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Ea^'Afghani Smart Donein Two Shades Pattern 6505 An afghan for a beginner! In two shades of a color, it’s worked in single crochet, with rib stitch forming a herringbone design. Pattern 6505 contains directions for making afghan; illustration of it and stitches; materials re quired ; color schemes; photo graph of section of afghan. < v To obtain this pattern send 15 cents in coins to The Sewing Cir cle Household Arts Dept., 259 W. 14th St., New York, N. Y. Please write your name, ad dress and pattern number plainly. THE AMERICAN SPIRIT **TF EVERY citizen will cease to look' to Washington in his moment of stress and strain, and individually as* same die responsibility of self-improve- ment, of self-advancement, of self-pres ervation, I believe the turning point then may be reached, and from that instant we begin again to be a happy, a contented, a prosperous people with eyes raised high to greet a new day. This is the American way, this is the American creed, this is the American spirit.’*— V. S. Representative Albert E. Austin.; CLOTHESPIN Has • cold pinched 1 your boss shut—as if with a Lay a Ludaa’s LUDEN’S 5* Perpetual Ignorance The recipe for perpetual ignor ance is: to l)e satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.—Elbert Hubbard. fcjggBB-... mnfc iebre qcpcnpaoLE !! smJASTcn VOW LAMEST SEIM am St. Joseph \SPIRIN Up Again! , Our greatest glory consists not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.—Goldsmith. Soul of Wit Brevity is the soul of wit.— Shakespeare. Bureau of Standards A BUSINESS organisation which wants to get the most for the money sets np standards by which to judge what is offered to it, just as in Washington the government rwinf inn « Bureau of Standards. • You can have your own Bureau of Standards, too. Just consult the advertising columns of your newspaper. They safeguard your purchasing power every day of every year. McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK. S. €.. THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1940 Ij 1 ' Ml! 1 r im* Recall Story of 'Windwagon Thomas Who Built the Queerest Vehicle That Ever Traveled the Santa Fe Trail ‘CLJtPPER OF THE PRAIRIE* Almost-as strange at the “windwagon** described in this article was the vehicle conceived by the imaginative writer of one of the popular nickel novels of 56 yean ago. Shown above is the illustration on the cbvdr of No. 87 of Vol. IV of the Frank Reade Library which bore the title “Frank Reade Jr.*s Clipper of the Prairie; or, Fighting Apaches in the Far Southwest.** This “prairie clipper** seems to have been a cross between a modern war tank and a trailer. The living quarters had an observation platform on the roof and a good-sized cannon mounted for ward. It was propelled by steam on caterpillar-tread wheels and had a ram-like projection from the front with which that intrepid hero, Frank Reade Jr. ran down buffalo and impaled them! By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Beteamd by Western Newspaper Union.) HINK of the Santa Fe Trail and you think of- wagons—“wagons creaking up long prairie slopes; wagons rolling down hills; wagons grinding through heavy sand, sucking through sticky mud, swishing through tall grass; wagons with locked wheels plunging down steep river-banks; wag ons snaked through clinging quicksands, or jiggling over ribbed sandbars rough as cobblestones; wagons hauled yard by painful yard up the forbidding rocks of the Raton Pass, two slow miles a day; wagons corraled against the attack of treacherous , red skins; wagons broken down, abandoned, stranded by the loss of animals stolen by raid ing savages; wagons burned in prairie fires; wagons warped and shrunken by the heat and drouth. Wagons crammed , with rich furs, Mexican silver, gold bullion.’* Thus writes Stanley Vestal in his book, “The Old Santa Fe Trail,*’ published recently by the- Houghton Mifflin company of Bos ton, and the first chapter in that volume of interesting yarns is de voted to the story of what was probably the queerest vehicles that ever traveled over that trail. The scene of this true story is laid in Westport, Mo., the eastern terminus of the trail, and is de scribed by Mr. Vested thus: “One spring day in 1853, the citizens of that frontier town were amazed to see a light vehicle steering down the street, driven by the wind which filled its white sail. Horses reared and ran away, women and children fled into their houses, dogs scuttled for safety, and the men of West- port' stood with open mouths, watching that strange craft come sailing in. “Its pilot lowered the sail, locked His brakes, and rolled to a stop before the entrance to the Yoakum Tavern. He disem barked, and the startled citizens gathered to inspect his bark and question him. Navigator of the Prairie. “They learned that his name was Thomas, that he had come from somewhere east, and that his sole cargo consisted of a com pass, a water butt and a carpet bag. He walked like a seafaring man, and they suspected that he was tattooed under his faded monkey jacket. Was he a whaler, had he ever struck a fish? They could not tell, for Thomas wasted few words in telling of himself. He announced that he had come as the Navigator of the Prairies, and invited them to join with him and form a company to engage in the Santa Fe trade! '’In Yoakum’s Tavern, leading citizens split a bottle with him, while he diverted them by explain ing his plan. He proposed to build—with their backing—a fleet of large prairie clippers to carry cargo to the cussed Spaniards. The advantages of wind-power were numerous, according to the nautical stranger. Speed, econo my, freedom from the expense of buying and the trouble of feeding draft animals, freedom to leave the Trail along the Arkansas Riv er (since there would be no ani mals requiring water) and sail on the high prairies by compass. Westport was the outfitting place for all travelers bound west; it would be easy to have the wagons built there. Injuns would be scared of the strange craft. And there would never be any lack of wind to drive them.’’ All of which sounded perfectly logical. But, according to Mr. Vestal, there were skeptics in the crowd who suspected that there was a catch somewhere in the scheme proposed by this clever Yankee. They scoffed at his idea of building what they derisively referred to as a “dryland navy.” By gum, they weren’t going to put any money of theirs in such a crazy proposition! Proved It Would Sail. But Thomas wasn’t discour aged by their skepticism. Just to prove that his plan was prac ticable he announced that he would sail his queer craft to Council Grove—150 miles away— and then come back and make them eat their words about his “windwagon.” As he left town in a cloud of dust and lumbered off across the prairie, they were quite sure that they would never see him again. But they were wrong, for in about a week he returned, bringing with him a let ter from a man who ran a black smith shop at Council Grove as proof that he had actually been there. The former skeptics were now convinced that he knew what he was talking about and they agreed to finance the construc tion of a super-windwagon. They organized the “Overland Naviga tion Company” and the stockhold ers included some of the most prominent citizens of Westport— Dr. J. W. Parker, the leading physician; Attorney J. J. Mas- tin; Benjamin Newson, the Indian agent; Henry Sager; Thomas W. Adams; and, of course, the in ventor, “Windwagon” Thomas. A Huge Wagon-Ship. Under his direction there was built a huge prairie schooner, 25 feet long and with a seven-foot beam, mounted on four big wheels, each 12 feet in diameter. The sides of the wagon, which formed the “cabin” of this ship of the plains, rose to the top of the wheels and above it was the “deck.” Toward the front was a tall mast which carried only a mainsail, but instead of the front being the prow, as it is on a sea going vessel, the tail-gate of the wagon was the prow and the tongue of the wagon was brought up and over the stem to serve as a tiller. Came the day when “Windwag on” was ready to demonstrate his land leviathan. It required two yoke of oxen to haul it out on the open prairie. Then the directors of the company—who, according to Mr. Vestal, had “fortified themselves at Yoakum’s bar”—went aboard. That is, all of them did except Dr. Parker. Evidently he decided that his pro fessional services might be need ed before the “voyage” was over and he wanted to be able to sup ply them. So he mounted his fa vorite mount, a mule, and pre pared to follow the bold naviga tor, Cap’n Thomas, who mounted the deck, hoisted his sail and reached for the tiller. A strong wind was blowing and as it began to belly the huge sail, the wagon-ship got under way. Gradually it picked up speed and Dr. Parker had to “put the gad” to his mule to keep up with it. Cap’n Thomas’ passengers were delighted when the windwagon started, thus justifying their faith in its navigability and reassuring them that they hadn’t invested in something that would prove to be a failure. But as its momentum increased they began to be a little alarmed and as it went careening over hill and dale they became frightened. It was going so fast that they didn’t dare jump out, as they wished to do. So they began to yell to the skipper to slow his craft down. “Windwagon,” however, was figuratively, if not literally, “on the crest of the wave,” due partly to the stimulation of the cargo he had taken on at Yoakum’s bar and partly to the heady wine of success. Instead of heeding their frightened cries and shortening sail, he began to demonstrate his seamanship. “Watch me run ’er against the wind!” he shouted as he put over the helm. That was a mistake, as he soon learned. For as the heavy ship-wagon came around, something went wrong. Evident ly the wind caught her sail the wrong way for suddenly she went into reverse. The quick-footed mule on which Dr. Parker was riding jumped aside just in time, otherwise both it and its rider would have been run down. Then the steering-gear seemed to have locked and before Cap’n Thomas knew what was happen ing his ship was going around and around in ever-widening cir cles. By now his passengers were terror-stricken. High as they were from the ground and risky as a jump was, they decided that it was high time to heed the urge to “abandon ship.” While their befuddled skipper roared out or ders in nautical terms which neither they—nqr* probably he— could understand, they leaped overboard. By some miracle of good fortune no one was killed and the worst anyone could charge up against the experience was a few bruises and a thor oughly agitated mind. As for Cap’n Thomas, true to the traditions of the sea, he stuck by his ship, evidently determined to go down with flying colors and perish with it if need be. But there was no such dramatic end to his career as a dryland sailor. For within a few minutes his craft ended up with a bump against a stake-and-rider fence on the bank of Turkey creek and stopped suddenly, albeit so sud denly that he was jolted off and landed in a heap on the ground. With this inglorious end to his first voyage, his dream of a fleet of prairie ships vanished. “Noth ing Windwagon could say would induce the Company to build the rest of the fleet,” writes Mr. Ves tal. “The lubbers had no heart for prairie seafaring. They went back to their shops and their of fices, put the venture down to profit and loss, and thanked heav en that they were still alive and sound. What else could be ex pected of men who halted on the edge of the sea of grass? 'Windwagon* Vanishes. “But Windwagon remained un daunted. He embarked once more in the small, light craft in which he had come to Westport, made sail, and vanished as swift ly and mysteriously as he had come. History has no more to tell of him. “Maybe he sailed away to shoot buffalo from the after-deck, or harpoon redskins daring enough to run afoul of him on their cruis ing ponies. Perhaps he ran hard aground in some deep valley or ravine, where no wind came to fill his sail, and no bull-whacker blundered in to haul him out upon the sandy plain. Perhaps the cussed Injuns found him thus be calmed, and hung his hair upon some pony’s bridle. “There are legends among the Indians of a vehicle seen on the prairie, a wagon that was bigger than any wagon, which moved without horses or oxen to draw it and carried a white ‘flag’ as tall as a tipi.* What became of the Navigator of the Plains will never be known. “But, in two respects, his story is significant, showing us how men of those days thought of the Plains, with all the beauty and mystery of the sea, and also illustrating the dauntless character of the men who crossed them, made them their home.” * • • •According to Mr. Vestal’a notes In the appendix to his volume, an account of this incident appeared in the Kansas City Star for August 6, 1905, and recent files of the South west Review gives a version of th« Indian legend referred to. While it may seem strange that’ “Windwagon.” Thomas would think of applying some of the technique of ocean navigation to travel across the broad plains of the West, it is not really so un usual'. For, as Mr. Vestal ex plains in this same chapter, “In the old days, travelers on those plains spoke habitually of 'mak ing port/ urged Congress to enact navigation laws for the 'prairie ocean.’ Their covered wagons, appropriately dubbed 'prairie schooners,’ were in fact water tight boats mounted on wheels, rising high at prow and stern. They thought of the plains in terms of seafaring, and felt the ' glamour of them as a magic of the sea. They named the jump- ing-off place in Missouri, West- port!” The “prairie schooners” of San ta Fe trail and Oregon trail fame were modifications of the original “covered wagon,” an eastern vehicle which was devel oped in Lancaster county, Penn sylvania. This was the Cones toga wagon, which antedated the western “prairie schooner” by at least a century. Although the first of these ve hicles were modified English cov ered farm wagons, which came into use in New England and oth er places on the Atlantic sea board early in the colonial days, local conditions in Pennsylvania —notably the greater distances between the producer and his market, which made it essential that the Pennsylvania farm wag on hold twice as much as the New England farm wagon, where distances were shorter, hence the sturdier built and heavier wagon requiring from four to eight horses to pull it—quickly resulted in the development of a distinc tive type of wagon for this region. Gradually the excellence of the wagons made by the wheel wrights of the Conestoga valley of Lancaster county caused them to become famous throughout the country and “Conestoga wagon” became a sort of trademark for this type of freight carrier. They differed from the English wagons from which they sprang in that the bed was longer and deeper and had considerable sag in the middle, both lengthwise and crosswise. There was a very good reason for this. If, while the wagon was pursuing its way over some rough trail or down a steep mountainside, the load would shift, settle toward the center and A Conestoga Wagon at Williamsburg, Va. not throw its bulk against the end- gates. Unlike the bows, which held the white cover of the Eng lish wagon, which were vertical, the bows of the Conestoga fol lowed the line of the ends of the body and slanted outward, thus keeping out rain and dust. The whole appearance of the Cones toga was that of a boat and, as John Omwake, author of “The Conestoga Six-Horse Bell Teams of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1750- 1850,” says, “It is easy to see why this wagon should have been called the Ship of Inland Com merce, as it cruised with its great white top between the green Pennsylvania hills.” The Conestoga wagon came into existence just in time to have a part in making American his- • tory. As early as 1745 Benjamin Franklin was issuing a broadside urging wagoners to enlist with their wagons and teams in the king’s service against the French and Indians. Ten years later when General Braddock set out upon his ill-fated expedition it was very necessary that he have adequate transport for his pro visions during his march into the wilderness. Securing this was only one of the many difficulties of that harassed leader and it was not until Benjamin-Franklin came to his aid and persuaded the Pennsylvania wagoners to en list that the expedition was able to make any progress westward. The Conestoga wagons played their part, too, in the struggle for liberty. It was these vehicles which carried supplies to the American army during that ter rible winter at Valley Forge and in the spring of 1778 a sturdy Conestoga wagon, drawn by four horses and with a full company of Continental soldiers as a guard, brought $600,000 in silver, the loan of the French government from Portsmouth, N. H., to the government treasury at York, Pa., (where the Continental con gress was then meeting). But it was in the period after the Revo lution that the Conestoga rose to its full glory—as the carrier of freight back and forth to the West and as the vehicle of the emi grants into the Kentucky and Ohio country. It also served once more as a weapon of war during the War of 1912 when Conestoga wagons carried powder from the Brandywine mills to Lake Erie, there to be used in Perry’s bril liant victory at Put-in-Bay. CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT BABY CHICKS ORDER TOUR CRICKS EARLY for January and February delivery and we will Include 10 or more extra chicka per 100. Write at once for detailed informa tion/ MILFORD HATCHERY, Rockdale, Md., Pikesville P. O. Jlsk Me Another 0 A General Quiz The Questions 1. What is the supercargo on a ship? 2. Why do stars twinkle? 3. Can the speaker of the house of representatives cast his vote when there is no tie? 4. What is meant by on the qui vive? 5. What is the difference between command and commandeer? 6. Can a President legally take the oath of office on a Sunday? 7. How many people live in what is known as the New York Region? 8. A doggery is a low grogshop. What is a cattery? 9. What did Theodore Roosevelt say about living at the White House? 10. Name four kinds of horses that neither eat hay nor race. The Answers 1. An officer on a merchaiitship Who manages the commercial con cerns of the voyage. 2. The twinkling is an illusion due to the great distance their .lights travel. 3. Yes, he has the rights of any other representative. 4. On the alert. 5. Command—to direct, have un der control; commandeer—to seize arbitrarily, to force into service. 6. Yes. President Wilson did so. 7. This region, which includes all people living within a radius of 50 miles of New York city, has a population of 11,500,000. 8. A place where cats are kept. 9. He is quoted as having said: “You"don’t live there. You’re only Exhibit A to the country.” 10. Clothes horse, carpenter’s horse, sea horse and rocking horse. Chinese Boy Thought One Letup Deserved Another e In a Shanghai bungalow shared by several young Englishmen, the Chinese houseboy had a perfectly round head which he kept shaved and polished like a billiard ball. The young men were always taking pot shots at this tempting target with paper pellets or giving it a pat as they passed by. To all of which the Chinese said nothing. One day they decided it was a shame to keep worrying the boy, so they called him in and told him they had decided to stop doing it. He replied: “Thank you, mas ters. I very pleased. Now I not make your coffee with dishwater any more.** Beware Coughs from common colds That Hang On CreomuMon relieves promptly be cause It goes right to the seat of the trouble to loosen germ laden phlegm. Increase secretion and aid nature to soothe and heal raw, tender, inflam ed bronchial mucous membrane* No matter how many medicines you have tried, tell your druggist to sell you a bottle of CreomuMon with the understanding that you are to like the way it quickly allays the cough or you are to have your money back. CREOMULSION for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bronchitis We Go Together! We all of us tend to rise or fall together. If any set of us goes down, the whole nation sags a lit tle. If any of us raise ourselves a little, then by just so much the nation as a whole is raised.—The odore Roosevelt. A GREAT BARGAIN VESPER TEA PURE ORANGE PEKOE 50 Cups for lO Cents tv Ask Your Grocer HEW IDEAS Advertisements are your guide to modern living. They bring you today’s NEWS about the food you eat and the clothes you wear, the stores you visit and the home you live in. Factories everywhere are turning out new and interesting products. • And the place to find out about these new things is right here in this newspaper. Its columns are filled with important messages which you should read.