Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-12
JOURNEY
OF 5335 MILES
lNDIANANS DRIVE CAR TO LOS
ANGELES
COMPLETE LONG TRIP FROM ELK
HART TO COAST
c. J. Conn and Arthur Wilson Arrive
After. Remarkable Tour Across
Prairie, Desert and
Mountains

day morning f1fry morse power Amer
lean Simplex automobile carrying c.
7. Conn, the we'll known maker OF
band instruments, and Arthur Wilson
of Elkhart, Ind. Walter A. Wood ac-
companied them as operator from Og-
den.
The two men, Conn and Wilson,
started from Elkhart ten weeks ago to
make the trip solely for pleasure, and
they got much of that as we'll as some
hardships on the $685. miles thatethey
Travelled.
It was not all play in coming across
the many states that intervene between
the land of sunshine and the. land OF
Hoosiers. The poor roads made con-
tinuous tire trouble, which was aug
mented by the heavy load that the car
carried, the total weight of the car and
the baggage approximating two and
half tons.
The route followed by the tourists
was through Chicago, Omaha, Chey-
enne, Ogden, Reno, Sacramento, san
Francisco and Santa Barbara to Los
Angeles.
Between Elkhart and San Francisco
the party Travelled 1885 miles in twenty
one and half days running time.
San Francisco was left on the Fourth
of July and a stop was made in the
vicinity of Santa Cruz for few days
after which the trip was leisurely con-
tinued to Los Angeles.
Over Mouptain Passes
Three very difficult mountain passes
were gone over where the natives de-
clared they were impossible Tor sc
heavy a. car.
In the pass near Truckee the rur
to the summit was made in a day, the
party stopping over night on the sum
nit and arriving in time for dinner.
The Simplex is said to be the FIRST
car of it's weight ever to have made
the pass without assistance.
Nowhere on the entire trip was 9
team resorted to, and though they goi
into many bad places that took time
they always managed to get out by
their own efforts.
In crossing Nevada a sandstone was
encountered that stopped them fol
forty-eight hours, and they had nc
food and only what water they coulo
get from the radiator, and that was
hot.
The sandstorms on the Nevada
deserts are things to be dreaded ano
are likely to be encountered at any
time of the year. When the wind be-
gins to blow all trace of the road Is
| lost frequently and the course has tc
be changed on account of the drifts OF
At one place in Nevada the road con
ditions were so bad that resort was
had to the railway tracks. That wa
the only time that the car was forced
to leave the regular road.
The car was geared low to negotiat
the bad roads, and no fast time wa
made, although on one day the ca
was driven 265 miles.
Through Iowa mud was encounters
that threatened to put an end to tn
trip several times, but always the ca
staggered through. At one place wher'
a stop was made it cost $40 TO have
the car cleaned up, so thoroughly nae
| IL become smeared and caked with tht
sticky gumbo. Wheels, body and every
place where mud could stick was fillec
| to the limit of it's capacity.
| Very little rain was encountered, ano
when the Pacific coast was reached
| the top and every bit of excess bag
gage was shipped back by rail. A towr
was made each night as rule and nc
especial camping facilities were car
ried.
| While the trip was extremely inter
esting, none of the party cares to dupli.
cate 1t, and the pleasure of reaching
| the coast was the greatest experienced
on the long journey.
/
1--WE were greatly pleased when we
got into California" said Mr.. Conn, "as
everything changed when we crossed
the state line. Up to that time we had
been having all sorts of trouble anc
suffering great Inconvenience, bul
when we reached this hospitable land
we began to enjoy ourselves. There Ii
a marked difference between this state
and some of the others that we passed
| through, as we were held repeatedly
for things that we had to buy, while
since our arrival here no one has triec
to take advantage of us because we are
tourists
1--WE are very much charmed with
your climate and the beauty of the
country we have seen since leaving
| San Francisco and expect to stay fol
| a little while here. On Sunday we are
to go fishing at Catalina, and from
what I have heard of the sport that Is
offered there we anticipate great day
of it. Our plans as to going back are
still somewhat indefinite, as we have
not decided as to whether we will drive
or ship the car and go back by rail. II
we do drive back it is quite likely that
we will go by what is called the north
ern route, going from here to Seattle
and from there through the Yellow
stone park"
Mr.. Conn was royalty greeted In SAT-
Lake, where the Held band met him
and gave him a reception. All along
the route he has been the recipient oil
considerable attention on account OF
his prominence in the field of music and
politics, having been elected to con-
gress and also nominated for governor
of Indiana.
AS driver he is one of the best
and although he has passed his three
score mark of years he still Is game
when the trouble begins and takes his
lot along with any of the younger ones
Stands Trip Well
He stood the trip finely and is ready
for more If the road conditions are MOI
too severe. He was disappointed with
the California roads, having been leo
to believe that Southern California hao
system of boulevards between all OF
its principal cities and towns.
The car itself is deserving of atten-
ton, as it came through with little
trouble other than from tires and
springs. The fifth set of tires is now
on the car and two or three springs
had to be repaired or replaced.
The motor, which is of the two-cycle
type, gave no trouble whatever and
only three spark plugs were changed
on the entire trip. The motor was rum
ming as well at the finish as at the start
of the run, and Mr.. Conn expressed
himself as more than pleased with the
behavior of the car, which he pur-
chased new Just before he started on
- l..