Hobo signs and symbols

Hoboes have been leaving signs and symbols around the world for over a century. Symbols would signify to other hobos hobo signs and symbols good places to camp, where to get food, where the cops are alert, where to find work, etc. The reason for the hobo signs were twofold.

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Hobo signs and symbols

Hoboes used signs, codes if you will to communicate with other hoboes arriving after them conveying the conditions of the town, the people and the availability of work, food and lodging. The only way of passing knowledge of these signs between hoboes was word of mouth. So many signs were altered just due to the loss of detail in the communication of the signs and symbols. Cryptic signs have been around forever. Hobo signs have been around since the fourteenth century in European nations and the 's in America. There isn't a lot of information on the early signs used by hoboes and not all hoboes used the same signs as there wasn't an easy way of communicating these signs across the country. The book claims that there are "thousands of hobo signs for thousands of occasions. We have included fifty-two of them on the following pages. Below please find some examples of Hobo Signs from times past. History of the hobo signs Cryptic signs have been around forever. Mention of the word "fly". Bone, copperhead, gammy and flummixed.

Hoboes used signs, codes if you will to communicate with other hoboes arriving after them conveying the conditions of the town, the people and the availability of work, food and lodging. B Brunei.

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 Unlike "tramps"—who work only when they are forced to- and "bums" who do not work at all, "hobos" are itinerant workers. It is unclear exactly when hobos first appeared on the American railroading scene. With the end of the American Civil War in the s, 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. To cope with the difficulty of such a lifestyle, hobos developed a system of symbols, or a code.

The origins of the term "Hobo" cannot be traced. A few suggestions have been put forward. Some say it comes from "Hoe Boy" because many migrant workers traveled with a hoe or other farming tool. Others claim it came from the soldiers returning from the Civil War, who were "Homeward Bound. There are even those who say it comes from the Latin Homo Bonus, meaning good man, or the French haut beaux, the highest of the handsome. Few, if any, of these explanations seem adequate. However the term "Hobo" originated, it came into common usage by the end of the 19th century.

Hobo signs and symbols

Have you ever noticed mysterious symbols etched into the sides of buildings, fences, or railroad cars? These enigmatic markings are known as hobo symbols, and they hold a deep historical significance. Dating back to the early s, these symbols were created by tramps and hobos as a way to communicate with one another, providing valuable information and warnings to those in the transient community. These symbols, often hidden in plain sight, served as a secret language that allowed these nomadic individuals to navigate the often treacherous world of train hopping and hitchhiking.

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B3, col 3. East Eastern European children Hungary Russia. Davis, Jason At the spurs—small railroads that lead into or away from factories, sawmills, lumberyards, and packing houses—the trains stopped. No one knows exactly when or how the signs were created, nor are they in use today. Stop Wasting Lubricant. Source Image Secret Code of Tramps. Source Image Chalk marks on your fence. To this day, he fondly recalls the Maine hobos of his youth, men with colorful names like Axe Handle Pete. ISBN A hobo or bo is simply a migratory laborer; he may take some longish holidays, but soon or late he returns to work. Structured data. Some hobos found places on trains to hide from the "bulls" who policed the cars, only to be crushed when the freight shifted.

It was almost 30 years ago, and I was flat on my back in a hospital bed in Trenton, New Jersey, sharing my room with this elderly man.

Article Talk. Some conventions are part of railroad conventions or "railroad days"; others quasi-private affairs hosted by long-time hoboes; still others surreptitious affairs on private land, as in abandoned quarries along major rivers. Resourceful and penniless, they developed a language system inscribed near passing places, destined to disappear , to inform their fellows of the good and bad surprises they might encounter on the road, or simply to mark their passage. Colfax, Washington Aug 31, You'll find these in most of the examples on the Internet today. Skip to main content Press Enter. Boston: Gambit. Cryptic signs have been around forever. BBC Radio. Pop Mech Pro. Jack London - 's. Another article of the times discussing hobo signs. Hobo Symbols and others Modern Symbols for the modern world.