The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-27

.. citement ts always to be found. Many country folk most of them negroes, came from the nearby farms and plant tations in covered wagons drawn by mules and made a picnic of the day, eating sugar cane. singing and dancing. The first signs of activity along the course were in the supply pits located | just In front of the older of the two big stands which seated 14.ooo or 15,00o people. Mechanics. and supply men were early on hand filling their allotted | spaces with spare tires and countless cans of lubricating oil and gasoline.
 Soon the first of the contesting ma- lchines came up to It's pit station with loud exploding engines. ready for finai
 grooming Other cars quickly fo'lowe' and there was a deafening roar from the many unmufied cylinders. .. Hooded drivers in oil-begrimed clothes. with ear flaps tied down tightly | 70 stife the noise of the hurricane ere ated by the rushing speed of the straightaway stretches, and yet permit | If hearing the slightest unusual mur- mur from beneath the engine hood, busted themselves with their charges in the last preparations for the start. Their. nechanicians. similarly garbed to almost the last detail. were constant ! ly at their side and when both were | seated at last In their $iartsng .bucl's O. seats they appeared more like popular lconceptions of Mesphistopheies in every day working coithes than mere human | beings.
 orders and instructions in French. | German, Italian and English mingled at times with the babel of the motors. The cars of the foreign competitors | were entred in groups and the racing machines of the different nations were painted in distinguishing colors. The | five cars entered in the name of France were all of royal blue. The six Italian
 entries were gay in a solid dressing of red. The three stolid German cars were all white and looked impressively pow erful and heavy. The six American en- trants all appeared with white bodies and red running gear.
 The French cars consisted of a team | of two Clement Bayards second team of two Renaults and an individual De | iDetrich. The six Italian entrants were | made up of two teams of three Flats and Italas. The three German cars all belonged to the Benz team. The Amer ican cars were all individually entered, there being a Lezier, Simplex. Buick, a Chadwick, a National and an Acme on the lift.
 The dense fog that hung like a pail | over the city and course all of last night began to dissipate with the rising of the sun, but later shut in heavier than ever It made but the course damp and slippery in spite of the quantities of sand which were scattered over the black oiled surface late yesterday af- ternoon and all of the cars at the sup ply pits put studded non-skid tires on their rear wheels.
 The powerful racing machines, roar ing and putting about the start this morning, were in striking contrast to the little baby racers hat were the cen- ters of interest yesterday. They seemed far more sinister and the terrific ire of the unmuffIed exhaust from their ex- ploding cylinders was at time awe-in- spring.
 Groups of officials and spectators with privilege cards admitting them to the course, gathered about each new ar" rival at the pits. The foreign cars were fairly smothered with the attentions of the mechanics and onlookers ThS American machines also came in for a close inspection.
 The costumes of the drivers and the riding mechanicians were varied and at times startling. The predominance of the foreigners among the entrants gave to the scene a distinct touch of the European.
 There was much speculation as to whether or not the slippery course of the morning would interfere with the record breaking speed expected from the drivers. The fastest time ever made in a long distance road event is accredited to Felice Navarro, who started today as the driver of the Italian Fiat No. 6. In the Florio cup race in Italy this year. Navarro, driv- ing the same car as today. made the
 atartlins average of TAB miles an hour for the entire 32s miles cov- cred.
 victor Hemery, Frenchman, driv- ing the German Benz car No. 5. was the decided favorite in the betting with Nazarro second and Wagner also French, in the Italian car No. 14. third. Americas hopes were fixed upon Will lie Haupt, a mere boy in experience and age, but a reckless driver who piiotsd the Chadwick.
 Rewards for Speed. .,
 Other than the s6,ooo gold cup to the, winner and the $4,o0o purse to ,tfis driver of the winning car today there were many other prizes at stake. For the second driver there was purse of s200o. for the third Si.o00, for the fourth s750. and for the fifth aS consolation of $25e.
 The exact measurement of the course used today Is 25.13 miles. The sixteen laps to the race bring the total distance up to 402. 0s miles. To nesotjate this route called for the taking of eighteen banked turns and six flat curves on each lap.
 The weather was so damp little after 8 o'clock that some of the for eign drivers began to cover the grips of their steering gears with powdered chalk.
 The fog thiekened up at this time. The cars clustered on either side of the roadway back of the starting line were quiet at times but at intervals they would break into riot of noise as the engines were started to keep them warm. After another consulta-