The Washington times., 1907-12-11


ers, with few exceptions. were Johnny
On-the-spOt. For the few who did not
appear substitutes were easily found,
and the committee decided because OF
the miserable weather not 70 disqualify
the cars which nominated the missing
men.
Hood First Man In.
At 8 o'clock the starting began and
the cars left the clubhouse at one
minute intervals until the whole twenty
six had been sent on the journey. Wal
lace Hood. in his 6O-hOrsepower Thomas.
was the first In, reaching the clubhouse
again at 4:23 p. m. The others finished
between that time and $3.50 p. m.
Four starters did not go TIE route.
and two Of them are still on the road.
r l. Flynn. No. Il, in a Dragon. broke
his axle three miles from Frederick. and
he with Observer W. z. Perry and Pas
senger A. II. Lehman were left up a
stump.
Harry Orme, IN the Ford six, the pilot
car, blew out his Carburetor two miles
this side Of Newmarket, and is still out
IN the woods somewhere.
@. II. ThOiman, No. IL, in a Maxwell.
came to grief with a broken spark plug
twelve miles from Washington. and had
10 return.
Otto Jacob. No. Il. in a Columbia,
y
Frederick, and with Observer George A
DeatCl and Passengers w. J. Fry and c.
X. Bostel. took the train from Fred
eTick.
Not Man Scratched.
That is the list Of accidents to ma
chimes. Not a driver, observer, or pas
seneer was injured. and, aside from a
few bad colds and an intense desire to
sleep for a week or two. none who made
the trip seems any the worse for wear
this morning.
Wallace Hood, In his Thomas, was the
first man TO Overtake the pilot car
which had started an hour ahead OF the
others Hood picked up Harrington
Mills. the old reliability confetti dis
tIlputer, ana continued the remainder
of the journey as the pilot car.
But, back TO the roads.
The Run.
From Washington to Olney we trav-
eled on Seventh street in "A fierce rain.
but on a pike that was all that could
he expected. considering nearly forty
eight hours of fiooGing. At Olney We
made that celebrated turn TO the left.
and there struck a stretch that few
ordinary horse teams could have gone
through with a light load.
The fact that twenty-five out Of
twenty-six starters in The Times con
test successfully negotiated the sea OF
mud between Olney and Laytonsville
was a tribute to every machine that
tackled the proposition and should be
set forth In its advertising literature
in large, black letters This was eN-
peCted to be the finish Of all who would
not go the entire distance, but, with
the peculiar CussedneSs Of automobiles
and their well-knOwD inherent tendency
10 HaN only FsfaHs
went entirely wrong at this point, and
that was a One-cylInder affair driven
by J. NJ. StOddard. who eventually
patched mp his Chinese Mercedes as
ne confessed at the automobile club
smoker luSt night. ana. cutting across
the country. finished with the bunch,
but thirty miles shy Of the required
distance.
Mud Up to Bodies of Cars.
The mud on this stretch was up to
the bodies Of the smaller cars. and the
road was so badly torn by deep ruts
which could not be located because Of
the water, that. as a rule. a driver had
not the slightest idea what was com
ing when he went at the puddles. Some
Of these holes had been chewed out
until they gave the effect Of a combina-
ton Of hitting a bottomless pit, and
a young mountain at the same time.
and Il would have been no trouble at
all to capsize the smaller cars. All es-
capped. but a number had TO halt at
some point in this heavy going. and
take a look at themselves. Here il was
the Chinese Mercedes exhausted its
one lung. and after the driver had pried
of its lid, began its short cut to prize
less glory
Nobody can say he went through that
mess without trouble, although some
pulled through without stopping.
From Laytonsville to Damascus the
roads were simply a layer Of mud
through which amateur rivers cut their
way, with mans size ''thank-ee-
NUNS" appearing as islands amid the
general dcSOlatlOn. The pools covered
So many Of the humps and other OBJ
structions drivers could not see where
they We're going, and even the most
reckless had to slow down rather than
take a chance -plunging into a ditch
or hitting a concealed ridge.
Accidents on a Good Road.
From Damascus. where the fan on
John J. Earley's 1903 Franklin came
off and caused his disqualification, 10
New Market was somewhat better, but
nothing to brag about, as the road was
hilly, rough and muddy. From New
Market to Frederick and back from
Frederick to Ellicott City. was all ex-
cellcnt pike, yet this good road was
where Otto Jacobis Columbia got
broken cylinder, ana r. l. Flynn's
Drason suffered a broken axle
At Eilicott City the hills were in bet
ter shape all the way to Columbia than
might have been thought possible. This
morning the principal topic of discus
sion among the returned travellers Is:
Was the road between Columbia and
ClarksVille worse than that between
ClarksviU5 and Ashton, or vice versa?
Pay your money and take your choice.
This twelve miles had all the mean
points that put the Olney-Laytonsville
stretch in the first rank Of pad roads.
and IN addition was narrow and fun OF
short, sharp hills and knolls which kept