Hoboes

"Scorned by most of society, and treated as second-class citizens at best, hoboes wandered America in search of work. They usually traveled by "flipping a freight" and matching wits with the railroad police until they reached their destination or were booted off the train. Hoboes built railroads, harvested wheat, cut down trees, mined for gold, herded cattle - and then moved on. Yet hoboes and tramps had a tight-knit community. They wrote songs about themselves, had their own slang, sign language, and codes of law and honor. They stopped at hobo "jungles" to wash and shave, swap stories with old friends, and share meals. This remarkable book documents the fascinating history of these colorful characters."--[book jacket]