JK GILLON

The most celebrated street character in Glasgow during the first half of the 19th century was William Cameron, or as he was generally known, Hawkie.
He was born in the Stirling area around 1790 and a childhood accident resulted in an injury to his leg which necessitated the use of crutches for the rest of his life.
He was given a good education and after following a number of trades, he gravitated towards Glasgow where he set up in business as a Chapman, a peddler of small books of ballads and popular tales, or chapbooks, which were very popular at the time.

Hawkie is described as the "prince of gangrels" and made no secret of his love of whisky. His clothes were dirty and ragged, and his face unshaven. However, despite his unkempt appearance he always attracted a large crowd.
This was mainly due to his powers as a speechmaker. The sale of his chapbooks was always accompanied by witty descriptions of their contents and he was famous throughout Glasgow for his clever repartee.
His sayings were one of the commonest subjects of conversation in Glasgow and he was frequently quoted as an authority on all manner of subjects.

His chapbooks contained crude often coarse tales, personal or political lampoons, old legends and chronicles of Glasgow low life. These included stories, no doubt exaggerated, of rats eating corpses and carrying off large items of food by ingenious teamwork.
His nickname derived from predictions of a prophet named Hawkie, which was supposedly a cow from Aberdour in Fife.

He died penniless in the Glasgow's City Poorhouse in September 1851.

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