Things were pretty uneventful for a while. Although once in the middle of the night we were sailing along and came upon what looked like a million lights glowing in the highway ahead. A herd of cattle were strung out across the highway. That is one of the traffic hazards common to this area — at least in those days. So, there was nothing to do but wait until the cattle cleared the road. Of course we kind of pushed through the herd where ever opportunity permitted as spots opened up here and there. They (the cattle) owned the road but we were free to take advantage of opportunity as it arose.
Cheyenne: The Jail Escapade
East of the mountains the rain cleared up — the rain shadow effect — more geography. From that point we had smooth sailing right into Cheyenne.
This was an interesting place. It impressed me as being a very clean city. I remember tree lined streets and everything seemed to be well maintained. We had not planned to stop in Cheyenne but as we drove along one of the main boulevards we noticed a lot of activity around one of the impressive looking buildings. Police cars coming to a screeching halt. Cops running into the building. So, we assumed something of significance must be going on, and if we got a move on we might see some action. We never gave any thought to the notion that they might shoot us. So, here we go: running right in after them. They didn’t seem to see us because they were looking for something or someone in the building. But it turns out as we were charging down one of the long marble floored corridors that we meet a contingent of armed cops, guns drawn coming around a corner. We were immediately apprehended, subdued, and told to shut up which we did — for fear of being beaten or worse, shot if we didn’t. I was keenly aware of the fact that people sometimes take action on the bases of incomplete information, and I didn’t want any of those lawmen to have to live with the burden that he had shot an innocent person just because he fit a vague description. So, we obeyed their commands immediately and, dangerous thugs that we were, we were shoved into a small, windowless room under guard. One of cops sent his subordinate on a mission to bring a witness who would identify us even though he was convinced that he had the felons in hand. So he and another armed cop guarded us.
After what seemed like a very long wait the subordinate returned leading and supporting the ‘witness.’ Blood was pouring off his head and face. His eyes appeared to be bloodshot and he was obviously stressed out and emotionally shaken. I didn’t think he could see straight much less see well enough to make a sound identification. So at this point I knew we were in big trouble and I was preparing myself for the retribution that was about to come down.
Well, I could not believe the words that came out of that cop’s mouth. He brushed away the blood and sweat, looked us over and said, ‘That’s not them.’ What a relief. Never-the-less. They wanted to know what we were doing in their fair city and what in the world we meant by rushing into a scene where the police action was in full swing and very obvious to anyone with a lick of sense.
That’s not a valid explanation from their point of view. Curiosity did not cut it. We were led to the street and told to get in our car and continue our journey. Just like in the old west: ‘get out of town before the sun goes down.’ However, they didn’t even give us ’til sundown. It was ‘go — now!’ And we did.
I am certain, unless they had shot us before asking questions, that we were never in any serious trouble. However, I have wondered what would have been the outcome if the old cop had been so beaten up that he could not see well enough to make an I.D. and accused us of attacking him. Or worse what if he had died from the beating? We fit the description they had well enough for them to trigger-happy us — angry over the beating someone had given his buddy — to shoot first and then ask questions.
Well, I recall not feeling any particular sense of relief as we pulled out of Cheyenne. I just never felt guilty of any thing wrong and did not expect any other resolution to our predicament. A clear conscience can be the breeding ground of confidence and courage. However, it can’t be excused of prudence. This experience certainly made me a more prudent traveler. In fact, I guess it was about this time that I began to think more about the risks involved in my journey. Several weeks on the road and no job. Wake up! What were you thinking? O well — time to move on.
The Windy City
Our next big cities on our list were Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Chicago, as Carl Sandburg said in poem of that name was ‘big and brawly.’ I remember particularly the south side. The image that sticks in my mind is one of non-descript housing jammed building to building with lots of rubble around. The downtown part was just ‘big city’ commercial district. One exception: the river walk. I loved that — a real centerpiece that Chicago can be proud of. Probably the one thing that really stands out in my mind about Chicago is the view from our first approach to the city. Miles before we ever reached the perimeter of the city I could see a huge black or dirty grey pillar of smoke rising out of the prairie and towering into the sky. I saw this as an omen — the future of American cities — the abandonment of the environment to the will of the commercial interest.
Chicago: in and out.
Pittsburgh, PA
I don’t remember this part exactly, but I think we shot right past Cleveland and went on to Pittsburgh because I thought my relatives (mother’s family) might be of some help in getting a job. It didn’t turn out that way. Never-the-less, this was my first visit to the city where my mother taught. She taught Latin. That’s all I know about her work, but I was always impressed with her scholarly aptitude and interest.
I liked Pittsburgh. I liked its location on the peninsula where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers come together. That is such a beautiful sight. I liked the bridges in and out of the city. I liked its tall majestic skyline. Like Chicago, Pittsburgh had that tower of smoke hanging over it, but not to the same extent as Chicago. Another scene from Pittsburgh that has always stayed with me is the sights, sounds, and activities of the open fresh market that existed right in the heart of the city. At that time all the produce was laid out on large wooden carts that looked like they might have been horse drawn — more likely they were large hand carts. That scene really grabbed my attention and interest. It was not that I looked for economic reasons or justification for the market in this place. It was just the emotional gratification that I felt being in that place. The market just seemed to transform the city in some very pleasant way that I had not seen in the other cities we visited. Dynamic!
While in Pittsburgh I stopped in to visit with my Mother’s brother who lived in the area. I was not invited and none of my Mother’s brothers or sisters had show any interest in me or in having a visit from me. I had never been invited to visit. Perhaps my reputation had preceded me. Or perhaps they in some way blamed me for my Mother’s death. But, I was only three weeks old when she died and played no conscious role in that sad event. For some reason I have never incited a strong filial love in any of my relatives. Anyway, we did get board and bath for the night and breakfast the next morning. Soon after breakfast we were motoring through Pittsburgh and onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike heading west for another look at Cleveland.
Although the drive through Pennsylvania was not particularly eventful, I do remember the pleasant smell of chocolate that I sensed as we passed by Hershey, PA. I also felt that I had a glimpse into the future of highway traffic as we motored down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This must have been one of the forerunners of the modern interstate highway system. All the other states were still two lane highways.
The next day we rolled out of Pennsylvania into Ohio and back into the state highway system. But as with all of the northern states at this time the highways were very good and so well patrolled that we never took any chances and never received a ticket.
Cleveland, Ohio
Soon we were back in the big city of Cleveland, Ohio. We got into Cleveland in the late afternoon and had a chance to look around a little before nightfall. Our explorations turned up a drive-in movie theater. And though we were near broke, we knew we were only about 500 miles from home or about one and a half tanks of gas from a bed and meal. So, we decided to treat ourselves to a drive-in movie. This was a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film. They were a great comedy team and always left me with a good feeling. So, we took in the movie.
I’ve forgotten where we stayed that night and that is always a bad sign. But the upside of that is we were not arrested. And that was a good thing.
Bedford, Ohio and Ford
The next morning we decided to head south. We had been on the road for a month it seems and we were ready for a rest. So we rolled out of Cleveland early the next morning and headed south toward Toledo. About half way to Toledo we passed through the little town of Bedford, OH. The highway ran right through Bedford and in front of the Ford Motor Company factory. On impulse we decided to stop in and harass those people for a job. Well, it didn’t take any harassment. They welcomed us with open arms and put us right to work. We started the next day.
All of a sudden I began to feel rich. I was making 7 or 8 times as much money per hour as I made at the service station. I had never made so much money in my life. Of course we had no address so as soon as the hiring process was over we headed on into Toledo to look for an apartment which turned out to be easy to find. So here we are. After rambling all around the periphery of the country, we found a dream job (in terms of money) only 500 miles from home. I was stashing money hand over fist, and anticipating return to the college classroom — and all the excitement of higher education.
Map of a Mountain Man 