_A Day in June. On the Open Road._
The days go by as in a dream. We seldom see a newspaper and seem out of
touch with the world. At night I am too thoroughly occupied with my
blistered feet or else too busy “spouting for the eats,” as Dan
expresses it, to keep track of diary or calendar.
“Spouting for the eats” has come to be quite a joke with us. We stop
near some farmhouse and Dan goes in for water. Presently along come the
kids and watch our camp preparations with much interest. Usually they
are followed by father or mother, or, perchance, a grown son, who at
once becomes absorbed in the tale of our adventures. Soon the whole
family may be seen crouched around our little fire, which illuminates
the eager faces as they drink in every word with ears and mouth and
eyes. Dan fumbles about with the camp kettle and I break off in the
middle of some exciting incident to attend to the preparations for
supper. Somebody wakes up to the need for milk and eggs, which, of
course, are difficult to carry with us. It is usually about milking
time, and at a word from some grown-up a child scurries off and proudly
returns with a pail of new milk and a hatful of eggs, which he shyly
presents to me. The eggs are boiled and eaten from the shell, and the
cocoa made from undiluted new milk is a beverage fit for the gods.
In other instances, we are invited into the house and sit down to a real
country supper. After the meal I resume the interrupted narrative and
entertain our hosts with descriptions of life in Chicago, the San
Francisco earthquake, and incidents of interest along the way. Quite
frequently I advise a change of diet and care for some puny infant, or
diagnose the case of an ailing mother and risk the leaving of a
prescription to be filled when we are well on our journey.
Next morning the family assembles to see us start. We exchange names and
addresses, and as we ride away, we feel that a new bond of friendship
has been established.
Near a little place called Gibbon our rear tire gave out, and while
making the change, a farmer invited us to his home to eat supper and
spend the night. After considerable trouble with the wheel, we started
on shortly after noon next day, but had not gone far when we saw dense,
black clouds piling up ahead. We rode hard for some time, then rain
began to fall and we stopped beneath a cattle shed. The rain slackened
and we rode on, but had not proceeded any great distance when we noticed
a very severe storm raging in the northwest.
Soon great gusts of wind came whirling across the prairie, while rain
and sleet whipped our faces. There was no shelter near, so we determined
to struggle on and reach Kearney if possible. A train steamed past, with
passengers leaning from the windows and waving their arms in great
excitement. Glancing about to learn the cause of the commotion, I looked
toward the south and nearly fell from the wheel. A cyclone was bounding
across the country and as I gazed it whirled a building into the air,
then dashed it to earth, where it flew into a thousand fragments.
Suddenly we were picked up, wheel and all, and the next thing I knew,
were rolling over and over in the ditch at the roadside, while the
tandem lay twenty feet away. As I struggled to my feet I saw another
cyclone, which had just given us a playful flip, scudding away in the
north. Hailstones as large as pigeon’s eggs now began to pelt us, and to
add to our discomfort, we found that both chains and the steering gear
had been broken in the crash and Kearney was still at least two miles
distant.
We had pushed the damaged bicycle a scant hundred yards when a
two-seated automobile, guided by a man with a white-faced woman at his
side, drew up beside us. The man invited me to ride into Kearney with
him while Dan brought in the wheel. Dan urged me into the back seat and
the machine plunged ahead. With a wild yell, the driver whipped off his
soft felt hat and began to beat the steering wheel with it.
“Whoop-la!” he howled. “Go it, Nellie! Go it, old girl! Show the natives
what you can do.”
The car careened from side to side across the wet and slippery road. At
tremendous speed we struck the railroad crossing at a tangent. Tossing
us high in the air, the machine leaped for the ditch. With a powerful
wrench the driver whirled the car, which poised on two wheels at the
verge, then headed straight for a telegraph pole on the other side of
the road. Once more he veered, and the brass hub of the hind wheel bit
into the wood as we shot past.
But Providence was with us, and in a few moments the car drew up in
front of a hotel in Kearney, while the half-drunken owner staggered out
and, conducting me within, engaged and paid for the best room in the
house for Dan and me. The other poor woman, who had been picked up from
the roadside like myself, made her escape.
Dan came in, drenched and weary from the buffeting of the storm, and
threw himself on the bed. I heard a terrific, roaring, crashing, rending
sound, and rushing to the window saw another cyclone sweeping through
the outskirts of the town. Large trees swayed and whipped madly, then
were whirled into the air.
“Cyclone! Cyclone! Quick, Dan, here comes another cyclone,” I screamed
above the roar of the tempest.
“Darn the cyclone,” Dan replied; “I’ve seen enough for one day.”
Nevertheless, he came to the window just as the great, black, swirling
funnel passed from view, and, gazing at the sky, enquired where all the
books had come from. Sure enough, something floated in the heavens that
resembled the scattered leaves of volumes. An instant later these pages
came down and disclosed themselves as the sides and roofs of houses.
Next morning Dan took the wheel to the repair shop while I studied the
ravages of the storm. No lives were lost in that immediate
neighbourhood, but much property had been destroyed. The brick
foundation of one home had been scattered in every direction, while the
wooden frame, apparently unharmed, had been set down on its original
site. In another instance a parlour wall had been neatly removed and a
marriage license torn from the frame which still hung in its place,
while furniture and pictures remained untouched. This peculiar
phenomenon gave rise to considerable comment and jokes concerning the
domestic felicity of the married pair.
We were eating our lunch in a vacant lot when our friend from Gibbon
drove up. He called Dan over for a short talk, then drove rapidly away.
When Dan returned and held out his palm, I cried out in surprise, for in
his hand lay four shining five dollar gold pieces. When we had gone and
the storm came up, this man had worried over our probable fate, and
early next morning had driven the twelve miles into Kearney to overtake
and give us this money to ease the journey across the Rockies. Thus we
were able to renew our shoes and stockings, which were in shreds, pay
for new parts for the wheel, lay in a stock of groceries and still have
a little money in our pockets.
If grateful, loving thoughts have power to benefit the recipient, then
surely our benefactor will receive some reward, for my whole soul pours
itself out in deepest gratitude for his gracious, generous act.
Leaving Kearney, we were able to do a good deal of riding, but suffered
severely from heat in the middle of the day. For miles we rode beside
stock fences where groups of horses with heads tossing, nostrils
flaming, manes and tails floating like pennons in a breeze, raced beside
us to the confines of their pastures, there to stand with stamping hoofs
and outstretched noses, eyeing us with the greatest curiosity. Once a
steer, grazing by the roadside, started to run ahead of us, and lumbered
along a full mile, then, in a panic of fear, he reared and up-ended over
the fence in a comical fashion and stood blowing wildly, watching his
strange pursuer glide past.
The road became wretchedly poor. Again and again the wheel would slip
into the deep ruts filled with choking dust in spite of every effort. In
places where the surface was hard, innumerable small gullies from the
winter rains crossed at right angles, so that riding became unsafe from
the strain on the heavily-laden tandem.
Mosquitoes bred in the sluggish streams, full-fed by recent storms, and
when evening fell surrounded us in dense clouds. Their bites are almost
as painful to me as bee stings, raising great, red wheals, which itch
and burn for days, so that I was nearly wild from the irritation. To add
to the general discomfort, my new shoes, which were very heavy for the
coming trip across the desert, blistered my feet atrociously, so that
when the rear chain broke in crossing a bad gully, I was scarcely able
to hobble.
And each succeeding day made greater demands on one’s endurance. The
country became hilly with stretches of treacherous sand. High bench
lands, seamed with narrow ravines, skirted rugged buttes, while to the
south and west one caught vistas of barren plains. Small farmhouses
perched on the hillsides, and here and there great fields of grain or
sprouting corn appeared, with groups of animals grazing in the distance.
Dan had managed to mend the damaged chain, but his natural recklessness
chafed constantly against my caution, so that each steep descent
provoked an argument. At last I flung discretion to the winds and down
the hills we flew, bounding from hummock to hummock, swaying, lurching,
recovering ourselves by seeming miracles.
We had been riding across a jutting arm of bench land, and as we
approached a sharp turn in the road, the ground began to fall away
abruptly. I endeavoured to slow down, but Dan was of a different mind.
Spurred on by his words of ridicule, I permitted the wheel to gain
momentum and we spun around the curve at racing speed.
A tremendously long and steep declivity lay before us, the strip of road
disappearing from our sight in another turn at the bottom of a ravine.
My heart leaped convulsively as the wind whistled past my ears, but I
had scant time to coddle fear. The strain of handling the heavy tandem
at such a speed took all my attention. The pitch increased; we seemed to
fly through space. Then the front wheel struck a bed of heavy sand at
the curve, and I knew no more.
My next sensation was of a shaking, joggling motion and by degrees I
discovered that I was lying on my back on the bottom of a farm wagon
that was jolting slowly up a rutty hillside. Dan, very pale, was bending
over me, and the wheel with twisted handle bars and dangling chain was
propped alongside. In answer to his anxious inquiries, I undertook a few
investigative movements and soon was able to assure him that I suffered
from nothing worse than some severe bruises and slight concussion from
alighting on my head. He had received a rather deep scratch in the
_mêlée_, but otherwise was uninjured.
The wagon turned abruptly and I struggled to a sitting posture, as our
driver, a lad of some sixteen summers, halted his team of mules in front
of a low, unpainted farmhouse. A motherly woman hurried out in answer to
his call, and in a moment was all solicitude. With tender care she
guided my reeling footsteps into the house and I was soon ensconced on
the living room lounge while Dan occupied a rocker at my side. After
seeing that we were both as comfortable as circumstances would permit,
our hostess left the room to prepare supper.
The outer door swung open and a handsome, blue-eyed boy about twelve
years old, dressed from head to foot in blue denim, passed slowly
through the room and, with a shy nod to us, entered the kitchen.
Scarcely ten seconds later the same door opened and the boy again
appeared and with another little duck of the head disappeared in the
rear. I was marvelling at the speed he had shown in encircling the house
in such a short time, when the sound of the latch caught my ear and I
turned to confront the same blue-clad figure. But was it the same? No,
this lad was larger. It must be a brother. He also passed through and
vanished with the peculiar sideways nod. Almost before I could wink an
eye, his double followed, using the identical gesture of his
predecessors. I turned to Dan, who was staring round-eyed after the
vanishing figure. Just as I opened my mouth to address him, the door
opened and a fifth youth appeared. He too was blue-eyed, blue-clad and
strikingly good to look upon. Dan rubbed his eyes; then ran his hand
through his thick curls.
“That jolt must have done something to my brain,” he declared with a
worried look at me. “Do you see whole droves of kids, all looking the
same, all dressed the same, all acting the same, all going from the
front to the back of the house? First I thought a kid was running round
the house to fool us. Then I thought I was seeing double, but they keep
getting bigger all the time, till darned if I know what to think. What
in blazes do you suppose is the matter with me?”
“It’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you,” I replied. “Whatever it
is, it affects us both the same way, for I saw them just as you did.
There were five, all dressed in blue, all with blue eyes and light hair,
and about the same size, though the first seemed the smallest and the
last the largest. At first I thought they were twins, but there could
scarcely be five twins.”
At that instant the boy who had rescued us from the roadside appeared,
and as he advanced to speak to us, another lad, a size larger, entered
from the kitchen and was joined in a moment by boys number one, two,
three and four. The room was of fair size, but it seemed to overflow
with blue-clad youths.
“Well, what do you think of my little brood?” cried the laughing voice
of our hostess, who had entered unobserved.
“Are these all your boys?” I gasped, gazing at her still youthful face
and figure. “It doesn’t seem possible. I had about concluded that the
fall from the bicycle had affected my brain or my vision; I wasn’t sure
which.”
“Indeed, they are all mine, and not all my family either. My two oldest
sons are still in the fields. I have nine in all. The eldest has just
turned twenty-three, while the youngest two are twelve. The next two are
twins also, and only fifteen months older.”
As the lads were introduced, it seemed that a more remarkable, handsomer
group of youngsters would be difficult to find. In spite of the utmost
care, I was unable to identify the younger ones, so that they must
linger in my memory as a group.
All were eager to be of service and assisted Dan in putting the tandem
in shape for further adventures. It was with regret that we bade them
farewell next morning, and I often think with envy of the happy mother
of such a delightful family.
One evening we stood beside the railroad track while the Overland
Limited shot by. As we crossed behind the vanishing train, I saw a
strange object moving between the rails. Closer inspection disclosed a
large terrapin crawling over the ties as fast as he could scramble. I
gathered him up and took him back to Dan.
“Now for some real turtle soup,” cried he, making a grab for the
creature. But the terrapin resented such tactics with so fierce a snap
that Dan, perforce, released him.
Sitting beside the campfire that evening, I bored a hole in Mister
Turtle’s shell and attached a stout string. Next morning we rigged a
large square can atop the bedding roll and daily the turtle rode in
state on a bed of fresh leaves, while at night he was staked out in
whatever water was available. He attracted much attention along the way,
for his shell was very handsome, but his jaws proved to be so savage
that nobody dared to touch him but me. I named him Bird and, while
resting, would frequently take him from his bed and gently stroke and
tickle his neck or leg, which he would stretch out to be petted.
Some time later we camped on the bank of the North Platte River and as
usual I staked Bird out at the edge of the stream. Next morning I was
busy with the laundry, so did not call for Mister Turtle until nearly
noon. What was my amazement to find him flat on his back at the extreme
limit of his string, while a large bird stalked round and round him and
aimed vicious pecks at the soft folds of skin between the edges of his
shell. I rescued my poor pet, who seemed completely exhausted, and,
conscience-stricken, loosed the string and gave him his liberty. A last
glance revealed Bird paddling down stream. He will surely be a
well-travelled turtle by the time he reaches the sunny south for which
he so boldly headed.
The scene on the river seemed very charming after our hot and dusty ride
across the arid plain. Masses of wild roses in full bloom glowed against
the soft green background of willows. Birds had woven a hanging nest
over the water, and the little mother sat demurely on the eggs, while
her mate swung on a slender perch and fairly burst his throat with song.
They reminded me of some wrens a few miles back who had built their nest
in an abandoned mailbox, but I suppose they could scarcely belong to the
same species. In the rippling water beneath, fish of many sizes darted
to and fro, while a fitful breeze set the silvery foliage to glimmering.
Reluctantly we said farewell to river and birds and roses and, skimming
over a long bridge, entered a sleepy little town. Here we loaded the
wheel to the limit with groceries, for the country grew wilder each day.
The weather was fine and we were able to camp out in accordance with our
original plans. Still, we thought it best to follow the railroad as
closely as possible in the event of more rain and muddy roads.
While boiling our cocoa in a lonely spot, our attention was attracted by
the fine soldierly figure of a man who stood on the railroad embankment
about fifty feet away, gazing down at us. He was dressed in khaki,
sombrero, and leggings, and seemed preternaturally tall, silhouetted on
the dull red evening sky.
“Hello, comrade,” called Dan. “Want a bite to eat?”
The man strode down the bank and approached our fire. He was tall
indeed, with the slim waist and long limbs of a track athlete. His
smooth, deeply-tanned skin set off his bright blue eyes and white teeth
to advantage as a real Tipperary smile curved his humorous lips. As he
removed his hat, a thatch of white hair added an incongruous touch to
his appearance.
Squatting on his haunches like one accustomed to that posture, he
explained that he had just eaten a hearty meal, but accepted a cup of
cocoa to keep us company. After listening to an account of our
experiences, he stated that he was an ex-soldier, now walking from San
Francisco to New York on a wager. He had made the trip from east to west
in ninety days and was bent on returning in ten weeks. So far he had
made good time and felt confident of winning. With scant regard for the
property of the railroad company, he insisted on carrying a great pile
of old ties to a secluded spot and there started a bonfire. When I
considered the forty-odd miles that he had covered on foot that day, I
marvelled at the man. When the fire was blazing brightly, we settled
ourselves on the windward side for a real talk-feast.
His most exciting adventure on this trip had occurred far out on the
desert when he had been accosted by three tramps, who demanded the
canteen of water that he carried on his shoulder. He unslung it with the
intention of sharing the precious fluid, but one attempted to snatch it
from his hand. As they struggled, another approached and struck him from
the rear with a rock. With a sudden sidelong leap, he wrenched himself
free, and swinging the canteen by the strap with all his force, let the
first man have it full in the forehead. The fellow went down without a
groan, and with a backhand motion, the soldier brought the canteen up
and around, striking the second tramp on the point of the jaw. His
companions out of commission, the third man took to his heels, while our
hero gathered up the first hobo, who still lay unconscious, and with the
aid of the second carried him to the railroad track and there flagged a
passing freight, which took the two tramps to the next town.
As the evening advanced, the Irishman entertained us with descriptions
of the many strange corners of the world that he had visited in the
service of Uncle Sam, and told wild yarns of his experiences in the
Philippines and in China during the Boxer rebellion. After a last creepy
story of a looted temple and a dead Chinese priest, who came to life
while the foreign devils were holding high carnival, and walking into
their midst in his grave clothes, caused them to drop their spoils and
flee, we stretched ourselves beside the glowing coals and slept.
The sharp cold of early morning awakened me, and heaping the ashes high
with dry wood, I kindled a fire and started breakfast. Our soldier
friend lay with head on knapsack, and in the deep relaxation of sleep
the harsh footprints of the years disappeared and his face looked pure
and boyish in the soft light of dawn. As he whimpered with cold and
weariness, I could scarcely restrain myself from easing his head with a
motherly touch, but contented myself with covering him with our
blankets. Breakfast concluded, we prepared to follow our diverging
paths. The soldier wrote a note to a pal at the military reservation at
Cheyenne, commending us to his care. Then, as we said good-bye, he
thrust the battered canteen into my hands.
“Your need is to come, but mine is ended. Keep it in remembrance of me.”
He lifted his hat and was gone.