Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-10-16
WORLD H|kER HERE.
MAN WHO HAS VISITED ALL
PARTS OF GLOBE ON FOOT
SPENDS DAY IN LADY
SMITH
ARRESTED IN CANADA AS A SPY
Was Also Under Sentence of Death
in Mexico and Forced to Dig
His Own Grave

Clad in the khaki uniform of the
New York State Rangers Police, In
Guiding a military hat and heavily
soled shoes, Captain A. ]. w. Will
son, of Ellectiville, N. Y, a world
hiker," arrived here Monday even
ing, and spent all day Tuesday in
Ladysmith. Capt Wilson arrived
here Monday evening, after crossing
Canada and upper Michigan, follow
ing the lines of the Canadian Paci
fic and the 500 Line, and is ON his
way to Seattle, on the last leg of a
$1,000 mile hike" during which he
has visited practically every nation
on the globe. He will finish the trip
when he goes to Seattle, Wash,
and returns to Toronto, Can.
This trip is the result of a wager,
Mr.. Wilson informs us, made 8 years
and Z months ago between two mil
llonaire's clubs, one in New York
and the other in Montreal, Canada
Each club picked representative
Captain Wilson being selected by the
New York club and a man named
William DeBroux by the Canadian
sports. These men were to visit all
the countries mentioned in the con
tract, the itinerary amounting to a
total of 56,9S9 miles, and return to
the starting point, the first one get
ting in and fulfilling the conditions
to be paid the sum of $4,000; time
limit, years and months. Wagers
amounting to $4,000 were posted on
the trip, Capt Wilson states, the
winning man to be paid from the
pool.
The conditions were that the men
must walk where walking is possi-
Bile, must not ride on railways in fact
could ride only in crossing bodies of
water. They We're to start without
any money and work their way from
place to place, must not ask for food,
only water and a place to sleep
nights. Must register with the police
department of each city passed
through and get books signed by sta
ton agent, chief of police, postmas-
ters or some official in every town
passed through to prove route taken
and certifying that they did not ride
on trains.
Their itinerary was as follows:
The first in will be paid 100000
and championship of the world
Toronto, Canada to Frisco, Califor
MIA by Denver, Colorado, and Salt
Lake. Australia, Queens Land. New
South Wales, Victoria, South Aus
tralia, West Australia, New Zealand,
Tasmania, China, Japan, Turkeystan,
Russia, East India, Germany, Prus-
sia, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain,
Portugal, Turkey, Malta, Gibraltar,
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, British
Isles, Africa, Down the Nile to
Orange Free State, Transvall, Natal
Cape town, Western Islands, Manila
Islands, ST. Helena, South America,
Old Mexico, Southern States OF Am
erica to New York City. to Mon
treal, Que, to Ottawa, to North Bay,
to Sudbury, to Sault Ste Marie, to
Seattle, Washington, back in four
years and 8 months.
DeBroux made the trip until he
reached France last April when he
was taken i'll and dropped out. After
ward, he joined the French army and
was killed in one of the first bat
ties of the present war.
When Captain Wilson reached La
dysmith he had covered approximate
ly 45,600 miles by land and sea and
has ample time to complete the trip
within the time limit, unless over
taken by sickness. He was compelled
to spend two weeks in a hospital in
Canada recently, having had an at.
tack of the grip.
Capt Wilson has had numerous
thrilling experiences on his long
stroll. Four times on his trip across
Canada he was arrested on suspic
ion of being German spy, in spite
of the fact that he carries u. S
passports and credentials of variou!
kinds, proving his identity
In Mexico, Capt Wilson was ar
rested by the constitutionalists as
escape from being shot He wa
forced to dig his own grave and wa
stood up, ready for execution, Oh,
was to have been the nineteenth