It might have been worse : $b a motor trip from coast to coast — John Shaqi
It might have been worse : $b a motor trip from coast to coastMassey, Beatrice Larned
General
It might have been worse : $b a motor trip from coast to coast
Massey, Beatrice Larned
Automobile travel; United States -- Description and travel
Today we met our small boys again. I had forgotten them. After leaving
Minneapolis, many times we had overtaken two boys, who were making a
hike to the park, a distance of over nine hundred miles. They were
about sixteen years of age, as sturdy, polite little chaps as you could
meet. Many times we had given them a lift of fifty miles or more into
the next town. They told us that they had earned the money for the
trip and carried their camping outfits on their backs. They camped
near a haystack at night, bought food (or had it given to them) on the
road, and were having the time of their lives. When I thought of the
Dakota prairies and Bad Lands, and of the hot, dusty Montana plains, I
realized more than ever the sturdy stuff that Westerners are made of. I
would like to know what the future holds for those two lads.
The last day of our trip was back to the starting-point, Mammoth Hot
Springs Hotel. That morning Toodles left us, taking the trip out to the
eastern entrance at Cody. This charming little lady had been with us
six weeks, and we were sorry to see her go.
We were told that the scenery was even finer on the Cody road, but we
could not conceive of it.
After going a few miles from the hotel, through a bit of woods, our
driver jammed on his brakes, with the news, “Here are the bears!”--two
good-sized cubs and the mother bear holding us up! They were in the
middle of the road; so we had to stop. Everyone wants to see the bears
in the park. Well, _we did_! The old one, a big cinnamon bear, walked
around to the side of the car, stood on her hind legs, with her front
paws on the door of the car and her muzzle in my lap! I never was so
scared in my life! “She wants the candy,” the others exclaimed. I had a
box of chocolates in my lap, and, with my hands shaking like aspens, I
began to peel off the silver foil from one piece. “Don’t stop for that;
give her the candy, or she will be in the car!” yelled the driver. And
you better believe I did, in short order! Handing her the box, she
gobbled every piece, foil and all. Everyone was standing on the seats
with a camera trying to snap the picture. After she sniffed about to
see if I had any more, she went to all the cars lined up back of us,
where they fed her and the cubs everything they carried. They had to,
for she foraged for herself. I assure you that the sensation of having
a huge bear eat out of your hand is a thriller! There are black and
grizzly (or silver-tip) bears in the park. A few venture out of the
woods to the camps and garbage-dumps near the hotels. Of course, the
forests are full of large and small game. There are two buffalo herds.
The tame herd has increased from twenty animals, in 1902, to 385, in
October, 1918. We saw mountain-sheep and many deer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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