Autobiography of a Hobo

From the introduction: Rather than gloat over having read the book already, or blather on about the artistic merits of the prose, let me just introduce you to a member of a ＂voluntary despised minority,＂ a hobo. Neither a tramp or a bindlestiff, a goofer or a snowbird, a hobo is a ＂knight of the road,＂ looking down upon the lowly beggars and addicts he sometimes shares his sleeping quarters with. Before being homeless was cool, and I dare say, before anyone alive today rode a train, ＂Hobo＂ Chandler was dodging the cops and railroad men. In a hat, coat and tie he would stow away on any train or ship he took a fancy to. Neither suffering from mental illness, drug or alcohol dependency, and having no aversion to work when it suited his purposes, Chandler traveled widely, and was able to capture the feeling of a time long gone in his words. Chandler’s command of the English language is impressive, his style distinctive. His newspaper publishing credits include The Calgary Albertan and The Boston Globe. Baseball and boxing fans will find many chapters devoted to the early days of both sports. Mr. Chandler spent many hours both playing and later umpiring when injury prevented him from realizing his dreams of a major league career. Also included in the text is the famous American Boxer John L. Sullivan’s last known written correspondence, addressed to the author’s uncle.Please be offended by the racist remarks, but not so offended you put the book down, remember that this was written by a man who saw the next to last century turn into the twentieth. Attitudes that we consider offensive today were the cultural norm, and to ignore our history excludes us from learning its lessons. Many delightfully archaic terms of speech, exclamation points, and hyphenated words await you.This book was originally written in beautiful English Longhand, of which a sample can be found on the front leaf. The manuscript was submitted multiple times for publishing, and suffered rejections for reasons known only to publishers. After the Author’s death, it took 12 years to decipher from the original Longhand onto the typewritten page, and it has taken an additional several years before this wonderful story could be made available.

Henry T Chandler, ＂Hobo,＂ ＂Hank＂ or ＂Happy＂ to those who knew him, was born in Boston in 1879, and traveled widely around the turn of the century. He spent time in Hawaii and Canada, and hopped trains from New York to San Diego. His careers included writing articles for newspapers, baseball umpire, miner, seaman, salesman and tobacco entrepreneur. He up and died in San Diego in 1970.