The Sunday Oregonian., August 16, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 3, Image 43

BY U A. KERNS WpRTH.
PROM Portland to-Tillamook In one
day; from the valley through the
n-llda of the Coaf reglona to the
city of Tillamook In six Hours" time! How
the pioneer of yeatertlme would gasp at
the sua-seation; and yet that Is exactly
what R. W. "Watson, nwpaper editor
vand chauffeur is doing three time each
week.
Mr. Watson, or "Rome." as he is fa
miliarly caJled, is one'of tire most ex
perienced chauffeurs in the state. The
.idea of establishing an auto-stage line
was conceived by him several years
ago, but It was only last June that the
idea assumed any definite shape. On
June 3 the new enterprise was launched,
and" now, where before it took days,
yes months, to penetrate the- borders of
this tar-near little paradise on the
shores of the Pacific, and when to get
there meant either a tedious Journey
by stage, or a still more fatiguing
Journey In a rickety old tub that
passes for a boat, is substituted a trip of
which every moment is one of pleasure,
and the traveler is landed in Tillamook
six hours after he has left the starting
point. 7 miles away.
Having Just finished a bountiful
meal at MrMlnnville. I tucked myself
snugly In the seat beelde the editor
chauffeur, and, presto! off we were,
speeding first through the dusty
streets of the metropolie of Old Yam
hill, then through the even more dusty
roads of the country (Tillamook knows
rot the meaning of that word "dusty")
through fields of waving , grain, or
stubble fields dotted with freshly
made grain shocks. We speed past
busy crews of harvest nande engaged
In the work of "balln" hay," but who
linger long enough to wave us a greet
SAY. the longer I knocks around, and
the more kinds I meet, the slower I
am about sizin' folks up on a first
i-lew. I used to think there was only two
d'asses. them that was my kind and
them that wa'n't; but I've got over that.
I don't try to grade 'em up any more;
for they're built on ao many different
plans It would take a card index the
tize of a flat buildln' to keep 'em all
on file. All I can make out la that there's
some good points about the worst of 'em,
and some of the best has their streak of
yellow.
Anyway, I'm glad I ain't called on to
write a tag for Langdon. First news I
had of him was what I took for inside
information, beln' as it was handed me
Jiy hie maw. When I gets the note aekin'
me to call up in the TO's between five
and six I don't know whether It's a bid
to a tea fest or a bait for an auction.
The stationery was real swell, though,
and the writln' was this up and down
kind that goes with the gilt crest. What
I could puzsle out of the name, though,
wa'n't famlltar.
So about five-thirty I'm standln outside
the glass doors pushln' the bell. A but
ler with boiled-egg eyea looks me over
real frosty from behind the lace cur
tains; but the minute I says I'm Shorty
McClabe he takes off the tramp chain
and says, "Yes. sir. This way, sir." I'm
towed In over the Persian hall runner to
the back parlor, where there's a lady
and gent slttln' on opposite sides of the
. coal grate, with a tea tray between 'em.
"I'll be drlnkln that stuff yet, , if I
ain't careful." thinks I.
But I didn't even have to duck. The
lady was so anxious to get to talkin' that'
she forgot to shove the cups at me, and
the gent didn't act like it was his say.
It was hard to tell, the way she has
the lights fixed, whether she was 25 or
S-. Anyway, she hadn't got past the kit
tenish stage. Some of 'em never does.
She don't overdo the thing, but just
- gushes natural; usin' her eyes, and eye
brows, and the end of her nose, and the
tip of her chin when she spoke, as well
as throwln In a few shoulder lifts once
in a while.
"It's so good of you to come up, tro
fessor!" says she. "Isn't it. Pembroke?"
Pembroke he's the gent on the other
side of the tray starts to say that it
was, but she don't give him a chance.
She blazes right ahead, tellln" how she's
heard of me and my studio through
friends, and the minute she hears she
knows that nothing would suit Langdon
better. "Langdon's my son, you know,"
eays she.
."Honest r" says I.
Te-hel" says she. "How sweet of
you! Hardlv any one believes It at first,
though. But he's a dear boy; Isn't he,
Pembroke?"
' This was Pembroke's cue for fair. It's
up to him to do the boost act. But all
he produces Is a double-barreled blink
from behind the glasses. He's one of
these ohubby chaps. Pembroke Is. espe
cially around the belt. He has pink
cheeks, and a nice white forehead that
i almost meets the back of his collar. But
he knows when to let things slide with
a blink. '
"I guess some one's been givln you the
wrong steer." says I. "I ain't started
any kindergarten class yet. .The Y. il.
C A. does that sort of "
Oh dear! but Langdon isn't a child.
vou know." says the lady. "He's a reat
bi fellow, almost 22. Yes, really.
And
-. '" ' ' : mS S2 : " "
'vvr..,-i-. - - :"-?,?-., W ."v-...--1-
ing as we disappear In the distance.
Upon reaching Sheridan we stop suffi
ciently long to gather in a passenger,
and off we are again, eating up the
distance between us and the busy,
bustling little burg of Willamlna; and
then for the tedious climb over the
mountains.
Rollle knows everyone along the
road, and everybody knows Rollle.
Babes cry In their, mother's arms to
be allowed to wave at him, little chil
dren run to the gate to meet him.
Between our chauffeur-editor and the
residents along the road nothing but
the best ot good-will exists. The team
ster does not dread to meet his go
devil, for well does he know that while
Rollle Is at the wheel there is no dan
ger. Rollle will slow down or even
stop if need be, and the teameter never
falls to receive a cheery greeting from
him.
Mr. Watson is an ardent good roads
enthusiast. He has already done much
towards making the roads of Tilla
mook County passable, but much re
mains yet to be done In that line, and
Mr. Watson Is the one to accomplish,
the work if anyone will .accomplish it.
He has several times appeared before
the County Courts of Polk. Yamhill
and Tillamook Counties, and at one
time brought the County Judge and
commissioners of Polk County on a per
sonal tour of inspection over the road.
From them he has received definite
promises to make Polk County's part
of tlue road a first class one, and the
other counties' have also Interested
themselves In the matter. Through the
medium of the press he Is creating a
sentiment for "at least one good road,"
as he puts It to the "outside." but
Utrouarh a better and surer medium, a
personal appeal to the property-owners
along the road. Is our chauffeur-editor
slowly perfecting the realization of his
I know you'll get to be awfully fond of
him. Won t he Pembroke?"
"We-e-e-ell " says Pembroke.
"Oh. he's bound to,"1 says she. "Of
course, Langdon doesn't always make
friends easily. He is so apt to be mis
understood. Why they treated him per
fectly horrid at prep, school, and even
worse at college. A lot of the fellow,
and, actually, some of the professors,
were so rude to him that Langdon said
he Just wouldn't stay another day! I
told him I didn't blame him a bit. So he
came home. But it's awfully dull for a
young man like Langdon here In, New
York, you know."
"Crippled, or blind, or something, is
he?" says I.
"Who, Langdon? Why, he's perfect
absolutely perfect!" says she.
"Oh. that accounts for It." says I. and
Pembroke went through some motions
with his cheeks like he was tryln' to
blow soap bubbles up In the air.
Well, it seems that mother has been
worryln" a lot over keepln' Langdon
amused. Think ot it, In a town like this!
"He detests business." says she, "and
he doesn't care for theaters, or going to
clubs, or reading, or society. But his
poor dear father didn't care for any of
those things, elthei, except business. And
Langdon hasn't any head for that. All
he takes an interest In Is his machine."
"Singer or Remington?" says I.
"Why, his auto, of course. He's per
fectly devoted to that." says she; "but
the police are so dreadfully particular.
Oh, they make such lots of trouble for
Langdon, and get him Into such stupid
scrapes. Don't they, Pembroke?"
Pembroke didn't blink at that. He nods
twice.
"It just keeps me worried all the time,"
she goes on. "It isn't that 1 mind pay
ing the absurd fines, of course; but well,
you can't understand. No one knows
what those horrid officers will do next,
they're so unreasonable. Just think, that
Is the poor boy's only pleasure! So I
thought that if we could only get Lang
don Interested in something of an ath
letic nature he's a splendid boxer, you
know oh, splendid!"
"That's different," says I. You might
send him down a few times and"
"Oh, but I want you to meet him first,"
says she, "and arouse his enthusiasm.
He would never go if you didn't. I ex
pect he will be In soon, and then Why,
that must be Langdon now!"
It might have been an ax brigade from
the District Attorney's office, or a hook
and ladder company,- by the sound. I
didn't know whether he was comin"
through the doors or brlngln' 'em In with
him. As I squints around I sees the
egg-eyed butler get shouldered Into the
hall rack: so Judges that Langdon must
be In something of a hurry.
He gets over it, though, for he stamps
Into the middle of the room, plants his.
feet wide apart, thfows his leather cap
with the goggles on Into a chair, chucks
one of them greasy bootleg gloves into,
rhe middle of the tea tray.
"Hello. maw!" he growls. Hello,
Fatty! You here again?"
Playful little cuss. Langdon was. He's
about five feet nine, short-necked, and
broad across the chest. But he's got a
nice face for a masked ball eyes the
color of purple writln' ink, hair of a
lovely ripe tomato shade growln' down to
a peak In front, and standln" up stiff and
brietlk; a -corrugated brow, like a wash
board; and an undershot Jaw, same's a
bull terrier. Oh, yes. he was a dear boy.
all right. In his leggin'z and leather coat
he looks too cute for any use.
"Who's this?" saya be, gettin' sight of
Mil
rj: All rv - - - Q 4V -L"- -- 1 '
v?? t 'fr iK 'v. 1 ?f r i--- v - - u x.-m
,:;vV, A1. , - - - . , ?s
., ' . , , '. xv''. - . ; , lilt'""''' ' ' , v j s '
y , . . . , ., - -a m j, f- . r- ' v- mniTi i ' - T 'f
1 . V
I ' ' ' '" " . ' 7 ' -' 1
dream an ideal highway ' over the
Coast Range to Tillamook.
When this is brought about, abso
lutely the moat beautiful 'and scenic
automobile drive in the state will be
afforded the pleasure-seeker.' Persons
who have been over the now famous
Mount Hood drive, and who have been
over the Sheridan road, aver that the
former pales Into insignificance in
point of scenic attractions, when .com
pared with the latter. Nowhere does
sucN a i comparatively short distance
carry one through auch a variety in
the character of the land lying along
different parts of the route.
Leaving Yamhill's hay and grain
fields and the parched vegetation along
the road -,the hopflelds nestling around
the foothills that fringe the edge of
the VaJley, we are carried into the
hills themselves. They were once green
with a wealth of timber, but now they
are barren, the work of forest fires.
Immediately after leaving the hills, we
, AN EPISODE
FEASOR H9CABE WORKS 5 A PERSONAL REFORM
me slttln' sideways on the stuffed chair.
"Why, Langdon, dear," says maw, "this
Ig Professor McCabe. I was speaking
to you of him, you know."
He looks me over friendly as If I was
some yegg man that had been hauled out
of the coal cellar.
"Huh!" says he. I've heard freight
engines coughln up a grade make a
noise a good deal like that. -
Say, as a rule I ain't anxious to take
on new people, and it's gettin' so lately
that we turn away two or three a week;
but It didn't take me long to make up
my mind that I could find time for a
session .with Langdon. If he wanted It.
"Your maw says you do a little boxin'?"
says I. smooth and soothin.
"What of It?" says he.
"Well," eayB I, "down fo my studio
we Juggle the kid pillows once in awhile
ourselves, when we ain't doln' the wand
drill, "or playin' bean bag."
"Huh!" says he once more.
For a parlor conversationalist, Langdon
was a frost, and he has manners that
would turn a subway guard green. But
maw Jumps in with enough buttered talk
for both, and pretty soon she tells me
that Langdon's perfectly delighted and
will be down next day.
"Me and Mr. Gallaher'U be on the spot,"
says I. "Good ever.ln', ma'am."
At that Pembroke Jumps up, makes a
quick break-away, and trails along too,
so we does a promenade together down
West End avenue.
"Charming young fellow, eh?" says
Pembroke.
wy-sBswr-y-''"'-'y','Y,J''-'-'-' Tw-y" -tw-y y?1- -. - . ' . : - 1
' " i I
w,-X t A."' O " ' ' iff ; .1 5" v. -r
rJ J 'JV 1 ' Ix-v-- i f ' ifXr
7 ,'L - - - v il l t " K
li.Ta voi5on6n middle) -.and two'
find ourselves in the rocky, swampy
mountainous, and almost barren lands
which our Government has so gener
ously set aside as an Indian reserva
tion and allotted to the redman of the
forest. As we pass the agency, a few
of the remnants of a noble race stare
wlde-mouthedly at us from their ponies
and are lost in the distance.
The agency consists of four large
buildings, beside a large church. These
buildings bear evidence of better
times; evidently they were white once,
but since the forced departure of those
good and devoted women known as
sisters of the Catholic faith, and the
kind prlesf who ministered to their
spiritual wants, they have been suf
fered to dwindle to neglect and decay.
Here In 1859 Rev. Andrlan Croquet
came as a missionary to look after
the spiritual Interests of the Indians.
He devoted 40 years to unceasing, un
selfish, sacrificing labor among them,
and when he died In his native home
of Belgium the work in which he had
, -
114 NEW YORK LIFE wKtKciN PRO-
"Sure!" says I. "But he hides it well."
"You think Langdon needs exercise?"
says he.
"Never saw any one that needed It
much worse," says I.
"Just my notion," says. he. "In fact,
I am so interested In seeing that Lang
don gets it that I am quite willing to
pay something extra, for"
"You don't have to," says I. "I'm
almost willin' to do the payln' myself."
That pleaeeB Pembroke so much he has
to stop right in his tracks and Bhake
hands. Funny, ain't it. how you can get
to be such good friends with anyone so
sudden? We walks 30 blocks, chlnnln'
like brothers, and when he stops on the
corner of Forty-second I've got the whole
story of maw and Langdon, with some of
Pembroke's hist'ry thrown in.
It was Just a plain case of mother beln'
used as a doormat by her dear, darling
boy. She was more or less broke In to
It, for It seems that the late departed had
been a good deal of a rough-houser in
Ms day, havln' been about as gentle In
his ways as a 'Leventh-avenue bartender
entertalnln' the Gas House Gang. He
hadn't much more'n quit - the game,
though, before Langdon got big enough to
carry out the programme, and he'd been
at It ever since.
As near as I could figure, Pembroke
was a boyhood friend of maw's. He'd
missed his chance of bein' anything
nearer, years ago, but was still anx
ious to try again. But it didn't look
like there'd be any weddln' bells for him
until Langdon either got his neck brpke
'HELLOW, FATTY I YOU HERE AGAIN?"
.. .. jm
members
so tintalniihly devoted nis are was
neglected, the Indians lapsed back Into
their old ways, they lost their faith
and the good priest's labor was worse
than set at naught.
Across from' the-agency Is the old
blockhouse that Phil Sheridan erected
during the Indian troubles, and In
which he fought them with his small
garrison.
Upon leaving the reservation, the
ascent .Into the Coast Range proper be
gins. On all sides as we make the
climb luxurious wealth of timber
greets our eyes. From the summit we
behold a alght that will not soon be
forgotten. Our gaze takes . us over
the heads of larger and smaller moun
tains on all sides, and !n the distance
we behold lofty sentinels towering far
above us; all a,re robed with a verdure
of green forest. Branching off in dif
ferent directions through the hills and
mountains are canyons, marking in
many cases the course of some moun-
" i
or wae put away for life. Pemby wa'n't
soured, though. He talked real nice about
It. He said he could see how much maw
thought of Langdon, and it showed what
good stuff she was made of, her stickin'
to the boy until he'd settled on something,
or something had settled on him. Course,
he thought it was about time she had a
let up and was treated white for awhile.
Aceordln' to the hints he dropped. I
suspicions that Pembroke would have
ranked her A-l in the queen class, and
gathers that the size of her bank ac
count don't cut any ice in this deal, him
havln' more or less of a surplus him
self. I guess he'd been a patient waiter;
but he'd, set his hopes hard on engagin'
the bridal state-room for a Spring trip
to Europe.
It al! comes back, though, to what
could be done with Langdon. and that
was where the form sheet wa'n't any
help. There's a million or so left in
trust for him; but he don't get it until
he's 26. Meantime, it was a question of
how you're goln' to handle a youngster
that's inherited the Instincts of a truck
driver and the Income of a bank presi
dent. "It's a pity, too," says Pembroke. "He
hasn't any vicious habits, he's rather
bright, and if he could be started right
he would make quite a man, even now.
He needs to be caged up somewhere long
enough to have some of the bully knocked
out of him. I'm hoping you can do a
little along that line."
"Too bla- a contract," says I. "All I
want Is to make his ears buzz a little,
tain stream of purest water. Much of
the land before us has never been trod
by the foot of man; the sportsman
will Indeed find this a veritable para
dise. It matters not whetner he is af
ter deer, elk, fish or Just a common
teddy bear," his fondest hopes will be
gratified If lie half tries!
After leaving the summit the road
runs through one of tnese canyons and
follows a stresm of pure, limpid water.
To say that the scenery through this
canyon is grand wouHl be putting It
mildly. It is simply gorgeous. High
cliffs and steep mountain sides loom
up on every hand. Castle Rock Is one
of the sights of this canyon that will
not soon be forgotten.
Meanwhile our driver Is riot un
mindful of his purpose to have an ideal
highway constructed, and frequently
he will stop to talk -"good roads' to
such residents along the road as we
may happen to meet. It may be a
common laborer, a farmer, a tourist or
r . . , , at
even the road supervisor niinwn, n.
just as a comeback for a few of them
grunto he chucked at me."
And who do you suppose showed up
at the studio ,iext forenoon? Him and
maw; she sminn' all over and tickled to
death to think she'd got him there; Lang
don actin' like a bear with a sore ear.
"Maybe you hadn't better wait," says
I to her.
"Oh, yes," says she. "I goln' to at
and watch dear Langdon box, you know. '
Well, unless I ruled her out flat, there
was no way of changin' her mind, so I
had to let her stay. And she saw Langdon
box. Oh, yes! For an amateur, he puts
up a fairly good - exhibition, and as I
didn't have the heart to throw the hook
Into him with her slttln" there luokln" so
cheerful, about all I does is step around
and block hia swinga and Jabs. And
say, with him carryin' his guard high,
and leavln' the way to his meat safe
open half the time. It was all I could do
to hold myself back.
The only fun I gets Is watohln" Swlfty
Joe's face out of the corner of my eye.
He was plpln' us off from the start. First
his mouth comes open a foot or so as he
sees me let a chance elide, and when I
misses more openln's he takes on a look
like some one had fed him a ripe egg.
Langdon IB bavin' the time of his life.
He can hit as hard a he likes, and he
don't get hit back. Must have seemed
real homelike to him. Anyway, soon's
he dopes It out that there ain't any
danger at all, he bores in like a snow
plow, and between blockin' and duckln'
I has my hands full.
Just how Langdon has it sized up I
couldn't make out; but like as not I
made somothln" of a hit with Mm. I
put 1 down that way when he shows
up one afternoon with his bubble, and
offers to take me for a spin. It' was so
unexpected to find, him tryln' to do
Bomethin' agreeable that I don't feel like
I ought to throw him down. So I pulls
on a sweater and climbs In next to the
steerin' wheel.
There wa'n't anything fancy about
Langdon's oil wagon. He'd had the ton
neau stripped off. and left Just the front
seat no varnished wood, only a coat
of prlmin' paint and a layer of mud
splashed over that. But we hadn't gone
a dozen blocks before I am wise to the
fact that nothin' was the matter with the
cog wheels underneath.
"Kind of a high-powered cart, ain't it?"
says I.
"Only 90-horse," says Langdon, jerkin'
us around a Broadway car so fast that
we grazed both ends at once.
"You needn't hit 'er up on my account,"
says I, as we scoots across the Plaza,
makin' a cab horse stand on his hind
legs to give us room.
"I'm only on the second speed," says
he. "Wait." and he does some monkeyln'
wit!) the lever.
'Maybe It was Central Park; but It
seems to me like bein' shot through a
Christmas wreath, and the next thing
I knows we're tearin" up Amsterdam
avenue. 8y, I can see 'em yet, them
folks and wagons and things we missed
women holdln' kids by the hand, old
ladles steppln' out of cars, little girls
runnin' across the street with their arms
full of bundles, white wings with their
dust cans, and boys with delivery carts.
Sometimes I'd just shut my- eyes and lis
ten for the squashy sound, and when It
didn't come I'd open 'em and figure on"
what would happen if I should reach out
and get Langdon's neck In the crook of
my arm.
And it wa'n't my first fast ride in town,
either. But I'd never been behind the
matters not Mr. Watson's theory II
that every little bit helps.
Upon leaving the canyon the fertile
Xesturca Valley looms Into view, and
we are soon passing over high river
grades, through short stretches of for
est and past prosperous-looking farm
houses. Evidences of civilization again
appear. We are In God's own country.
Here the gentle bosBy holds sway.
Every school district has one or two
creameries; this county supplies the
world with dairy products.
Tillamook la at the head of Tilla
mook Bay, the largest between the Co
lumbia and the Golden Gate. It is 29
miles from the point where we have
left the canyon, but to get there now
means but a matter of 1 or two
hours. So tomorrow, or even today, il
the day is still young, which It Is
very likely to be, you may go for a
spin around the bay and along the
ocean beach. It will pay you.
Tillamook, Or., Aug. II.
lamps when a two-ton machine was
bein' sent at a 60-mlle clip up a Htreet
crowded with folks that had almost as
much right to be llvin' an we did.
It was a game that suited Langdon
all right, though. He's sriuattln' behind
the wheel bareheaded, with his ketohup
tlnted hair plastered back by the wind,
them purple eyes shut to a squint, his
under jaw stuck out, and a kind of hall
giln If you could call It that Illckerm
on and ofT his thick lips. I don't wonder
men shook their flats at us and women
turned white and sick as we cleared 'em
by the thickness of a sheet of paper. I
expect we left a Btrlng of cuss words
three blocks long.
I don't know how fur we went, or
where. It was all a nightmare to me, just
a string of gasps and visions of what
would be in the papers next day after
the Coroner's Jury got busy. But some
how we got through without any red on.
the tires, and pulls up in front of the
studio, I didn't Jump out In a hurry,
like I wanted to. I needed a minute to
think, for It seemed to me something was
due some one.
"Nice little plaything you've got here."
says I. "And that was a great ride. But
Bittin' still so long has kind of cramped
my legs. Don't feel like llmberin' up a
bit with the mit.i. do you?"
"I'd Just as soon," says Langdon.
I was tryln' not to look the way I
felt; but when we'd sent Swlfty down to
sit In the machine, and I'd got lansdoit
peeled off and standln' on the mat, with,
the spring lock snapped between him and
the outside door, it seemed too good to be
true. I'd picked out an old set of gloves
that had the hair worked away from the
knucklea some, for I wa'n't plannin' on
any push ball plcnlo this time.
Just to stir his flghtln' blood, and partly
so I could be sure I had a good grip on
my own temper. I let him get In a few
facers on me. Then I opens up with the
side remarks I'd been thlnkin' over.
"9ay, Langy," says I. "side steppin
one of his swings for my Jaw, "s'poain'
you'd hit some of them people, eh?
S'posin' that car of yours had caught one
of them old women biff ! like that?"
"Ugh!" says Langdon, real surprised.
But he shakes his head and comes back
at me.
"Ever stop to think," says I, "how one
of them kids would look after you'd got
him so?" and I shoots the left into that
bull neck of his.
"S-s-s-say!" sputters Langdon. "What
do -you think you're doln' anyway?"
"Me?" says I. "I'm just tryln' to get
a few points on the bubble business. Is
It more fun to Bmash 'em In the ribs
bang! like that? Or to slug 'cm In the)
head biff! so? That's right, son; come
in for more. It's waitin'. There! Jarred
your nut a bit. that one did, eh? Yes,
here's the mate to it. There's plenty
more on tap. Oh' never mind tho nose
claret. It'll wipe off. Keep your guard
up. Careful now! You're swlngin" wide.
And, as I was sayln' there, you ran
into that one this bubble scorchin' must
be great sport. When you don't biff!
get 'em bill you can scare 'em to death,
eh? Wabbly on your feet, are you? That's
the stuff! Keep it up. That eye's all
right. One's all you need to see with.
Gosh! Now you've got a pair of 'em."
If It hadn't been for his comin' In so
ugly and strong I never could have done
it. I'd have weakened and let up on him
long before he'd got half what was owln".
But he was bound to have It all. and
there's no sayln' he wa'n't game about it.
At the last I tried to tell him he'd had
Concluded an rase A.X
1 05.2 I
n