1000 MILES WITH THE CUB
June 21, 1915 With a clear sky giving promise of ideal weather conditions for the long journey ahead of us, we left Rocky River, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio) at 1:20 P.M. (Eastern Time) with a Wallis "Cub" Tractor. Hitched behind by a stub tongue we pulled a covered Mitchell Wagon in which was loaded such accessories as oils, grease, lugs, baggage and printed matter.
Taking the Lincoln Highway, we traveled all afternoon on hard macadamized roads that would have shaken the average tractor to pieces, but the "Cub", because of its spring mounted construction, sped smoothly along, averaging better than four miles an hour. We reached Elyria at 5:50 P.M. His Honor the Mayor escorted us through the main streets of the city to a garage where the "cub" spent the first night.
June 22 Leaving Elyria at 7:50 A.M. and traveling via South Amherst, Henrietta, Florence, Berlinville and Milan, we got to Norwalk at 6:45 P.M. - a distance of 35 miles. This day's run had offered us the first opportunity for a real road test. Several steep hills and all kinds of road beds were encountered - rock, sand pike, dirt, gravel and cinders but it all looked alike to the "Cub".
June 23 After a short visit with the local implement dealers, we left Norwalk a little after nine o'clock. Passing through Monroeville, Bellevue and Clyde, the roads were dusty and rough and before reaching Fremont that evening we had to travel several miles over crushed rock that had just been dumped, which certainly put the spring mounting to the acid test. We reached Fremont, Ohio that evening at 7:30 P.M.
June 24 We pulled out of Fremont, Ohio, at 9:30 A.M., with the engine running as smooth as clockwork. Reached Bowling Green that night - a distance of 32 miles - Finding a convenient place to house the "Cub" over night, we all turned in for a much needed rest.
June 25 Owing to the large crowd which had gathered around the "Overland Limited", we were unable to leave Bowling Green until 8:45 A.M. This day's run was too much a matter of excellent roads and good weather to be eventful. We reached Napoleon, Ohio at 5 P.M. where a halt was called for the night.
June 26 Refreshed by a good night's rest, we were up at sunrise and at 6:00 A.M. were pulling away from Napoleon. With good roads and the engine humming away with an assurance of power and speed. It was the impulse of whoever :took the wheel" to "open her up," the result being we crossed the state line into Indiana, reaching Butler at 6:45 P.M. - a distance of 42 miles. The Mayor welcomed us at the edge of the town, leading us to the city square where the weekly Saturday night band concert was being held. The "Cub" was given a prominent place fifty feet from the Bandstand where it was inspected by hundreds of people.
June 28 Sunrise awakened us and after a hurried breakfast, we were again on the road. Crowds awaited us at both Kendallville and Brimfield but having a long to complete that day, we kept going. The roads were very dusty and had not the working parts of the "Cub" been thoroughly protected, the dirt and sand would have soon ruined the motor. We reached Ligonier at 6:30 that evening.
June 29 Getting a good early start out of Ligonier, the "Cub" now running better with every stroke of the motor, settled down to a food fast, but steady pace. Passing through Benton and getting to Goshen in time for lunch, we determined making Lakeville by night. Our hopes were shattered when about three miles out of Goshen we struck soft sandy roads. The wheels of the heavily loaded trailer sank into the sand six or seven inches but the "Cub" pulled along with comparative ease. This gave the first real test to the motor. After eighteen miles of this hard going, we struck solid roads again and with a burst of speed make Lakeville at 9:45 that evening - having come 48 miles that day - the record run so far.
June 30 The "Cub" by now had proved itself so well to the complete satisfaction of us all, that we never questioned its capabilities further. We left Lakeville at 7:05, working north through North Liberty and Swift. We reached Laporte at 4:10 that afternoon. Here an unusually large crowd of interested spectators awaited our arrival, having learned of our coming by numerous flaring posters put up along the route ahead of us by our "advance man." The newspapers by now had also started to feature this unusual durability test, so that farmers and townspeople were lined along the road to see us pass by.
July 1 We got an early start out of Laporte, traveling via Westville, Valparaiso, Deep River and Merrillville. Here we struck a low stretch of soft muddy road and for the first time stopped to put lugs on he drive wheels and the skid band on the front wheel. We hadn't traveled a half mile until we came to a large touring car mired down to the running boards. We unhitched the "Cub" and backed him up to the auto, hooked on with a good sized chain and pulled the car with its six passengers out of the mud without half trying. Just a mile further we helped another machine out of a bad ole. With all these delays we reached Crown Point at 8:45 P.M., having gone 45 miles that day.
July 2 Out of Crown Point at 7:40 A.M., we "hit it up" at te rate of about 5 miles an hour. The roads were in such perfect condition that there were several arguments started and almost signs of fight from the Irish member of the crew - whose turn it was to drive, each of us wanting to feel the steady pull of the motor as we hummed along over the smooth highway. Crossing the state line into Illinois we passed through Rickton, and Frankfort. Here we were forced to put on lugs and skid band on account of the mud. We reached Joliet, Ill about 10:00 P.M.
July 3 Having earned some real rest and being several hours ahead of our schedule, we did not leave Joliet until noon. Taking a round about way to strike a bad piece of road for test purposes, we had rough going for several miles. Once back on the main traveled road we made good time and at 7:00 we were pulling into Morris, Ill.
July 4 Deciding that we would celebrate the 4th by traveling, we started out from Morris with "Old Glory" floating from the "prow" of our famous "Cub" and making the "Eagle Scream" by fierce blasts from our Klaxon. We had not reached the city limits when a rain storm hit us that lasted 3 1/2 hours. The rain over, we struck out again onto one of the hardest runs of our trip. It took us 5 1/2 hours to travel eight miles through this Illinois mud - the stickiest and most adhesive there is - arriving in Seneca at 7:45 P.M.
July 5 We left Seneca at 6:00 A.M.. The day's run was just one hill after another - we encountered fifteen bad ones - with a couple a half mile in length. The "Cub" went up even the steepest on high, the engine purring away without the slightest sign of overheating.
July 6 Out of Spring Valley at 6:50 A.M., we made good time on a stretch of fifteen miles of elegant roads. The speedometer of an automobile that ran along beside us for a few miles, registered 5 1/2 miles an hour. At Princeton, we stopped a while to allow the exceptionally large crowd, which had gathered, to inspect the famous "Overland Limited." Wyanet was reached by 6:45 P.M. No sign of bearing trouble - Hyatt's working perfectly.
July 7 Awake at 5:30 A.M., it was plain to be seen that an early start was out of the question. It was raining a deluge! All morning it continued to pour down. About noon it slackened somewhat so we decided to "put out of port". A number of friends warned us that the roads were impassable and advised us to wait. But we knew that the stuff that our little "Cub" was made of so, with threatening weather and the odds about 9 to 1 against us, we left Wyanet at 12:45 P.M.
We had passed through Mineral and were plowing along - running on low gear every foot of the way - when the heavens broke loose again. Luckily, we had bought an oil cloth lining at Shelffield, Ill., for the leaky top of our "prairie-schooner" trailer, otherwise would have been washed away. The going was fierce and we had a hard time reaching Annawan before dark.
July 8 It was still raining when we awoke but refusing to be discouraged, we started out leaving Annawan at 8:25 A.M. The roads were almost unbelievably bad after the many hours of rain. We learned at Atkinson that the storm through which we had passed the evening before was one of the worst cloud bursts that this section of the country had ever experienced. Streets in the Tri-Cities were reported to be young rivers - three and four feet deep in water. Plowing though mud up to the hubs and climbing numerous steep, slippery hills, but with the cooling and ignition systems working to perfection, e reached the Rock Island ferry at dusk. Across the river we drove on into East Moline, having made 35 miles through the toughest kind of going. We "turned in" dead tired.
July 9 A large crowd, having read in the Moline Dispatch of the unequaled run of the "Cub" tractor through mud and high water, lined the streets of the city. On our way to Davenport, we had to cross the lower end of the Arsenal Island. Here we were welcomed by Major Moody, who is a loyal friend of the Wallis "Cub" having one at work on the Island. We put up for the night at the west edge of Davenport.
July 10 After an early breakfast, we headed out of Davenport at a good lively rate, with the "Cub" running as smoothly as a clock. But again, the sky clouded and our spirits fell as the rain poured down. Despite the fierce weather, we plugged on reaching Muscatine that evening at 9:30 and put up for over Sunday.
July 12 Cheered by the reappearance of the sun, we sped out of Muscatine at 6:00 A.M. taking the While Pole route. With good roads and favorable weather, the "Cub" showed the old time "pep" and 'stepped off" 46 miles before 6 o'clock that evening. Most tractor motors by this time would have begun to give trouble, but with all working parts of the "Cub" motor running in a constant bath of oil in dust proof, water tight compartments, everything ran like a charm. 5:45 found us a Washington, Iowa, ready for a good supper.
July 13 Out of Washington at 7:00 A.M. we averaged better than four miles an hour through the entire forenoon. After a hurried lunch at Keota, we were again on our way. The road then became quite hilly. We reached Sigourney at 6:05.
July 14 More rain! - nevertheless we "floated" out of Sigourney at 9:00 A.M. Nothing short of a cloud burst and flood frightened us now. We passed through Delta, the road leading up and down hill the entire way. We soon struck newly-worked roads into which the trailer wheels sunk axle-deep. From Rose Hill on for 10 miles the road changed into a mixture of rock and clay. Six miles out of Oskaloosa the rain fell in torrents. keeping right on, our powerful headlight almost unable to penetrate the deluge of water, we reached Oskaloosa at 9:40 - none of having tasted food for over ten hours.
July 15 Deciding to give the roads a chance to dry off a little, we didn't leave Oskaloosa until after dinner. Leaving the While Pole Road we struck out with Knoxville our destination. The going was awful - through sticky, blue clay - but by plugging along we kept to our schedule. Two miles out of Knoxville, a storm swooped down upon us that made the other cloud bursts look like a mere sprinkle. Ye Gods! How did it rain! The "Cub" towed us into town, our caravan resembling a tug pulling a houseboat rather than a tractor drawing a covered wagon. Twenty-six miles had been covered that afternoon. An inspection of the Hyatt bearings showed them to be in perfect shape.
July 16 By this time we were all ready to hang the weather man in effigy. Feeling that we should be on our way before the rivers had time to swell their banks and make further travel impossible, we struck out of Knoxville. We were told by several farmers along the way that the small creek about five miles west of Knoxville was already over the bridge and that we'd better not try to cross. We found it less dangerous than reported nad made Beech that evening by 7:00 P.M.
July 17 It was 6:50 A.M. when we drove out of Beech. The sky had cleared somewhat and the condition of the roads was fast improving. We had not gone far when the road a few rods ahead had all the appearance of a life-size river. South River was out of its banks and we couldn't get within a half a mile of the bridge. We tried to cross a few miles below but that bridge was also under water. Several miles south we were able to cross the Penington Bridge. Once on the other side, we had to ford a half a mile of flooded road. With one of us going ahead on horse back to find the road, we plugged along in water ranging from two to three feet deep. (It was here that Murphy, our Irish mate, suggested that we should have gone by way of the Panama Canal - we'd have found less water) We would never have been able to go through water this depth had it not been for the fact that all of the working parts of the "Cub" are protected by an enclosed frame so that water could not get to them.
After climbing Conger Hill, one of the steepest hills that any of us ever saw in a prairie state like Iowa, we kept on in the mud, through several bad holes, on into Winterset where we stopped for the night. This was about as hard a day's run as we've had.
July 19 After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, we were again plowing through the mud towards Greenfield. The trailer was hub deep three-fourths of the time but the "Cub" pulled along like a 40 mule team.
About halfway to Greenfield we pulled a roadster out of a bad mud hole. Thanking us, the driver went on but it wasn't long until we found him stuck again, and we gave him another lift. Our progress was slow but the "Cub", becoming more rugged every day, faithfully pulled us through. We made Greenfield at 7:45, none of us having tasted food sine six o'clock that morning.
July 20 The roads having dried some during the night we were able to make pretty good headway. Making steady progress all day, we reached Casey at 5:50.
July 21 Out of Casey at 8:00 A.M., the "Cub" feeling solid road once again started out at a break-neck speed. We struck a bad mud hole six miles out of Casey about 300 feet in length, which delayed us somewhat. We were in Atlantic in time for supper.
July 22 Not yet out of sight of Atlantic the "Cub" dropped into a mud hole, one of the drive wheels sinking in over the axle in mud and water. For the first time since we started we felt as if the "jig was up." Some twenty automobiles had been pulled out of there within four days' time. We went to work with a grim determination and after an hour's work with shovels and spades, made a brave attempt to get out. The "Cub" with its great reserve power, turned the trick and to the amazement of the crowd that had gathered, we pulled out of this fierce wallow. From there on into Minden the roads grew steadily better. On into Neola we made fast time; the speedometer of the automobile pacing us registered 6 1/2 miles an hour.
July 23 We left Neola at 8:45 and the roads in good condition, although hilly, we traveled twenty-two miles to Council Bluffs without even slowing down. We arrived there at 1:20 P.M. The "Cub" stood on exhibition the rest of the day.
July 24 With Fremont only about 50 miles away and with two weeks to spare before the Tractor Demonstration started, we decided to take things easier. From Council Bluffs to Omaha there was about five miles of cobblestone and brick pavement, which would have jolted and shaken the average tractor to pieces, but the "Cub" with it's spring mounting - both front and rear - sailed along with perfect ease. We rested on Sunday, housing the "Cub" in the J.I. Case Plow Works warehouse, this Company having general sales agency for the Wallis "Cub" in that locality.
July 26 To the accompaniment of a cold drizzling rain, we left Omaha at 12:30 P.M. on the home stretch of our long journey. Out through Benson over rough brick pavement, we at last struck Nebraska mud roads on which fast progress was impossible. We managed to pull into Bennington that evening, having worked our way 16 miles.
July 27 Despite the fact that it had rained all night and was still pouring, we started out from Bennington at 10:00 A.M. Every member of the crew was on the job every minute in keeping the "Cub" and trailer in the center of the slippery road, that being hilly, added to our "anxious moments." We stopped at Elk City for the night.
July 28 We left Elk City at 8:50 A.M. in a beating rain. The roads stood in water and had it not been for the fact that Fremont was near we would have been badly discouraged. By 10:30 it had quit raining and soon the sky cleared. By noon we were in sight of Fremont.
Arrival at Fremont Demonstration
In approaching Fremont, we stuck a half-mile stretch of road that looked impassable. Barnum & Bailey's Circus had been in Fremont the day before and in leaving that night the heavy wagons had so cut up First Street tha the road was in terrible condition.
We started through this treacherous mud hole against the warning of the onlookers. Our little "Cub" scarcely exerted itself, although the trailer was in mud and water up to the hubs - but pulled along in high speed through the mire to the admiration of the assembled crowd.
Fremont turned out in full force to do honor to the mud-covered "Overland Limited" and a committee from the Commercial Club, composed of Mayor Murrell, George Wolze, Sheriff Condit and Nels Steel, together with a band, led the triumphant procession about the town, amid the tooting of automobile horns and plaudits of the crowds on the street. The parade ended in front of Rex Henry's implement house, where Mayor Murrell presented us with the key to the city. This ended the greatest durability run ever attempted by a tractor.
With over a week and a half to kill before the Tractor Demonstration started, we put the "Cub" on exhibition where it attracted large crowds from morning till night - all three of us deciding to take a much needed rest before the tractor show started.
The "Cub" had the distinction of breaking into the movies when it took a prominent part in "The Tractor Girl" - a drama in four reels - in which Miss Laura Wolze, the beautiful daughter of the Fremont Commercial Club President, was the heroine.
Miss Wolze, driving the "Cub" is supposed to just be completing the 1000-mile run across the country and as she nears Fremont looks through her telescope on the city, with its great tractor show in full sway. The picture then depicts a hearty welcome of "The Tractor Girl" and the "Cub" by a committee of prominent Fremont citizens. The "Cub" took its part well, proving its ability to do the right thing at the right time.
An achievement which has received as much comment as the remarkable 1000-mile run was the "Cub's" plowing record at the Fremont Demonstration. The world's record for fast plowing was smashed in atoms on the opening day of the demonstration. One of the Fremont dailies said:
"The Wallis "Cub" Tractor, of cross-country fame, lowered its own record of last year for plowing three acres with a four-bottom plow from 87 1/2 minutes to 77 minutes. Coupled with this remarkable performance was the fact that the land the "Cub" was plowing had a depression half filled with water and the plows had to be dragged through it. Other tractors filled their wet spots with straw and lifted their plows across but the little "Cub" pulled its four-bottom plows through without lifting them once."
Sidelights on the Durability Run