The leader-enterprise. [volume] (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1912-1915, 1912-10-01
"A. No. 1" Tramp Is
Reported Dead

ga No. l" Tramp is again re-
ported dead, and according to the
newspapers, it is fact this time,
This mysterious individual has
been reported dead numbers of
times but in each instance he has
turned up safe and sound. This
time, however, the reports say
that on the crushed body OF a
tramp found near Houston, Tex,
were a number of clippings and
other credentials that 1ndOuoted-
ly identified him as the original
GA. No. L."
This king of Tramps" has
been to Fitzgerald and some of
our citizens will remember having
| X d with him. His trade
mark" appears on the First Ma
tional Bank Building, the A. b.
& A. depot, also in the post office.
The following interesting account
of him we take from the Macon
Telegraph:
This unique individual spent last
Christmas day in Macon and his
"trade mark" as he styled it is to
be seen on wall of The Telegraph
building. Similar marks are to
be found in a score of places in
Macon, Duolin, Savannah, Atlanta
and other points. His sign "a
No /, December 25, 1911," with
the arrow pointing west, has been
peered at by many visitors to The
Telegraph and each time the old
story of the famous tramp is relat-
ed.
He was C He'd the king Of
Tramps'' and undoubtedly he OBJ
tanned more publicity from the
newspapers and magazines than
any other tramp that ever lived.
He was fond of publicity and IN
every town or city he visited he
went to the newspaper offices. He
was q regular annual visitor for
The past six years to The Telegraph.
And every time be came to Macon
he came to The Telegraph with
his clippings and his pictures and
his letters from railroad officials,
certifying that on certain occasion
be had prev ven t e d disastrous
wrecks. On each visit he wore a
handsome and costly suit of clothes.
He boasted that he never wore a
suit of clothes that cost less than
$40. He looked more like bank
clerk than he did tramp. He
beat his way in these clothes, but
with a suit of overalls drawn over
them. The overalls, he explained,
not only protected his good clothes
but they prevented him from be-
ing arrested when he dropped off
a train in new city, The special
Waterman and the policeman did
not see a tramp when he came up;
they saw, apparently, a hardwork-
ing man in his overalls. Once out
of the yards he took off the over
alls, folded them into two packages
and put them into his pocket.
He then went up town looking
like bank clerk or a prosperous
salesman. GA No. l." when he
got broke, usually made money
by special skill in carving faces
and figures out OF potatoes. To a
newspaper man in Macon he con-
fided that he was born and reared
in Pennsylvania and that he was
of Jewish parentage, His people
he said, were honored and respect
ed people in small Pennsylvania
city. In that city he prepared his
vault and his monument with the
mystic sign "a No. l." He said
that almost at any time he might
be sent to that little city to occupy
the untenanted vault because he
said, the wanderlust was in his
blood and no matter how much he
might try he hould not help from
being tramp. He predicted that
he would die in some railroad ac-
cident, and that until that time he
won d remain sEKinp of tho