The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-08-27
Over the Country=--A Pastime
That Has Become Popular i'm America

ado Of Kentucky or Tennessee? Our
ancestors entered into perils as real
as imagination ever painted them.
The procession began by our fore
fathers and mothers has never
slackened, rather the reverse. for
now we go in all direction in search
Of the new and novel. The setting
sun still lures the fastener. the
westerner meets him as he heads to
the east, while the n~Ortherner shakes
hands with the sOUtherner as they
scrape acquaintance in the tour
ist camps.
There is no more any west to con-
quer and the only perils are the
flat tire-prOlific cause for profanity
the unpleasant detOur, and Occas-
iOnally the inspired maniac who mix
es "mOOnshine" and gas with an en-
bryO intellect, a peril as deadly as
anything the real pioneers had to
contend with. Now we are out for
pleasure mostly and usually attain it,
but how different in the days of our
fathers. Within the memory of many
now living the covered wagon
crawled its weary way through dust
and storm weighted with hopes Of a
fairer land beyond, sometimes real
lied, but mOre often not. The mar
aUding red man was still a menace,
while storm and flood, heat and cold,
desert thirst and a frigid blizzard
clOgged the way, but through it all
they fought on and the sum Of all
is a soft generation who think they
are "TOughing it" amid the modern
cOnVeniences of the municipal tour
list camp.
In our little towns tourist camp
located on the usual route Of my
daily morning walk, one day in early
spring of a recent year 1 stopped,
rubbed my eyes AMI looked again!
Yes. my first vision was correct. II
was a covered wagOnl Two horses
were tied to the side Of It eating
their breakfast from the feed-bOx.
A woman stopped over a small fire
while a pleasing fragrance Of frying
bacon and boiling coffee permeated
the fresh and crisp atmosphere. AS
1 approached a man was discovered
setting a riVet in the harness. using
the tire Of a wagon wheel as an an
vii. 1t seemed thirty years since I
had beheld just such an encourage,
perhaps 1t was, / Am not sure, but it
carried me back to my youth and I
was glad to take a seat on the wagon
tongue and remark:
"HOW cOme?'
The harness repairer looked ND, re-
lteVed his mouth Of a VOluminous
overflow Of tobacco juice, and an
swered;
oval, we aim to make the PaIouse
and Big Bend country sometime this
summer We amt in no hurry, Jesse
we get there in time for harvest. How
fur We reckon it is to Spokane"
"By automobile about three days
| think, but with this rig I won't
venture to say"
oval, them horses amt any faster
than they look, but I reckon ven
make It If we dOn't push them TO
strong. We used TO have a tin liz
zie, but the banker took that along
with about everything else we had.
Except this old wagon which the sher-
riff lowed wasn't worth movin'. Gy
brOther-inlaW give me them old
lplugs and the wife dug up q couple
LOT Liberty bonds which she'd been
savin' which give as enough to send
the two kids to schoolin while we
hit the road. I been Workin' q little
here and there, and we got q few
dollars left for grub and feed and
ven make &C ell right
The couple were still young FL
years and appeared Co De- glad q
unburden themselves 60 8 sylnpathet
e listener. 10 WaB iuet another trag
Iedy Of "dry land" farming failure