Then we’ll sing one song of the poor and ragged tramp,
He carries his home on his back;
Too old to work, he’s not wanted ’round the camp,
So he wanders without aim along the track.
-Joe Hill
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Hellraisers Journal, Monday August 10, 1908
Chicago, Illinois – “How Hoboes Ride on Trains Free.”

From The Inter Ocean of August 9, 1908:

CHICAGO being the greatest railroad center of the United States it is naturally the center of population for most of the hobos of the country at one season of the year or another. The train crews of all the great railroads and the guards in the big railroad yards of this city could tell some exciting stories of conflicts with the men who ride for nothing on the railroads, as hundreds are brought in here and go out every day.

Every body knows that there is a class of people called hobos. Everybody has heard of almost unbelievable rips, completed in almost unbelievable time, considering that not a cent of railroad fare is ever paid.

Many have spent time wondering how it is done, but when, upon inquiry, it is learned that it is a simple matter of “riding the bumpers” or “straddling the rods,” the recipient of the information is still in the dark as to the ways and means employed….

The following drawings are included in the article:

Riding the Rods

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Migratory Workers Riding the Rods, Riding the Bumpers, and on the Blind Baggage” →