The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-05
had no room to spare.
Brush With a Farmer,

had no room to spare.
Brush With a Farmer.
1--WE started for Macksburg in the
morning and found an exceedingly
hilly and muddy road between Cres-
ton and Macksburg but we had no
trouble. We got some milk and
apples at a farm house and that was
our lunch. After we left Macksburg
we had our first taste of real excite
ment. AS we reached the top of a
hill we met a horse driven by a
young man to a new buggy. The
but there was plenty of room and
they passed us all right. Then the
young man began to jerk the horse
and the animal began to kick and
soon kicked himself loose from the
buggy and ran back past us toward
his home which was a half mile or
more down the road. 1t was an acci-
dent in which I had been not the least
to blame and the young man said so.
We drove on down toward the house
and met a brother OF the driver. He
had seen the horse and was naturally
somewhat excited He said after 1
had told him what had happened.
I guess we had better look into this
automobile business 1 told him to
get in the car and we would go back
had been to avoid an accident and
would have him talk to his brother.
and he was soon satisfied that 1 was
not to blame AS we drove back past
the house the boys mother came out
and she was crying and making a fuss.
She thought we had her son in the
auto and that we were taking him to
town to a hospital and she wrung her
hands and said, I know he is killed.
/ did the best / could to millify her
and the older son finally made her I'M
derstand that the boy was not hurt
and that / was not to blame for the
accident. Then we went on our way
after we were assured that we had
exercised great deal more care than
other autoists who had passed
through the country but L was not
sorry to get started on our way once
more.
"At Churchill we had another blow
out but we got to Des Moines by
The road into Des Moines was excel
lent. We left Des Moines the next
morning at 10 o'clock and reached
Ames at p. m. Had another blowout
and the tire was repaired by harness
maker. At Colo we had the fourth
blowout but we reached States center
at 8 D. m. and again we had our tire
repaired by a harness maker. I ship
ped our tire protectors back home
from States Center and that was the
end of our b1owoutS and tire trouble.
Staid all night at States Center. Start
ed at 10 a. m. and reached MARSHALL
town at IL o CLOCK. here we spent
the rest of the day and the following
night and left at 6 o'clock in the
morning. We reached Cedar Rapids
at 1855 p. M, having Travelled go miles
over first class roads.
Kansan Who Was in a Hurry.
"At Marshalltown a man came up
to me and asked if 1 was the man who
as going through the country from St.
Joe in an automobile. 1 didn't know
what was coming, but 1 told him that
was. He said he was glad 20 see me
as he had followed my track all the
way from st. Joe. Then round that
the man was A. D. Wilcox of Musco-
tab, Kansas, with a Great Smith car,
and he paralyzed me when he told me
that he had made the trip of 800 miles
in two days while we had been nearly
a week on the way. The next day he
told me goodby and said that we were
too slow. AS we neared Mechanics
Vile in the evening saw a car in the
road and as we came up / was not
surprised to find my friend Wilcox
by to him in turn and did not see MIN
again. So it sometimes happens that
the man who goes the slowest gets TO
his destination first.
The Return Trip.
1--WE reached Dewitt at 9:15 in the
evening and spent the night. The
next morning we got an early start
ana at 1:lO reached FulIOn ana cross
ed the Mississippi river into Fulton, Iii.
We lunched at Dixon and at 5:25 in
the afternoon ran into Beloit, Wis,
where we put up for the night. At
1895 we left Beloit and at 2:40 in the
afternoon we were in Milwaukee with
out further mishap. We were in Mil
waukee five days and then started
home by the same route TO Ames,
where we left our old path and started
straight west to Omaha.
"At Boone, Iowa, an old locomotive
engineer whom / knew got out his
auto and piloted us out of town.
Every one warned us to look out for
the ogden hill, and 1 expected a pref
ty hard pull, but it was much worse
than expected, but we made 1t with
out any difficulty whatever. The road
up the hill is serpentine and at least
two miles long. The around the world
racers got stuck trying to make the
hill, but 1 made it without stopping
once and felt pretty well about it. We
ran from Jefferson to Council Blufrs,
| III miles, in the rain. but went on to
Omaha, which we reached at $50 in
the evening. We stopped for the night
| and started in the morning for Kansas.
We reached Hamburg at 1920 in the
afternoon and there heard the most
| discouraging reports about the roaos.