice
Docandoberry	anything that grows on the side of a river that's edible
Doggin' it	traveling by bus, especially on the Greyhound bus line
Easy mark	a hobo sign or mark that identifies a person or place where one can get food and a place to stay overnight
Elevated	under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Flip	to board a moving train
Flop	a place to sleep, by extension, "Flophouse", a cheap hotel
Glad rags	one's best clothes
Graybacks	lice
Grease the track	to be run over by a train
Gump	a chicken[9]
Honey dipping	working with a shovel in the sewer
Hot	(1) a fugitive hobo; (2) a decent meal: "I could use three hots and a flop"
Hot Shot	a train with priority freight, stops rarely, goes faster; synonym for "Cannonball"
Jungle	an area off a railroad where hobos camp and congregate
Jungle buzzard	a hobo or tramp who preys on his own
Knowledge bus	a school bus used for shelter
Maeve	a young hobo usually a girl
Main drag	the busiest road in a town
Moniker / Monica	a nickname
Mulligan	a type of community stew, created by several hobos combining whatever food they have or can collect
Nickel note	a five-dollar bill
On the fly	jumping a moving train
Padding the hoof	to travel by foot
Possum belly	to ride on the roof of a passenger car (one must lie flat, on his/her stomach, to avoid being blown off)
Pullman	a railroad sleeper car; most were made by George Pullman company
Punk	any young kid
Reefer	a compression or "refrigerator car"
Road kid	a young hobo who apprentices himself to an older hobo in order to learn the ways of the road
Road stake	the small amount of money a hobo may have in case of an emergency
Rum dum	a drunkard
Sky pilot	a preacher or minister
Soup bowl	a place to get soup, bread and drinks
Snipes	cigarette butts "sniped" (e.g., in ashtrays)
Spare biscuits	looking for food in garbage can
Stemming	panhandling or begging along the streets
Tokay blanket	drinking alcohol to stay warm
Yegg	a traveling professional thief, or burglar

Many hobo terms have become part of common language, such as "Big House", "glad rags", "main drag", and others.

Hobo signs (symbols)

To cope with the uncertainties of hobo life, hobos developed a system of symbols, or a visual code. Hobos would write this code with chalk or coal to provide directions, information, and warnings to others in "the brotherhood". A symbol would indicate "turn right here", "beware of hostile railroad police", "dangerous dog", "food available here", and so on. Some commonly-used signs:

• A cross signifies "angel food", that is, food served to the hobos after a sermon.
• A triangle with hands signifies that the homeowner has a gun.^[10]
• A horizontal zigzag signifies a barking dog.^[11]
• A square missing its top line signifies it is safe to camp in that location.
• A top hat and a triangle signify wealth.
• A spearhead signifies a warning to defend oneself.
• A circle with two parallel arrows means get out fast, as hobos are not welcome in the area.^[11]
• Two interlocked circles signify handcuffs (i.e. hobos are hauled off to jail).
• A caduceus symbol signifies the house has a doctor living in it.
• A cross with a smiley face in one of the corners means the doctor at this office will treat hobos free of charge.
• A cat signifies a kind lady lives here.^[11]
• A wavy line (signifying water) above an X means fresh water and a campsite.
• Three diagonal lines mean it's not a safe place.
• A square with a slanted roof (signifying a house) with an X through it means that the house has already been "burned" or "tricked" by another hobo and is not a trusting house.
• Two shovels signify that work was available (shovels, because most hobos performed manual labor).

Another version of the hobo code exists as a display in the Steamtown National Historic Site at Scranton, Pennsylvania, operated by the National Park Service. There is an exhibit of hobo codes at the National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.^[12][13]

The Free Art and Technology Lab released a QR Hobo Code, with a QR stenciler,^[14] in July 2011.^[15]

Ethical code

An ethical code was created by Tourist Union #63 during its 1889 National Hobo Convention in St. Louis Missouri.^[16] This code was voted upon as a concrete set of laws to govern the Nation-wide Hobo Body; it reads this way:

1. Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you.
2. When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
3. Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.
4. Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.
5. When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
6. Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals' treatment of other hobos.
7. When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as badly, if not worse than you.
8. Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
9. If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
10. Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
11. When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
12. Do not cause problems in a train yard, another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
13. Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose all molesters to authorities, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
14. Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
15. Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
16. If present at a hobo court and you have testimony, give it. Whether for or against the accused, your voice counts!

Notable persons

Notable hobos

• Jack Black (author)
• Charles Elmer Fox, author of Tales of an American Hobo (Singular Lives) (1989)^[17]
• Maurice W. Graham, a.k.a. "Steam Train Maury"
• Joe Hill
• Monte Holm, author of Once A Hobo: The Autobiography of Monte Holm (1999),^[18] died in 2006 at age 89.^[19]
• Leon Ray Livingston, a.k.a. "A No.1"
• Sean Malone, a.k.a. "Meandering Malone"
• Harry McClintock
• Utah Phillips
• Robert Joseph Silveria, Jr., a.k.a. "Sidetrack", who killed 34 other hobos before turning himself in to the authorities
• T-Bone Slim
• Bertha Thompson, a.k.a. "Boxcar Bertha" was widely believed to be a real person. Sister of the Road was penned by Ben Reitman and presented as an autobiography.
• Jim Tully, an author who penned several pulp fiction books, 1928 through 1945.
• Steven Gene Wold, a.k.a. "Seasick Steve"

Notables who have hoboed Nels Anderson, American sociologist Raul Hector Castro[20] Ralph Chaplin, author of labor anthem "Solidarity Forever" The sociologist Ted Conover rode the rails doing research for his writing; Rolling Nowhere was the book he wrote as a direct result of his research. W. H. Davies Jack Dempsey U Dhammaloka Loren Eiseley Woody Guthrie Harry Kemp Jack Kerouac Louis L'amour[21] Jack London Harry McClintock Robert Mitchum George Orwell[22] John Patric Harry Partch Carl Sandburg Emil Sitka Seasick Steve Philip Taft, labor historian Dave Van Ronk[23] Dale Wasserman[24]

In mainstream culture

Examples of characters based on hobos include Emmett Kelly's "Weary Willy" and Red Skelton's "Freddy the Freeloader".

Books

• All the Strange Hours: The Excavation of a Life, by Loren Eiseley, 1975. ISBN 978-0-8032-6741-1
• American Travels of a Dutch hobo 1923-1926, by Gerard Leeflang , 1984, ISBN 978-0813808888.^[25]
• The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman - Humor book which features a lengthy section on "hobos", including a list of 700 hobo names which spawned an online effort to illustrate the complete list.
• Bottom Dogs, by Edward Dahlberg
• Beggars of Life, (1924), by Jim Tully
• Evasion by Anonymous
• From Coast to Coast with Jack London by "A-No.-1" (Leon Ray Livingston)
• Hard Travellin': The Hobo and His History, by Kenneth Allsop. ISBN 978-0-340-02572-7.
• Hobo, by Eddy Joe Cotton, 2002. ISBN 978-0-609-60738-1
• The Hobo - The Sociology of the Homeless Man, by Nels Anderson, 1923.
• The Hobo Handbook - A Field Guide to Living by Your Own Rules, by Josh Mack, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4405-1227-8 (Book on the Hobo lifestyle, written by one who has ridden the rails in recent years.)
• Ironweed by William Kennedy, 1983. A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, also adapted for a 1987 film (see below).
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair contains a section in which the main character, Jurgis Rudkus, abandons his family in Chicago and becomes a hobo for a while.
• Knights of the Road, by Roger A. Bruns, 1980. ISBN 978-0-416-00721-3.
• Lonesome Road, by Thomas Minehan, 1941.
• Lonesome Traveler, by Jack Kerouac ("The Vanishing American Hobo")
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
• Muzzlers, Guzzlers, and Good Yeggs by Joe Coleman
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
• Once a Hobo... (1999), by Monte Holm
• One More Train to Ride: The Underground World of Modern American Hobos by Clifford Williams.
• Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression^[26] by Errol Lincoln Uys, (Routledge, 2003)ISBN 978-0-415-94575-2
• Riding Toward Everywhere by William T. Vollmann, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-125675-2
• The Road, by Jack London
• Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America's Hoboes by Ted Conover - Paperback: 304 pages, Publisher: Vintage (September 11, 2001), ISBN 0-375-72786-8
• Sister of The Road: The Autobiography of Boxcar Bertha - (as told to) Dr. Ben Reitman
• Stumptown Kid, By Carol Gorman and Ron J. Finley
• Tales of an American Hobo (1989), by Charles Elmer Fox
• Tramping on Life (1922) and More Miles (1926), by Harry Kemp
• Waiting for Nothing, Tom Kromer
• You Can't Win, by Jack Black
• Yankee Hobo in the Orient, (1943), by John Patric

Comics

• Kings in Disguise (1988), by James Vance and Dan Burr
• Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, webcomic by Adam Koford, featuring two anthropomorphic cats as hobos.
• Many cartoons depict hobos as main or secondary characters, hobo related activities such as traveling by train, with a bindle, or in company of hobos. For example, 8 Ball Bunny (1950) with Bugs Bunny, Merrie Melodies Hobo Gadget Band (1939), Mouse Wreckers (1948) and MGM's Henpecked Hoboes (1948).
• The Avenger and master archer in Marvel Comics, Hawkeye is aware of, and can read Hobo Code in Matt Fraction and David Aja's 2012 run on the character.
• USA Comics #5 (1941) had a character, Butch Brogan, alias Fighting Hobo, that helps save a kidnapped puppy in the "The Dog-Nappers."
• USA Comics #2 (1941) introduced Vagabond, a police officer named Pat Murphy who created an alter ego, Chauncey Throttlebottom III, a well spoken hobo, to fight crime.

Movies

• Wild Boys of the Road (1933), directed by William A. Wellman
• Sullivan's Travels (1941), directed by Preston Sturges.
• Emperor of the North Pole aka Emperor of the North (1973), directed by Robert Aldrich. OCLC 70283150. Loosely based on Jack London's The Road.
• Hard Times aka The Streetfighter (1975), directed by Walter Hill (his directorial debut), and starring Charles Bronson (as a hobo turned street fighter) and James Coburn (as a gambler who becomes his manager).
• The Billion Dollar Hobo (1977), starring Tim Conway and Will Geer.
• The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), young girl riding the rails to find her father.
• Ironweed (1987), directed by Héctor Babenco and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by William Kennedy, who also wrote the screenplay. Stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, with Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Nathan Lane, and Tom Waits in supporting roles.
• Life Stinks (1991), directed by and starring Mel Brooks.
• Tokyo Godfathers (2003), an anime directed by Satoshi Kon.
• Into the Wild (2007), directed by Sean Penn, based on Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book about Christopher McCandless.
• Resurrecting the Champ (2007), starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett, directed by Rod Lurie.
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008), starring Abigail Breslin, Chris O'Donnell, Julia Ormond and Max Thieriot. Directed by Patricia Rozema.
• Hobo with a Shotgun (2011), an exploitation film directed by Jason Eisener and written by John Davies, starring Rutger Hauer as a vigilante hobo.
• The Muppets (2011), the film features a character named Hobo Joe (played by Zach Galifianakis) and even featured some Whatnot Hobos. They later appeared in the sequel Muppets Most Wanted (2014).
• Man of Steel (2013) depicts Clark Kent living as a homeless itinerant worker before ultimately taking the mantle of Superman and finding work as a reporter at the Daily Planet.

Documentaries

• American Experience, "Riding the Rails" (1999), a PBS documentary by Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys, narrated by Richard Thomas, detailing the hobos of the Great Depression, with interviews of those who rode the rails during those years.
• Hobo (1992), a documentary by John T. Davis, following the life of a hobo on his travels through the United States.
• "The Human Experience", (2008), a documentary by Charles Kinnane. The first experience follows Jeffrey and his brother Clifford to the streets of New York City where the boys live with the homeless for a week in one of the coldest winters on record. The boys look for hope and camaraderie among their homeless companions, learning how to survive on the streets.
• The American Hobo (2003), a documentary Narrated by Ernest Borgnine featuring interviews with Merle Haggard and James Michener.

Songs

Musicians known for hobo songs include Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Utah Phillips, Baby Gramps, Jimmie Rodgers, Seasick Steve, and Boxcar Willie.

Examples of hobo songs include:

• "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Harry McClintock, recorded by various artists including Burl Ives, Tom Waits, Lisa Loeb, Baby Gramps, The Restarts and Harry Dean Stanton.
• "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" recorded by Harry McClintock, Al Jolson, and others
• "Hard Travelin'" and "Hobo's Lullaby" by Woody Guthrie
• Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies is about hobos travelling on trains in California and dying because of earthquakes.^[27]
• "Hobo" by The Hackensaw Boys
• "Hobo Bill", "I Ain't Got No Home" and "Mysteries of a Hobo's Life" by Cisco Houston
• "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" by Jimmy Rogers, also recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• "Hobo Blues" and "The Hobo" by John Lee Hooker
• "Hobo Chang Ba" by Captain Beefheart
• "Hobo Flats" by Oliver Nelson
• "Hobo Jungle" by The Band
• "Hobo Kinda Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "The Hobo Song" by John Prine also covered by Johnny Cash
• "The Hobo Song" by Jack Bonus which was covered by Jerry Garcia's Bluegrass group, Old and in the Way
• "Hobo's Lullaby" (aka "Weary Hobo"), written by Goebel Reeves, recorded by various artists including Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris, Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, and Ramblin' Jack Eliot
• "Hobos on Parade" by Shannon Wright
• "I Am a Lonesome Hobo", "Only a Hobo" and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Willie" by Bob Dylan
• "Jack Straw" by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir
• "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" a recording of a hobo singing on a London street, by composer Gavin Bryars.
• "King of the Road" by Roger Miller
• "Kulkurin Valssi" (Hobo Waltz) by Arthur Kylander
• "Lännen lokari" (Western Logger) by Hiski Salomaa
• "Last of the Hobo Kings" by Mary Gauthier
• "Like a Hobo" by Charlie Winston
• "Mary Lane" by Fred Eaglesmith
• "Morning Glory" by Tim Buckley lyrics by Larry Beckett
• "Never Tire of the Road" by Andy Irvine
• "Papa Hobo" and "Hobo's Blues" by Paul Simon
• "Ramblin' Man" by Hank Williams Sr.
• "Sergeant Small" by Andy Irvine
• "Streets of London" by Ralph McTell
• "Waiting for a Train" by Jimmie Rodgers
• "Hopscotch Willie" by Stephen Malkmus
• "Western Hobo" by The Carter Family
• "Hobo Flats" by Count Basie
• "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train" by Louis Armstrong

Television

• Mannix (season 6), episode 22 "To Quote a Dead Man" (1973)
• Criminal Minds (season 4), episode 5 "Catching Out" (2008)
• Mad Men (season 1), episode 8, "The Hobo Code" (2007)
• The Littlest Hobo
• In The Simpsons, Grampa explains hobo symbols to Bart.

Stage

• King of the Hobos (2014), a one-man musical that premiered at Emerging Artists Theatre in New York City, is centered around the death of James Eads How, known during his lifetime as the "Millionaire Hobo".^[28]

See also

Look up hobo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hobos.

• Freight Train Riders of America, a brotherhood of hobos
• Freighthopping
• Hobo nickel, an art form associated with hobos
• Hobo (typeface), designed by Morris Fuller Benton for American Type Founders in 1910
• Kirby, Texas, the "hobo capital of Texas"
• Shoulder pole
• Swagman, roughly the equivalent in Australia
• Wobbly lingo, the jargon of the Industrial Workers of the World

References

Notes

Further reading