Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1900-02-15
BLOWN TO COLORADO.
A HoRsELEss WAGON TRIP FROM
KANSAS TO DENVER

This Prairie Schooner Was RirEed
With Sails and Made Record Time
Years Ago In the Great Rice For
the Newly Discovered GoldGells.
In these days of automobiles, mtor-
cycles and horseless vehicles it may not
be uninteresting to know that on. of
the early inventions in this countr, to
do away with animal motive power
originated in Kansas City, Kan. S,m-
uel Peppard was the genius who con-
structed vehicle that carried him md
three companions over the plains from
Oskaloosa almost to Denver. And
with such rapidity, too, that he lot
only passed all the white people jour
neying the same way, but easily els
tanced Indian pursuers and Won mis-
rig the unstinted admiration of the led
men,
1t was during the time of the excie-
ment following the discovery of lgeld
in Colorado. A great many people had
set out for this Ell Dorado, and long
wagon trains We're to be seen every
day moving across the plains. MIR
Peppard was anxious to go, but there
was one great difficulty in the way
he didn't have the money to buy horses
and wagon. So he sat down and
thought it all over. and then as result
he gave out that he was going to build
wagon with sail, which he thought
would make the trip in about as good
time as any prairie schooner that was
floating around over the wild and wool
ly west.
When he first began to build the
wagon, the wise men of the town all
laughed at him for wasting his time on
such craft, just as other wise men of
Noah's time scoffed at the good patti
arch. Mr.. Peppard's advisers declared
that if he attempted to navigate such a
craft he would certainly be killed, and
the people in general looked the wagon
over, shook their heads and called it
"Peppard's folly"
But Mr.. Peppard kept on saving
wood and turning it into wheels and
running gear and boards. At last it
! was finished. 1t was made Of rough
lumber and shaped like skiff. 1t was
eight feet long from PROV to stern and
three feet across at amidships and two
feet deep. The bed was placed on a
running gear with axles six feet apart,
the wheels all the same size and about
as large as the front wheels of bug.
gy. A ten foot mast was fastened to
the front axle and came up through
the bottom of the wagon box, and tc
this two sails were rugged, the larger
II by 8 feet, the other by S. They
were both to be worked by rope
through pulley at the top Of the mast
+! If the wind was high, the smaller
was to be used, and if it was low thu
larger was to be employed. The wag
on had brake and rudder for steer
ing. The hounds, instead Of having &
tongue attached, came up over the toI
of the bed and were welded together
A bar was fastened here and extended
backward three feet. There was /;
seat placed at the end of the bar TO
the captain, and he steered by pushing
the bar to the right or the left. TIL
craft rugged out weighed $50 pounds
carried crew of four men, a cargo o
500 pounds, the camping outfit an
provisions serving as ballast.
Before Mr.. Peppard started on hi
overland voyage he made trial on
mile south of Oskaloosa on the presen
site of the Jefferson county fai
!. grounds. There is a level stretch o
several miles, and a good, stiff breez
} was on. When it struck the large sal
the craft stuck it's nose down to tn
} ground and came near capsizing: Fl
, Stacked sail and set out again with tn
large sheet reefed and the smaller flu
against the wind, and away it whizzet
1t went so fast, in fact, that the box
) ing in the wheels heated. Then, whe
it went over a little knoll. it leape