Arizona republican., 1910-11-24
WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER
Transcontinental Pathfind- CTS Encounter Hardships in Nine Days Battle with Elements, Woman Col lapsing at Phoenix.

forms, facing starvation and dissoIu
 ton from exposure in snow drifts and storms which swept over the plateus of the Mogollon mountains and taking nine days to make the tfip from AIbu- querque to this city. A. l.. Westgard, representing the Touring Club of America in transcontinental path finding tour arrived in this city short ly after o'clock yesterday afternoon. On the verge of utter collapse from the hardships she had been obliged to endure. Mrs. Westgard. who has been at the side of her husband throughout the long journey from New York, was placed under the care of a physician immediately upon her arrival at the rooms which had been reserved for the party at the Ford hotel
 The tale of these venturesome pioneers in the work of picking out an ocean to ocean route of travel for au- tomobile tourists, sounds like that from the pages of some great story of adven- ture and many book has been written with less upon which to found a narra- tive which would hold the attention of the reader to the end That the bodies of the four members comprising the party are not now lying beneath the snows of the hills of northeastern Ari- zona or in the waters of some turbulent mountain stream is due only to the pluck and courage exhibited individu- ally by the quartet and to a directing Providence which brought them out of situations calculated to reduce even the most courageous to q state of utter despair.
 In a four-cylinder 4O-horsepower Premier touring car, the party, consist ing of MT. and Mrs. Westgard H c Drum. representing the Chicago Rec ord Herald, and Ray McNamara, who had driven four machines to victory in Glidden tours and who is known inter- nationally as a power at the steering wheel, left New York city on October II. At Albany they were given person. al messages from Governor Horace White to the governors of the various states and territories through which they would pass. These messages em- bodied largely appeals for executive at tention to the matter of the improve ment of the state highways to the end that a continuous line of roads might
  the Atlantic with the Pacific.
 From the day that the party left on its long trip, MT Westgard has been collecting data relative to road con- ditions, elevations, hotels, and maps of various sections through which it would be advisable for tourists to pass Once such a route is found and the rigors of such trip is reduced to the minimum, it is believed that much of the travel now spending many months of the year abroad. will be diverted westward until it will be no uncommon thing or foolhardy enterprise for par ty to start out for the coast in an au- tomObile. The west and the east will be brought into closer relation and the man of means will find a new means of outlet for his surplus capital which now goes to the foreign lands.
 In placing Phoenix on the proposed route Mir. Westgard, who was form erly president of the Touring club and Is now the chairman of the touring believes he has selected the one city most admirably located in Ari- zona and predicts that in the near fu- ture this city will be frequently enter taining New York and other eastern city automobilists who are en route from coast to coast
 After having passed over some of the | best roads in the country and encoun- tering little that was really hazardous, the party left Albuquerque nine days ago, starting for the White mountains Before they were well outside Albu- luerque the trouble began. Roads that were almost impossible were encoun- tered and many times it was actually | necessary for the party tc get out and l construct a road over which their ma chine would pass. Up in the Mogollon | sixteen inches of snow on | he levels were encountered, while in | the passes and cuts the drifts often | rose higher than the machine. From | Springerville to CoOleys ranch, dis .ance of forty miles, the trip occupied | m entire day and well into the night. | 1t was so cold that often members of | he party were obliged to get out of | he machine and walk to keep from | freezing. Other times it was neces- ;ary to tramp down the snow before | he machine could be forced through | he drifts.
 Arriving at the Black river it was 'ound that the stream was swollen and | he current was dangerously swift. Me Namara ventured into the stream at empting to wade across in the hope of finding bottom for his machine. and vas swept off his feet by the swift water Unable to catch hold upon any