A Day with a Tramp, and Other Days

A young scholar trades his lecture hall for the railways, setting out in 1891 to earn a living as a day laborer and to walk the continent from Connecticut to California. Over eighteen months he drifts from town to town, taking on the toughest jobs he can find and sleeping in wayside inns when cash runs low. The resulting sketches capture the rhythm of the itinerant workforce, the stark landscapes, and the everyday negotiations between hunger and hope.

Among the many encounters, the narrative of a single day spent with a hulking Irish tramp named Farrell stands out. Their brief companionship on a quiet stretch of the Rock Island line offers a vivid glimpse into the hobo’s code, his blend of pride and pragmatism, and the informal economies that sustain the road‑bound. Through frank, observational prose, the book paints a portrait of a subculture that lives between lawlessness and honest toil, inviting listeners to hear the voices of a forgotten America.