Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-07-29
"A NO. 1" TURNS UP In DUBUQUE
Has Hoboed $4,000 Miles and Paid Only
$751; in Fares.


has been forgotten, "A No. l." king
OF the tramps, is hobo, but is in a
class all by himself. From one end
of the United States to the other his
cabalistic signs for the guidance and
information of tramps. can be found
on fences. bridges and buildings.
Since his former visit he has written
and published history of himself.
The man is interesting for these
reasons
He has hoboed 452 ,035 miles. He
has spent only 1871 on railroad
tickets. He has travelled 5,270 miles
since Jan. 1, 1908, without paying a
cent in fare. He has been around the
world three times. He is linguist,
speaks and writes in four languages.
Has prevented twenty wrecks. Wears
$40 suit of clothes. Wears gold
watch. Keeps his name secret and
does not smoke, drink. chew, swear
or gamble.
His first visit on arriving here was
to newspaper office, where he di-
vested himself of his overalls and
jumpers, and his transformation was
surprising. Attiret in neat. we'll
cut brown suit, clean shaven except
for a well-trimmed mustache. he had
the appearance of prosperous man or
student His oxfords showed they
had received recent attention; his
linen was irreproachable. and his der
by was we'll brushed
A few moments later he was show
ing his few possessions, which are
valueless to any one else, but worth
thousands of dollars to him.
A No. l keeps book system show
ing where he has been and the dis
tance travelled from one city to
another The total distance travelled
is equal to eighteen trips around the
world. With pride the visitor pro-
duced gold medal which signifies
that A No. has won 81 900 prize
from New York paper for beating
his way from New York to San Fran
cisco in less time than six competi-
tors. His time was II days and 6
hours.
For $3.50 of this sum A No.. bought
cemetery lou and tombstone at
Cambridge Springs, Pa, and when
he dies directions found on his body
will instruct the finder to send it to
that place for burial.
A No. is 80 years old, and has
been on the go since IL years of age.
He has never returned to his home.
and on this point he was reluctant
about speaking. In every other par
ticular he was willing to give any in
formation he could. but his family
connections are thing of the past,
and he will not tell his real name.
The present nickname by which mil
lions know him, was given him by
I6llOW u tup Wuou q uoy.
A No. is known best among rail-
road officials. whose recommendations
he holds by scores. The cards and &C.
companying sentence usually read !:
81 have known A No. | for -
years know he is 0. K. and can re-
commend him to any one." The book
in which these are contained is the
travellers fortune.
Among the letters is one from
Thomas A. Edison. with whom A No.
spent an hour. At its close Edison
gave him S5 ''to buy some cigars. "
The visitor went out and bought a
pair of shoes, sent back the receipt to
show what he had done with the
money, and wrote across it: II don't
smoke.
A No. 1 has profession. 1t is
carving potatoes, and in this he
excels. Hundreds of times he has
carved faces for persons in return for
some small favor. He is also wood
carver of ability.
The railroad officials who have
given him cards freely state that he
has prevented the loss Of many lives
in frequent cases. By telling train
operatives, when beating his way, Of
broken car wheels or other disar.
rangements. he has prevented serious
wrecks. He has been in four wrecks,
but has never been badly hurt.
In his travels A No. has learned
four languages-English, German.
French an Spanish. His parents were
mixture of French and German, but
he was born in San Francisco.
His toilet set is complete. though it
takes little room to carry it. 1t con-
sists of a tooth brush and soap, shaw
ing set, comb and few other neces-
saries. His carving tools are two
knives kept very sharp. Backing and
shining rags occupy a part OF his
pockets.
Er1,, xyhat ba cod IL was indpad