Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1910-05-17
PAST AND PRESENT.


damage to store building, about 81 200.
PAST AND PRESENT.
The above caption refers to two
periods in that part of w. III. Mylrea's
life which he has devoted or intends
to devote to managing an automo-
bile. The past has been full of Incl
dent, and were the kaleidoscope illus
trating his experiences to be brought
before the gaze of our readers now, it
would show many things which would
be priced 10y writers of humor.
TO begin with Mr.. Mylrea bears the
distinction of being the first man to
bring an automobile to Wausau, with
the intent of making this city its
home. This he did in the early part
of June, 1900. Its residence here was
short lived, and now after nearly ten
years of quiet life the genial Henry
has decided to once laore get into the
spot light of public gaze. He has
ordered Buick touring car of 80
horse power.
Those familiar with his past capers
with the gasoline wagon will watch
his actions closely for the next fpN
weeks, and those unfamiliar VIII his
movements in than peaceful summer
of 1900 also 'sauto" watch him.
We know not whether it was with
a desire to outshiue his neighbors, or
for some other vain reason, but one
day in 1900 he ordered an automobile,
l. e. it was SO labeled in the catalogue.
The meaning of the word auto, so
far as we can learn, is self moving or
something which has power within
itself. Now Henry's machine was
not built on that order 1t was
horsemobile much of the time.
History records the fact that after
anxious waiting and many local news
paper announcements, the machine,
a Winton, with Waterbury move
ment, arrived one fine morning. 1t
was calibrated to attain a speed of
twenty miles an hour. Whether or
not it ever worked up that much
energy, history sayeth not.
If we were to put into type all that
the local and state newspapers said
about Mr.. Mylrea and his machine
that summer, we could not squeeze
the type into our newspaper cases.
Even trade journals printed carica-
lures OF the auto and owner.
In his first attempt at trying to
master the machine he ran up over a
sidewalk and onto neighbours lawn.
You will notice we said trying, for he
never did master it. From that time
on he and the horseless carriage were
doing something almost weekly to
draw the attention of the newspapers.
The Milwaukee Sentinel on June 10
of that year published an account of
a race down Third street between
Mylrea, G. +. Dunbar with a horse
Phyllis and boy on bicycle. The
first mentioned led all the way until,
in trying to make the machine go
haw it went gee, and climbed a tree.
When running it into the barn for
the night he usually had the same
trouble that the Irish section hand
had in getting the locomotive to stay
in the round house, when it ran in
then out again, responding to the
different levers which the Irishman
worked, and he finally exclaimed to
those on the ground: "When l get
her in again, SHUT the du-er."
One Gay in July Mr.. and Mrs.
Mylrea started for Mara non City,
and while passing farm their pro-
gress was blocked by bull with head
lowered. The animal was throwing
up as much sand every time it paved
the earth as do one of the large Buoy
rus steam shoYels employed on the
Panama canal. Its gaze was like un-
to that of "Uncle Joe'' Cannon when
an insurgent asks him for permission
to address the house. 1t did not re-
quire the deductions of q Sherlock
Holmes to inform Henry that the
animal meant business. BY practic-
ing strategy the occupants of the rig
were enabled to get inside field sur
rounded by barb wire fence. Then
by drawing the bull dowp the road,
and suddenly changing their position,
they were able to get back to the
machine and get another start. A
little later broken bolt stopped fur
ther progress and it was necessary to
hire farmer TO haul the machine in
to town. Fx-Goy. Geo. w. Peck, in
letter to Mr.. Mylrea a little later,
advised him to place a gatling gun on