Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-11-02
(BY RoBERTUs LovE.)

l did not start out to perform such a
feat as walker, not to advertise
anybody's rapid-rate shoes, nor to
write of any experiences for a yellow
journal. l just walked from New
York to San Francisco for the fun of
it, and then back to ST. Louis, which
required another minute, to watch
the building of the great worlds fair.
1t wasn't much of a feat, this trip.
Why, frequently l take much longer
walks before breakfast, just to en-
courage my appetite for the coffee
and rolls. After getting back to St.
Louis / immediately started out again,
with little party of friends, on a
walking tour which took in the whole
of the United States. We stopped at
many points, saw New York, Chicago,
San Antonio, Yellowstone Park and
other interesting places, and then
walk off into the Pacific ocean-now
don't look incredulOus-and kept on
walking until we reached a street car
| which carried us to the hotel in ST..
Louis. Though we were not at all
fatigued, we considered ourselves en-
titled to enjoy a car ride after all
that walking.
Now l hear one of my readers say
ing to his family group that a help
less lunatic somehow has gotten hold
of pen or typewriter and written
an utterly crazy story, seeking to
make people believe that he has done
things absolutely impossible. Let me
assure you that | am sane-perfectly
so. / have done merely what you or
anybody else can do if you can walk
at all and have few minutes to spend
on a five acre plot of ground at the
worlds fair. Nearly all things are
possible at this greatest of universal
eXpositions, even now, half a year be-
fore the fair is open.
How can l do it? Oh, it was very
easy, l assure you. First let me tell
you who was in the party. There
was pretty young lady from Bufra-
10, n. V, where the pan-American
exposition was held. Her name is
Madge. There was a handsome young
man from Chicago, where the Column
bian exposition of 1898 was held. His
name is George. His middle name is
Washington, and he cannot tell lie.
He bears me out in my statement as
to the long walk we took in few
|
little girl and her mamma-Mrs.
Brownsmith and Susie. Mrs. Brown
smith was chaperone for the party
Miss Madge is visiting in St. Louis,
and George W.. | may state without
betraying too many condolences, is in
st. Louis just because Madge is here.
He pretends to have run down from
Chicago on business. but know bet
ter.
When we stopped at Chicago on our
little walking tour l overheard George
ask Miss Madge how she would like
to live there. She replied, You'll
have to ask papa and George at
once insisted upon going to Buffalo.
We all walked over to Buffalo,
through Lake Erie, which we found
perfectly dry, but there was nobody
living in Buffalo. and George reluct
antly said he must wait until another
time.
There was nobody living in Chicago,
either. nor in st. Louis. for that mat
ter, far as we could ascertain on
our trip. The only persons we saw
in the whole United States were
gentleman named Brodie and Il half
dozen men under his direction. sow
ing fall wheat in North Dakota and
smoothing the ground in Kentucky
for a crop of rye. Rye. you know. is
a very popular crop in Kentucky.
Mr.. Brodie stood in the middle of
Texas and instructed the men in
| North Dakota as to how the wheat
should be put in; and he didn't have
to use megaphOne, for his ordinary
voice was loud enough.
Now please don't say that l am
crazy. just wait till / explain. Give
me time, won't you?
We entered the United States at
the northern coast of Maine, some
where in the neighborhood of Bar
Harbor, the famous summer resort.
Miss Madge remarked that she spent
| a part of last summer there, and Mrs.
Brownsmith privately informed me
that George also passed his two
weeks vacation at Bar Harbor. Miss
Madge blushed as we walked along
the Maine coast, few miles out in
the Atlantic ocean. Perhaps she was
passing the spot where George. sit
ting at her feet on the sunny beach,
first limited to her that Chicago is a
fine place to live.
We walked leisurely along and came
down to that queer little hook of
land called Cape Cod. Little Susie
wanted us all to stop and tell her
stories about the Cape Cod fishermen.
but we told her to wait until we got
home and could read Kipling's Cap
tains Courageous" or Joe Lincoln's |
ballads.
We came around under the cape |
and looked for the state of Rhode ISL |
and but if was so small that we
couldn't find it with the naked eye.
All of us had learned in our school
Biographies that Rhode Island is a |
tiny bit of a state, but we never realiz-
ed how small it is until we took this
walking trip and could compare its
size with that of other states, which
were all spread out before us. have