WAUPACA REPUBLICAN POST

September 11, 1913

 

THE FIRST TRAMP.

By John Een.

Amherst, Wis., Aug. 10, 1913

           

            Oliver Erickson, “Whiskey Ola” as he was usually called, came from Sweden to Waupaca in Dec.1852.  Worked at odd jobs for a couple of years, then started tramping, being the first tramp that I can get any record of.  He got the idea from a story told by John Dolbrink of the travels related by the wandering Jew or Jerusalem shoemaker that Mr. Dolbrink said had made a visit to Geffle, Sweden, in 1861.

            Not long afterwards Ola worked for father a couple of days cutting rails and I helped trim the limbs with a hatchet.  At the end of the second day he said that he could travel the world over without money and soon after he commenced his travels.  The winters were spent in Waupaca or with friends in Farmington.

            Being a good storyteller he got his board for being good company.  In the winter of 1855-56, he made a trip to Stevens Point and made a contract with some merchants to deliver 6,000 grubs used by lumbermen for rafting lumber to be floated down the Wisconsin River. Although he was a total stranger, they were so impressed by his representations of what he had, that they trusted him with $45.00 worth of ladies dress goods.  After leaving Stevens Point he stopped to warm himself at John Ogden’s (I think he was a brother of the late C. S. Ogden of Waupaca) when he got thawed out he asked Miss Cloe Ogden to pick out a dress, hood, stockings and mittens, which he made her a present of.  The next few days were spent among his friends in Waupaca and what is now Sheridan, giving away his stock of goods which he never intended to pay for as he never had or owned a grub to sell.  In the spring of 1856 he was placed in jail at Plover for getting goods under false pretenses. Soon after G. Severson was placed in the Plover jail for the murder of D. Hutchinson and two other men for burning a schoolhouse south of Waupaca were also put in the same jail.  But they only stayed there a short time as Ola got tired of being shut up and he cut off two of the iron bars and all four walked out.  As they parted Ola told Severson that he ought to stay in the jail.

            Ola’s next place of enforced rest was Portage city jail.  But he soon tired of staying there and cut his way out.  The next few years were one continuous travel and jail breaking.

            After the war of the rebellion broke out he took up the business of County jumping.  Was brought to Madison three times to be shot for bounty jumping, but each time he escaped from the bull pen the night before.  Soon after he left for Australia, but was shipwrecked in the Gulf of Mexico, and was picked up by a passing ship and next heard of was in Sweden, where he cut a wide swath, representing that he owned several large estates and Hans Olfson was general over-seer.  He prevailed on J. Hulstrom to loan him money enough to pay for a ticket from Geffle, Sweden, to Waupaca.  Mr. Hulstrom came with him, but when three days out from Liverpool the ship was wrecked, but the passengers were all saved and taken back to England, except Ola, he was missing.

            Mr. Hulstrom came direct to Amherst and told the news of the death of Wonderful Ola, as he was generally called.  Just three days later Ola came also.  When the ship was wrecked he lashed himself to a spar and floated three days before he was picked up.  But we have not room for any more, his adventures and jail breakings were too numerous for this article.  About the year 1871 he died from exposure, eight miles west of Plover, Wis.

            During his career he broke out of two State prisons and twenty-three jails.  He would slip out of handcuffs and ball and chains as easy as he would take his coat off.