The Trail of the Tramp / By A-No. 1, the Famous Tramp, Written by Himself from Actual Experiences of His Own Life

PRICE, 25 CENTS.
THE A-No. 1 (TRADE MARK) PUBLISHING COMPANY ERIE, PENN'A, U.S.A.
To The Public :— You may purchase our books of any news agent, aboard every passenger train in the United States, Canada, England and Australia, carrying a news butcher. At depot and other news stands and all up-to-date news and book stores. If residing far in the country, your store keeper, always willing to handsomely add to his income, may get our titles for you by requesting us to furnish him the address of the nearest jobber. To The Dealer :— The American News Company and all its branches throughout the United States and Canada, and all other reliable jobbers from Halifax to San Diego and from Dawson City to Key West always carry a complete line of our books in stock. Dealers should furnish a fair display to our books and explain to customers that their text is not only good reading but also that the stories are based on actual experiences of the author who wasted thirty years on the Road. Do not bury the A-No. 1 Books on shelves or in train boxes, but give them a chance to prove their great selling merit. One copy sold is sure to bring a sale of the complete set to the reader, so entertaining are the stories which cover every interesting phase of tramp life. Yours respectfully, The A-No. 1 Publishing Company Erie, Pa., U.S.A.
It is my turn tonight to relate for your entertainment a story of my past, and I shall repeat to you the most pathetic happening that I have ever experienced in all my life. I have never been able to eradicate its details from my memory, as I witnessed its beginning with my own eyes, and its ending, many years later, was told to me by one of the principal participants.
I shall not repeat to you one of the same, old, time-worn tales of how slick hoboes beat trains, nor fabled romance concerning harmless wanderlusters, nor jokes at the expense of the poor but honest man in search of legitimate employment, but I shall relate to you a rarely strange story that will stir your hearts to their innermost depths and will cause you to shudder at the villainy of certain human beings, who, like vultures seeking carrion, hunt for other people's sons with the intention of turning them into tramps, beggars, drunkards and criminals—into despised outcasts.