The following summer, in August 1902, Karl began travelling again and gave a lecture in Winnipeg. Shortly afterward, on October 16, 1902, in the Social and Personal Notes from Truro & Vicinity section of the Halifax Herald, it was shared that Karl Creelman, Truro’s “globetrotter,” had arrived in Fernie, BC. By November 16, 1902, the Spokane Chronicle announced that he would give a free lecture at the YMCA.
He went on to spend a short time in Salt Lake City, Utah, then travelled through Nevada and California. While in San Francisco, he reunited with a shipmate from the S.S. Bezwada, and the two journeyed throughout California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They eventually parted ways in Texas.
On March 26, 1903, the Saint John Telegraph reported that Karl was in Morenci, Arizona. He found work as a mechanic in the Detroit Copper Mining (D.C.M.) company shops at Morenci, a town roughly 115 miles northeast of Tucson, founded by the D.C.M. in the late 19th century. The company shops were the hub for maintenance and repairs: air drills, mine hoists, ore locomotives, smelting equipment, everything the mining work depended on. At that time, all Morenci mining was underground, making skilled mechanics essential.
In the Morenci newspaper, the headline read:
Messrs. Harry Cordy, Karl Creelman, and Otto Lotichins (The Count) were taken unaware last Tuesday evening at their bachelor quarters, “The Tramps’ Retreat,” when locals arrived with pies, cakes, and other good things…
The article goes on to explain that the men were so surprised it took them a moment to recover, but soon music and games took over the room. The guests left at 11:30 with “a standing invitation to return early and often,” especially since the pies and “Nova Scotia Ginger Snaps” were enjoyed immensely. According to the locals, the boys didn’t mind surprise parties, so long as they received a couple of days’ notice.
Karl’s next appearance in print had him living in San Marcial, New Mexico, working as a locomotive fireman on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (the “Santa Fe” line).
By 1905, Karl was back in Winnipeg. Reports summarized his last three years as a lumberjack in British Columbia, a sailor on the Pacific coast, a miner in Arizona and California, and a locomotive fireman in Texas and New Mexico. But now, he appeared ready to settle. He was employed by the Canadian Northern Railway as a fireman and told the local paper he intended to make Winnipeg his permanent home.
In the June 27, 1905 edition of the Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg celebrated him as a new resident, publishing a special feature and a “good picture” of Karl summarizing his journey around the world.
Upon settling, Karl became a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (BLF), Lodge 597. These lodges were deeply active organizations, providing insurance, medical benefits, negotiating work rules, and supporting members through grievances.
Winnipeg, as a major railway hub, had a strong presence of these railway brotherhoods. Lodge 597 was likely one of the city’s local chapters.
The Brotherhood published a monthly magazine, and in the July 1905 issue, Lodge 288 posed a question about oil-burning locomotives. The response came from none other than Karl. He wrote that “we have none away up here in the frozen North,” but described in detail an experience when he “struck a job fixing an oil-burner while roaming around the American Southwest”.
Karl, true to form, also shared how he got that job: before applying, he visited a second-hand store and outfitted himself with “long-legged boots, a sombrero, and a big red handkerchief (all I lacked was a gun).” When the master mechanic asked if he had ever fired an engine, Karl replied that he had never fired one but had “seen lots of them.” When asked what work he’d done before, Karl told him he had just come from the Panhandle, where he had been chasing longhorns “all my life.”
And that is how he got the job that taught him the skills he used to help a fellow Brother from another lodge. His “plucky” nature still shining through.
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The Karl Journey is registered as an official expedition with the Royal Geographical Society