The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-09
HE IS KING OF TRAMPS.
oo1NG TO BEAT his WAY AROUND
THE WORLD IN 1o2 DAYS.

1is Wav Down the Hudson to Re-
,a+a That he Has Just Beaten His
wav To san Francisco and Back TO
Boston.
little Young man with ordinary brown
hair and a smooth face strolled into the
Sun Office yesterday and announced that he
mas king. He was not one of those over
particular potentates who require elaborate
Salutations from lesser personages, but just
. pIsin king. who had acquired his title by
the suffrages of his subjects. and who
thought not much more of himself on &C
count of it. He was Wilson Becker. liking
of Tranps," elected to that distinction
about a year ago at the convention
held in Nanticoke, whose proceed
ings we're reported in the Sun
at the time King Wilson is only
% wears old, and by his own admissions
his claim to public recognition should rest
more upon his capabilities for lying than on
his recognized rank among tramps. He says
he has just. beaten" his way from Boston to
San Francisco and back in twenty-one days
ON wager, and during part OF his jour
new rode on the train that carried George
EraQcIS IRAN on Tue ltSb 1dp VI LIS JOli 10y
AGAINST time around the world.
Recker saws that he started from Boston
freight and was arrested before he got
twenty miles away.
"a farmer Judge" said he, examined
me and | told him beautiful yarn about
being a sailor in the English navy.
wanted to get to Albany, and thence to
New York, in order to catch ship. 1t de-
Iaved me five hours to convince the farmer
of the truthfulness of my story, and then
went on"
In Syracuse Becker says he was again ar
rested. He told the same story at a loss of
three hours, and when he had done he
r,assed his hat in the court room and col
iected 81 70, to which the judge contributed
q cents. In Buffalo he was chased by the
police. but he escaped them and got on the
trucks of freight car in train that ran
on passenger time.
1.-THE great thing in beating your way,
he explained, sis to get on a blind mail.
That is mail or express car that is attached
to the engine and that has no door in front.
After the train gets move on, if You eau
climb on to the platform of a blind car you
can enjoy the breezes for hours, or until the
train stops, for nobody can get at you.
When it stops you get off and hang around
until the train is going to start again. Then
you climb aboard, and there you are.
held down fruit car on the way back from
San Francisco as far as Ogden three days
and a half"
Three days and half! What did you
eatT
Bananas
Becker was obliged to send postal card
to his hacker, Boston museum man named
Austin, from every town at which he
stopped, in order to verify his progress On
the return he boarded a freight train at
Albany and went to sleep in a freight car.
81 was ahead of time at Albany" be
said. land when woke up | was an hour
behind. The COMPOUNDED train was local,
and thought it was a through, and found
myself side-tracked three miles east OF
Greenbush. So | had to walk back to
Albany and get on the trucks of passenger
train"
Becker SAYS that he won the bet, and that
Austin paid him $500, $3.50 of which he sent
to his father, who was in prison in British
Guiana. His father, according to this &C
complished liar, was engaged in an insur-
Tection in Guiana, and was sentenced to
prison for eighteen years. That was when
the King of Tramps was 9 years old. Since
then the king has been wandering over the
world, sometimes as q sailor and latterly as
a protested tramp.
'ld just rs lief work." he said, eff !
could find a job that suited me, but I'm not
going to shovel coal or pick up the streets
for 81 25 day. George Francis Train gave
me so cents when | was on my beating trip
across the continent, and got the rest of
my grub, except what l found in the fruit
cars, by asking for it in the cities where ]
stopped. In Worcester l called at forty-one
houses before l got my breakfast. To-day
beat my way from Newburgh on the
Mary Powell. had the money to pay my
fare, but thought | might as well keep ii
as to give it to the purser Howe o,
told the captain a straightforward story
about eing an English sailor, hard up and
wanting to get to New York, and he passed
me. You see, if you can talk freely and
won't get phased you can do most anything,
even though lawyer may be cross
examining you"
Becker says he thinks he will call con-
vention of the tramps to meet next Sep
TENDER. He says there are 81, 900 of them
IN America, ''and the freest, most indie
pendent class of men in the country"
before the convention meets" he con-
Guided, II mean to make arrangements to
beat my way around the world in 102 DAYS.
have figured out just how it can be done
and know l can do it. Once on the sea
they can't put you off, and | know enough
about ships to make myself useful If have
70 work to help out my passage. Most of
the way would be by sea, YOU know.
and although | have visited all the
countries that would be touched
ia rather like to see them again. went
into the business more for fun than anv
Shlng else, and / get a lot of amusement out
o. seeing how l can play people. Lying
VI course have to resort to tying; how
else can you beat your way? Give good
SUN story, stick to it, and carry an Englist
sailors bonnet, as | do in my pocket. ans
nobody can help believing you. | mus
settle down some time, suppose. and I'm
ABOUT ready to do so. I was reporter onct
on the Wllkesbarre Independent. They
s s | had good nose for news, but l col
. en- lnto libel suit and they fired me after