I watched a documentary called Horatio’s Drive on KSPS TV this evening. It is a very well composed description of the conditions and events surrounding Horatio Nelson Jackson’s automobile trip from San Francisco to New York in 1903. I highly recommend it.
It is interesting that two underprovisioned and inexperienced men (and a dog) managed to drive an early automobile through mountains, mud, and dismal roads nearly six thousand miles across a continent with no preplanned supply depots along the route. Indeed, it is somewhat reminiscent of a fictional journey around the world made by Phileas Fogg and his assistant.
I wonder what it is about this type of story that so captivates the imagination. Perhaps it is the pioneering spirit, or the undaunted enthusiasm in the fact of great obstacles. Or, maybe, it is the sheer audacity of doing something that is thought to be impossible. Or perhaps it is something else all together. Whatever it is, it is likely a reflection of the human drive to push ever further down the road of progress.