The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless ManAnderson, Nels
General
The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man
Anderson, Nels
Chicago (Ill.) -- Social conditions; Tramps
45. X. began life as a half orphan. Later he was adopted
and taken from Ohio to South Dakota. In his early teens he
grew restive at home and left. But for brief seasons he has
been away ever since and he is now past forty-five. He has
traveled far and wide since but has worked little. He makes
his living by selling joke books and song books. Sometimes
he tries his hand at selling little articles from door to
door. A few years ago he wrote a booklet on an economic
subject and sold several thousand copies. During the winter
of 1921-22 he sold the _Hobo News_ each month. He is able
to make a living this way. Any extra money he has he
loses at the gambling tables. He spends his leisure time
attempting to write songs or poetry. He knows a great deal
about publishers but it is all information that has come in
his efforts to sell his songs. He claims that he has been
working for several years on a novel. He offered his work
for inspection. He tries to lead the hero through all the
places that he has visited and the hero comes in contact
with many of the things he has seen or experienced in many
cities but nowhere does his hero work. He enjoys life just
as X. endeavors to do now. During the summer (1922) he has
taken several “vacations” in the country for a week or more
at the time.
46. C. is twenty-five years old. His home is in New York
but he has not been home for more than ten years. He
introduced himself to the “Hobo College” early in the
spring of 1922 as “B-2.” This name he assumed upon the
conviction that he is the successor of “A-1,” the famous
tramp. He said that he had read “A-1’s” books and although
he did not agree in every respect, yet he thought that
“A-1” was the greatest of tramp writers. “B-2” claimed
that he had ridden on every railroad in the United States.
His evidence of travel was a book of postoffice stamps.
When he comes to a town he goes to the postoffice and
requests the postmaster to stamp his book much as letters
are stamped. Another hobby he has is to go to the leading
newspapers and endeavor to sell a write-up. He carries an
accumulation of clippings. He has an assortment of flashy
stories that take well with newspaper men. He claims that
he has been pursued by bloodhounds in the South, that he
has been arrested many times for vagrancy, that he is the
only man who has beat his way on the Pikes Peak Railroad.
He always carries a blanket and many other things that
class him among wanderers as an individualist. He has been
in the Army, saw action and was in the Army of Occupation.
He does not seek work. He says his leisure time can be
better spent. He carries a vest pocket kodak. He says that
the pictures and notes he takes will some day be published.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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