The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-05-26

able career carries, that is strangely
appealing. Perhaps it is the pathos
that lies concealed in his life.
Endowed with an attractive presence
and with all the necessary qualities
for success in life, vet he is homeless
and nameless, by an element in his
makeup that has gained the mastery
over all other impulses and motives.
II may go on 10 or 20 wears vet,
said A No ]. but / have TO wear
glasses now, which is a drawback, and
tomorrow / may not be here or may
| be minus an arm or Il leg.
| A No. [ received his strange nam5
| in a peculiar way. At the end of
| long Journey with an older tramp the
| latter said to him: Kid, you are all
| light. You are No. I. - The title
| has stuck, and the wanderer has more
| han lived up to it. for if ever Il mo-
| bo's life could he said to be a success,
| t is that of this man. He has been
| around the world three times aud
| peaks and writes four languages. He
| wears good suit of clothes, Is short
| and compaetlv built, carries gold
| watch. does not chew. smoke, drink or
| gamble and his income from his books
| 5 sufficient so that he does not have
o beg for a living.
He travels i'm overalls and jumper,
| 2ut after arriving in a town he dlyests
himself of these and appears in plain
| uit until time to start on his endless
| tourney. He goes equipped with a
Doth brush, comb, soap, small box
| IF shoeblackiug with brush. pocket
'dition of Wcbster's dictionary and a
'ew other articles.
One of the most interesting things
! which he carries, and which he exhih-
| ted in the Office of this newspaper. is
| I flexible leather covered book pasted
'uIl Of cards and letters given him by
abroad officials all over the country
Many of them state that he has sayet
human life and property by telling
! rain operators when beating his way
| If broken car wheels and other disar
'angements and thus preventing seri
'us wrecks and disasters. lie has beer
five wrecks, but never has beer
lurt
A No. ] has autographed endorse
nents from President Woodrow VII
{ | ~on, ex-President w. II. Taft, ex
P resident Theodore Roosevelt, Thoma
l. Edison, luther Burbank, the wizar
= f plants, Admiral George Dewey am
? Their famous Americans, besides tn
g hiefs of police of large cities. II
{ $50 has an autograph letter OF Jac
.ondon, the author, telling of thei
y ompauionship on the road together i
= S94, and a photograph of himself an
lack London.
: He says that about 100000 minor
e un away from home annually.
( his number over $4,000 become cor
rmcd hobops, 1000 are cripple,
500 are killed and the rest stand til
ardships of tramp life about 10 year
ntil they land in the poor hous
More than 90 per cent of all tramp
+ ONE from good families, he say>
If a grown up tramp comes to
ouse. said A No. |. the woma
ill turn him away and tell him
10 to work. but if Young felIo
ONES along Just starting out to be
ramp she viii take him in and fee
i'm the best She has, not realizlr
! hat in a few short years the youn
ter will be an exact prototype Of II
urly tramp she has Just turned ava
q She would talk to him in a nice vi
bout his home and mother and j
respect of becoming 4 worthle
IT agabond there would be go'
nance that he would go back home.
Realizing that he may any day b
= ONE the victim of an accideI
IS \ No ! has protected himself again
e, he potter $ field by buying a lot
We 'ambridge Springs, Pa. where
cI makes his headquarters, and erecti
-e1 monument upon it, upon which "
~ ne engraved, No. /, The Rambt
- At Rest At Last.