The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1917-02-15

that would move. Nor did have any
sympathy with his efforts to start the
engine by hand, which he worked at
for some time by removing most of
the body and trying to spin the fly
wheel against the compression. He
finally succeeded in getting her going
but we spent most of the rest of that
day going over the back-trail to rem
edy a wanton piece of carelessness on
his part.
Came the time when we had to
travel all day on low in deep sand and
mud. That day he wasn't so anxious
to take the wheel, for it meant also
to push the foot lever forward, and
maintain it in that position by the ex-
ercise of all the leg and back muscles
one had.
Came the time when we decided that
the summer was fast waning and that,
in order to make it by snowfall, we
would have to sleep less and drive
more nights. This came after night
in a lumber yard, in a rain. Night
| driving gets on ones nerves, with
merely two kerosene dash lamps with
which to disclose the pitfalls. The
first night we didn't even have those,
for no one had thought to put kero-
sene in them.
Then one night inadvertently
crossed the railroad track, we were
following, in search of better road.
l found it, and it was such relief
after the previous hard route that
failed to take note of the change of
direction and bowled along for hours
in a perfectly contented frame Of
mind, until we landed in town whose
name on our road map spelled GIVEN
ty miles out of the way" 1t appeared
no surprise to my companion, how
ever, and he was SO complacent about
the detour that l have often suspected
that he knew all about the time that
we were travelling southwest instead
of northwest, and that some Unborn
streak of meanness kept him from
telling me.
Money won't last forever, and mine
has a quicker habit than most, so we
were forced to beg gasoline from one
lone elevator man, and l guess we
looked the part, until we could land in
a town that had a telegraph office.
Once we ran out of gasoline and
walked eight miles and back, and as
we could not decide whose job it was,
we both went, not, however, until just
before the point Of starvation.
l bought a few wrenches for him
from a blacksmith, but none of them
really fitted anything and as from
time to time he took down and built
up every part of the engine, save the
transmission was sorry the clerk
hadn't had time to mention some of
the other features-he got so he could
loosen and tighten nuts and bolts with
his fingers, so we did not need them
anyway.
After eight days on the road, and
most of eight nights, without change
of raiment, a bath or shave, Minot
certainly looked good to US, as we
came up the valley road from Velva.
Differences were Immediately forget
ten, and in their stead, glow of sat-
| isfaction and pride diffused our hearts
as we realized that ours was the dis
tinction of having successfully nego-
tiated the distance between Minneap-
oils and Minot with the first automo-
bile that had ever accomplished the
feat. under it's own power exclusively.
We were little disappointed at the
| uuletIleSS~ Oh CHe Co"ll, lIACll VIC 1CnL HCu
| that the races were on and everybody
was up on the hill at the track. De-
Gliding that would make the proper
setting for a grandstand finish, we
hurried hither to receive the applause
of the multitude and to make, in be-
fitting manner, the presentation to its
real owner, of the "First Car
Through"
1t would have turned out all right,
too, if we had just taken enough time
down town to have considered our
personal appearance, and looked he1
over bit, before trying the big hill
There was no trouble on the hill, but
it must have been that last strair
that did it-unless you consider it was
but pure cussedness on the part Of ar
object which possibly felt it had beer
manhandled sufficiently.
Everybody was there, all right, anc
among that crowd I recognized many
friend, and after we had made our
selves known to one or two, the new:
travelled rapidly through the grant
stands, and many curious and won
dering gaze was directed our way, bu
the amazement, we learned, was tina
two civilized humans could look 81
dilapidated. -
But the most crushing defeat to oul
dignity, and the complete downfall o:
my pride, for my companion had de
serted me, came when it was discover
err that the transmission had sprung
leak, or something, and I had t.
guide the car back to town while i
was hitched to the back end of dray
while bus load after bus load Of jeer
ing humanity passed me homewart
bound, and when, to complete my hu
initiation the "snuff box" slid up from
the rear, honk, honked it's diminutiv'
but derisive horn and went blithel!
sailing by, with wave of the driver!
hand and remark from his lips tina
even yet sometimes wakes me in thu
middle Of the night out Of sount
sleep.