II
5 REELS OF THRILL
IH THIS AUTO Tie
THIS CASE SIX CAME FROM CALIFORNIA TO PORTLAND A WEEK AGO VIA ALTURAS, CAL.,
LAKEVIEW, BEND AND THE DALLES. '
Movie Chief Went Through a
Whole Feature by Himself.
TIRES ROLL INTO GULCH
Paul "obIe Had One Wliale of t
Time Driving North via Alturas,
Pilot Rock and Bend.
3est in the long un
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, MAY 9, 1920
, Ov s i
The honor of driving the second car
through this season from San Fran
cisco to Portland over the inland
route via Red Bluff and Alturas. Cal..
Lakeview, Pilot Rock, bend and The
Dalles, Or., was gained a week ago by
Paul E. Noble, manager of the Liberty
theater here, in a Case six. Mr. Nobis
says that before he would do it again,
he would walk the entire 1306 miles
his speedometer registered for the
trip.
Mr. Noble has quite a reputation as
a driver of the hard-boiled type. He
grot that way swinging around moun
tain curves in Montana. This time he
got all he wanted and something
more. The roads were more hard
boiled than he was. When he reached
Portland, he carried a decided list to
starboard.
Among his adventures en route
wens the following little trifles:
He got lost in the mountains near
Alturas, Cal., driving 42 miles out of
his way into the sage brush hills be
lore he could find a human habitation
and get directions.
Head On Against Rock.
He rammed a big rock that had
i fallen into the road and rammed it
so hard that the bumper of his car
was torn off and the impact broke
the straps holding two spare tires on
' the back end of the car. The tires
rolled down a gulch, from which it
took him better than one hour of
sweaty and loud cuss words toil to
retrieve them.
He drove most of one day through
a snow storm, the snow getting as
deep as eight Inches, with tempera
ture to match.
Between Alturas, Cal., and Pilot
Rock, via Lake view, the road was so
rough that two 10-gallon cans of
gasoline- he had- put aboard for
emergencies bounced off and were
lost. .
He drove' from Alturas, Cal., to
Bend, 246 miles, from 6 o'clock one
morning to 1 o'clock the next, part of
the time through snow, part, of the
time dodging jack pines, part of the
time after dark feeling his way
through snow, sand and sage - brush,
with no road in sight, and all the time
over concentrated bumps.
Three Days to Rest Ip.
It was 1 o'clock on Thursday
morning when he and his party fi
nally reached the hospitable shelter
of the Pilot Butte hotel in Bend. All
hands were so dead tited that they
remained right there until 11 o'clock
Sunday. They probably would still
be out in the desert somewhere but
for the fine performance of the Case
six. Mr. Noble is warm in his praise
of the car. The motor didn't miss a
beat under conditions about as trying
as a car would meet short of touring
north of the Artie Circle, and the car
itself came through without mishap.
Accompanying Mr. Noble on the
trip were his wife, his mother, Mrs.
Ida C. Noble, and 4-year P. E. Noble.
Jr., who was the best traveler of
them all. Young P. E. eVijoyed It
vastly, especially when his father
had to climb into the gulch and drag
up the two heavy 34x5 tires, which
had rolled half a mile down the hill.
This was rare sport Indeed for
P. E., Jr.
When he went south early in
April, Mr. Noble took the precaution
of shipping the car by rail to San
Francisco. Many a time on that hard
jaunt home he wished he had done
the same thing for the homeward
journey. But he didn't, so there he
was, with nothing to do but keep
shoving ahead and hope he would
make it.
The Captain Had Tough Time.
How he came to make this long
detour inland from the main Pacific
highway is an interesting little tale
by itself. While touring in southern
California, Mr. Noble met Captain
Ramwell, an Everett. Wash., shipping
man, who. had attempted to drive
south shortly before in a Packard
twin-six. The last time the captain
saw his twin-six it was up to the ears
in a mud hole near Yoncalla, and he
wasn't expecting to see It again be-
lore about mid-July.
He gave Mr. Noble a terrible story
of conditions on the main Pacific
highway, and all he said about it at
that time was true, except that it
would be July before it could pos
sibly be made passable. With the
return of good weather and some
judicious dragging at the worst
places, theliighway is in pretty fair
shape at present, though no boule
vard. Even Smith hill, north of
Grants Pass, is quite presentable after
having been .dragged, according to
latest highway reports.
What most disgusted the captain
was the policy of road supervisors in
southern Oregon In dumping big
rocKs in some or the muddy stretches
He said he had had six tires torn off
his car and ruined in one 40-mile
stretch.
He Left It Risrht There.
He finally abandoned the car in the
. center of a mud lake, took train to
San Francisco, and there bought a
new Packard twin-six in which he and
his family were touring southern
California.
The captain's story completely cured
Mr. Noble of any desire to drive north
over the main Pacific highway. Some
one told him he would find good
roads all the way if he went inland
from Redding via Alturas, Lakeview
Silver Lake and Bend, thence coming
to Portland over the main central
Oregon highway. Mr. Noble fell for
this advice.
All went well to Redding. But
from there on his troubles began. It
was on a Tuesday morning that he
headed east to take the mountain
road via Alturas and Lakeview. This
road was one succession of rocks,
nrts, more rocks and more ruts. Al
that day the car kept just ahead of
a snow storm, every now and then
being enveloped in snow flurries, bu
there was no continuous fall.
All the California road signs, says
Mr. Noble, seem, to be reserved for
the populous sections where they have
votes. He didn't see one of them
after leaving Redding. This was re
sponsible for his getting off the road
at an obscure fork. He found him
self on an old trail, apparently an ex
mining road, which wound in and ou
and up and down.
Man. Ahoy! Where Are We Atf
After 42 miles without coming to
a house they finally sighted a little
shack in the wilderness und a man.
"Good Lord:" said the man. "You're
42 miles off the road!"
They got back somehow by fol
lowing this man's advice, and late in
the day reached .Alturas, where they
His ear ml the second one over the route this season, but Paul K. Noble, manager ot the Liberty theater, says he
would repeat the trip If he could be first.
It was a whale of a roughhard tour, so rough that at one place the two spare tires were jolted off and rolled
down a gulch, whence it took Mr. Noble better than an hour to retrieve them. The bumper was torn off by a.
rock. The car bucked snow, sand and jack pines, and drove through a snow storm for hours. Once Mr. Noble
got lost and went 42 miles out of his way in the desert. He drove from Alturas, Cal., to Bend, Or.. 246 miles,
from 6 o'clock one morning to 1 o'clock the next. The trip from San Francisco via this route totaled 1306
miles on the speedometer, and Mr. Noble advises all motorists to lay off it for several weeks to come. He is
eittlng on the running-board in the picture beside Paul E. Noble Jr., 4 years
remained over night. At Alturas gaso
line was 45 cents per gallon, and the
garage had this sign posted:
'Gasoline for the joyriaer none;
for business purposes, gallons as per
horsepower of your car."
The gasoline man tola Mr. iMooie
he would get into a zone of 80-cent
gasoline before he reached home, and
that he'd be lucky to get it even at 60
cents. He decided that, under the
circumstances, he could let Mr. Noble
have a little extra fuel, so filled two
ten-gallon cans and fastened - them
to the car.
Next morning at 6 o'clock the party
shoved off from Alturas, with Bend
as the objective. The events of the
preceding day proved to nave been
mere preliminaries to what now betel
Shortly after leaving Alturas the car
began to climb Mount Burner, seven
miles up hill and seven miles down
again. And now the snow storm that
had been following them the day be
fore seemed to have caught up, for it
snowed hard and continuously. At
the top of this grade the Case was
plowing through eight inches of new
snow, and it was cold In prpportion.
Bumps, Jolts, Rats, Rocks.
Presently Lakeview was reached
across the Oregon line, but Mr. Noble
kept right on going. .fart or tne
time he was on the road and part of
the time he wasn't. All the time it
was rough, and all the time it snowed.
Somewhere along the way the Jolts
disengaged the gasoline cans. no
body heard them fall off, but after
going over enough jolts to loosen
every bolt in the car and ruin all his
tires, he supposed. Mr. Noble got out
and looked the case over. She was
still taut and fast, but there was no
sign of the gasoline.
After many miles of hard travel
Fort Rock was reached at nightfall.
It was Btill 102 miles to Bend and. de
spite the snow, which had thinned
out somewhat, Mr. Noble decided to
push on to Bend.
That was - a wild nignvs riae
through drifted snow, sand du-es and
dodging jackpines. In the course of
the day and evening's travel they
traversed exactly 51 miles of jack
pine country, and in this whole 61
miles Mr. Noble swears tnere was not
200 feet of etraight road, nor ten
feet without a bump. But at length .
the Case left the jackpine country
behind. At 1 o'clock that morning it
reached the Pilot Butte hotel in Bend.
Off Go the Tires. I
This was 1 o'clock Thursday morn-!
ing. Nobody felt able to travel the
next day, so they remained at Bend
until 11 o'clock Sunday morning. But
the worst was now over. From Bend
north to Wasco all but 18 miles was
fine going. Mr. Noble took the road
via Sbaniko, and 40 miles an hour
was easy. He stopped, at Wasco lor
the night, left there at 9:30 o'clock
Monday morning and was in Portland
at 3.
Between Wasco and The Dalles, the
seven-mile hill descending to the Co
lumbia side was rather slippery.
Rounding a curve the Case bumped
smack into a big rock that had fallen
down a bluft. The bumper was torn
off and the rear tires, as already, de
scribed, were wrenched loose and
rolled off the grade down a steep hill.
Otherwise the car wasn't damaged.
Mr. Noble took the new highway
grade.into Hood River, escaping the
old Mosier hill, and came right on to
Portland. The seven or eight miles
of crushed rock between Hood River
and Shell Rock mountain, laid there
preliminary to paving, he says, is not
bad at all if the driver will take it
not faster than ten miles an hour.
Getting gasoline is already a prob
lem for the tourist east of the moun
tains, and it is likely to become more
so this summer. Mr. Noble had to pay
as high as 61 cents a gallon for it.
and at most places en route there
was only one garage in town with
any gasoline. This was the case even
at Hood River, though The Dalles
seemed plentifully supplied.
OVERMAN TIRE IS TAKEN
HOWELL-SWIFT TIRE CO. TO
HANDLE CUSHION PRODUCT.
Solid With Big Reputation in East
and Guarantee of 2 0,0 00 Miles
Now in the Northwest.
Announcement was made last week
by the Howell-Swift Tire company,
which handles Canton cord and Black-
stone tires in this territory, that it
has obtained the Oregon distributing
agency for the Overman cushion tire
for trucks and light delivery cars.
This is one of the best known solid
tires manufactured, and one with
many unusual features. It has been
made for 12 years and is very well
known and widely used in the east
although until now it has not been
in the Pacific coast field.
It is considerably different in con
struction from most solid tires, and
is so well and carefully made that its
manufacturers turn it out with a
hard and fast guarantee of 20,000
miles of service. It is made in New
York City by the Overman Cushion
Tire company and comes for all sizes
of commercial cars and trucks up to
and including 3 Mi -ton trucks.'
Its makers claim that the quality
of its rubber and manufacture is
such that It retains its elasticity to
the very end. These tires in tests are
declared to have made up to 80.000
miles. ' Another of the points claimed
for it is that it is safe at any speed,
to the highest passenger car limit.
and that it is absolutely skid proof.
chains not being necessary with it
even on wet pavements.
Sheets of mica can be made one-
thousandth of. an Inch thick.
HANLEY LIKES HIS HUDSON
CATTLEMAN USES LIMOUSIXE
IX CENTRAL OREGON.
Bill Hanley of Burns Writes Letter
Thanking C. L. Boss for Letting
Him Have the C,ar. '
Out on the plains of central Ore
gon in the vicinity of Burns, William
Hanley, the cattle man, known not
only in Oregon, but the country over,
as Bill Hanley, is riding around in a
new Hudson limousine and chuckling
pleased chucktes as he rides.
Life out there 'has evidently in
creased . in meaning for Bill several
per cent since he bought this limou
sine recently from the C. L. Boss
company in Portland. Anyway, judge
of his pleasure for yourself from the
foljowing letter Mr. Boss received
from him last week:
"Would not feel quite right if I
did not tell you how much satisfac
tion and pleasure the limousine has
given me that you furnished to take
care of the writer through this plains
country of big, spaces.
"It was designed and constructed to
give pleasure to the idle ones, to
parade the streets of big cities and
tak care of their vanity and good
clothes: but for the purpose that I am
using this one for, we must consider
it a real benefactor. For it provides
convenience for those who must serve
for the progress of these undeveloped
plains, where protection from the ele
ments is a necessity. I want to thank
you again for your good will in let
ting me have this car and for the
future accommodations we may ex
pect from you.
"WILLIAM HANLEY."
RELIABILITY TEST IS SET
RULES
FOR TRUCK CONTEST
ARE COMPILED.
Regulations Submitted to Board of
American Automotive Associa
tion! for. Approval.
OMAHA, Neb., May 8. Rules for
the first -national motor truck relia
bility contest have been compiled
with a view to permitting a fair de
termination of relative truck perform
ance value.
These rules were formed by Charles
P. Root, general manager of the run,
who submitted them to the contest
board of the American Automobile
association for approval. Mr. Root's
lengthy experience In the direction
of great motor truck runs and other
contests enabled him to formulate
rules which met with the entire ap
proval of the contest board. That
motor truck makers will commend
them is altogether certain.
Mr. Root has settled upon May 22
as the date on which the trucks will
have to be in the hands of the techni
cal committee at Omaha. Entries
close at midnight May 1.
On arrival at Omaha the technical
committee will go over them and at
the close of the 2500-mile run, which
is to be made in 25 days, the com
mittee again will go over them. Pen
alties will be set against a truck
which shows marked variation be
tween the two examinations.
The contest is designed to demon
strate the sped and reliability of
pneumatic-tired trucks up to and In
cluding the 3-txn class. The con
test is limited to pneumatic-tired
trucks. Speed will be graduated, ac
cording to the size of the trucks, by
classes. Road conditions of the day's
run -will be taken into consideration
in 'setting the speed. The figures
will be fair and reasonable to all.
Penalties will be by points. These
will be Assessed against a truck for
being late at noon and night con
trols, for work done on the truck by
the driver or anyone else and for
mechanical defects as determined by
the technical examinations before
and after the contest.
Each entrant will name an observer
for each truck entered. This ob
server may be connected with the
maker or may be a distributor for
the truck represented. The observer
will ride 'on a different truck each
day and will make reports daily to
the officials of the truck upon which
he rode. This will cover the per
formance of the truck and the con
duct of the driver. Makers will be
allowed to name their sales repre
sentatives as observers.
It is proposed to start the run May
31 or June 1, but this may be de
layed when the pathfinder has gone
over the route in, May. Decision will
be based upon the probable condition
Automobile
Painting
ALL WORK GUARANTEED.
CORNELL & CO.
Incorporated.
Temporary Location
04 THURMAN STREET.
Marshall 6M,
old, the best traveler of the party.
of the roads early In June. The start
may be set fo June 15.
The country to be covered is the
richest farming section of the United
States and a section in which Amer
ica's greatest truck ( buying will be
seen for years.
BAKER HIGHWAYS IMPROVED
Mountain of Natural Gravel Sup
plies Abundance of Material.
BAKER, Or., May 6. (Special.)
The rock crusher and bins which have
been at the Flagstaff mine dump for
the past few months furnishing
crush'ed gravel for the Baker
Cornucopia poBtroad have been moved
to a position near the old Friday mine
and crushed gravel is being put on the
road from that station. .A mountain
of natural gravel has been unearthed
and the work of putting the road into
first class shape will be rushed.
The portions which have been
graveled with the crushed rock are
speed boulevards now and are a fair
sample of what the entire road will
be when finished.
SCRIPPS-BOOTH IS HERE
NORTHWESTERN BRANCH
OPENED IN PORTLAND.
IS
L. A. Hannan of Scripps-Booth Co.
of California Manager of New
Branch Here.
Portland this week becomes dis
tributing headquarters in the Pacific
northwest for the Scripps-Booth car,
one of the well-known General Mo
tors passenger automobiles. The Port
land branch of the Scripps-Booth com
pany of California has taken tem
porary quarters in the building at Six
teenth and Alder streets just vacated
by the W. H. Wallingford company.
L. A. Hannan, formerly of San
Francisco, where he has been for
some time with the Scripps-Booth
company of California, is, manager of
the new branch. A. J. Brown is as
sociated with him.
This branch will not only' sell
Scripps-Booth cars at retail in the
Portland territory, but also will han
dle their wholesale distribution in the
northwest. It will carry a large stock
of parts for the whole northwest ter
ritory. ,
The 1920 Scripps-Booth is improved
over former models. , It no longer has
its former pointed radiator, and the
new model is further distinguished
by N its exceedingly long and ..easy
riding rear springs, which are 57
inches long, with a 115-inch wheel
base. It comes in roadster, touring,
coupe andfeedan models. William e!
vvortn. lormeriy with the Fields Mo
tor Car company, is one of the sales
men for the branch.
NEW CARBURETOR IS HERE
Air-Friction Handled by 3Iotor Ac
cessories Company.
The Motor Accessories company, of
304 Pine street, has been appointed
northwest distributor for Air-Friction
carburetors. Hhese carburetors have
been especially designed to handle the
present low grade of fuel, and the re
sults attained have made them pop
ular.
"Instead of using a jet, the gasoline
is fed through an atomizing nozzle
' i r ' i i
Oldsmobile Company
Broadway at Couch
which breaks up tne fuel into a fine
mist or vapor which turns to gas the
moment the hot air from the stove
reaches it," says A. J. Mclntyre, man
ager of the firm. "By the time it
reaches the cylinders it Is In a con
dition to make complete combustion.
"By means of an automatic air
valve surrounding the nozzle, perfect
combustion is obtained, so that no
matter at what speed the engine op
erates the gas mixture is just right
for that speed. This gives a moalt re
markable pick up, unusual power, ex
treme slow speed on high, easy start
ing and a clean motos.
"The Motor Accessories company is
putting out these carburetors under
a flat guarantee to increase mileage
at least 30 per fcent, besides giving
!
Phone
X
ou can always tell
me jd i& j
Tube at a
is
it
it bears the name
Qoodrich.
G
O0)'
The B.F. Goodrich "Rutlcr
. cSlfakers of the Silvertown
greater power. Fords have given in
cold weather 30 miles per gallon, a
Saxon 6 has been Increased 47 per
cent in mileage, other cars in propor
tion. The Alr-Frlctlon carburetor is
for all makes of cars."
Carburetor Trouble.
Many cars have no provision aside
from a strainer in the tank for keep
ing out dirt from the carburetor.
Owners of such vehicles will do well
to fit a trap in the fuel line. All the
big carburetor makers offer these
traps, which are to be placed in the
line, near the carburetor or in the
bottom of the tank. The trap catches
all the dirt and water and should be
cleaned out regularly once a month.
Investigate
That's All!
22d Year
of Oregon
Broadway 2270
htt--i. mmii
? Inner
lance;
red and
INNER
tub:
Company, Akron, Ohio
America's First Cord7ire
Another Little
From Chas. 5.
Willard
1 .
And they asked me how I did it,
And I gave them the Scripture text,
"You keep your light so shining,
A little in front of the nextl"
They copied all they could follflw,
But they couldn't copy my mind.
And I left 'em stealing and sweating,
A year and a half behind.
Kipling.
Willard Service
NINTH and EVERETT
Broadway 3287
11MM.
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Thread
Harper,
Ahead
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