The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-06-01
THE TAHOE TRAVELLER.
New York Eercury.I,


Jan Ter Millen, tailor from Dorpt,
Holland, is now in this city working at
his trade to obtain means for returning
to his native country. Mr.. Ter Millen
for the past nine years has been engaged
in travelling, his intended return to Hol-
land completing his second trip round
the globe. He is, perhaps, the most
curious of living travellers. He has al
ways betrayed his travelling expenses by
working for people on his route. During
his travels he has rarely used any con-
yeyance. He has never been sick, and
mas never suffered from want of food.
He has done what probably no other
tailor can boast of--plied his needle for
most of the nations of the earth-mended
garments for the Yankees at Boston,
sewed shirt-buttons on for Nevada
miners, made blue jeans coats for
Indiana Hoosiers, hemmed blankets for
Indian chiefs, sewed the silk gowns of
Japanese ladies, stitched furs for the
hunters of Siberia, repaired Cossack
uniforms, cleaned the long coats of Mos
cow moujicks, put buttons on the odd
jackets of German peasants, and made
untold sailors happy by stitches in time.
A reporter ofthe Mercury found this re-
markable traveller in a tailor-shop on
Third street, sewing away at a spring
overcoat. He was by no means talkative,
and the persuasive powers of the buxem
good-wife of the "boss," native of
Amsterdam, had to be called in requisi-
ton to open his lips. Jan Ter Millen
said he was now forty-two years old.
Until his thirty-third year he had never
left Dorpt. He had been poor, and
twice failed m business. Every thing
had gone wrong with him, and he had
been well nigh in despair when he
yentured to make tour of the world as
best he could, determining to travel on
foot and to better his condition if pos
sible through adventure. So he left
Dorpt on foot on the 10th of December,
1866, with only few dollars in his
pocket. The day was very cold, and
after walking three hours, he was COM
PEELED to seek shelter. He entered a
farm house, and offered to work for food
and lodging. The farmers wife treated
him kindly, gave him hearty meal,
and also basket filled with bread and
cold meat, for which he mended some
clothes. When night set in he found
another hospitable reception at farm
house. The house-owners being but re-
Gently married, he gave the young wife
instructions for mending her husbands
clothes.
On the fifth day he reached Rotter-
dam, where he remained four days
Passing a book store, he saw in the
window pocket-map of the world. He
asked the bookseller if he would give
him the map for work, and told him his
story, whereupon he got the map fol
makinga vest and the bookseller, more
over, introduced him to a dealer il
nautical instruments, who gave him s
compass and small log-book for somt
repairing, besides obtaining passage fol
him on sailing vessel bound for Hull
The passage was very rough one, but
he had no sea-sickness whatever. Durin.
the trip he learnt little English, which
was very valuable to him. He took tn,
direct route from Hull to Liverpool
Near Sheffield he met with one of tn
few unpleasant adventures during hi
nine years of travel. He knocked at
farmhouse door late one evening. Th
owner was very drunk, and set savag
bull dog on him. The dog bit him, an,
he escaped only by climbing on ha,
stack, where he passed the whole night
From Liverpool he crossed the Channe
to Ireland, in a Dublin steamer, tn
Captain allowing him to work for hi
passage. With Ireland and the Iris
people the travelling tailor prefessed t
be especially delighted. A small silye
watch, given him by an Irish gentlema
at Killaloe, he had twice carried roun
the world. At Cork he readily secure
passage on an emigrant vessel bound 70
J Boston.