Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1914-04-04

1
were beginning to get the first layer
of sand, alkali dust and other species
of dirt off, when we heard a car pur-
ring down below. We looked out Of
the window just in time to see a
young man and two middle-aged ladies'
of unmistakable eastern appearance
alight from the car. Later we all be-
came acquainted and became firm
travelling companions, keeping togeth-
er from there, in the middle of Wyo-
ming, until we parted at San Fran
cisco bay-they to continue on their
tour to Seattle and we to go to the
south of California.
The party to be made up as follows:
Miss Florence Copeland of Clinton,
Michigan, (near Detroit; her ward,
Lewis h. Rathbun of Dowagiac, Mich
igan, and their travelling companion,
Mrs. Hattie Green. The ladies were
well tired out and they retired early,
but the men were invited to and at
tended a dancing party in the hotel
dining room that night. 1t was a sur
prise. Away out there in those deep
ravines there were people who owned
automobile machines, Their clothes
and their manners were by no means
passe and we sure did while happy
hours away. That's poetry; notice it?
We daunced and daunced until mid
night and had good time, giving up
one dollar William each to pay the fid-
dlers. Those who dance must pay the
pianist, you know. We paid and then
slept the sleep of the just and weary.
Next morning, Sunday, September
LIST, we did not get a very early start,
but we had company. Our accidental
meeting way out there in the middle
of the desert land of Wyoming was a
most desirable one-we needed each
others companionship and assistance.
From Wamsutter to Rock Springs
to Green River and to Evanston,
Wyoming, we passed through the very
worst part of our tour. Though we
were at no time great distance from
the Union Pacific railroad line and oc-
casiOnally passed station, the coun-
try was forsaken, mountainous, rough,
deserted and all but impossible. Des-
olation superlative presented itself on
every hand and so wild and dreary is
this section that only Indians and road
agents are needed to complete the dis
NAL picture of nothingness. For about
100 miles we passed through land
that is rightly named the Bitter Creek
country and the Red Desert land.
High mountains of rock arise on every
side, gulleys, caverns, canyons, river
beds as dry as dusty roadways, chuck
holes so deep that car stand almost
perpendicular as they go down into
them or come up out of them. At
times all but the drivers were obliged
to get out of the cars. In not a few
places it was necessary to build up
some sort of crossing of stone, sand
and what few pieces of timber or
boards that could be found, to enable
the car wheels to get foundation in
crossing the bitches which were near
ly always bare of water rl.,- -. -
The Water]os-51aIrty which y a had
meloacR1 in Laramie, had driven
lad of us and we feared they had
OF so LONG a start that we would be
nable tb catch up to them, but just
S we Arrived at the brow of hill we
aw befdb us an overflow of small
tream of water directly across the
oadwaJy. Before it stood three auto
lobilesi. one headed east and two
eaded west, the same direction we
yere gIoing. We drove up to the
'rOup and found that one of the cars
our Waterloo friends. They
lad beren brought to bay-and so had
We. 1.-The water was so deep across the
Dad that no car could negotiate 1t.
each lin turn tried it and each one in
urn lwould run to a point about the
middle of the stream when the water
you'll come up so high a to put the
,ngihe out of commission. A long H
'ope, was hitched to the rear axle and
he Ear was pulled back onto dry land
again. This See-sawing was kept up n
lnt1 patience was nearly exhausted.
All the travellers had about made up
heir minds to turn back and see If
lew path could not be found, when
,nk man-from Missouri, literally, Il
Iallatin, Mo.-took off his shoes and
and waded into the stream.
He stamped around until he found a
somewhat higher bottom than existed
m the direct path. Then one of the 4
1est drivers of the lot took the big
yest car and made a try for the high
spot. We all watched him with bated
breath. He took running start and
in less time than it takes to write it,
he was in and through the water and
had landed on the other side high and
dry. After several hours of delay the
obstacle had been overcome. 1t was
then an easy matter for each of the
other cars to be hauled through the
water or to be run through the new
path on their own power. Five auto
mobile parties went on their way re-
ioicing.
The cars and their occupants were
as follows:
Maxwell-Moses Mann, Galatin,
Mo-, and David Mann, Rockdale,
Mont.
Chalmers-L. A. Hay, Dan r. Ga
naird, Albert Waters and George Was
son, Rock Springs, Wyo.
Chalmers-The Waterloo, Ia, party |
before.
Oakland-The Detroit party men
toned before.
Ford-The Grand Rapids, Mich, |
party, already mentioned.
We arrived at Rock Springs, quite a !
mining town settlement, for a late
lunch. Ii should be mentioned that |
for about Is miles west of this town a
fine new road has been built by the
two towns (Rock Springs and Green