El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-09-09
ACROSS THE NORTHWEST IN MOTOR
CAR, FL PASOAN NENDS HIS WAY
c. H Lester Writes of Experiences With Deep Mud His
Dashes Through the Clouds, Slippery, Perilous Rid
ing in the ''Bad Lands in Rain, His Visit
to Yellowstone and Crossing the Divide.

= dangerous curves along high banks. a
narrow roadway and number OF bot
4 tomless bog holes but these fortunately
have been corduroyed with poles. The
poles have settled so deep that in places
a car must 90 nearly hub deep in mud
and water to reach the corduroy Some
cars were unable to pull the slippery
grades and some went back to Occur
D'Alene, but we, with several others,
plOdded on.
Making a Roadway.
About half way through the canyon
we found the road blocked-a car had
slipped over the side of the bank and
there was not room to pass. With
everybody working about two hours,
the car had been lacked up and a false
work of poles built under 1t; also the
bank. fortunately dirt, had been cut
down and the road Widened enough SO
the Stutz and a six Buick squeezed
through. We then hitched the Stutz
and Buick tandem and pulled the big
LOcomObile up onto the road.
Late in the afternoon We emerged from
the canyon and on much better roads
soon entered the Wallace mining dis
trict. The cloud mists, such as Won
often see floating along your higher
mountains, were numerous, and IN de-
tached floating bodies, extended from
the floor of the valleys to the mountain
SUBMITS. At first it seemed rather
strange to dash into an almost perpen-
dieular wall of fog, but with horn sound
ing and keeping to your own side of the
road, one was soon through, only to
quickly dash into another
Richest Town IN America.
We reached Wallace. and, because of
had road conditions remained rruri1 r,aar.
" noon of July 4. This little town
claims more per capita wealth than any
town in the United States. 1t pro-
duces IN a fifteen mile district IS per
cent OF all the lead produced in the
United States, besides copper, silver and
gold. Some of the mines have workings
extending over three miles.
At Wallace We were much encour-
aged here concerning future road con-
ditions, as the natives speak OF the
Rockies Just ahead as hills. About 90
miles out OF Wallace we stuck on a soft
clay -hilF' but after building a roadway
of bark. pulled up and reached Saltese
for a late lunch During the afternoon
we had some very bad unimproved road
and much good road.
Appropriate Injunction.
Just after we had got through one
particularly bad stretch of seven miles,
We noticed tackled on a tree a card that
IN loud letters warned the traveller to
Watch and Pray" We thought the
warning very appropriate.
During that afternoon we ran along
the Saint Regis river for considerable (
distance through very pretty scenery, Z
and then passing over divide, reached :
the Missoula. At places the ochre cliffs !,
on the Missoula are very beautiful in
solor, and in fact, the entire afternoon
-un was beautiful and entertaining, es-
oecially along the st. Regis and over the
Saint Regis grade We had no particu-
ar trouble crossing the Rockies, al
though the west side Is much more diff
iicult than the east side OF the Cont.
rental Divide.
Climbing Like a Fly.
For many miles we had been gradu-
ally climbing to higher attitudes but ap-
encountered the big climb about
p miles north of Anaconda At this
point we drove to the foot OF an appar-
.ntly impossible mountain wall. where
we turned right along its base for about }
.hreefourths OF a mile, then with q
short left turn. back to relatively the /
place Of beginning, except that We were
several hundred feet higher We re-
Deated this maneuver five times before
We reached the top OF that range 1t
reminded me of a fly walking back and
forth up a wall.
From the top We had splendid view Of |
the country and were somewhat sur
orised at the ease and speed with which /