The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-30
The Tires Were Inflated With
Pure Cussedness.
STARTED OUT FOR BONNER
The Chain Was fabricated With the Es-
sence of Deviltry-And Mlssoula
Seven Miles Away When tho
Rear Tire Came OF.

of how Hermann Kohn mounted a
clear out to the post and into the arms
Of a soldier before he could get off is
still remembered here. The refreshing
tale of how Tom Hathaway, Claude
Rails and the mysterious snow" rode
into the quiet village in Last Nance
gulch and jobbed the natives is Of too
recent occurrence to be forgotten. AL
Chamberlain's initial effort with a bike
how he nearly ran into the west
bound flyer one day because 1t did not
respect his right of way and extra sig
nals-is the cause of many a laugh even
now. There are scores of bicycle stor-
les that have never been told. This is
one of the latter and it Is "a tale Of
81 and his bike.
Almost everybody knows Bi. He is
a %sorrel. well-built. g~ood-natured gem
tleman with a smile that is always in
operation and a laugh that is copy
righted. 1t is not a liquid. unctuous.
smooth laugh. 1t is one that Is a cross
between a fog signal and a fire alarm.
AT first 1t does not always make a IA
vorable impression, but 1t always wins
in the end. When that laugh disturhs
wv "AAAAtEIAtAt ilbE AIt ItiI III I
compelled To join in. 1t is a healthy.
infectious, all-wool laugh that is Ger
tainly "A yard wide. And hi had this
laugh with him last night when he
went after the bike. He looked over a
long line of wheels before he selected
his mount and finally found one that
seemed to him TO be the proper thing.
II was a light buckskin with blue
trimmings and looked as IL il would
carry all right. Bi had heard that 4
buckskin horse is tough and he thought
that a buckskin bike ought to be
tough, too. 1t was tough, but its
t~oughness was not the ~toughness that
ri desired. The color steered him up
against the wrong game.
Bi had been watching Sam Dawson
try to ride the wheel and had been
filled with a desire to ride himself. He
can ride, all right. Sam cannot. But
that is another story. Bi can ride
well, If he has a wheel that is not a
buckskin. This N had its tires in
Hated with pure cussedness and IFS
chain fabricated with deviltry. Tha
was what cause the trouble. Bi
started out for Bonner. He took a
preliminary warming up run out
through the school section and back
and then headed east. Reinhard Ma
tin hailed him as he wheeled past the
brewery and he had a couple of stems.
Up to that time the wheel haa not act
ed particularly bad. 1t had SHE'D once
or twice and evinced a fondness for
unning over loose stones i'm The road.
but that was nothing. When, however,
he mounted after visiting the brewery
the wheel was not what it should nave
been. 1t was clear that it's heart was
bad. Bi was not of the stuff that
yields easily to difficulties. so m
pushed on. The wheel tried to jump
the irrigating ditch across the Rattle
snake. but Bi forced it over the bridge.
IL was determined to climb up the
steep side of Jumbo. hut the stern
rider held it To its course. 1t wobbled a
bit but yielded and kept i'm the road
after a fashion. At the powder houses
there was a marked tendency on .he
part of the wheel 10 turn around. on
the toll road ii threatened TO run or
the embankment. At the bridges Il
was with difficulty that 1t was re-
strained from running into the Mis-
soula river. on the hat this side of
Bonner 1t hit every one of the numer-
GUS rocks in the road. All of these lit
tie peeuliarities were regarded as mere
idiosyncracies by the rider and the
wheel rolled on. The perspiration rolled
on. That was the difference.
But when the hill at the Big BLACK
foot river was reached the wheel made
a firm and positive stop. 1T left tho
road and started to climb the steep
side hill. In the struggle that valve
stem on the rear tire pulled off and
there was a p-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-h that told
the whole story. The tire was nat.
NOW, 81 is a genius at certain lines
There are some things that he can DO
better than anybody else, but mendinE
a busted tire is not one of them. When
that dire sound was heard he knew thai
1t was all OFF with him.. And Missoula
seven miles away.
There was nothing for him 10 do bu.
to walk. SO he walked. II there was
nothing else To do, what could he 10
but walk He could do nothing else.
so he walked. 1t was hot. too. There
has not been a hotter evening this
summer. The sun fairly blazed down
and the canyon was as hot as an oven.
Oh, how hot it was! And Missouia
was seven miles away. There is one
other thing that hi cannot do very
wen. He cannot walk. lie has al
ways had things come SO smooth that
he has not had TO walk much. They
come in carriages for him. That
made IL all the worse. His companion
who had ridden with him, an migrate
full railroad man. told him that he was
too slow and rode home without him.
made it good. too. But Bi
On the way home he met almost
everybody that he eve knew. one
man asked him TO ride.
He was within two miles of home. ana
hi was So infatuated with his expert
ence that he declined. He said that he
Travelled that way. lie had the
wheel along for company. one young
said that it was a nice evening.
Bl said that ii was. She asked him
what was the matter with his wheel.
He said that II was all right. IL was a
family pet and he dldn't like to ride X
too much when the weather was so
hot. Then she looked at the rear tire
and laughed. Tha made Il feel really
happy. He laughed, too. 1t was not
the laugh that he usually laughs. Ii
was a high tragedy laugh. lie had
these pleasant little experiences all the