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roach Denver from New York,
leaving him 27 days for the trip
from the Colorado metropolis to
the Golden Gate.
Kven when Weston had so near
ly completed bis Journey as to
wifely traverse the Great Suit Lake
desert there were some people In
the great cities who were skeptical
as to the walker's ability to reach
bis destination.
"Oin't reach 'Frisco, eh?"
queried Weston with an Richlng or
the eyebrows which seemed to echo
j's-'-lf all over his wrinkled visage.
"Why, in rcaci, (ne foast w,h
time to spare." And the square
Weston jaw seemed to augur well
for ihe success of his resolve.
In every big city through which
the New Knglander passed en
rente to the Pacific ocean, police
protection from the overenthusl
osiio public was necessary, nnd ho
declared that of oil the friends he
made the city minions were hearti
er in their wishes for his ultlmato
Buecess than the thousands and
thousands who were interested In
bis long tramp.
houfe. It was 40 years later, yet Wes
ton recalled the meal, and the old
man's eyes sparkled as if In memory
of the good things the young wife had
put before him.
Weston Inquired after the mat's wife
and was told that she had been dead
20 years. Tears came Into the eyes of
the aged Illinois farmer.
Then the pair, like two old cronies,
set out down the road together, West
on abandoning his long, sweeping stride
'FF
iff J
L" " J
l DWARD PAYSOX WESTON, aged 72 years,
Is tho youngest old man In the world. Not
satisfied with a mere statement of this
fact, Weston has proven It by walking
from New York to San Francisco, a dis
tant; of 4,600 miles, in 100 days, Sundays
excluded.
Ills arrival in 'Frisco just tho other day
is proof enough that there is only one
Weston. It was one of the greatest walks
ever undertaken by any pedestrian.
With the chilly March winds making
walking a difficulty along Broadway, New
York, Weston on the fifteenth of the
monih started his long, tedious, coast-to-coast
lope and the biggest pleasure of his
lite came when the cool afternoon
breeze, as If In greeting, seemed to
rise out of Golden Gate, San Francis
co and make the home stretch to tho
'Frisco city hall more pleasant.
Greeted by tho people of San Fran
cisco with even more hospitality than
he had experienced along the route, If
such a condition were possible, this
interesting old man was Indeed at the
height cf his glory.
Think ot It you who brag about a
ten-mile feat of pedestrlanism this
72-year-old New Englander during his
years of walking, has traversed more
than 25,000 miles, which Is the dis
tance around the world, land and wa
ter Included.
His latest achievement was accom
plished at a rate of 46 miles each day.
a hard proposition In consideration of
the fact that Weston returned the
public's little courtesies ty address
ing his admirers along the route.
Some days over level country where
fast time was possible, he would ne
gotiate CO and 60 miles. The record
was set when on his walk from Port
land, Me., to Chicago a year ago, he accom
plished a stretch of 90 miles In a day. Then,
however, ho walked almost the entire 24 hours.
Always carrying a regulation breakfast food
6inllo this quaint old character, who, by the
way, car. address an audience as well as he
cau walk long distances, nevet lost sight of
the optimistic side of his venture. Happy,
hale, hearty and a picture of color, he laughed
gayly at mention of the vicissudes which he
was compelled to undergo In making good in
his determination to span the continent afoot.
Facing the sun-baked western deserts, he
wore the same typical Yankee smile. Only
once did the relentless heat of the sands cause
him to falter. That was, when In crossing the
Great Salt Lake desert on the twenty-second
of June he was forced to stop and rest almost
two hours at Lemay, Utah. He rested almost
against bis will, but he realized that the little
snatch of sleep at Lemay was for the best.
Leaving Hogup, Utah, at 6:30 that morning,
he started his desert tramp. That night he
was at Lucln, 41 miles away. At four o'clock
the next morning he saw dawn break over the
town of Lucln, and he was several miles to the
west, walking with the same steady stride
which, marked his progress along better roads
In the east.
He suffered a slight Injury from a fall In the
west, and this hurt augmented by the effects
of the heat, promised to make his dally walks
shorter. Sheer persistence kept him at his
task, and his will power overcame his ail
ments. Consequently, when he crossed the
west state line of Utah, be was in splendid
physical condition.
All was not milk and honey for the pedes
trian. At Laramie, Wyoming, his mnnager
forced htm to stay Indoors for an entire half
day in order to conserve his energy.
Perhaps the states east of Illinois which
greeted WeRton a year ago when he made his
memorable trip from Portland, Me., to Chi
cago, were not quite as enthusiastic over the
aged pedestrian as they were In 1908, but if
such was the case young Mr. Weston failed to
see the lack of hospitality.
One of tho speediest "laps" which the walk
er accomplished before entering California,
was that from Ogden to Hogup, Utah. Leav
ing Ogden one hour after midnight be reached
the smaller city late In the afternoon of the
same day. It was a tramp of 61 miles, and hi
V
5
Q
Ills loss of time which
amounted to five days as
he started to ascend the
western slope of the
mighty Rockies, was oc
casioned chiefly by his de
sire to please the admlr-
P 'is
L 1"'
declared It was the best time he hatf i.n1i
during the trip.
To every one along his route cf travel, wdj
saw him appear on the horizon to tho east
and then vanish again toward the setting sun
he was the same cheery, hale, hearty, happy
old gentleman. His feet might be clogged
with mud, if the weather happened to be in
clement,, his clothes rain, or dew soaked. It
made no difference with the WcBton smile,
however. It shone no matter what the condi
tions. Smiling upon everyone in general, bowing to
the matrons, throwing kisBes to the misses,
his whole being reflected the power of the
good nature which his manager declared as
sisted him in his difficult task.
Treading the slope of the Rockies several
days behind time, he only saw the silver lin
ing in the clouds that threatened to blast his
hopes of reaching the Pacific coast at 4 p. m.,
on the 8th of July.
At his journey's end the whole city of San
Francisco abandoned its last hour of the busi
ness day in the hope of making the pedestri
an's welcome a warm one. Just as other west
ern cities had turned out to wave a cheery hel
lo and good-by to Weston, big, rejuvenated
'Frisco was proportionately hospitable to this
remarkable character.
With the eastern slope of the Rockies tra
versed there were some who questioned the
possibility of the pedestrian's safe arrival at
the Golden Gate on the day set for his wel
come. "I am still a young old man," he said laugh
ingly, "and I havo shown the pedestrian young
sters of 55 and CO years that my heyday is not
on tho wane.
"There have been plenty of obstacles to
overcome, but with a path to tread and a will
behind ine, nothing is insurmountable."
Fairly swimming through a sea of mud was
one of the everyday happenings with the
walker.
"I agreed to walk from ocean to ocean, but I
had no Idea I would bo compelled to swim part
of the way," he said. "Rut that is Just what
I had to do In Colorado. My walk into Denver
was over roads which were terrible. I carried
tons of mud on my feet, it seemed to me, and
It was a supreme effort to lift the dirt itself
with taking a step which carried my own body
besides."
It took Pedestrian Weston Just 73 days to
common
p u 1. It
one ot
pleasant
n
f pssdx s,
STOPfOHllQUlD RtrRtlMtfiT
"obstacles" , to
which he
called atten
tion when ac
counting " for
the delay.
Many cour
tesies of various character were extended to
him and it was necessary to acknowledge
them. In so doing, a little speech and per
haps a stopover for some local festivity neces
sitated lots of fast walking when the trail was
again taken up.
Cow paths, big paved city streets, country
roads, ditches, rights of way belonging to rail
roads, and often mere trails through the woods
furnished the line of travel for the great Jour
ney or this aged athlete.
Intense . enthusiasm was manifested all
through the west, and true hospitality or the
plains was accorded him after he departed
from Chicago. Only a year previous, ho had
passed along the same New YorkChlcago
route, and he seemed an old friend to tho
countrymen. Consequently, like every old
friend, his feat did not cause nearly so much
consternation there as in the west.
"Mercy, how do you take care of your corns,
walking as much as you do?" a whlte halred
' grandma in Indiana asked Weston, as ho
quenched his thirst at her well.
"O, they're Just ordinary feet. I have a few
corns, but cold water is tho best medlcino
they know. It keeps them In great trim."
Weston wore out dozens of pairs of shoes
during tho Journey. Ho had to have an espe
cially pliable shoe, one which neither pinched
his feet nor was too loose, and one of the dlf
Tlcultles of the trip was procuring Just the
correct footwear.
It was 40 years ago and more that Weston
startled the country by one of his especially
long walks. When passing through Illinois on
his last venture, he encountered an nged
farmer who was sunning himself In front of
his farm home.
Hard work had told on the Illlnolsau's
physique. He looked little like the young man
who had stopped his plowing one spring morn
ing bacX In the nineteenth century to offer the
then ;'0-earold Weston a meal at tbo farm
for shorter, slow
er steps, more in
keeping with the
physical condi
tion of his friend
of four decades
ugo.
Their good-by
at tho cross
roads, a quarter
of a mile from
the farmer'i
abode was touch
ing, and for the
first and last
time during th
entlro trip, tears
appeared in the
pedestrian's eyes
It was tho recol
lection of the old
days when Wes
ton was compara
tively a young
Kter, and was be
friended by the
big-hearted 1 n
habitants of the
country through which he had Journeyed.
Weston nnd Dan O'Leary were youngsters
as well as pioneers in tho business of pedes
trlanism years ago. Then the O'Leary "walk"
was a distinct rival of tho Weston "walk."
Their Teats on the thoroughfares of tho coun
try attracted far more attention than they do
in these busy days, and people
were getting up early In the morn
ing to tear otT a journey of from
15 to 20 miles before breakfast,
using the stride of their favorite
walker.
The O'Leary stride then, consist
ed of executing motions with the
hips, shoulders, as well as limbs,
along with a good deal of arm
swinging, while the New England
er's style consisted of a straight,
swinging step, with the head,
shoulders and hips moving in har
mony with the lower limbs.
"What does he get out of it?
What good does it do him?" the
practical matter-of-fact twentieth
century man will ask.
In answer, Weston's friends de
clare that in the first place every
man has some hobby or other.
Weston's hobby is long distance
walking. In the second place it
may turn itself into a financial ven
ture some day. Weston is a good
orator, and on his tours is always
in demand an u lecturer.
Rut at the samo time the pedestrian Is said
to be comparatively a poor man. On his walk
in 1908 from Portland to Chicago, he en
tered tho Windy City with tho expectation of
lecturing. He did a little upeaklng, but not to
any great extent.
To show his absolute Integrity Is nn offer
which was made to him, and rejected by him
olmost Immediately, of a firm manufacturing
a shoe device. He could have turned his sig
nature to the company's testimonial Into sev
eral thousand dollars on the spot, had he
chosen to sign a paper, stating that he had
worn tho shoe contrivance on his Journey and
found It satisfactory. He had cot worn it, and
refused the offer without a second's hesitatlon.-
For him pedestrlanism Is ono great round of
plensure. He likes to walk nnd the agreement
he made to traverse the continent In 100 days
simply furnished more than thrco months of
enjoyment.
That was Weston's Idea. The agreement was
in n sense, a secotidnry matter. His vigor, vi
tality and recuperative powers are declared
wonderful by physicians who have studied him.
Ho Is probably the greutcst athlcto of tho age,
everything considered.
Ry poet roads the distance from New York
to San Frar.elsco Is 4.S00 miles, but according
to the estimate furnished by Mr. Weston and
his mainper the distance is 4,000 miles, which
being accomplished In 100 days, excluding Sun
days, necessitates a tramp averaging 40 miles
each day.
Considering the many setbacks which are
bound to occur on such a Journey as this the
progress which Weston mode was considered
remarkable.
It was declared that the automobile which
was following Weston deserted him In the west
because that particular make of car failed to
6et the amount of publicity desired. This was
something of a cetback for the old man, be
tause tho machine carried provisions, refresh
ments and other necessities.
Bmltli wtn working In lib yard,
l'iihliin lt" lutvn inuvvi r Imrd.
P.rown, who luiptttio1 thi'n to puns.
AKlicd: "Wi'll, oi.'t to ruf your Krass?"
"No," Wild Hinith, "I'm herding
Wllllll'H
In tlu mlilHt of An-tli gulps."
itrnwn wnlkcil on, ami liook lil:i lifud,
Muslim over R'u't Smith miM.
Smith w;m in n ImrhiT nhoii
ll.TVln;; I, in lull- tiimnipil on tup;
JniifM rtinip In with .lininty ulr,
ANkrd: "Tln-y'ro -llni'nj off your
lialr?"
"No." salil finiltli, "ttp'ro making
hrlck.
Also wouvlns ranilli.- wlrk."
Join's walk-rtl wry noftly out.
With liih mind quite full of doubt.
fiinllli was rlillnn on a rnr.
I'rettliiR ut tho jolt and Jar.
Ithuk koI on, und iiHkfd hi'Slile:
"out to taki a little rid?"
"No," Ki'owlcd fc'mlth, "I'm rllmblng
I Iff H
To rnjiiy .the evening lirws."
Hlaek sot off. und tapped tils brow,
Thinking tfmlth wna dotty now.
Smith was InnrhltiK In u place
Where Xlio busy will tern race.
Wldtc c"io In from off the street.
Asked: "Ho you romu here to eat?"
"No," said Smith, I'm here to sing
Joyous lyrlca of the opring."
Vhlto walked solemnly away
And was lerluUH nil day.
Itionn and Jonea and rthick and
Whltp
Met together that Hume night
And took stepa to put poor Hmllh
Where he need not suffer with
The deluKtoiiH that hn hud
All four of lila friundg were Bad.
Tint -consider It. I pray
Who was foolish? llu or they?
Another Explanation.
"Last month," writes the editor ot
the Helpful Hints Magazine, "wo left
our work in the hands of an assistant
while we were recovering from the
grip. Of course, he got things mixed,
as Inevitably happens. A young bride
of Oskaloosa, la., wrote, asking for a
good recipe for pie crust, and Mrs.
HInkle of Cory'B Grove, 111., asked to
be told how to mako a chair seat. The
assistant confused the two requests,
and advised the young bride to take
two pieces of sole leather, scallop the
edges Into a pretty pattern after cut
ting them to the required size, perfor
ate the top piece neatly with a punch,
glue the edges and to use a few up
holstery tacks to make them firm.
Then bo told Mrs. HInkle to take a
quart of sliced apples for her chair
seat, chunk of butter the size of two
wnluuts, beat, knead and roll; put in
the apples, dust lightly with a cinna
mon, sprinkle plentifully with sugar
and bake quickly. We hardly know
how to smooth matters over as, al
though Mrs. HInkle wants to stop her
paper, the young bride writes en
thusiastically that her husband says
her new pie crust is by far tho best
she has made." I
Nw Version of Old Saying. 1
A man Is as old as ho looks and as
big a fool as he acts.
Helped Out.
"I am so glad you were here, Mr.
Clumsey," says tho sweet young
thing as he leads her to a seat after
the waltz. "I was very anxious to
have a dance with you to-night."
"That certainly is kind of you," he
replies. "Hut I am sorry I stepped
on your dress."
Viewing the two or three yards of
silk and lace which has been torn
and trampled upon she says, happily:
"Hut I knew if something dldn'l
happen to this old gown papa nevet
would buy me a new one."
To remove Ink from the Angers rub
well with scouring powder, then scald
then polish with a dry cloth. O, no!
That is the way to shine a steel knife