Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-12-02
RIDING AT 70 MILES AN HOUR
Sensations Of Passenger on His First Trip With Driver
Robertson
Machine Throws Out Flame and Roars Like Battery Of
Calling Guns


a correct impression of the actual SEN
sations experienced by the men VINO
are to drive automobiles on Saturday
in the Vanderbilt cup race over the
Long Island course, Times reporter
Yesterday took the seat OF the me-
chanician in the Locomobile car, NO.
16. next to the driver, George ROBERT
son. in his practice drive. the report
or before this had practically no ex-
perience in automobiles and had new
or in his life so much as touched any
of their mechanism. Robertson drove
the course of 231a miles in 2oHs MIN
utes. averaging 70 miles an hour, TAX
ing the straightway stretches OF track
at much greater speed, and falilng Dy
only half a minute to tie the record
for one lap.
To the reporter the speed seemed
terrific. He started with fear In MS
heart, but this was soon displaced by
a sensation of exhilaration. The day
was perfectly still, the leaves on une
trees were motionless, yet as the low
gray car gathered speed In the
straight places, rushing forward, now
with a thousand short bounds, now
swaying and swerving on softer earth,
with the wind forcing the men BACK
in their seats. and the million rafting
explosions of the engine, the car
seemed to be running stralght ihoo
the teeth of a tornado
The 2Ok minutes taken in covering
more than a score of miles, leaplnS
down the inclines of hills, rusnlng
through bridges which shrieked with
a metallic ring, swinging around des-
nerate curves. seemed to the reporter
not more than seven. Trees flashed
by. houses, fields of corn, men Win
waving arms passed across the rae
ers. vet so brief was the glimpse OF
these that the brain had not time TO
take an impression; so rapidly ola
one danger pass to make place for
another that there was no time actu-
ally to realize danger; no time to get
the sense of fear.
George Robertson, a young man OF
about %, is reputed a daring
chauffeur. Driving the Simplex, he
won the Brighton Beach race last
year, and he won the founders week
race in Philadelphia two weeks ago.
He has driven the Fiat Cyclone and
the Fiat Tornado, and several times,
w taking desperate chances, he has
crashed through fences at the side OF
The course, and at the Brighton Beach
race he struck a man at headlong
speed, killing him.
The car which he drove yesterday,
Iocomobile Sixteen, won the elimina-
ton race in 1906 with Joe Tracey
at the Wheel and with the same driv-
er made the fastest single lap of the
course in the Vanderbilt race in 1906,
and many automobilists, who have
watched Robertson in the practice
runs this autumn, believe that he will
win the race of Saturday.
The reporter who volunteered to
ride beside Robertson in trial for
the record, left the Times building az
s o'clock Monday morning in large
touring car with several others. He
had begun to wish he had not volun
teered He had just read in the
morning paper of an accident on the
track the day before-of a car burst
ing a tire on a straight of the track,
smashing into a telegraph pole,
throwing out mechanician and driver
in such a. way as to injure them seri-
ously, probably fatally. He had also
just heard many other accounts of
fearful accidents from men who had
covered automobile races. He felt
a strong premonition that there was
trouble about Yet it was too late C
withdraw.
The touring car ran very fast
through the night when well into
Long Island, for there was no danger
at that time from the police. 1t ran
at what, to the reporter, seemed a.
terrific pace. AS it neared the Van
derbilt course, various points where
men had been killed or injured were
pointed out cheerfully. At one point,
it was said, four men in fast car
had locked wheels with a wagon, and
all four had died; further on a tire
had burst. and the driver had struck
his head against a stone and had new
+ er recovered; finally the spot where
the catastrophe of a few hours be-
fore had occurred was reached and
pointed out, and it was with feeling
OF great compunction and in a shaky
state that the reporter stepped out of
the car at Powells hotel, Jericho,
from which point Robertson was to
start.
II was still dark; the reporter was
taken into the garage to inspect the
car. 1t looked terribly fragile; his
seat was about three inches from the
frame, and there appeared to be moth