Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

It is stated that as a young man Johnson would sometimes "ride the rails" to find bouts in other towns.This does not mean buying a train ticket. The rails referred to are the iron foot rails attached to the underneath of boxcars by the sliding doors, that served as a footstep. Attached at the ends, with a crossbar at the center, one would lay down on their back and hold on, with a bedroll or rolled-up clothes serving as a cushion under the back.