Bold Spirit - Linda Hunt [64]
Her book could shed light into the mysterious sponsor of the trip, although it appears she never knew the exact identity of the wealthy New York woman who preferred “not to indulge her name.”13 Helga consistently stated that central to the sponsor’s motivation was to prove the physical strength and endurance of women, and their ability to provide for themselves. For almost 3500 miles Helga and Clara had proved this splendidly. In light of the immense jeopardy in such a venture, it is conceivable the calculating sponsor never expected to have to pay up, and Helga and Clara arriving a few days late gave the unprepared sponsor a way out. A $10,000 wager is worth over $200,000 in 2002 dollars, a considerable gamble for the sponsor and presumes a person of exceptional wealth.14 Clearly there appears to be a connection to the clothing industry that benefited from the women demonstrating the controversial short skirts. The San Francisco Chronicle indicated in the first announcement of the trip that the women “are under contract to a manufacturer of a health costume.”15 This same information came forth in another article stating, “Mrs. Estby and daughter will be paid a certain sum of money on their arrival in New York for their services in advertising the dress.”16 Two articles mention the Weary Waggles that they wore, perhaps the name of a company that produced the bicycle skirts.
Helga consistently refers to her plans to write a book, but this appears to be her own idea, not the initial sponsor. An avid reader, perhaps she harbored a desire to become a writer. She mentions writing in her notebook daily, sending hundreds of pages home, and one article quotes her as saying “we write a complete account of the day’s experiences and mail these immediately to the New York people who put up the wager. These daily letters will be published in book form at the conclusion of our trip.”17 If the original sponsors were primarily connected to the publishing world, however, nothing in Helga and Clara’s late arrival altered the adventuresome transcontinental story. Their accomplishment offered living proof that women were a lot stronger than most people believed in the 1890s, a direct refutation to the lingering Victorian belief that physical exertion endangered women. It is unlikely a publisher would reject such a fascinating story on a technicality of arrival time. Most of their accounts spoke of publishing a book as an additional way to earn money beyond the wager.
The New York World, a progressive Pulitzer paper, was the first to announce their proposed trek in the April 26, 1896, newspaper under their “new women” column. Helga and Clara needed to go directly to the newspaper office on their arrival, so this newspaper likely served as a conduit for the mysterious sponsor. Newspapers at the turn of the twentieth century liked to draw attention to contests and wagers to interest readers. William Randolph Hearst, owner of the New York Journal and San Francisco Examiner, capitalizing on the bicycle craze in 1896, staged a San Francisco to New York cross-continental bicycle relay race during the same summer as Helga and Clara’s walk. Much like riders of the Pony Express, the cyclists carried a news item across the nation in 13 days and 29 minutes.18 What her book could tell readers is how she first heard of this wager and whether any Spokane connection existed, which was only mentioned in Indiana. All other articles refer to New York or eastern sponsors. The Spokane connection is unidentifiable, and if one did exist, it seems that a “wealthy suffragette” would have provided money for Helga and Clara to return on train to their family. She states