The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-08-30
AN INTERESTING
TRAVEL LETTER
CAPT. JOSEPH MATSON WRITES
THEIR NEW HOME
THRILLING EXPERIENCE IN MOUNTAINS
Family Camping In Big House Wait
ing for Goods-Captain Has
Been in Hospital

The following letter from Captain
a real war letter, but as n travel
story ii is mighty interesting. All
the friends of the family will enjoy
this account Of their experiences:
Fort Miley. Calf, Aug. 10. 1911
My Dear Mr.. MINER: | wonder how
you and your family and, in fact. all
old friends in Bookings are faring
these days. | shall always look back
upon our s%oiourn In Bookings as one
of the most pleasant chapters in our
rather nomadic career.
We have had some rather varied
experiences since leaving Brookings.
We went first to Fowler, Colo, a
small town in the Arkansas River
Valley. Our four days there We're in
t~ensely interesting ones to me, as |
had never before had an opportunity
TO witness farming by irrigation and
also what they call dry farming.
Their principal crops are wheat, al
falfa and sugar beets. There are also
very extensive orchards and fruits of
all kinds. Everything they raise Is
dependant entirely upon irrigation.
From there went to Curley, Wash,
about 90 miles from the Canadian
line, in fact we had to go into Canada
to get there. From Spokane to Cur
ley there is only one train a day and
none on Sunday. My train was due
10 reach Spokane at 500 a. IN. Sat
urday, making us IA SO minute con
nection to Curley. or course we
were late, did not reach Spokane I'M
til 800 in the afternoon. Rather
than spend Sunday in Spokane we
finally decided to take a train to Mar
Gus and try to motor across the noun
tains to Curley, and thus give us two
days more visit as | had to leave on
Thursday for Frisco. In reply to a
wire from me, my brother-in-law
wired that he would meet us at Mar
Gus with his machine. On this trip
our engine blew out a cylinderhead
and so we had to toll along on one
cylinder. We finally reached Marcus
at 1000 p. m. and so had to spend
the night there. All were pretty well
tired out by this time, but we found
a pretty good hotel and all had a
good bath and Il good nights sleep.
My brotherin-law was on hand all
right, but the Columbia river was so
high that We could not ferry across.
Next morning we all walked across
the railroad bridge to the auto. When
We finally got three adults, four chill
dron, 9 suit cases and 2 small grips
packed into a Ford machine there was
little danger Of any Of us falling out
unless the machine were to turn I'D.
side down Well, we startod-and
eventually we reached our destina.
ton. What happened in between Is
OF minor importance. | have not the
powers Of description nor the powers
Of narration to do that trip Justice.
II anyone finds life on the prairies OF
south Dakota monotonous, | recon-
ment that they take that IS mile ride
in a Ford machine with Mr.. Helphrey
at the wheel I will guarantee them
sufficient thrills to last a life time.
The way we went up and down hills
around sharp bends. ofttimes around
the shoulder Of a mountain towering
several thousand feet above us and
with a sheer drop Of hundreds of feet
INTO the valley below, without ever
slackening speed, made us tenderfeet
shut our eyes and grit our teeth. hop
ing all the time that nothing about
that little machine would give wav.
After about 20 miles we discovered
that our hOodoo was still with us, and
also that a kind Providence was
watching over us. We had lust come
down from dizzy heights into a little
valley when, on a perfectly level
stretch OF road, our machine sudden
ly lost power and finally stopped with
the engine still running. Onery!
what was he matter? We soon
found that the fange on the hub of
one rear wheel had broken off al.
lowing the axle to turn inside the hub
so that no power was communicated
to the wheel. The wheel was lust
ready to drop off and I could not help
but ruminate or what would have
happened had the accident occurred