Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1922-07-03
pALATKA DAILY AZ.

PHL[
The drOghte of Marche hath PIERCED
to the roote,
And bathed every veyne is switch
hcour,
OF which vertu engendered is the
flour;
Than longen folk to COON on pilgrim
ages,
And palmers for to seken strange
strondes."
1t was in response to the magic
urge of the springtime that Chau-
GERS merry company set out for Cam
terbury, to pay their homage to the
blissful martyr who had helped them
when, they We're sick. knight and
squire and priest and yeoman, clerk
and nun and merchant and all the rest
of the motley crew, with accompam-
ment of strange tales and diverting
capers, they made their way to Con-
terbury town.
Good old Godfrey Chaucer knew
nothing of the modern facilities for
making pilgrimages, but he knew the
spirit which has led to an amazing
development along the line of cross
country touring in recent years,
There is something in the air in the
spring-time that sets the feet to
fidgetting. The modern motive is not
religious. There is little going to
shrines to give thanks for the healing
of sicknesses. 1t is rather that tired
bodies and minds seek in the pilgrim
ages themselves to be healed of the
humors and maladies of the winter
time.
In response TO this resistless urge,
when April showers have pierced the
March drought. and bathed the roots
of shrubs and trees and vines in the
rich sap of their life, there sets out
from every part of the land, here
family, there a cavalcade, in vehicles
that would have seemed strange to
the Canterbury pilgrims, all seeking
some other spot. And as in olden
days the cavalcades stop by night and
about campfire or under the CLEAN of
the electric torch strange tales are
told and merry capers are performed
Almost every community has rec
ognized the situation and has provid-
ed camping places for the modern pill
grims. These vary from a simple
woodland lot to well squipped grounds
provided with water and light and
sanitation. 1t is possible today to go
from the Canadian border to the Gulf,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
camp practically every night in one of
these public auto-camps.
This spring movement, in its strict
ly modern form, is a matter of com
paratively recent development. The
first automobile trip across the CONT
nent wah made in 1903 by DR.. H. Mel
son Jackson and Sewell X. Crocker,
who started from San Francisco in a
two-cylinder Winton, carrying COM
plete camping outfit, a few extra
spark plugs, spare tire and a few
tools. The car carried twelve gal
Ions of gasoline. This trip occupied
fifty-three days. There were no blue
books, the only guide being a rail
road folder. There were few filling
stations, and no auto-camps.
In the nineteen years since this pio-
neer trip was made the country has
been dotted with supply stations, with |
camping places, with comfortable ho-
tells. Paved roads cut across almost
every state in many directions. Cars
OF greater power and endurance have
been developed. To those who love
the out-of-doors the automobile pill
grimage has become a thing of de-
light and it is bringing health and
JOY and knowledge to the people. A
new neighborliness has come through
these modern Canterbury pilgrims
Miami Herald.