Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-04-13
CHAPTER XII

me put his hand on my shoulder and
said, sit down. You won't be hurt"
I saw other people were risking
their necks, so did sit down, none
too comfortably. The circus pro-
cession turned corner and missed
me, seemingly, by inches. AS I
looked more carefully, saw the
whole thing was fake. It wasn't
circus procession at all, but only
picture. l had heard vaguely of
moving pictures, but they had al
ways seemed off at the other side of
the world and had nothing to do with
me personally. But here they were
and l was seeing them!
In two or three minutes the parade
was over, and was out on the street
again.
AS I was standing in front of the
building, trying to decide which way
to 60, there was commotion among
the people and a great sightseeing
carriage drew up. A few people
got out, and, Immediately that they
did, others scrambled into their
seats. A man sitting at the front
called out, "Come on and take a
ride in horseless carriage!"
I studied the situation and saw it
was free.
By this time there was no place
left except in the front row beside
man wearing pair of gauntlet
gloves and sitting beside a wheel
as big as one on a corn shelter,
except this wheel was parallel with
the ground, and was fastened on an
up-and-down rod. l squeezed in, and
IN moment the man showed some
things down and pulled other things
up, and the great open-topped car
rage began to move. A man, also
sitting on the front row, stood up
and put his hands to his mouth and
shouted, "Clear the path! Clear the
PATH"
People turned, terrified to see our
giant conveyance bearing down on
them, and darted out of the way, as
we chugged and jolted past. But l
had to pay for every chug and jolt,
because was Wedged in so close to
the driver that every time he hauled
at the wheel, he dug an elbow into
my ribs. But that was all right. Ev-
erything in the world was all right.
At last we came to kind of start
ing station where we all had to get
out, and where new people got in.
l felt tremendously triumphant, for
l knew very well had had horse
less carriage ride and that it would
indeed be something to talk about.
But moving pictures-well, no one
had ever heard of them, or cared
about them. Thus, by an unusual
combination of circumstances, l saw
my first motion picture and had my
first automobile ride within an hour.
While we were there, my mother
said she wished she could see kim
dergarten, so Mrs. Day found where
there was one, and took my mother.
The next morning at breakfast, my
mother was still talking about it.
AT last our stay was over, and
Mrs. Day came to the depot with
US and we got on the train. When
we got off, the neighbor was there
to meet US and when we got home
Phebe had supper ready. She sat,
with her gold-rimmed glasses and
little turned-up nose, listening while
we recounted the wonderful things
we'd seen and DONE Ma said the
most interesting thing she had seen
was the kindergarten. l was glad,
after l had gone SO miles, I'd seen
something more exciting than a kin
dergarten. Pa said the most inter-
estlng thing he had seen was the
stockyards. felt sorry for him.
We had an aristocracy, founded
on land. Our people did not Judge
each other by clothes, or education,
or family, even by money. A per-
son may have been known to have
money in the bank, or stocks or
bonds, but we felt these would prob
ably slip away from him and he'd
end up living in an L with rela-
tive. If he has stocks and bonds,
why doesn't he turn them into
land?" we asked, and it was a ques-
ton hard to answer. The only safe
and enduring possession was land.
A man who had a quarter section
did not stand as high as the man
who had half section. After all,
people had to be weighed on some
sort of scales, and land scales were
as good as any.
We had love of the soil, as have
the peasants in France, but l don't
believe ours was as deep, or as
touching. For in France they lived
generation after generation on the
same farm, while ours was a chang
ing country. Our people bought a
farm, titled it a while, then discov-
cred what seemed to be better 10
cation" and moved on to that. A