The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-28
new ENGLAND AUTO TRIP
A MONTHS TOUR GRAPHICALLY DE-
sCRIBED BY MRS. HICKS.
IndfauapoIfs Tourists Encounter
Many Peculiar Experiences-A
Vermont salt Pork supper.


arrived in New York. Mrs. DR.. Harry |
Hicks. who made the trip with her hus-
band. has written an interesting account of
the travels and experiences encountered |
under the caption. "Glimpses of New Eng
land from the Hurricane Deck of an Auto
mobile" Her letter to friend in this city
is as follows:
washington Irving says in his 'knicker-
bocker's History Of New York in refer
ence to the theories as to the mysterious
creation Of the world the t negro or Ph0 %s
made by the hands of angels, excepting
their own country, which the Supreme Be
ing constructed himself that 1t might be
supremely excellent
Il am afraid / am very like the negro
philosophers Of Congo. for / have FOUND
passing fair one land Travelling as We did
Tor a month by automobile in the pure air
OF New England, the unsurpassed lowell
ness of our own bonny banks and braes
other countries OF the globe, that it has
been my good fortune to see, paled into
very mediocre insignificance in comparison
with the nearer hills and wales or our own
country beautiful, so little sought by Amer
fcans before the inevitable tour abroad
THE air was fresh and the day balIny
as we set OFF on our automobile trip. The
deeply indented shores of Long Island
sound are like veritable points de deu-
teiles,' and many of the points stretch
ing far out into the blue waters OF the
sound. are crowned with the turreted
castles of New York millionaires
II was amused at the quaint humor OF
having come to an intricate forking Of the
road In Massachusetts,, we came upon
red-headed. be-freckled. bare-footed lad
riding a rail at the side of the road, and
upon our questioning him about the route
TO Beach Bluff he made answer that he
did not know. But the kid had a twinkle
in his eye, and i reprimanded him soundly
for being so ignorant about his own neigh
borhood, whereupon he let out a surprising
volley Of information, not only about the
road in question, but about the roads In
the country for miles around, the condf-
ton Of same and the condition or last
years roads at the same time, the amount
OF rain that had fallen this year and the
prevailing conditions of the weather at that
time last year, in fact, as we drove on the
younsster was still trying to impress upon
two. The New England farmer seems very
loath to impart information. and will some
times hesitate In a RrovoknIg manner nr,d De
IS he to keep one from sharing his knowl-
edge. The New England coast north OF
Boston Is VERY r%ggsd an6 by at tbe ns the
hotel Is situated high above the sea, top
ping as II docs a rocky promontory. The
moon came out that night and blessed the
Watery landscape with its calm light; the
August night breathed tales OF singing 81
rens-
In the northeast corner Of Massachusetts,,
we rested orr weary bones one night at the
old Wolf Tavern. The floor in my room
Of osen fbe s"ey Rsro ne AN old sign on
IRE front Of the house from ''ye tavern and
Etage coach days" was startling picture
vivfdly done, OF General Wolf himself. One
OF our party seeing conspicuous sign read
ing. ITO We Original Wolf Tavern" HE'D
him thither TO partake or some liquid re,
freshment, something characteristic of odd
Ben Franklin's days" goodly bumper of
nut brown ale or a glass of hot punch But
lo when he got there a beautifully gflded
-. 1T rKroC ro6
many lines Of pop bottles and an amazing
assortment of soft drinks" Massachusetts,
Is a temperance State.)
BAD ROADS IN MAINE.
"In Maine the machine was put to some
sore tests. but of course Maine is no civil
ized State for automobiles, and as some one
has said its forests are much better suited
for the sport of Roosevelt stag party. Re-
served 1t should be, like the forests of
Fountainbleau. for royal hunting parties.
The woods abound In deer, wildcats and
uncanny sounds about nightfall.
AT one point in the roae we had the mis-
fortune TO burst tire, and this catastrophe
seemed TO gather together all the inquiring
minds in that part OF the country. There are
not many fools who venture up into these
uninhabitable parts in automobiles. The
conversation on this occasion among the
rural wits / think worth relating: Strange
boss you're 'shoein'. amt it? What 'ud
your grandfather have said eff he'd seen
one OF them things a comm daown the
road? and old man who seemed to
champion our sad plight retorted, Wall,
what I'D my grandfather a said eff he'd a
seen you a comm daown the road last
Sunday with that tarnal stove-pipe hat o
your'n and that long-tailed coat2 1 guess
he'd a most died Then as usual on such
occasions some one asked the price of the
machine, and when / informed him there
was no look OF honest surprise on his face.
The New Highlander shows not the working
OF his Utmost soul by the light of his coun-
49, d.. lrg.-e~
him IL he considered that very much
money to give out for thing that made
30 much noise. Without committing him
self he answered that he guessed It war
quite considerable for some folks and for
others again IL warnt.'
From the north OF Maine we pushed
our way into New Hampshire and the
White mountains. At a lonely farm house
In Maine, where we were forced TO take
shelter for the night, my thoughts revert
ed dismally to tales Of Rigoletti, midnight
slaughter and plotting intrigues. for the
wind howled, the doors were not provided
with keys and the nearest house was two
miles away. The conditions were pro-
pitious for making away with our party
OF four, lake stretched its placid waters
just behind the house. However, / gath
cred together all OF the loose furniture in
the room. barricaded the doors and re-
tired with mental visions of robbery, muir
der and the cool depths of a watery grave
"a sack! a stone. and a splash!
Next morning. waking with the days
first beam, We descended TO an eggless
country breakfast 10 find the family al
ready assembled. The family that had
been so kind as TO give us shelter from
the rain and share its frugal fare with
the stranger that was within its gates.
could have had no possible evil intention in
regard to US. for the two men of the fam
lily who. the night before looked grizzly
bearded rufians. were indeed quite under
sized individuals and utterly brow-beaten
by their wives; in fact the grizzliest look
ing monster OF the night before waxed into
a veritable knave OF the larder when seen
calmly washing dishes in the light of day
ON MOUNT WASHINGTON.
while crawling up through the 'Craw-
ford notch were fired with the ambi-
ton OF making an automobile ascent of
Mount Washington, the highest mountain
in New England. Arrived at Fabyan's at
the foot OF the mountain due preparation
was made. The machine was newly tired
and heavy wraps procured in anticipation
OF the bleak experiences to be encountered
But at o'clock the next morning like
Mark Twain in his European Pedestrian
Tour. We decided TO take the train to
the summit among the clouds
Our evenings were spent merrily with j.
Buchanan Elmore's Love Among the Mis-
tletoe and Other Poems.
"Of course, there are times when automo-
bling as sport becomes a laborious task
10 the chauffeur. as my husband found TO his
sorrow one day when our heavy rear tire
had to be taken of and replaced three
separate times within a distance of forty
miles. We had a beautiful run down the
. nj ~ I'D