1St Auto to Cross America

 There were more trees than citizens, more cowboys than bankers. It was an era when America still held her virtue.  It was the beginning of a new century and on the threshold of shifting history.

 The skies were sparkling without smog. The rivers and creeks were pristine. The wind blew with the fresh scent of rural America. Morris and Rose Mitchom introduced a novelty that has become an American symbol. The teddy bear is still near and dear to many a fan.

 he Wright brothers made history with the first airplane flight. Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France. Italo Marchiony was granted a patent for the ice cream cone. Yes, the world was changing.

 It was a $50.00 bet, however, that altered what our world was to become. On the evening of May 19, 1903, in the exclusive University Club in San Francisco, a debate raged over the reliability of the new horseless carriages that had been showing up on the streets of major American cities. Horatio Nelson Jackson, a 31-year-old retired doctor from Vermont who was passing through San Francisco, accepted the wager.

 Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car hoping to become the first person to cross the United States in the “horseless carriage.” At the time there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire country.

 The trip has been documented in the PBS movie http://www.pbs.org  as adventurous and hilarious. It seems the good doctor had a great since of humor that sparked new friendships wherever he landed on his journey. The car itself spurred much interest and because of the telegraph many people came from remote locations to catch a glimpse of this odd self propelled machine.

 Dr. Jackson traveled with his mechanic Sewall K. Crocker, a 22-year-old former professional bicycle racer from Tacoma, Washington and a goggle wearing bulldog named Bud.

At 4:30 in the morning on Sunday, July 26, Jackson and his traveling partners crossed the Harlem River into Manhattan. Jackson had made it from San Francisco in 63 days, 12 hours and 30 minutes—well within his wager of 90 days. A few weeks later, on August 7, he arrived home. Just as he drove the Vermont into the stable, the drive chain snapped in two. He never collected his 50 dollars.