donniej
5th October 2007, 16:28
In 1916 at the age of 16, Chas. K. Findlay rode his brand new Indian motorcycle from Montgomery Alabama to Roanoke Virginia and back. This trip should have been lost to history but he kept a diary of it. He gave this Diary to a friend of his, who recently gave it to a member of ADVrider.com who typed it out.
I post it here so we can better appreciate our moto heritage.
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Page 1.
The story of the trip from Montgomery, Ala -to-Abington, Va. -via- Atlanta ,Ga Spartanburg, SC Charlotte, NC Winston-Salem, NC Roanoke, Va 859 miles in 43hr.35 min on a 1916 Indian motorcycle By Chas K.Findlay Thur.June 8th 1916 After looking over the motor, filling the tanks and strapping on the baggage the nite before.
Page 2.
Baggage consisted of rain coat and gal. of oil I was ready to go as soon as I was dressed. I put on my riding suit was already dirty and greasy so you can imagine what I will look like at the end of the 859 miles. I cranked off at 5:20am I was leaving Montgomery behind me. 5:45 I almost froze! I didn't know a june morning could be so cold especially in Ala. I found some of yesterdays newspapers by the road Looked clean so I stuffed them under my coat...
Page 3.
…and then rode on more comfortable.6:00 Baggage shook loose but I've got it strapped on now so it won't give me any more trouble.7:00am passed thru Tuskegee, Ala. This is where the big Booker T. Washington negro college is .7:40am Auburn, ala. Had breakfast. This is where big Military college is 8:15 am Opelika, Ala. The only thing that happen was I got a gal of gas. The morning was fine and the roads were fair
Page 4.
So I was rambling along to a town I stayed there just long enough to find out how to get out. Just a little while before I got to West Point Ga. I got on the finest road you ever saw. Just smooth as a carpet and wide enough for three auto to run abreast. I noticed a strange thing I didn't see a single track on it! I couldn't quite get idea why such a fine road should be unused All-of-a-sudden as I came around…
Page 5.
…I came to the end!! There happen to be a man plowing in a field by the road and I asked him why this good road stopped right here and how to get to West Point, Ga. He said "That road aint finished yet. They run out of money and had to stop building it. You should have turned to the right 5 miles back, but you can take this wagon road thru the woods and it will bring you to West Point road" . I did as he said and was soon on the right road.
Page 6.
In a little while I was in West point, Ga. 9:40am I got gal. of gas. The road was very sandy out of here, the new road is not finished yet. The drive chain to speedometer broke! I took it apart and found broken piece, Took out my pliers and clipped out a piece of the barbed wire fence, made a chain link put it in place of the broken one. Put speedometer back on then rode on everything all right. 12:00-Newman Ga. This was end of first day's stop when I rode to New York with My father.
Page 7.
It happen to be where I had lunch. About 20 miles from Atlanta the road was being fixed ,and that road was the biggest mess you ever saw! It was just like riding thru a plowed up field. When I came into College Park(about 10 miles from Atlanta) The express train bound for Atlanta was standing at the station. We both pull out at the same time!( The road very good here to Atlanta ).We stayed side-by-side! When we had gone a mile...
Page 8.
...or more we reached the speed of about 55 or 60mph. Everybody in the train was staring out the windows at me and seemed much surprised at the fact that a motorcycle could keep pase with the Atlanta express. Then something happened! I was watching the train too much and didn't see the bad place I was going into. The road had a kind of a wash out right straight across it, It was about 3-4ft deep and about 20ft wide with sloping banks on both sides. Well I dropped down…
Page 9.
…in there about 58 mph and then shot up the other side and into the air! Believe me it was some jump! I know my wheels cleared5ft or more and I covered about fifty feet in distance before I came down! The second I came down I opened up and kept up with the train. It surprised me very much how easy I landed. About this time I think everybody was on one side of the train! About 2 miles further and I had to slow down. I was getting into Atlanta…
Page 10.
...And there was to much danger of running into a wagon, auto or something. Well I keep up with that train for about 5 miles. I had a lot of fun by running up to the engine and then slowing down and drop back to the observation car, then open up to the engine again and stuff like that. 2:00pm I was in the heart of Atlanta,Ga. Which makes a run of nine hours from Montgonery,Ala. My back tire was just about worn out and I knew it would be giving trouble so…
Page 11.
…I decided to buy a new one. I liked that "Kelly Springfield" tire and I knew they had a branch place here so I tried to find it. Atlanta Ga. is the hardest place to find your way around than any other place of it's size I have ever seen. After looking for the "Kelly Springfield" tire co. for ONE whole hour at last I found it. And then after a long continuation of delays I at last got the new back tire on the wheel. It was until 6:00pm that I was leaving Atlanta. I stopped on way out for gal. of gas and gal. of oil.
Page 12.
I made a big sprint for "winder Ga. Which is about 55.8 miles from Atlanta. (this was my second stop when I was on my way to New York with my father, It happens to be my first this time)There were paved roads 10 miles out of Atlanta and after that was in fair shape. It got dark and I had to use my light. I came flying around a corner and came to the cross roads, It happen right where the roads cross there was a big and very bad sand bed ,my light wasn't burning very extra...
Page 13.
...bright just then so I didn't see it right away and went flying into it and down went me and the motor before I knew what happen! I got up, picked up my motor, nothing was hurt. Now it happened that I was right in the middle of the crossroads so I saw four roads leading four different way, they all were the same build and looked alike, now I didn't know which one to take. I was glad the moon was shining good and bright. I set my motor on the stand...
Page 14.
...and went back to the place I hit the ground, then followed my tracks back to the road! I had come from and I knew my route was straight thru. Next little town I lost three min. getting a gal. gas and then beat it on into "Winder Ga." A run of two hours from Atlanta. Stayed at a small hotel, same one my farther and myself stayed at, and got a good nights rest. The end of the first day's run. 250 miles.
Page 15.
Fri. June 9th 1916 I had my breakfast early so I could get a good start at the road. About 6:45. I left Winder, Ga. and was on my way to Athens, Ga. The road to Athens is a VERY GOOD road, broad and hard but you have to be careful because at places it seems to jump right off a cliff right into a chasm! Down you go, around steep and sharp curves and then shoot out across a bridge at bottom ,then up again on the other side about the same...
Page 16.
...way as going down. A little less than an hour riding put me in Athens Which is a very good size town. The roads from here on are not so good, It is very hilly and rough, It gets good at times and then bad, and then bad to worse and then good for a while and so on. Gee! The sun is hot! The handle bars of the motor are so hot I can't touch them anywhere except on the rubber grips. And the heat from that engine! Good...
Page 17.
...night! I had to ride with my feet on the handle bars to keep my legs from being burnt Couldn't hold my hand a foot away from it, It was so hot. It's a wonder it didn't melt. I didn't stop, I just keep on going and that engine was running just a pretty as you please, but believe me I was giving it the oil ,I used two quarts in 20 miles! I left a trail of smoke behind me like a ocean liner! I got off the motor at one town when I was...
Page 18.
…having a gal. of gas put in the tank. When The sun had been warming up my leather seat!! I got back on I got right off again quick!! I said "Say! Do you all have this kind of weather always"? One fellow answered, Nope. Very unusual, you may not believe it but it hailed last nite and the weather man says strange things for this after noon ,so keep your eyes open. I thanked him for the information then poured a bucket of water…
Page 19.
...over the seat to cool it off then rode on. It had, I mean the weather had cooled off a bit and the sun was under a cloud so the riding was much better. There were two ferrys crossing to S.C. and they had up big signs along the road. One saying they had the best boat and route and the other would say they had the best road and quickest crossing. As the distance grew shorter to the ferries the signs grew very large and the bull written...
Page 20.
...on them had also grown very large. At the forks of the road where you were to decide which ferry you wanted were signs as big as a house with letters on then you could read a mile telling you which one was the best. Both ways went to Anderson, S.C. I looked at the signs a minute and then I decide that both were the best so I took out a coin and said heads-right tails -Left I pitched it up and it came down heads so i took…
Page 21.
...the right road. It was a very good road, I rode along for about a mile then I saw the river down the gorge, very beautiful seanery but I wasn't interested in it. The road went down and down- around sharp curves in and out of cliffs for about a half mile or more and then at the bottom. I came to the ferry landing. Everything looked like it was dead. There was a little ferry that looked to me if you didn't get right in the middle it would turn over. There was…
Page 22.
...a little shed by the ferry that looked like it was about to fall to pieces. I sounded my horn to get somebody to take me across. I heard VERY STRONG voice "Well get in the boat"! I looked around quick and saw a white bush on the ferry! It was the voice in the bush!! Oh ,excuse me I’m a little bit wrong ,I took a nother look and saw it was an old man with a beard!! He was about 4ft 5in high and had a GREAT MASS of white...
Page 23.
…whiskers that nearly reached the ground. And covered his body from the chin down. I never saw such a beard in all my life. That old man could make a fortune in a circus side show with that beard. I got on the boat and we started across the river. I was very nervous, I didn't like his looks. He looked to me like he was just about to jump out from behind that beard on to my neck. He spoke! I nearly jumped in the river! His voice was like...
Page 24.
...thunder! He said, "we had hail storm here last night" I said "Yes I know and we are having a thunder storm right now" He said "WHAT!" I said "nothing". And at the same time put my hand in my pocket where my gun was. Well we got across and I was still alive. He made it very plain that the charge was 25 cents I gave it to him at arms length and jumped on my motorcycle and left, and the way I went up that hill!! I know my engine...
Page 25.
...must have thought a band of wild indians were right behind me. I don't know what made me such a fool to be afraid of that old man because I am much larger and stronger than he, but there was something about him I didn't like. About the only diffrence I could see in the two state Ga. and S.C. is that S.C. state had more bumps and holes in the road than in GA. I passes thur Annderson S.C.a good size town.Had lunch there. The roads were...........page 26.........fair. Anderson S.C. was the third days stop when I was going to New York with my dad. I ate lunch a little before noon here this time. The roads were pretty bad just out of anderson but got better later on but there were still bad places every little ways. It's nothing but a plain old dirt road. About 2:00 pm I came to Greenville, S.C. I got gas and oil for...
Page 27.
...my motor and a milk shake for myself and then left. The roads from here on are very good for a little ways and then it gets back to the same old clay-dirt road as before. I got into Greenville. I meet another fellow on a motorcycle, we had a little race but it didn't last long. He gave up and let me by. I was bound for Spartanburg, S.C. I thought I would get in about 4:30 pm There is a rock road for the last ten miles just before Spartanburg…
Page 28.
…The rock road is about 20ft wide and on each side it has a dirt road for wagons. I prefered to ride the dirt road, it was much better than the rock road. The rock road was very badly worn and full of deep holes.4:15pm I arrived at Spartanburg, I paid a hurried visit to the Clinkscales, some old friends, and then left for Charlotte, N.C. I had just got started out of Spartanburg when the trouble started!! I was riding along at a nice speed when...
Page 29.
...I noticed the air was hot and stuffy I couldn't quite understand that because it was getting along late in the afternoon and it ought to be getting cool. Every now and then a little breeze would come and it would be as hot as if it came out of a blast furnace, and then I began to hear strange sounds such as one thinks he hears in a graveyard at night, anyway I heard these and they grew louder and louder, then came a…
Page 30.
...breeze so hot I thought I would roast and then came a breeze so cold I almost froze. I remembered the warning the fellow gave me in this morning about keeping my eyes open and watch out for strange things to happen. I looked around to see what it was all about, I found out and it almost scared me green! The road was very sandy right along here and at places there was deep sand beds but I didn't...
Page 31.
...mind that. I opened up to get away! It was a funnel shaped whirl wind about 500 or 600 ft high, It might have been higher for all I know but it looked a mile high to me. It was so powerful that it pulled up small trees, torn off limbs of big ones and took all the road signs with it. It was about 100 ft behind me when I saw it and it stayed at that direction till I came to a turn in the road and the whirlwind went straight.
Page 32.
I watched it for a little while, tearing up thing it went and finally died away in the distance. About 30 minutes later I had a race with a Hudson Super "six" up kings mountain S.C. It was a beautiful road winding in and out the cliffs of the mountains and about 30% grade. The car had a head start on me but about half way up I passed it, I was in high about 30 and the Hudson must have been in second for...
Page 33.
…it was only making about 10 mph. I reached the top, went down, passed about a dozen little towns and then looked back to see if anymore whirl-winds were behind me, there wasn't any but there was a rain storm about 3 miles behind me so I increased speed about 5 mph and rode about 40 miles and then I noticed that the storm was closing in on me from all sides. It was getting very dark and I had to use my…
Page 34.
...light. I could tell storm was closing in because lightning flashes were thick and fast on all sides , and the air was very cold! The road was good and my light was bright so I speeded up for a sprint into Charlotte, N.C. which is about 5 miles away. I reached there just as it began to -not rain but hail! It was SOME hail believe me! I'd just as soon somebody would throw gravel at me. I went...
Page 35.
...flying into the first garage I saw and nearly ran over everybody and everything in there. That hail came down so hard on my motor I thought were it would crack all the enamal off and put little dents in the tank, But it didn't hurt it. I looked it over good. I left my motor at the garage and went to the nearest hotel, cleaned up a bit, (you should have seen the water when I got done) and then...
Page 36.
...went out to a resturant and had supper, and right back to the hotel I went! And to bed! So ended my second day's adventure, I had come from- Winder, Ga. to Charlotte, N.C. thu ALL of S.C. and 55 miles of S.C. a total of 241 miles the day. I got into Charlotte at 7 P.M. The morning of the third day I started out with the idea of crossing the Blue Ridges....
Page 37.
...Mountains into Roanoke V.A. before sun down .I left Charlotte N.C. at 7:00AM The road was good at times and very bad at other times and generally fair. Nothing happened worth writing about until 11:00AM I stoped in Winston-Salem N.C. and got something to eat. I had come 84 miles from Charlotte. The road out of Winston-Salem is a extra good hard road , so I was just flying along. I came over a hill about 45MPH and right there in the road just a little ahead of me I saw two of the...
Page 38.
...Largest Hounds I ever saw. And they stood right there in front of me and wagged thier tails. I was on them in a second! I missed one but it was to late to miss the other! I held the handle bars firm and crashed right into his broadside, it seems as if I could hear his back bone twist and his ribs snap!! I next thing I knew I was wabbling down the road and it was all I could do to keep it up. The dog was so big that the wheel would not go over him so...
Page 39.
...I just knocked him out of the way and at the same time crushing his breast for you know it a pretty hard hit to into anything going 45 mph. All went well after that tillI came within 15 miles of Martinville VA.where I came to a VERY LARGE healthy mud hole which lasted for about200 yds A Ford was stuck right in the middle of it but my old motor pulled me thru. The fellows in the Ford told me to go back to the last town I left...
I post it here so we can better appreciate our moto heritage.
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Page 1.
The story of the trip from Montgomery, Ala -to-Abington, Va. -via- Atlanta ,Ga Spartanburg, SC Charlotte, NC Winston-Salem, NC Roanoke, Va 859 miles in 43hr.35 min on a 1916 Indian motorcycle By Chas K.Findlay Thur.June 8th 1916 After looking over the motor, filling the tanks and strapping on the baggage the nite before.
Page 2.
Baggage consisted of rain coat and gal. of oil I was ready to go as soon as I was dressed. I put on my riding suit was already dirty and greasy so you can imagine what I will look like at the end of the 859 miles. I cranked off at 5:20am I was leaving Montgomery behind me. 5:45 I almost froze! I didn't know a june morning could be so cold especially in Ala. I found some of yesterdays newspapers by the road Looked clean so I stuffed them under my coat...
Page 3.
…and then rode on more comfortable.6:00 Baggage shook loose but I've got it strapped on now so it won't give me any more trouble.7:00am passed thru Tuskegee, Ala. This is where the big Booker T. Washington negro college is .7:40am Auburn, ala. Had breakfast. This is where big Military college is 8:15 am Opelika, Ala. The only thing that happen was I got a gal of gas. The morning was fine and the roads were fair
Page 4.
So I was rambling along to a town I stayed there just long enough to find out how to get out. Just a little while before I got to West Point Ga. I got on the finest road you ever saw. Just smooth as a carpet and wide enough for three auto to run abreast. I noticed a strange thing I didn't see a single track on it! I couldn't quite get idea why such a fine road should be unused All-of-a-sudden as I came around…
Page 5.
…I came to the end!! There happen to be a man plowing in a field by the road and I asked him why this good road stopped right here and how to get to West Point, Ga. He said "That road aint finished yet. They run out of money and had to stop building it. You should have turned to the right 5 miles back, but you can take this wagon road thru the woods and it will bring you to West Point road" . I did as he said and was soon on the right road.
Page 6.
In a little while I was in West point, Ga. 9:40am I got gal. of gas. The road was very sandy out of here, the new road is not finished yet. The drive chain to speedometer broke! I took it apart and found broken piece, Took out my pliers and clipped out a piece of the barbed wire fence, made a chain link put it in place of the broken one. Put speedometer back on then rode on everything all right. 12:00-Newman Ga. This was end of first day's stop when I rode to New York with My father.
Page 7.
It happen to be where I had lunch. About 20 miles from Atlanta the road was being fixed ,and that road was the biggest mess you ever saw! It was just like riding thru a plowed up field. When I came into College Park(about 10 miles from Atlanta) The express train bound for Atlanta was standing at the station. We both pull out at the same time!( The road very good here to Atlanta ).We stayed side-by-side! When we had gone a mile...
Page 8.
...or more we reached the speed of about 55 or 60mph. Everybody in the train was staring out the windows at me and seemed much surprised at the fact that a motorcycle could keep pase with the Atlanta express. Then something happened! I was watching the train too much and didn't see the bad place I was going into. The road had a kind of a wash out right straight across it, It was about 3-4ft deep and about 20ft wide with sloping banks on both sides. Well I dropped down…
Page 9.
…in there about 58 mph and then shot up the other side and into the air! Believe me it was some jump! I know my wheels cleared5ft or more and I covered about fifty feet in distance before I came down! The second I came down I opened up and kept up with the train. It surprised me very much how easy I landed. About this time I think everybody was on one side of the train! About 2 miles further and I had to slow down. I was getting into Atlanta…
Page 10.
...And there was to much danger of running into a wagon, auto or something. Well I keep up with that train for about 5 miles. I had a lot of fun by running up to the engine and then slowing down and drop back to the observation car, then open up to the engine again and stuff like that. 2:00pm I was in the heart of Atlanta,Ga. Which makes a run of nine hours from Montgonery,Ala. My back tire was just about worn out and I knew it would be giving trouble so…
Page 11.
…I decided to buy a new one. I liked that "Kelly Springfield" tire and I knew they had a branch place here so I tried to find it. Atlanta Ga. is the hardest place to find your way around than any other place of it's size I have ever seen. After looking for the "Kelly Springfield" tire co. for ONE whole hour at last I found it. And then after a long continuation of delays I at last got the new back tire on the wheel. It was until 6:00pm that I was leaving Atlanta. I stopped on way out for gal. of gas and gal. of oil.
Page 12.
I made a big sprint for "winder Ga. Which is about 55.8 miles from Atlanta. (this was my second stop when I was on my way to New York with my father, It happens to be my first this time)There were paved roads 10 miles out of Atlanta and after that was in fair shape. It got dark and I had to use my light. I came flying around a corner and came to the cross roads, It happen right where the roads cross there was a big and very bad sand bed ,my light wasn't burning very extra...
Page 13.
...bright just then so I didn't see it right away and went flying into it and down went me and the motor before I knew what happen! I got up, picked up my motor, nothing was hurt. Now it happened that I was right in the middle of the crossroads so I saw four roads leading four different way, they all were the same build and looked alike, now I didn't know which one to take. I was glad the moon was shining good and bright. I set my motor on the stand...
Page 14.
...and went back to the place I hit the ground, then followed my tracks back to the road! I had come from and I knew my route was straight thru. Next little town I lost three min. getting a gal. gas and then beat it on into "Winder Ga." A run of two hours from Atlanta. Stayed at a small hotel, same one my farther and myself stayed at, and got a good nights rest. The end of the first day's run. 250 miles.
Page 15.
Fri. June 9th 1916 I had my breakfast early so I could get a good start at the road. About 6:45. I left Winder, Ga. and was on my way to Athens, Ga. The road to Athens is a VERY GOOD road, broad and hard but you have to be careful because at places it seems to jump right off a cliff right into a chasm! Down you go, around steep and sharp curves and then shoot out across a bridge at bottom ,then up again on the other side about the same...
Page 16.
...way as going down. A little less than an hour riding put me in Athens Which is a very good size town. The roads from here on are not so good, It is very hilly and rough, It gets good at times and then bad, and then bad to worse and then good for a while and so on. Gee! The sun is hot! The handle bars of the motor are so hot I can't touch them anywhere except on the rubber grips. And the heat from that engine! Good...
Page 17.
...night! I had to ride with my feet on the handle bars to keep my legs from being burnt Couldn't hold my hand a foot away from it, It was so hot. It's a wonder it didn't melt. I didn't stop, I just keep on going and that engine was running just a pretty as you please, but believe me I was giving it the oil ,I used two quarts in 20 miles! I left a trail of smoke behind me like a ocean liner! I got off the motor at one town when I was...
Page 18.
…having a gal. of gas put in the tank. When The sun had been warming up my leather seat!! I got back on I got right off again quick!! I said "Say! Do you all have this kind of weather always"? One fellow answered, Nope. Very unusual, you may not believe it but it hailed last nite and the weather man says strange things for this after noon ,so keep your eyes open. I thanked him for the information then poured a bucket of water…
Page 19.
...over the seat to cool it off then rode on. It had, I mean the weather had cooled off a bit and the sun was under a cloud so the riding was much better. There were two ferrys crossing to S.C. and they had up big signs along the road. One saying they had the best boat and route and the other would say they had the best road and quickest crossing. As the distance grew shorter to the ferries the signs grew very large and the bull written...
Page 20.
...on them had also grown very large. At the forks of the road where you were to decide which ferry you wanted were signs as big as a house with letters on then you could read a mile telling you which one was the best. Both ways went to Anderson, S.C. I looked at the signs a minute and then I decide that both were the best so I took out a coin and said heads-right tails -Left I pitched it up and it came down heads so i took…
Page 21.
...the right road. It was a very good road, I rode along for about a mile then I saw the river down the gorge, very beautiful seanery but I wasn't interested in it. The road went down and down- around sharp curves in and out of cliffs for about a half mile or more and then at the bottom. I came to the ferry landing. Everything looked like it was dead. There was a little ferry that looked to me if you didn't get right in the middle it would turn over. There was…
Page 22.
...a little shed by the ferry that looked like it was about to fall to pieces. I sounded my horn to get somebody to take me across. I heard VERY STRONG voice "Well get in the boat"! I looked around quick and saw a white bush on the ferry! It was the voice in the bush!! Oh ,excuse me I’m a little bit wrong ,I took a nother look and saw it was an old man with a beard!! He was about 4ft 5in high and had a GREAT MASS of white...
Page 23.
…whiskers that nearly reached the ground. And covered his body from the chin down. I never saw such a beard in all my life. That old man could make a fortune in a circus side show with that beard. I got on the boat and we started across the river. I was very nervous, I didn't like his looks. He looked to me like he was just about to jump out from behind that beard on to my neck. He spoke! I nearly jumped in the river! His voice was like...
Page 24.
...thunder! He said, "we had hail storm here last night" I said "Yes I know and we are having a thunder storm right now" He said "WHAT!" I said "nothing". And at the same time put my hand in my pocket where my gun was. Well we got across and I was still alive. He made it very plain that the charge was 25 cents I gave it to him at arms length and jumped on my motorcycle and left, and the way I went up that hill!! I know my engine...
Page 25.
...must have thought a band of wild indians were right behind me. I don't know what made me such a fool to be afraid of that old man because I am much larger and stronger than he, but there was something about him I didn't like. About the only diffrence I could see in the two state Ga. and S.C. is that S.C. state had more bumps and holes in the road than in GA. I passes thur Annderson S.C.a good size town.Had lunch there. The roads were...........page 26.........fair. Anderson S.C. was the third days stop when I was going to New York with my dad. I ate lunch a little before noon here this time. The roads were pretty bad just out of anderson but got better later on but there were still bad places every little ways. It's nothing but a plain old dirt road. About 2:00 pm I came to Greenville, S.C. I got gas and oil for...
Page 27.
...my motor and a milk shake for myself and then left. The roads from here on are very good for a little ways and then it gets back to the same old clay-dirt road as before. I got into Greenville. I meet another fellow on a motorcycle, we had a little race but it didn't last long. He gave up and let me by. I was bound for Spartanburg, S.C. I thought I would get in about 4:30 pm There is a rock road for the last ten miles just before Spartanburg…
Page 28.
…The rock road is about 20ft wide and on each side it has a dirt road for wagons. I prefered to ride the dirt road, it was much better than the rock road. The rock road was very badly worn and full of deep holes.4:15pm I arrived at Spartanburg, I paid a hurried visit to the Clinkscales, some old friends, and then left for Charlotte, N.C. I had just got started out of Spartanburg when the trouble started!! I was riding along at a nice speed when...
Page 29.
...I noticed the air was hot and stuffy I couldn't quite understand that because it was getting along late in the afternoon and it ought to be getting cool. Every now and then a little breeze would come and it would be as hot as if it came out of a blast furnace, and then I began to hear strange sounds such as one thinks he hears in a graveyard at night, anyway I heard these and they grew louder and louder, then came a…
Page 30.
...breeze so hot I thought I would roast and then came a breeze so cold I almost froze. I remembered the warning the fellow gave me in this morning about keeping my eyes open and watch out for strange things to happen. I looked around to see what it was all about, I found out and it almost scared me green! The road was very sandy right along here and at places there was deep sand beds but I didn't...
Page 31.
...mind that. I opened up to get away! It was a funnel shaped whirl wind about 500 or 600 ft high, It might have been higher for all I know but it looked a mile high to me. It was so powerful that it pulled up small trees, torn off limbs of big ones and took all the road signs with it. It was about 100 ft behind me when I saw it and it stayed at that direction till I came to a turn in the road and the whirlwind went straight.
Page 32.
I watched it for a little while, tearing up thing it went and finally died away in the distance. About 30 minutes later I had a race with a Hudson Super "six" up kings mountain S.C. It was a beautiful road winding in and out the cliffs of the mountains and about 30% grade. The car had a head start on me but about half way up I passed it, I was in high about 30 and the Hudson must have been in second for...
Page 33.
…it was only making about 10 mph. I reached the top, went down, passed about a dozen little towns and then looked back to see if anymore whirl-winds were behind me, there wasn't any but there was a rain storm about 3 miles behind me so I increased speed about 5 mph and rode about 40 miles and then I noticed that the storm was closing in on me from all sides. It was getting very dark and I had to use my…
Page 34.
...light. I could tell storm was closing in because lightning flashes were thick and fast on all sides , and the air was very cold! The road was good and my light was bright so I speeded up for a sprint into Charlotte, N.C. which is about 5 miles away. I reached there just as it began to -not rain but hail! It was SOME hail believe me! I'd just as soon somebody would throw gravel at me. I went...
Page 35.
...flying into the first garage I saw and nearly ran over everybody and everything in there. That hail came down so hard on my motor I thought were it would crack all the enamal off and put little dents in the tank, But it didn't hurt it. I looked it over good. I left my motor at the garage and went to the nearest hotel, cleaned up a bit, (you should have seen the water when I got done) and then...
Page 36.
...went out to a resturant and had supper, and right back to the hotel I went! And to bed! So ended my second day's adventure, I had come from- Winder, Ga. to Charlotte, N.C. thu ALL of S.C. and 55 miles of S.C. a total of 241 miles the day. I got into Charlotte at 7 P.M. The morning of the third day I started out with the idea of crossing the Blue Ridges....
Page 37.
...Mountains into Roanoke V.A. before sun down .I left Charlotte N.C. at 7:00AM The road was good at times and very bad at other times and generally fair. Nothing happened worth writing about until 11:00AM I stoped in Winston-Salem N.C. and got something to eat. I had come 84 miles from Charlotte. The road out of Winston-Salem is a extra good hard road , so I was just flying along. I came over a hill about 45MPH and right there in the road just a little ahead of me I saw two of the...
Page 38.
...Largest Hounds I ever saw. And they stood right there in front of me and wagged thier tails. I was on them in a second! I missed one but it was to late to miss the other! I held the handle bars firm and crashed right into his broadside, it seems as if I could hear his back bone twist and his ribs snap!! I next thing I knew I was wabbling down the road and it was all I could do to keep it up. The dog was so big that the wheel would not go over him so...
Page 39.
...I just knocked him out of the way and at the same time crushing his breast for you know it a pretty hard hit to into anything going 45 mph. All went well after that tillI came within 15 miles of Martinville VA.where I came to a VERY LARGE healthy mud hole which lasted for about200 yds A Ford was stuck right in the middle of it but my old motor pulled me thru. The fellows in the Ford told me to go back to the last town I left...