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Transcontinental Bicycle Relay and Automobile
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MOVTT nO-BKRTS rUffTtlNa T1B AMERICAN CAR THROUGH TUB
CROWDED STREETS ON WEDNESDAY.
1LETN thm orwwi en Farmun
T 1 Tl treat raiMd thai reieea to
yy I ebtat th Amarloaa oax in tha
raoa m it ohuvca 1U way to
tha car? tbcjr war unooo
ecioubly paylnc a tributa to a band of en
thualaala that fourtaan yea-a ajp Inaugu
rated the oroaa-countrjr ralay raoa aa a
paatlma and aa a taat t -ndnraoo and
peed,
Tha original band of eranka did not,
however, depend on the aubO (oroo of
xplodlng vaaoline rapor to nwve tbalr
nachlnaa more than half war acroa tbo
continent. They . themaelTea farnlabad
the motlva power and thay Staraily
"klekad" their machlnea aion tha flowls
road from Waabinaon to Denvar. Tba
oooaalon of thla flrat teat of wfaaaled
vehicles wm a maaaatra from Henry T.
Thurber, prirate aaoratary to President
Cleveland, to Oearnor Walt of Colorado,
tent whan tha Leajrue of American
Wheelmen waa boidln lta annual oon
ventlon In Denver. Tha enthualaau who
took tha meaaace at tha state, war and
navy building In Waablnrton and awlrled
It acroaa tha country more than 3,000
mllea to Denver were member of the
league. The bicycle "craae" waa at Its
TielKht Uinn and tha race against time
was a fitting climax to the popular wave
In favor of tha two-wheeled craft.
It waa mora than thin, however; It
served aa a teat for the flrat time of the
real value of tha bicycle under conditions
where relays could be aatabllahed and
speed waa eaaentlal. After that race had
been run, with popular demonutratlons
all along the oourae, the publlo waa ready
to crown the bicycle king of wheeled
vehicles.
The preaent race of the auto cars aorosa
the continent differs In many reapeats
from the bicycle race In the summer of
1894. In the latter race the machines
Which left New York will try to make
the entire course. In tha bicycle contaat
agnltiHt time the courae waa divided into
roluya of five mllea each wherever possi
ble, and the black bag containing the
preMliieiitlal message waa the only object
which traveled the entire distance. The
rire.-i-ut race also comes at a later period
in the automobile 'crate" than the Waah-lngton-Denver
contest did in the bloyole
rage. Bothara alike, however, In that
they were the longest testa made at tha
time they were run. In the bicycle race
the black bag reached its destination
thirty-seven hours ahead of schedul time,
while In the present contest of auto cars
the first car la several daya lata already.
This can be satisfactorily explained by
the exceedingly bad weather encountered
by the autolsts, who can also point to tba
very good weather with whloh tha wheel
men were favored.
It Is also interesting to note that tha
military car which left New York Feb
ruary 18, bound for Fort Leavenworth,
Unique Collection of
ORONATION3 and conventions,
treaties and court-martials, bat
tle, murder and sudden death,
may divide tha first paces of
a year's papers between them
selvesbut that- Is not tho
c
whole
atory of tha news. All this
may be
tha important gist of tha
dally harvest, may Influence history or
affect tha greatest number of people, but
there is another side to tha subject. This
is the "human interest" sort of thing, tha
trifling happening, which yet tells as does
nothing else of man's credulity, Joys and
sorrows of bis dally Ufa itself.
Nineteen seven's St days have been
rich in auch newa Tho supreme court
of Mississippi, for instance, has declared
(It waa on November 11) that "Go to
hell!" la not profanity. An Ohio tribunal
has adjudicated Mr. Beattey's whlakers
(Wellston growth) to be worth tlOL a
gas company baring to pay that sum for
their destruction in an explosion. Tha
newsdealer In the Albany (N. Y.) depot
has offered a New Yonc Central Railroad
timetable aa tha funniest book on his
stand.
Tho French capital has dona even better
than these things. Tba Parla chief of
police, having sent out to the neighboring
communes photographs of aa escaped
criminal. In each case submitting six In
aa many poaea of tha man, received the
following dispatch from a southern dis
trict: "Five of the criminals whosa photo
graphs you sent already arrested; wa are
uu th track of tha sixth."
Ltlvo.-ee Coart Whims.
In the divorce courta the twelvemonth
has shown us that. In lAwrenca, Mass.,
at least, a wife may not with impunity
go through the pockets of her worser one
third; David Walkers marriage tie was
legally cut on Just this ground. Wilming
ton. Del., has offered the aight of mother
and married daughter defendants In twa
dlvorc aults brought in tha same court;
but 1 orugla. Italy, beats all of these.
Slgnora lialllori asked to be aet free from
her liuaband, claiming he had another
wife. lialllori calmly admitted this bit
added that ha had tw hearts why net
to wives? Phyalclans bora out this
statement, and tha court (with
awerabla logic) decided that two
holds were perfectly rlgbt, smdar tha air
cumatancea. Mrs. John Wads af filoux City, la, akd
and reached Onialia March 1, covered a
course about 200 miles longer than tha
wheelmen did In a little more than
twelve daya, while the wheelmen made tha
dlstanoa In a few hours more than lour
daya. Allowing for the fact that the
wheelmen rode day and night, there art
till several days In their favor when
time alone la considered. But the wheel
man who still has the old fever In his
blood will still insist that the distance
from Now York to Omaha has been cov
ered by single riders In less than thir
teen days years ago.
tea thing 'In common In practically all
f these aorosa-oontlnent and around tha
world races will be noted with considerable
pleasura and pride by the loyal Omahan.
They all coma through Omaha. Could any
batter proof be offered that nature In
tended Omaha to be the Gate Ciiy of tha
west? The army car starting from Gov
ernor's Island, the Paris cars, which left
New York City and the blcyclo race with
Washington as Its starting point, all I ea.fj
directly for Omaha, though all of ihem had
different terminals in the west. The army
car, headed for Fort Leavenworth, Kan.,
tha Paris cars are on their way to Sart
Francisco and the wheelmen In 1891 had
Denver as their objective 'point, but all
of them came through Omaha.
Not only these three contests, either. In
the last decade or two, hundreda of Kloba
trot tors on bicycles, In automobiles, on
foot, carry their luggage or wheeling it. In
barrows In front of them, have crossed the
continent on their way to all parta of tha
world. And practically all of them came
through Omaha.
A gateway for the commercial trafflo
of the west, Omaha Is recognlxed far and
wide even by tha "freak" travelers as the
crossing place into tha region of moun
tains and plains. After leaving here the
paths of the travelers may diverge some
going southwest, soma due west and others
northwest, but all of them lead out of
Omaha.
These travelers do not come to Omaha
because they like tha city, although tha
hospitality of tha people is a matter of
fame. In these contests speed, or what
amounts to tha same thing, a short courso,
is the main consideration. They coma
through Omaha because It la the way
nature made for the traffic of the estate
on Its way westward.
Tli a racing automobilee courted the worst
kind of weather conditions when they left
New York for a transcontinental trip al
most In tha middle of winter. The wheel
men chose their time in the middle of Au
gust with a full moon and prospects for
tha beet of weather. The prophecy of good
weather cam true during tha greater part
of tha raoa, but when the black bag reached
North Platte tha favorable conditions
changed and tha weather god poured out
all his reserve store of wind and rain ap
parently In an effort to make the race a
failure Juat aa it was about to coma to a
for release from Mr. W., and filed her peti
tion in verse. "A Matrimonial Idyl," ran
tha heading, and a couple of the eighty
three stanzas read:
A substitute for msn is tha latest hit
Just keep a dog to growl and a cat to spit,
A parrot, too, (for ha can Jaw and swear!)
A monkey to dispute and pull yonr hair.
Don't think you need a man to strike even
a match.
There are better places a Uirht to scratoh.
Talmage aald matchea in heaven are made,
But the brimstone attachments show where
plana are laid,
Tha case still hanks like the meter.
Columbus, O., and Sayvtlle, N. T., raced
each other in feather wonders. In March
tha Buckeye capital turned out a white
crow, which, quite naturally, led a flock
r J. HALE.
Holt County.
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M. B. Hatch
H. B. Prwlrlckfion.
THOMAS FL.YEU IN TUT NEW
HOW THE ARMY MACHINE LOOKED
triumphal conclusion. How the weather
god came to grief in his contest with plucky
young American wheelmen Is well known
to bicyclists of the old school, and it
makes a short but thrilling story of ad
venture In which Harry Mulhall and Ed
Cox, two Omaha printers, are the heroes.
The great relay bicycle race had been 1
heralded for days In advance by the news
papers all over the country and the atten
tion not only of wheelmen, hut of all other
claaa of men, women and children who de
light In feats of strength, agility or speed
waa concentrated on tha plucky riders.
For days In advance relay riders each to
cover a distance of.' about five mtlos had
been selected all ulong the course from
W ashlngton to Denver. Bicycle organiza
tions In each of the principal cities along
tha way made everything else secondary
to tha big event and elaborate and detailed
plana were made to cover every inch of tha
way without a hitch.
Some of those who had watched the plans
of the cyclists predicted failure as the re
sult of the attempt. Up to that time the
relay race on aa elaborate a scale as this
had never been attempted. There were a
thousand ways in which it might have
come to a audden and abrupt finlah. At
leaat the maintaining of a schedule over
all klnda of roads, under all conditions
through night and day for an estimated
period of eight (lays seemed like an un
dertaking full of possibilities of failure.
A hitch at one of tha thirty-three division
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Whims and Fancies of People in Various Moods
of the usual hue. "He'll bring good luck
to Alum Creek," was the Marlon county
judgment but the speakers were none of
them corn planters. Sayvtlle made reply
In November, F. S. Jones tha month pre
vlous bought a Jet black bantam rooster;
In four weeks It had turned snowy white!
And Sayvllle wanta to know If Luther
Burbank haa been tampering with the
New York egg crop.
Neighboring Blnghamton reported a hen
that had adopted two tiny pigs, after the
loss of her own brood of chicks, and was
keeping them warm under her maternal
feathers.
Secretary Loughman of New York's Cen
tral park, received last March tha follow
Nebraska Delegates-at-Large to the Democratic National Convention
D. V. STEPHENS,
Dodge County.
THE OMAIIA SUNDAY BEE: MARCTI 8, 190S.
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TORK TO PARIS RACK AS IT LOOKED
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JUST BEFORE LEAVING OMAHA FOR
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CAPTAIN HANSEN,
Polar Explorer j . With the
American Car.
points, the failure of a single one of the
thirty or more organizations that partici
pated In it, might easily cause a delay
ing letter, written, of course. In a childish
hand:
"Dear Mr. Stork: Please bring Frances
Stevens a baby boy. A white one, please.
Do you bring clothes, too? Yours truly,
FRANCES STEVENS."
Mr. Loughman advised that the depart
ment was temporarily out of white boy
babies, but had filed the application for
attention when the next lot should come in.
Hoinantlo Freaks.
The year's quuint happenings at the
other end of life's ladder include an Eng
lish romance. Mrs. Ellen Briggs of Steven
age, Herts, after more than a hulf century's
separation, sailed for Australia to marry
there a lover of her youth, and this is
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Frank Millrr.
Montru Roherts. norRe Sclieunter.
ON li AliRiVAli IN OMAHA.
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LINCOLN SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
that would defeat tho entire purpose of
the race. The failure of one of the aeveral
hundred relay r'dcra to do his part as It
had been mapped out for him might mean
a serious stoppage of the whole affair.
But no such hitch occurred. From the min
ute the black bag was delivered to the first
rider In Washington until it was safe in
the hands of Governor Waite of Colorado,
its progress was not stayed for more than
a few minutes at any point and usually
it was caught up from the hands of the
tired rider at the end of his division by
the new rider and whisked away without
a delay of a second. Throughout the en
tire 2,000 miles of the course everything
worked like a clock. Every man waa at
his post, every man did his duty. The
secret of It all waa the marvelous organ
ization of the wheelmen and the enthusi
asm of the young men who did the actual
work.
Figuratively apeaklng, nillllona of eyes
were on the black time ball on the State,
War and Navy building In Washington
when It droped Just at noon on August
6, ISM. Chief Consul George B. French and
C. Ronsavllle of the League of American
Wheelmen caupht up the black bag and
flashed out of sight, followed by the cheers
of the crowd and the big race waa started.
At the end of their division they tossed the
bag to the next pair of riders and before
dark it waa well on its way down the
Cumberland valley. The riders fairly flew
her 76th year. That she haa three times
been widowed will not matte-, as the sweat
heart In question has himself survived four
wives.
A parallel story came from St Louis In
April. J. B. Bundren, at 101, and Miss Rose
McGuIre, admitting an even 109, were
wedded at last. The final two words aeem
proper under the circumstances. The two
had been parted In youth by stern parents,
but love and fuith discounted even four
score years.
New England contributed Its share to
such events when 11. C. Wilder, uged 96,
and MUa Esther Crawford, aged H were
married In Ixiwell after a two weeks' ac
quaintance; and when Bridgeport an
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F. W. BROWN,
Lancaster County.
Races Contrasted
, . Cw.
Jack TliiKt.
BTTTDERAKER "ARMY" MACHINE
through Cumberland early In the morning
of the following day, more than an hour
ahead of the schedule; through the moun
tainous d 'strict of West Virginia, on into
Ohio through Indlnn-ipolla, Crawfordsville,
Jacksnnvl le. 111., Bur ln;ton, la., and acrots
the broad fieldB of the Hawkcye state,
over the 1ouk1ils street bridge, through
Omaha, over tho level road that skirts the
Platte river to Julesburg, and then by as
straight a course as could be found Into
the city of Denver, and up to the capitol,
where George M. McCarthy, tho last of the
relay, covering the last five miles of the
trip in less than twenty minutes, delivered
the black l ag Into the hiuuls of a repiesent
atlve of the governor, six days ten hours
and thirty-seven minutes after It had left
Washington, beating the schedule time by
thirty-seven hours and twenty-three
minutes.
Wheelmen who were In Denver when the
message arrived remember Its enthusi
astic reception, even though it was 10:30
o'clock at night. Governor Wulte made a
speech and the city was thrown open to
the riders, who had followed tho message
on trains after their part of the work had
been done.
Omaha riders have a right toVlnlm an
Important part In the race. When Goorge
Williamson of Council Bluffs scorched
across the Douglas street bridge at 8;12
o'clock Friday evening lie threw the bn?
to J. L. Llvesey. who carried it to Benson
In twenty-six minutes and delivered It to
the next rider, who whisked It on its way
to Fremont. Then it waa twenty-seven
hours ahead of time, ahowing that even
with the disadvantage of the worst stretch
of road on the course and the only bad
weather the Nebraska and Colorado riders
gained ten hours between here and Denver.
Two Omaha riders, Harry Mulhall and
Kd Cox also came to the rescue to prevent
the only acrloua hitch between Washington
and Denver. The worst stretch of road
between the two cities was reputed to lie
between Ogallala and Julesburg. Riders In
the west knew and consequently the Jules
burg cyclists refused to come serosa the
state line for the message and Insisted It
was up to the Nebraska enthusiasts to get
the messuge across the line into Colorado.
When the call was made for volunteers
Mulhnll and Cox offered their services, not
knowing exactly whut they were up
against. They had been told there was a
well defined road between the two cities
and were hardly prepared for the actual
conditions they found.
Even in the best of weather and In day
light their task would not have been a very
Inviting one, but to make matters worse,
It began to rain and blow Just before the
riders reached Ogallala at 11:30 Saturday
night. The storm Increased and when the
two Omahans started out on their trip over
the prairies It was to enter pitchy darkness
with nothing to guide them. Instead of a
"well defined road," they found only the
trackless pralrlu. Before they had gone far
nounced the elopement of Edward Skin
ner, who Is 8L with a maid of only 60,
Mary Curtis.
Francois Leclue of Angouleme, France,
has this year, and for the second time,
been pronounced dead, only to revive and
Interrupt the funeral. Mrs. Fred Hatzell
of Huntingdon, W. Va., did the same thing,
though it was her Initial appearance In
the uncanny role. When she rr-ae In her
coffin there was more than a panic among
the ftalhered and mournful friends. Dun
ton, Md., thought (Juno It had Jut such
another case, fur when the bearers wire
lowering the coffin into the trench a voice
from It directed- "Let me down easy."
Upon which it was dropped and later a
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I. J. Dt'NN,
Douglas County.
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W. 1 Walla.
RECEIVED BY THRONGS ON SUNDAY.
they had fallen Into three sand draws and
an Irrigation ditch. Fishing themselves and
their wheels out of the latter, with the few
threads of clothing they had managed to
keep dry from the rain, drenched, and after
discovering that they had been riding In a
circle a part of the time, they left tho track
less prairie, end took to the railroad. They
made a path In the darkneaa a part of
tho way along the side of tha track and
then dismounted and walked the ties. They
walked through Brule and on to Big Springs
on the tracks and then tried to ride again,
"To be drenched with rain, to go sprawl
ing into the mud and water time after time,
to have your trousers and shoes hacked to
plecea by mlsmng the pedals In tha darkness
was bad enough," said Mulhall, discussing
the trip, "but these were not tha worst
features by any means. The very worst
discomfort we suffered waa the lack of
drinking water. From the time wa left
Ogallala until we got to Big Springs we had
none except what we lapped up from hoot
tracka In the band. This waa clean and of
a good quality, but It was bard to get.
We had to Ho on our faoea to drink It,
At Big Springs we gut a drink, but during
the remainder of the trip we had to resort
to the hoof tracks again.
"The coyotes bothered ua soma, too.
There seemed to be a pack following us.
We shot at them several times, but in the
darkness we could not tell whether we hit
thorn or not."
Finally, at 5:10 in the morning the two
covered from head to feet with mud, their
trousers torn off from the kneea down,
arrived In Julesburg. In the darkness they
almost missed the place and It was by ac
cident Mulhull happened to ask a young
fellow who walked leisurely toward them,
what town it was. "Julesburg," he replied.
Then they realized the young man was tha
next relay rider and ha waa to relieve
them. Mulhall threw the black bag at hl:n
and aa he mounted his wheel the two
emptied their six shooter. It Is needless to
say the rider got out of sight without much
delay.
Mulhall and Cox were so thoroughly en
crusted with mud the hotel keeper in Julo
burg refused to allow them to enter tha
hotel. They were shivering outside tha
building when a friendly brakeman from
Denver called the bluff of the hotel man
and secured lodging for them. After clean
ing up they went on to Denver and wera
there when the black bag came In.
In addition to being the hardest of tha
relays between Washington and Denver,
tho Ogallala-Juleaburg section waa also
the longest. The two men covered the
thirty-seven mllea between the two towns
In five hours and forty minutes.
Battling with Bnow drifts In Indiana may
not be Joy to an auto driver, but thusa
two men will testify there are hardships
Just as severe to be encountered In tha
good old summer time on tha plains of
'western Nebraska.
ventriloquist was arrested for a sadly mis
placed practical Joke.
Surely, speaking of funerals, one may
record the playfulneas of a Bag Harbor
shark, who in August mistook a torpedo
for a fish. And also the finding In a Mex
ican postoffice of a packet of letters writ
ten back in the nild-seventiea. Thia last
has been excepted a full explanation of
why at least some of the letters ahe longed
for never came.
Text Fitted to the Events.
Payville was enlivened ono April Sunday
by the odd aptness of Rev. J. B. Ham
mings text. "Lean not on weak founda
tions," he announced, and at the same In
stant the pulpit desk collapsed.
Quite as fitting was the decoration con
ferred upon Prince Henry of the Nether
lands by England's Edward. Queen Wll
helmlna's consort had saved a score of
lives at the time of the wreck of tha Ber
lin, nearly drowning himself In tha at
tempts. Now he lias been made a compan
ion of the Older uf the Bath.
New York has produced a non-sinkabla
German too fat to commit suicide In At
lantic basin, though he tried his Teutoneat;
but Indiana university has surpassed all
the other attempts of 19-77 to Illustrate the
Irony of fate. Colonel Bryan offered an
essay prlzx there, and now It has been won
by a genius who wrote opposing the gov
ernment ownership of railroads.
Guatemala made its bid for first place
when (in April) President Cabrera Issued
warrants for the arrest of Francisco Rafas,
an editor. He was a criminal In that he
had dared to print the presidential mea
ane on the back page of his sheet.
Paris added to her escaped prisoner epi
sode a characteristic Item when, last April,
It began to perfume its subway lines will)
the sci lit a of Aruby the blest.
And dear old Lunnon sent In no less than
three good "trys" for head of the list, la
the eur second month It reported a gen
th man, Thomi xm by name, who had been
In bid sinc e- 1;;; he Is perfectly healthy.
Just lazy! This wan follow- up, In May.
with a iu'iIh squib of the arrest of half a
d mi little girls who had been ruught
throwing dice for a Bible. August saw
Ird Wulsiugl.ain out shooting wuspa on
the wing with a rifle.
Henri Naissant, a member of tha French
Legion of Honor, and Stefan Magaley, of
New York City, bequeathed apeolfled sums
for the cost of Jollifications at U-eir f a
berals. New Orleans Times.
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