The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-12
GLOBE TROTTERH HERE TALKS OF JOURNEY Will Be in Buenos AyreS By
 Close of Year BEEN ALL OVER WORLD Started Barefooted With Gents in His Pocket and Must Visit
 Sixty Countries on
 Wager.

birth and a globe-trotter by choice, walked into Birmingham yesterday after noon from springville, having walked some 5000 odd miles since January 1, 1904 and having until July l, 1910, to finish 5000 miles in the course of which he must have visited 60 countries
 He will spend today in Birmingham and has announced that he will start from in front of The Age-Herald building to- morrow morning at o'clock toward Me- ridian. He is heading toward Buenos Ayres, which will be the finish of his ex- tended footing tour
 O'Neill states that he is walking on wager of $7o00 with compound interest at 3la per cent from January 1s 1904, to July l, 1910 His starting point was Butte, Mont, and his travels have taken him to every continent except South America, which he expects to reach within a few weeks. While he has year to finish his trip in he believes that with fair luck he will finish by Christmas.
 The desire to see the world, combined with shortness of cash, was what start ed O'Neill on this long distance walking tour He planned out trip which would take in every part of the world, and then found man who would back him on a wager Dressed in nothing but shirt and pair of trousers, barefooted and with only nickel in his pocket, he started forth. According to the stipulations of the wager he was to sell nothing. not even postcard, and was to work for no more than enough to pay the price of one meal.
 His weight at the time of starting was 145 pounds. He weighed last Friday and tipped the scales at 14611, all of which Is muscle, the constant walking having re- moved every ounce of surplus f1esh With his face ruddy from the five and one half years of steady exposure to the weather he presents the picture of health.
 In each town of any size which he has passed through he goes before the probate judge and has an affidavit made as to his appearance in that town. On June 2S he was in Johnson City, Tenn. July l In Knoxville July in Chatta- nooga, July in Trenton, Ga. July 8 in Fort Payne, Ala, and July 10 in Gadsden. He left Gadsden Saturday morning but stopped for while at Alabama City. where he took a trip through the large cotton mill there. Starting out again in the afternoon he reached Springville, about o'clock and spent the night there. He left there shortly after noon yesterday and had covered the 30 miles to Birmingham by 5:30 o'clock. He is registered at the St. Nicholas hotel, where attired in a khaki coat, short black knickerb ocke CT trousers and black stockings, he was a center of attraction.
 Regarding his travels he talks inter- estingly, rich Irish brogue adding greatly to his conversation. Except in the countries in Asia Minor he states that he was given glad hand wh erev- CT he went, especially in France The French papers in telling of him, he states, said Monsieur O'Neill started out entirely nude with only five Ameri- can cents in his pocket"
 Doubt was expressed by him regard ing Roosevelt's lion killing record in Africa. At the McMillan ranch, where Roosevelt is reported to have slain so many Hons, I happened to be about a year ago. I talked to MT. McMillian and he gave me tn assurance that there were absolutely no lions, or any other wild animals, anywhere in his neighborhood. For this reason I could not help smiling to myself when hear ing of MT. Roosevelt killing several kings of the jungle on the McMillan ranch"
 The biggest policeman in the world, who is also the biggest hearted Is what he saw in Johnson City, Tenn. He can relate something interesting of every place he has been In, while the manner in which he talks makes it de- lightful to listen to him.
 He doesn't think much of the globe trotters who are averaging 100 miles a day. His pace Is four miles per hour and his average for the day aboutx35 miles. This distance does not tire him more than an ordinary days work. His regard for Weston, however, Is great. He met him some time ago in Canada and describes him as an exceptionally agreeable person, and a man whom you would never take for long-distance walker.
 O'Neill brings a letter of introduction to Assistant City Attorney J. Quincy Smith, and was looking this young man up yesterday afternoon
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