The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1903-10-28
ACROSS THE
PLAINS IN
AN AUTO
BY JIMMY CCLLINS.

ham. hero of the automobile trip from
Michigan to Spokane, when asked why
he made the long trip in an auto m
stead of coming in the usual fashion.
Thereupon MIR. Fordham ratified off
story after story of incidents OF the
trip that would make a less neivy man
than himself go way back to the boule-
ward and take train after he was
DAYS Journey on his way.
No living man has ever before made
the trip across the SIX states via the
northern route, and no man has ever
before made a record of travelling $50
feet across railroad bridge on the
ties. not knowing what moment lie
would be struck ly an oncoming tram
and hurled into eternity without mo-
ment's warning. This feat was per-
formed by the daring automobilist just
east of the cow-town of Miles City,
Mont.
he tells the following story of that
"trip:
IL had waited at the other side of
the Powder river for the water to 20
down a little so could ford the river.
Fording a stream is a very easy mat
ter with such a machine as / had.
Before the journey was ended l had
forded several small streams and had
been ferried across the Yellowstone
many times. Well, after waiting a
couple of days in the hopes that the
Powder river would go dry, or nearly
%, l determined to risk the machine
and attempt to cross the bridge on
the ties. You may be sure I had vis-
ions plenty of headlong dives to the
rocks below and of being ousted from
my right of way by a passenger train.
Imagine my plight IL the machine had
refused to operate! Or if the gasoline
had got out of whack. 1t would SIM
ply be me to the switchback with my
bandana for a flag. But, luckily no
such ill-luck was my portion, and the
wonderful machine travelled over that
bridge as handily as would a passen-
ger train itself, or If had been driving
on city pavement. hadn't been
off the bridge any too long, either,
when a train whirred by and I felt my
hair stand when the engineer blew a
to an autoist who had wandered out
Into those regions. 1 returned the
salute with my compressed air bugle,
but if the engineer heard it he was a
dandy, as the constant blowing of it
had given it something like the throat
complaint Of an euctioneer."
But perhaps the Indian tales of Ford
ham are the most interesting. In max
Ing the trip west he crossed both
the Crow and Flathead reservations,
and beaded and painted redskins
thought him the devil himself return
ed to make it hot for them for some
Of their depredations against the white
men. On sight of him they took to
The timber in every conceivable direc-
ton. The papoose Of the squaws howl
ed in fright and tore out of the huts
Ind attempted to follow the braves
10 the woods. For that matter, Ford
ham met some white people through
parts of Montana who acted just a:
frightened as did poor Lo on sight o.
the strange machine which needed nc
horses nor any other power of locomo
tion that they could see. Cow-puhch
Frs and broncho- busters who had nevcl
been any farther from the ranch thar
The nearest town where there was ;
saloon, galloped down toward the roac
and stood their horses afar off, anc
nothing would induce them to come
any nearer the auto. When by the
simple pressure of the bulb a SOUND
smanated like that of a foghorn some
of the bucking exhibitions given by
the mounts of the cowboys opened
the eyes of Fordham, who, by the way
WAS about as frightened at some o
the people he saw as they were al
him and his conveyance.
1t was on the Flathead Indian reser
walton where he met with more fur
at one time than he thought existed
In one locality.
Il was driving leisurely along tn,
road thinking pretty hard of what
might be doing about that time Wa,
back in Michigan and wondering wha
would turn up next to make the triI
lively for me, when ] heard the awful
lest succession of blood curdlini
whoops that living man ever heard
started out Of the seat and nearly
ran the machine into group of In.
dams who had just galloped around
turn in the road. Away they wen,
like yellow dog with can tied t.
lite tail. As I proceeded with the jour
ney | could see the red men standin,
of at a great distance shading thei
eyes with their hands watching me
half expected some Of them would
become bold enough to take a shot a
me just for luck. Although they're a
peaceful as colony of Dowieite
waiting to be healed, fellow neve
knows when they'll turn loose ant
commit some crime, especially whei
they were as badly wroughtup AM
frightened as they were at me ant
my benzine buggy.
"The followed me along for milo
always keeping at a great distanc
though and were joined on the wa
by many others, and talk about httl
boys following off circus, those abo
rhymes thought me and my conveyanc
the greatest thing that ever came dow
that particular pike anyway. Toward
evening j made camp right in tn
midst OF their country and here me
some rather intelligent bucks. VIII
didn't appear to be so much fright
ened as the others. One of thel
had even seen such a machine whe
he was taken by the authorities /
Missoula TO appear against whit
man who had sold him whiskey. Tha
by the way. reminds me that abo,
the next thing ] was asked by hi
and his fellow Siwashes was 'Gottu,