This article is from the May 1917 Issue of Gas Review Magazine.
The Explorations of Koch
by B. J. PAULSON
Whether or not Dr. Cook really discovered the North Pole makes no difference whatever as far as this story is concerned. He was an explorer, at any rate, bore the name of Cook and had his ups and downs which are the only things he had in common, as far as we know, with explorer Koch, (he pronounces his name the same as he of arctic fame), of the good ship —- 8-16, last reported from the port of Musselshell, Montana.
John Koch is a farm explorer. The mysteries of the soil are much more interesting to him than the locked secrets of the great white wastes of the frozen Arctic and Antarctica. He will tell you that the solutions of the soil problems are also much more productive.
There is always something new to be learned and discovered- things that require thought, study, analysis. The farm is no longer the prosaic, haphazard, humdrum institution of bygone years. Quite the contrary, it is–
But that’s getting away from our story. We are going to tell you about John Koch, farm explorer, and his latest adventure.
It was a fresh, crisp morning in October. Commander Koch, on board his rugged 8-16 kerosene tractor, built to weather any storm, surged out over the Montana landscape to explore the soil strata about six in beneath the surface as Messrs, Handel Bros.,of Musselshell, owners of the outfit, desired to have this same soil put into the best of conditions for a 1917 bumper crop. So far, so good.
The invigorating Montana ozone, which has no equal throughout the whole wide world, filled John’s lungs. It made him feel like a million, although anyone who knows will agree that it’s worth a lot more. He whistled a sprightly air with a lot of lilting, curly notes and the sturdy 8-16 placidity barked away in its leisurely unhurried fashion, turning the fertile, virgin sod – a broad, clean furrow. Two rounds of the field were made and all was as calm and serene as a full moon riding through starlit space.
But wait! Dame nature had taken a hand in the game entirely unbeknownst to Explorer Koch, and was stacking the cards!
Whether it was due to some slight seismic disturbance or whether it was merely a case of getting tired of sitting in the same identical spot for a few countless centuries (who wouldn’t get tired!) is not accurately known (John is working on the problem now) – but anyhow, a “pebble” measuring some two or three feet in diameter, detached itself from the brow of the frowning rim-rock that bordered the field which was being traversed by John and his tractor. Reveling in its new found freedom, the “pebble” boisterously frisked down the slope and kept on going until exhausted, coming to a stop directly in the path of Explorer Koch and his 8-16 who were still some distance down the field.
According to Koch, polar icebergs and shifting ice flows have nothing on “rim-rock pebbles”. Having already traveled the course that lay before him twice that day, Koch, in his happy mood and joy of being alive on such a glorious day, did not pay any particular attention to the “sea” just ahead.
The self-steering device was piloting his craft for the time being, and John, his head turned in the opposite direction, watching his plow. And then- all of a sudden Explorer John Koch had thrust upon him one of those hair-raising emergencies you read about in some of our thrilling modern fiction. He felt himself being elevated- and he maintains that it was far from being an elevating experience! Too late he discovered the “rim-rock pebble.”
The front trucks of the tractor, being narrower than the rear, missed the obstacle by a close margin, and John’s first intimation of its presence was when the right-hand drive wheel started to climb it. Coincidentally, the left hand drive wheel dropped into an eight-inch depression in the ground. The “sea” was getting rough!
Along about this time Explorer Koch decided that the climate in the immediate vicinity of the tractor was unhealthful for the time being. While he had never received any special training as an acrobat, necessity supplied the equivalent in this case. He must have had springs concealed on his person somewhere, for just as the tractor reached the apex of the rock, John shot into the air like a rocket, shouting, as he sailed through the atmosphere: “Man overboard!” –or words to that effect. It was a graceful, aerial somersault.
A few seconds later, very much dazed and his breakfast severely jolted, John Koch sat up and gingerly felt himself to ascertain whether or not he was all there. The inventory registered “everybody present.” With mathematical aptitude for detail he announced “Check!” and thus assured that he had checked up O.K. and no bones were missing, he now cast his eyes in the direction of his craft.
There she was, with her nose buried in the dirt- and the motor still faithfully pounding away! John thought he must be seeing things- but no, he was not deceived although things did seem to be going ‘round and ‘round, including the scenery. The 8-16 with its four wheels pointing sky-ward, was still panting and kicking away valiantly.
Upon observing this phenomenon, Koch, with the true instinct of the season explorer, staggered to his feet and looped for town, a mile away, hopefully wheezing: “My kingdom for a kodak!”
He got the kodak and also a couple of very good pictures as will be noted from the accompanying illustration.
And now comes the most interesting part of the whole story, which is best told by explorer Koch’s own statement:
“The incident occurred at 12:45 P.M. I hiked to town for help and procured a team and tackle and had the 8-16 on her feet again by three o’clock. I then cleaned the mud off her, replaced a ¼” by 4” nipple, straightened the vapor stack, filled up with fuel and oil and made two rounds of the field before 6 P.M. of the same day.”
Needless to say, Mr. Koch is more than convinced that his sturdy craft will weather any storm and the owners, Messrs. Handel Brothers of Musselshell, Montana, heartily concur in the opinion.
*Although it’s never called by name, it’s assumed from the photo that the tractor is an International 8-16 Mogul Tractor.
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