Bud | |
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 Bud wearing goggles | |
Bud, abulldog[1][2] (orAmerican Bulldog[3]), was the mascot ofHoratio Nelson Jackson andSewall K. Crocker on thefirst automobile trip across the United States in 1903.[4] The pair travelled in aWinton car, dubbed theVermont, from San Francisco to New York City, and picked up Bud nearCaldwell, Idaho.[5]
According to Jackson, the pair had left Caldwell, but turned back to fetch a forgotten coat. A man stopped them and offered them the young light-colored dog. Since Jackson had been looking for a mascot, he accepted, giving the man $15 for the dog. Contemporary newspapers told other versions of the story.[6][7] On the journey, Jackson purchased driving goggles for Bud to keep the dust out of his eyes. In 1944, Jackson donated Bud's goggles, his car and newspaper clips to theSmithsonian Institution.[1][8][4] TheNational Museum of American History has the items on display in theirAmerica on the Move exhibit, including replicas of Jackson standing by his car, and Bud sitting ahead of him wearing goggles.[9]
The trio, including Bud, became celebrities, and Bud was pictured in newspapers with his goggles.[10] Jackson noted that the dog was the only one of the trio who didn't use foul language.[11] At one point during the journey, when the men hadn't eaten for 36 hours, Jackson said they were "stealing speculative glances at Bud as we tightened our belts."[12]: 74 Bud briefly went missing when the party was leaving Chicago; according to one newspaper, he had gone sightseeing.[13]
Bud stayed with Jackson and his family, and lived out his life with them.[12][14] The dog appears in media such asHoratio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, a 2003 documentary,[15] and the children's bookJackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride: America's First Cross-Country Automobile Trip (2009).[16]