Where did the hobo stick come from?

The bindle is colloquially known as the “blanket stick”, particularly within the Northeastern hobo community. A “bindlestiff”, according to James Blish in his novel, A Life for the Stars, was a hobo who stole another hobo’s “bindle,” hence the colloquium “stiff” as in steal.

Why do hobos have a bag on a stick?

The clean clothes were in a big bandana tied to a stick. The stick was both a walking aid and a weapon for protection from thieving highwaymen, wild animals, and railroad guards. Often hobos were beaten to death by rail guards, who were brutal and sometimes psychopathic in nature.

Where did the bindle come from?

In the argot of tramps and hoboes, a roll of clothes and bedding was called a bindle, a word that probably originated as an alteration of the more familiar bundle. Stiff itself can mean “hobo” or “migrant worker,” meanings it took on in the late 19th century.

Are hobo sticks real?

Later, as “hobos” began to be replaced by less-sympathetic characters, the stick-and-bindle became a standard way to indicate “running away from home” or otherwise going walkabout, as your question indicates. So, yes, it’s a real thing, but perhaps less romantic in origin than you realize.

What does the word hobo come from?

The term emerged in the American West around 1890, though its origins are hazy. Some say it was an abbreviation of “homeward bound” or “homeless boy”; author Bill Bryson wrote in his 1998 book “Made in America” that it may have come from “Ho, beau!”, a railroad greeting.

What is hobo Code?

From illegally jumping trains to stealing scraps from a farmers market, the hobo community needed to create a secret language to warn and welcome fellow hobos that were either new to town or just passing through. It was called the Hobo Code.

Who was the most famous hobo?

Leon Ray Livingston
1. is arguably the most famous hobo in the United States. His given name is Leon Ray Livingston and he was born in 1872 and he was a lifelong wanderer. He was riding the rails, and stowing away on ships starting at the age of 11 and then he began to write about his journeys. He wrote about a dozen books on the subject.

Are there any real hobos left?

“Even crew members (can’t) hop on and off moving trains.” Last weekend, Britt, Iowa, hosted the National Hobo Convention, a mainstay there since 1900. Genuine train hobos attended throughout the 20th century, but in the absence now of real hobos, the event has gone country-fair mainstream.