Hobo

Categories: Subcultures

A hobo is a member of a distinctive sub-culture (hoboism) of homeless, traveling workers in the United States. It was most popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is particularly associated with the railroads, as hobos have the reputation for freighthopping – hitching free rides from place to place in the baggage cars of trains.

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Definition

Hobos generally apply the term hobo only to itinerant people who work. In contrast, they define a tramp as a itinerant person who does not work, and supports himself by other means e.g. begging, scavenging or theft. Alternatively, a tramp is somebody who prefers to walk or hitchhike rather than ride the rails. A bum is a homeless person who neither travels nor works. Or, as was said in the pilot episode of a long-forgotten sitcom,

  • A hobo is a migratory worker;
  • a tramp is a migratory non-worker;
  • a bum is a non-migratory non-worker.

Both tramp and bum are terms of derision within the hobo community.

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History

The population of hobos increased during times of economic trouble, and their numbers increased greatly during the Great Depression. With no work and no prospects at home, many decided to travel and try their luck elsewhere.

Nowadays there are few railroad-riding hobos left, though there are still small numbers of them. Some itinerant individuals today travel by car rather than rail, but still identify themselves as hobos.

Life as a hobo was a dangerous one. In addition to the problems of being itinerant, poor, far from home and support, and the hostile attitude of many train crews, the railroads employed their own security staff, often nicknamed bulls or dicks. These showed little mercy to hobos they found. If that wasn't enough, riding on a freight train is highly dangerous. One can easily fall under the wheels or get trapped between cars, or freeze to death in bad weather. When freezer cars were loaded at an ice factory, any hobo inside was likely to be killed. Hobos tended to band together for protection and formed an informal "brotherhood".

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Hobo symbols

To cope with the difficulty of hobo life, hobos developed a system of symbols. Hobos would write these symbols with chalk or coal to provide directions, information, and warnings to other hobos. Some signs included "turn right here", "beware of hostile railroad police", "dangerous dog", "food available here", and so on. For instance:

  • A cross signifies "angel food," that is, food served to the homeless after a sermon.
  • A triangle with hands signifies that the homeowner has a gun.
  • Sharp teeth signify a mean dog.
  • A square missing its top line signifies it is safe to camp in that location.
  • A silk hat and a pile of gold signify wealth.
  • A spearhead signifies a warning to defend oneself.
  • An open eye means that hobos are unwelcomed in the vincinity
  • Two interlocked circles signify handcuffs. (i.e. hobos are hauled off to jail).
  • A Caduceus symbol signifies the house has a medical doctor living in it.
  • A cat signifies that a kind lady lives here.
  • Unsafe Camp: A depression era term depicted in Hobo symbols regarding the amount of danger to vagrants in an area.

Naturally, hobo symbols would vary from place to place around the country.

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Hobo lingo

  • Accommodation car - The caboose of a train
  • Banjo - A small portable frying pan.
  • Big House - Prison
  • Bindle stick - Collection of belongings wrapped in cloth and tied around a stick
  • Bone polisher - A mean dog
  • Bull - A railroad officer
  • Cannonball - A fast train
  • Chuck a dummy - Pretend to faint
  • Cover with the moon - Sleep out in the open
  • Cow crate - A railroad stock car
  • Crums - Lice
  • Doggin' it - Traveling by bus
  • Easy mark - A hobo sign or mark that identifies a person or place where one can get food and a place to stay overnight
  • Honey dipping - Working with a shovel in the sewer
  • Hot - A fugitive hobo
  • Jungle - A gathering of hobos
  • Knowledge bus - A schoolbus used for shelter
  • Moniker - A nickname
  • Road kid - A young hobo who apprentices himself to an older hobo in order to learn the ways of the road
  • Rum dum - A drunkard
  • Snipes - Cigarette butts "sniped" (stolen) from other people
  • Spear biscuits - Looking for food in garbage cans
  • Yegg - A hobo that steals from other hobos
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Hobos in media

BBC Radio 4 recently broadcast a one off programme about the Hobo Convention entitled "Hobo Heaven"

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Notable hobos

  • Jack Dempsey - probably the greatest heavyweight champion boxer of all time, he would go into saloons and challenge for fights saying "I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any man in the house"
  • Woody Guthrie
  • Harry Partch
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Books and movies

See article: List of books and films about hobos and freighthopping

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Songs

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See also

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External links

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