The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1915-02-27
LITERARY "HCBO' ON
LONG HIKING TOUR
JOURNAL TELLS OF HIS
EXPLOITS

Cldhh AiullldSt, tultoI VI INC
Railw aymen's Magazine of London,
England, has arrived in Goldfield on
his circuit of the United States. Ac-
cording to his own expression, he is
~"hoboing it" through the country
and is enjoying the experience. The
trip was undertaken primarily with
the object of gaining a knowledge of
railroad and transportation condi-
tions in this country, and incidental
ly to learn by actual experience
something of the life of the Ameri-
can hobo, in which type Mr.. Armi.
tage is keenly interested. AS a side
issue" to his desire for knowledge
the globe trotter has the incentive
of winning or losing a wager of
5000 pounds sterling. against his
1000 pounds. contingent upon his
living up to the provisions of an
agreement regarding his mode of
travel and upon his returning to
London by June 1. Whoever wins
the wager must turn I'VE the money
to the Prince of Wales fund for the
relief of war sufferers.
Arriving at st. Johns, New Bruins
wick. on Nov. 25 and leaving Que.
bee, the starting point of the hobo
ing" trip, Dec. s., Mr.. Armitage has
beaten his way through Montreal.
Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Cal.
gary. Banff, Vancouver and Seattle
to San Francisco where he remained
for three days and devoted his time
to writing descriptions of the expo
sition buildings. Thence he made
his way to Sacramento and to Reno.
and progress from Reno to Goldfield
was aided and accelerated by a sue
cession of helping hands and lifts by
section foremen and railway speed
ers.
At one point in the high Rockies.
far from any h%abitatiOn, Mr.. Armi.
tage was %summarily fired off a
freight train late at night, with the
mercury below zero, and was COM
PEELED to build a shelter of railroad
ties and to occupy himself as a stOk-
er for the remainder of the night.
At Tonopah he met a man whom he
had known in England, and here, as
in many other places, he was accord
ed hospitable treatment and received
aid to continue mis- trip.
Under the terms of his wager
agreement Armitage is not permit
ted to spend any of his own money
for anything, and must ''hobO'' his
way, wearing city shoes and no over.
coat, and carrying no blankets or
provisions other than water and to-
bacco. He has collected many fine
specimens of ore, which are shipped
to New York, and he takes copious
notes of his travels for use later in
writing of his experiences. His plan
is to publish the story of his trip in
serial form, in his magazine, of
which he is also proprietor, and later
to issue the story in book form I'M
der the title Gravel de Luxe by the
Hobo Route"
Armitage is a keen observer and
Is gifted with a most remarkable
memory for I'M and Incidents, and
his tale of his experiences will doubt
less be an interesting one. He is
now IA days ahead of his schedule
and expects to claim the 5000
pounds early in My, From Gold.
field he goes to Beatty and Ludlow.
and thence east to New Orleans and
on through the southeastern states
to Washington, where he expects to
interview President Wilson,, and will
Square or the PaddingtOn Road upon
his arrival at New York and will
sail at once for the mine infested
shores Of his native isle.