Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-06-12
An Early Morning Automobile Jaunt.
(By C. B. Watson.)

left Ashland at 6 a. m. and made the
run to Montague in four hours. The
morning was crisp and chill, the sky
clear, and the ride one of exhilerat-
ing interest. 1t was one of those
perfect October mornings when Ma
ture is gathering in her harvests pre-
! paratory to the payment of her year
ly debts. / have never seen the au-
tumn coloring more gorgeous, nor
the mountains so lavishly bespangled
Every turn opened new vista of
beauty. AS we approached Stineman
heavy freight train with five loco
motives came laundering up the
mountain, pouring out such volumes
of steam and smoke as might have
marked an eruption of Vesuvius or
Pelee. You know how these great
masses writhe and twist like things
of life, not devoid of beauty, while
in the background and about the
margin of these surging billows the
foliage touched with recent frost
formed great spots and splotches of
and ash furnished the warmth in
gold and were the first to be seen in
the riffs of dissipating smoke. Then
came the varied hues of red in which
poison oak ranks first.
The perfect abandonment in ar
rangement gave lesson in decora-
ton that art cannot vie with. All
this commingling of color gathered
density with distance, shading into
the darkest blue that marked the
great forests on the border line of
vision. We reached the summit above
Siskiyou station just as old Sol in
all his might poured his flood of
glory over northern California and
southern Oregon. All the higher
peaks were covered with a fresh man
tie of snow and Shasta blushed in
rosy gladness as she lowered in
queenly grandeur the central and
commanding figure in this, her
realm. All the southern slopes were
decorated to suitably greet a perfect
morning and songs in silence pulsat-
ed and vibrated to make the heart
swell. We stopped and uncovered
there while in reverential silence we
contemplated scene not to be for
|
smoke ascended, indicating the lone
ly habitat of some mountain hermit,
who had just received the message
that the world was waking, and away
down the mountain puffed the en-
gines of another train toiling up the
heights. Then on we went at 25
miles an hour, down, down, down,
| filled by the spirit that overflows:
around points and curves in such
rapid succession that the changing
views became a Kaleidoscope happy
confusion. The wealth of color was
everywhere, acres of it; canyons
filled with wreaths and garlands,
clustered at the feet of forest giants,
or nesting among smaller growths,
filling Natures vases, banked at the
bases of great cliffs, or climbing and
clinging to the more aspiring slopes,
up and up until the glory of this
prodigal decoration seemed to melt
into the distant blue of the great for
est, while above and about spread the
virgin white of newly fallen snow; a
picture to delight the gods, while
drowsy man nodded and slept in the
valleys below.
Then on and on we rushed, our
auto appearing thing of life in full
enjoyment of an unusual experience,
past Coles, Hits, Hornbrook, sur
prising people at their morning
chores and laughing at the frantic
follies of barnyard folks and noisy
dogs that tried to stop us. From
Hornbrook we raced along the bank
of klamath river, ratified across the |
bridge, and on, up hill and down
dale, past Thrall and Ager, whirling
across the face of one of the most
beautiful pictures ever contrived and
painted by the hand of Nature. Such
environment, air and sunshine quick
ems the blood and gives zest to life.
Out into Shasta Valley we whirled |
and on to Montague, where we lott
cred for lunch and gossip After the
usual attentions to our faithful ma
chine we started for Sisson along the |
Pacific highway now in course of !
construction. Everybody seemed |
busy. Farmers were taking in