The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-08-22
Great Joy Ride
Over The Trail
From Fridays Daily.


Yellow trail which runs from Chi
cago via the Black Hills to Yellow
stone National park arrived in Man
kato from Rochester. They were es
corted here from Waseca by j. w
Aughenbaugh and j. e. Kelley, who
returned last night. President I. G
Bonnallie of the Southern Minnesota
Better Development league, N. ]
Robinson, Professor Lee Sharp and
C. c. Richards arrived here yester
day from Tracy to escort the party
to that city today where night
control will be made. The party
of pathfinders consisted of Benjamin
F. Wood, chairman of the Black and
Yellow Trail association; John d.
Deets, secretary of the Southern Min
nesota Better Development league
Charles McCaffree, immigration com.
missioner of South Dakota; Gus
Holm, driver, member of the com
Chicago to Yellowstone park; A. G.
Luciere, official photographer of
Powell, Wyo., and j. R. Edwards,
representing the Automobile Blue
Book Publishing company of Chi
cago and New York Mr.. Edwards
Joined the party at Winona
Came in a Studebaker. 1850
They came in a Studebaker IS
car. furnished by the Cody Trading
company of Cody Wyo. The trip so
far, 494 miles from Chicago, has
been made in about two days and a
quarter. They left Chicago about
three o'clock Tuesday afternoon.
In speaking of the trip, Mr.. Deets
says: at was simply marvellous.
This route 20 Yellowstone park is
about 800 miles shorter than any
other, besides being eminently more
beautiful l have never seen any
thing that excelled it in pastoral
beauty. The trip through Wisconsin
was a never ending series of broad
fields of shocked grain, green fields
of corn, picturesque hills and dales
and trees and rivers. The roads
were fine most of the way We
travelled about three hours one morn
ing through a fog so thick we
couldn't see the ground ahead of us,
but had no accidents. The scenery
is equally as good in Minnesota. and
the Madison Lake road is as good as
any we have struck 1t ought to eX-
tend clear across the country. The
country through here is the richest
in the northwest. and the coming
of the Black and Yellow trail will
do much towards it's development.
Spoke at Several Places.
"Mr. Wood and | have spoken
along the line at several places, and
we have met with most cordial re-
ceptions Everywhere. At Owatonna
thousand people turned out to meet
us. The trail is all surveyed and
blazed except from Mankato to New
Ulm. At intervals all along the
route the three stripes have been
painted on the poles, two yellow
ones with a black one between them.
Wherever there is turn, it is
marked. and we could see the marks
for half mile. At some places they
had crosses painted just before ap-
preaching a railroad crossing. This
work has been done by interested
people all along the route. The diff
ferent counties responded we'll to
the call for blazed trail, and one
could not lose the way Among
those who are well spoken of in con-
nection with the work and the pro-
motion IF Dlooly voron,
are George Atchison of Mankato.
Senator Thomas eastman of Owa-
tonna. Herman Roe of Northfield
and T. G. Bonnallie of Tracy.
Introduced the Work.
Along the way we have intro
duced the work of the Southern Min
nesota Better Development league
and the people have been very re-
ceptive. We are going to extend
this influence in favor of better de-
velopment until every man who has
red blood in his. veins or iron in
his nerve shall be in the game to
stay. From the time we entered Min
nesota at Winona everyone seemed
to be thoroughly alive and interested
in the work, and this, / think, augurs
well for the future of this part of
the state. AS soon as the work is
better organized, we will begin an
active campaign in each of the 81
counties in the league on three diff
ferent lines, agricultural, industrial
and highway development Mankato
does not seem to me to be as alive
to the situation as some other cities
The people here should understand
that this road will mean more to
this city than even the scenic route
from here to Minneapolis. The peo-
pie ought to get busy right away and
blaze the trail between here and
New Ulm. AS secretary of the league.
| intend to make my home in Man
kato just as soon as | can get nv
family located here. We will then
attempt to get an agricultural dem
onstrator for each county to take
charge of this end of the work. We
will get in touch with industries
which may be located in any of the
cities in these counties. and assist
in bringing them to this part of the
country. The work on the highways
will be progressed as it is now be-
ing progressed Actual work, on the
Black and Yellow trail will be begun
this fall All the counties have sent
in 10 =