Day 1 - February 12, 1908 The Competitors
Seeing the Teams we were going to be sharing the road to Paris with for the first time in the middle of Times Square was a sobering experience. They ranged from the staunchly military presence of the German Protos Team to the much younger Italian Brixia-Zust Team we jokingly referred to as the “children’s car”. Each had unique personalities that made a lasting impression upon me*.
The French were well represented with three automobiles. The first was the Sizaire-Naudin which had “Michelin Tires” boldly lettered across the body. It was a small vehicle that weighed some 3,300 pounds, with only one cylinder at 15 horsepower it seemed seriously underpowered and under equipped for such a journey? It was driven by Auguste Pons who piloted a motor-driven 6 horsepower tricycle in the Peking to Paris race the year prior, never making it past the Gobi Desert. Pons’ daughter grew up to be Lily Pons, the famous opera singer. With him were Maurice Berthe and Lucien Deschamps.
The second French entry was the Moto Bloc a sturdier machine of 30 horsepower driven by the adventurer Charles Godard. Godard had a reputation as the “wall of death” circus rider, and may have been a bit of a scoundrel. He had driven in the Peking to Paris competition, but with no money resorted to various schemes to fund that effort. It was said that Godard had been arrested when he got to Paris for race “irregularities”. With him were Maurice Livier, a nineteen year old motion picture cameraman and the youngest man in the Race. Arthur Hue was the mechanic who managed to hurt his hand cranking the Moto Bloc at the start that day, becoming the first accident of the Race.
The third in the French trio of autos was a 4 cylinder, 30 horsepower, 4 speed De Dion-Bouton capable of 50 mph. It was headed by G. Bourcier Saint Chaffray, an interesting chap. He was a nervous appearing Frenchman of rather slight build representing the Le Matin, co-sponsor of this Race with the New York Times. Two De Dions had competed the year prior in the Peking to Paris race, and even though defeated by the “Itala” Fiat in that event, many favored it to do well here. St. Chaffray looking for new glory was certainly out to set the record straight with a French victory this round. He considered himself the “Napoleon of the automobile” and had an aristocratic flare that did not settle well with one of his own team mates Captain Hans Hendrik Hansen. This was a factor that would certainly come into play later in the Race. Hansen, an artic explorer of some note was a tall fellow with the appearance of a Viking; however he did not know how to drive a car.
The De Dion had several innovations inspired by Hansen. Jules Vern would have been pleased as they carried several “horseless carriage” contraptions. A ship sail and skies for the front wheels would allow the wind to propel them across the vast Siberian tundra. The French had also wrapped the chassis frame to insulate it, protecting the steel from cracking in the Artic cold. Alphonse Autran, a pleasant De Dion factory man who had been in the Peking-Paris run served as their mechanic.
The German Protos was headed by a German General Staff army officer named Lieutenant Hans Koeppen. He stood at 6 feet, an impressive chap of 31 years with a “toothbrush” moustache. Koeppen, who was on leave from the German army, had much at stake and much to loose should they not succeed in this campaign. The German Kaiser himself had particular interest in the enormous Protos. It was a Model 1908, 40 horsepower, 4 cylinders, 4 speeds with a maximum speed of 70 mph. It had a fuel capacity 176 gallons, and was 6.5′ wide, 16′ long, with a loaded weight of 6,000 lbs. The Protos was built in Berlin by nearly 600 men in just 16 days specifically for this event. Kaiser Wilhelm II knew autos well, as he owned several of them at that time. The Kaiser also knew that this new form of transportation had applications well beyond the use for personal conveyance. The automobile had military potential and with World War I looming in the near future, the wheels were indeed turning.
The Protos crew also included Hans Knape and Ernest Maas both listed as “engineers”. This gave the newspapers the impression that they were chauffeurs for Koeppen rather than his partners, causing Knape and Mass much consternation. The German auto was huge, looking more like an old west covered wagon with its canvas cover and appeared to carry enough spare parts to build another car.
The Italian Zust was a novel opponent at 40 horsepower, 4 cylinders, and 4 speeds. It had only a 114″ wheelbase, but could achieve a top speed of 60 mph. Giulio Sirtori a rugged-looking Italian was the driver and Henri Haaga a small wiry man rode as mechanic. Its team also included Antonio Scarfoglio, a young reporter for an Italian newspaper owned by his family. The Italian lads were not only some of the younger of our opponents, but were spirited and seemed to eagerly anticipating the adventure that lay ahead of them.
The American Thomas Flyer was perhaps the least prepared of any of the Teams. I did not know until the day before the Race that I would even be involved. You see, most American auto manufactures thought of this as a folly, with no chance any of the automobiles would make it past Chicago in the middle of winter much less Paris. No car had ever crossed the US continent at that time of year! In those days, if you wanted to get from one place to another there were only two truly reliable means of land transportation, the horse or the train. Most automobiles found themselves on blocks in a barn for the winter months.
I was in Providence, RI demonstrating a Thomas when I received a call from Mr. E.C. Morse, the Buffalo factory sales manager. It seems that Mr. Thomas had finally decided to enter the Flyer in the Race, and Morse asked if I would join the starting driver Montague Roberts as mechanic aboard the Flyer. I had jokingly told Monty earlier that I would go as far as he did when we first discussed the remote possibility of the Race, never thinking it would actually happen. Now I told our sales manager that I had a suitcase full of dirty laundry, and thought I might be coming down with a cold. However, I knew there were probably more than a hundred men at the factory that would have jumped at the assignment, so YES, I would be in New York City the next morning to join the Flyer!
At the age of thirty five this assignment would mean doubling my salary to $50 per week, which I could certainly use with a four year old son and my wife Rose at home in Buffalo, NY. George Jr. would later ask that I bring him home a monkey as a souvenir from the trip. Rose was very understanding when I said I would not be returning home as planned from Providence, rather I would be gone for an undetermined length of time on a trip around the world. She said she would pray for me.
When I first saw the Flyer I was glad the factory selected the 1907 model 35 roadster, rather than the 1908 version which was not as good on hills and still had bugs in them. It sold for over $4,000 and with its 4 cylinder 60 horsepower engine could climb Buffalo’s Brewery Hill in high gear! With a 4 speed chain drive it could even reach 60mph on firm roads. It had no roof, or even doors in front. Glass was then considered far too dangerous, so there was no windshield exposing us to all of the elements. There were some iron hoops for a canvas cover we seldom used and ultimately removed. Our only other “special” equipment, 2 long planks strapped to the mudguards serving to bridge road hazards, and a huge carbide searchlight.
My teammate Monty Roberts was a fine chap 25 years of age who worked for Harry S. Houpt, the New York Thomas dealer. He demonstrated cars for Houpt, and had a reputation as a good racer having competed in events prior to this. He and I would become good friends in the days ahead. Also onboard the Flyer was a New York Times reporter by the name of T Walter Williams, serving as what you might call an “embedded” correspondent today. Williams was a man of some fame for having covered many events for the Times including President Teddy Roosevelt’s African safari.
Each of the cars flew a US flag in addition to their National colors. The 45 star flag was provided by the Automobile Club of America with the premise that the winning car could return it for a $1,000 award at the completion of the Race. There were actually 46 states at the time with Oklahoma having joined the Union in Nov of 1907, but the new US flags were not yet available.
The sight of 250,000 spectators gathered in Times Square and lining the streets of Broadway 8-12 deep for miles to the north certainly added to the moment. Bunting as well as national flags were flying, there was tremendous cheering, whistles were screeching, horns were toting, everyone seemed to have gone wild with the electricity which filled the air at the start of this Race. President Teddy Roosevelt desired an American competitor, and we on the Flyer were representing the United States of America in a field of 4 nations all at a time of considerable national pride. I felt duty bound to see this through, whatever we would come to encounter!.
The Mayor of New York George B. McClellan was to start the Race, but the crowds were so thick he could not make it to the starting line. The honor fell to Colgate Hoyt, President of the Automobile Club of America who at 11:15 AM raised a gold plated pistol and fired a shot into the air. We were off!
*About the author: The above is written in the first person as Jeff Mahl heard the recollections from his Great Grandfather, George N. Schuster. Jeff is seated to the left of “Great Gramp” holding the 45 star US flag which flew from the Flyer, with brother Matt and sister Jenny. For additional information visit: TheGreatAutoRace.com
Copyright © 2007 Jeff Mahl - All Rights Reserved