Walking 1100 Miles on Hike, No Money or Baggage

1910

WALKING 1100 MILES ON HIKE

Pedestrian Traveling from Atlanta to New York in Two Months. Reaches Gettysburg. Held up on Mountain by Moonshiner.

B. F. Pearce, Atlanta, Georgia, a pedestrian who is walking from Atlanta to New York City, over the route taken by the Atlanta to New York good roads automobile run of the early part of this month, arrived in Gettysburg Friday evening, coming here from Waynesboro. He left Gettysburg Monday morning.

Mr. Pearce left Atlanta on his 1100 mile walk to New York, May 18, and has been walking steadily ever since, making 25 to 40 miles per day. He is due to arrive in New York City, July 18. He is now four days ahead of his schedule.

Because of the very hot weather, he does some of his walking at night. He left Harrisonburg, Tuesday evening, and walked all night and all of Wednesday, arriving in Hagerstown about six o'clock Wednesday evening.

He gets from the postmaster the postmark of each town in which he stops, this being one of the requirements of the wager.

He was compelled to leave without money or baggage and is not permitted to ask any one for aid. So far he has had no trouble.

He doesn't have a penny and hasn't had one since he started from Atlanta but that has not caused him any deprivation. Some one always takes care of him when he tells his story.

"He always has two and often three meals a day. On the road here one man noticed that the soles of his shoes were becoming thin. He had a shoemaker repair them.

When he reached the Natural Bridge in Virginia he was asked whether he wouldn't like to go under it and view it from that position. He pointed to the sign, "$1 admission," and said:

"That sign and I don't agree."

"That makes no difference; I'll let you in free," said the caretaker.

Once when crossing the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia he was held up at a lonely spot in the road by a man he supposes was a "moonshiner." He had a big double barreled shot gun thrown over his shoulder and he stopped Pearce's progress until be had answered all the mountaineer's questions in a satisfactory manner.

Pearce takes some pride in the fact that he is still ahead of three of the autos that started on the recent Atlanta to New York run. One is in Staunton, with its engine torn apart, one is in a farm yard farther south and another in a garage.

Pearce is a married man, with two children. He has lived in Atlanta for ten years. He is a Yankee, however, and was born in Connecticut. He has not seen his relatives there for ten years and may make a visit to them when he reaches New York.

He does not travel on Sunday.

—Adams County News, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1910, page 2.