HERE AND THERE, May 1927

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HERE AND THERE.

Floridan is first to cross treacherous Florida (U.S.A.) Everglades on a motor-cycle.

J. W. H. CAMPBELL, well known horticulturist and sportsman of Jacksonville, Fla., has completed the first trip ever made by motorcycle through the treacherous Florida Everglades. He travelled over the famous Tamiami Trail on an ” Indian”, using, in many places, the same route started some five years ago by a group of thirty-two historic trail blazers.

Campbell arrived in Miami just fourteen days after leaving the West coast. Exactly one half of the time was spent in reconnoitering and arranging wire mats to support his ” Indian ” motorcycle over the muck. In a letter sent to Ora Chapin, executive vice president of the Tamiami Trail Association, Campbell explained, “I was three hours getting 900 feet and in one day made only 4,200 feet. I had to contend with all sorts of wild life and was forced to kill many moccasin snakes.”

He travelled most of the way in swimming trunks, a pair of boots and canvas leggings to protect against attacks of moccasins. On arriving at what is known as Gator Hook Strand, “The Impassable,” which is a live Cypress Swamp about eight miles across, both machine and rider—a total weight of about 700 pounds, sunk into the muck up to the wheel hubs. From then on Campbell toiled for many hours arranging wire mats, two of which, when stretched out covered some twenty feet and served to support the machine so as to make headway.

Campbell returned with certification sheets proving that he had made the trip. He checked at every point he could. His feat will go down in the historical records of the Tamiami Trail Association as the first man to cross the Everglades by motorcycle.

AN OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE.

For many years enthusiastic riders of small machines have endeavoured to take a sidecar through the LondonLand’s End Trial, but invariably something has prevented them from getting gold medals. The results published recently show that at last it has been done— by T. G. Meeten on a 1.72 h.p. Francis-Barnett combination, equipped with a Villiers two-stroke engine. The importance of the feat can hardly be over-emphasised for several terrific hills have to be climbed and there are sections where even large outfits find it difficult to keep up to the schedule speed.

At the same time, although Meeten has shown that the tiny machine will pull a sidecar anywhere, riders of this type of motorcycle should not try to emulate his feat, for the 1.1/2 or 1.3/4 h.p. machine is designed for solo and not sidecar work.

AN EFFICIENT RALEIGH MODEL.

THE 4.98 h.p. Raleigh listed at £45, which was introduced at the last Olympia Show may be said to be now well established on the market. The works are producing these machines in ever increasing quantities but owing to the steady demand, little or no impression has yet been made on the orders already on the books. Those machines which are already in the hands of riders, both at home and abroad, are giving such good account of themselves that letters of appreciation are received by every post, and there is no doubt that the future for this machine is particularly bright.

Although up to the present it has not figured in many reliability tests, where it has done so it has proved itself capable of withstanding a terrific number of “hard knocks,” and a machine which has this qualification cannot fail to give satisfaction to the ordinary motorcyclist.