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Wayne Walden, 94410)
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Informant,Fred Roys,113,7th Ave.N.Y.City.
Subject -A Fast Ride..
On a previous occasiomI had heard 8ig Fred tell something
October 5,1938
mir
of a whopper relative to the north-west woods.A few evenings ago I
again came across him as he stood conversing with some cronies.But
now the talk was of this modern age,and particulary of its speed.
Finally I heard this,which may or may not be a tall tale,but it does
tax one's credulity.
Big Fred speaking- something of a drawl:—
Talkin' bout speed,Ild liked to had some of you guys with me a couple
of months ago.I don't know what kind of a car it was,but it sure could
go.The fellow drivfbng the car was a Jap,and there was only me and him
in it.We left town here and was out fifty miles in less than an hour.
That was makin'pretty good time I thought,but when we got out where
the traffic thinned down,the Jap steps on it.He had the radio going
to kind of occupy our minds as we went along,and every so often he had
to slow down to let the waves catch up.'"Butiput in an incredulous
member of the group,"tut do you know that radio waves travel thousands
of miles a second,way up in the thousands?1"WelVwe must of been beatin
that7said Fred,"cause we couldnt get the drift of what the program
was 'cept by slowing down once in a while."
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ADDED-- (3\' W'r-tzvt67.1vE g PI R. WALDEA
(The following is true,but is merely a vivid memory of long ago and far
away.If"valueless"to the folk stuff,I shall not be offended.)
Years ago,in the mountains of Colorado,lived an old veterinarian whose
name was "Doc"Squires.He was something of a, local character,and charac-
teristic of him were some of the oddest word formations that I have
ever heard. Given to raillery,the old man upon an occasion when cigar-
ettes were being discussed,said: "I cannot see why boys will go on
smoking those founcounded cigaroots when they know that it is conjurious
to their institutions -why it's utterly rickydoodulous."
-2- W.Talden,Cct 5,1938
Then too,there was old Jack Stewart,a tall,lankrnd grizz&d prospector,
A
whom I remember as quite a character of those same parts.Relating an
experience he had,when suddenly confronted with a bear,he said:
I was coming down the trail when all of a sudden I see this here
bar standingfon his hind feet lookin'at me.The only thing I could
do was to hit for the nearest tree I could find.The nearest tree was
a scrubby little pinion,but I lit out for it and climmed it.But when
I'd climmed it as far as I could go,I looked down and seen that my
feet was still on the ground." What happened to the "bar"I never learn-
ed, or have forgotten. c,':-1.4,maled, for...climbed, is not an error.)