Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-02-03
a REAL .oLD TfNER.n
Relic of Days When Men Rode the
Dandy Horse.

southeast quarter of the city there
is leaning, weary with age and rusty
from disuse for four generations, an
ancient and dilapidated bicycle, the
Oldest in Washington, and, In all
probability, the Oldest in the coun-
try. 1t is the decrepit great-great-
grandfather Of the modern high
geared scorcher, and it compares to
the bright enameled racing wheels Of
1909 that recline alongside as an old
stage coach Of the days of Jefferson
would to the glistening motor cars
of the present day.
This two-wheeled patriarch Is
the earliest form of the bicycle"
said Mr. Higham, the owner Of the
relic. 1t was designed by Baron
Won Drais in 1916 as vehicle to as
sist him in his daily duties as chief
forester to the grand duke of Baden
and was called by various names. In
Germany 1T was known as q 'Drais-
Inc, after the name of the inventor;
In France as a 'celeropede;' IN Eng
land as 'curricle,' and in the I'm
ted States as glider A few years
ago the bicycle enthusiasts of Eu-
rope erected monument to the
memory Of the baron.
This antique consists of two
wheels Of equal size, very much in
form like diminutive buggy wheels,
connected by rude frame of iron.
1t has neither pedal nor running gear
OF any kind, for our forefathers who
affected this style of locomotion had
not learned the art of propelling
themselves with feet entirely off the
ground. Their method was to stride
the saddle, which sits on the frame
between the two wheels pinioned on
spring shaft of about two inches
play, walk rapidly along the road
until good start was gotten and
then, lifting their feet, get the bene-
fit Of the momentum and roll along
until the ungainly machine began to
sway and falter, when down went
the feet again and another running
start was taken, followed, by a sub
sequent glide, or coast" as it is
called to-day.
1T was a favorite way of getting
from one plantation to another in
the days of Old Virginia." said an
old timer who happened to be pres
ent and who has hung around the
National Hotel ever since Henry Clay
died there. "and for time was con-
sidered a most arstocratic method
of locomotion. Invited to some fes-
tivfty or frolic,' as they were then
S"i@SNI viz SoiidhI dlldySu
in brass-buttoned coat and frilled
| finery, and, scorning a horse, betook
himself to his glider upon which he
| would scurry along the road in tri-
umph over the slow-going coaches
OF the day; for clumsy as this old
| machine looks beside the modern BIZ
| cycle, the men of the time became
quite expert in their use. To ope-
rate one was considered social art,
and the beauX of 1880 and the years
following wed with each other in ac-
quiring dexterity in handling the
glider"
Then the glider and all kindred
styles Of vehicles sank into oblivion
for nearly half century until the
introduction in 1866 of the veloci-
pede, which was simply the old
glider with pedal attachment.
"This is certainly the Oldest bicy-
Gle in Washington and probably the
Oldest one in the United States" ;"
said Mr.. Higham. 81 have searched
bicycle history, secured encyclope-
dias, and used every other method to
verify the ancientness OF this ma
chine, but I can find nothing older.
1t is built along the exact lines of
Baron Won Drhis' machine in 1916.
Where did you dig up such an
old relic?"
'Why, my people have been veloc-
ipede and bicycle folks for years."
he replied.
rider of England in his youth, and
this old machine was given to him
by admiring friends as the rarest
and most precious gift they could be-
stow upon him. We keep it in the
family as sort of heirloom"
"How old is this ancestor of the
modern bicycle?" was the next
| query.
81 have no means of knowing ex-
actly,' answered Mr.. Higham. But
while there are no date marks on it
to tell the exact year Of its birth, it's
workmanship plainly shows that 1t
could not have been built later than
the year 1925. That was about the
time that the glider sprung into its
social prominence in the United
States, and this was unquestionably
one of the first machines built for
the swell gentlemen Of that day"
"The sudden abandonment and de-
cay of the glider in the latter thirties
of the last century" continued Mr.
Higham, "was due to a nickname
hlNicted upon the poor old vehicle
| Some wag, unable to afford one, and
envious of the gay blades that went
swinging past on the roads, dubbed
them dandy horses That killed
them with the sensitive and gildet
gallants of the day. In less than 9
year it was all over with the glider
there was none SO poor as to be
seen astrido of it. For years moth
ing was oone in the two-wheeleG
vehicle line until the old-fashionei
velocipede, Of French make, was i'm
ported into America---really the ole
glider in form with a crank on the