What ever the Wanderwell Expedition was beginning in 1919, it was certainly not the kind of exploration adventures that Water and Aloha would experience during the mid-to-late 1920s in Africa and Asia. Nell would later describe what she and Walter did as "vaudeville." It was a self-supporting travel endeavor in which printed material sales, supplemented by film presentations in booked theaters, paid the travelers way. In the late spring of 1921 Nell and Walter went in two directions, and headed two different enterprises that were linked by a so-called "Million Dollar Wager" publicity scheme of who could rack up the most miles over a set period of time. At the beginning Nell stuck with the old Hanson (who knows what happened to the Moon car driven in Los angles in 1920?). Walter would take on a modified Food Model T, designated Number 2, ideal for transcontinental travel because of its ruggedness and availability of parts.
The year 1921 started with the announcement of "The 4th World Journey." As far as I can tell, Walter, and Nell, after their split into two ventures, never got out of the United States through 1921. A central episode to their last ride together took place in early April, 1921, after they traveled from Phoenix to Albuquerque with a side trip to Mexico during which Walter crossed the border without proper passport credentials. The party was arrested in Albuquerque for sales of promotional materials without a license. On April 10, 1921 Walter was bound over for a federal grand jury in El Paso. At his side was a woman he claimed to be his wife by the name of Exia Wiles. On April 20 the Grand Jury failed to turn in an indictment, and Walter wasted no time in "hitting the trail," later claiming it was his status as a a 'German" that led to all this problem.
Nell and Walter had had history of marital troubles, and as far as I can ascertain it was due to the steady stream of other women who had entered Walter's life for short periods of time. After Walter's murder Nell was. extensively interviewed about their past, and in a December 14, 1932 article in the Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL), p.1. she claimed that "Assassins and lovesick girls brought terror and perturbation into the life of the late Captain Wanderwell...." Nell recounted that before her divorce in 1925, "One night...we were setting on a houseboat deck [probably in Miami, FL] at Miami when a pistol slowly came into view over the rail. The would-be killer, shrouded in shadow, took careful aim at Walter's heart when Walter let out a scream. The gun lowered and the man went away, either relenting or to await for a better opportunity. He never had any idea who he was.... "As Nell would conclude after telling the tale of a lover who attempted to drown her, that "Walter had lights-of-love all over the world."
Getting back to 1921, things between Walter and Nell boiled over on May 1 after the two fought over Nell's choice of a chauffeur in El Paso. According to the Amarillo Daily News, "Wandering Walter took no fancy to the new driver his wife had chosen and decided to pick his own chauffeur for the rest of the world tour. A court date over this followed, as "Mrs. Wanderwell gave a part of her personal opinion of Wandering Walter, who decided to let the officials know exactly what he thought of her. A proposition to sell the car and let each go his and her way is being tried by the police department at Amarillo, and if the Wanderwells don't patch up their grievances, the car will be sold at public sale."
In the end Nell, got the car, and the photographs of Walter and his Ford cover the second half of 1921 when he was on his own. Nell ended up with the car, a companion in Peggy Harnett and a mechanic Al Reed. By mid-May, 1921, she and her party were in Oklahoma, where it was strangely claimed that the car was a "specially built Velie." It was a small town vaudeville act, with beautiful Nell showing travel film and photographs on stage, moving from one side of the screen to the other.
More on the rest of 1921 to follow. Images of Walter in Florida and Niagara Falls antedate his trip to Europe at the beginning of 1922. And it will be in 1922 that Walter will have an encounter in Nice with 16 year old Idris Hall, later known as Aloha. Nell will stay in the U.S. for the most part and just continue and extended vaudeville tour with a number of assistants to 1928. Walter will make Aloha famous, or perhaps we could say that Aloha would make Walter an almost daily item in the news.
View of Walter Wanderwell and members of expedition crew in car no. 2 en route to Florida. Rifle and flag displayed on automobile. Handwritten on negative: "1921, USA, en route Florida." Handwritten on sleeve: "En route to Florida. North America, USA, 1921."
View of Walter Wanderwell filming Seminole Indian women standing in front of Wanderwell automobile. Handwritten on sleeve: "Local culture: people, Seminoles. North America, USA, Florida, 1921."
Close-up view of engine for Wanderwell car no. 2. Stamped on engine block: "Made by Rajo Motor Co." Handwritten on negative: "USA, 1921, #2 engine." Handwritten on sleeve: "#2 engine. North America, USA, 1921."
View of Walter Wanderwell and member of Wanderwell expedition standing with car no. 2 on dirt road in Florida. Handwritten on negative: "1921, #2 car in Florida." Handwritten on sleeve: "North America, USA, Florida, 1921.
View of Walter Wanderwell and members of Wanderwell expedition crew posing with car no. 2 on street. Buildings in background. Handwritten on negative: "USA, 1921." Handwritten on sleeve: "Cap by #2. North America, USA, 1921."
View of Walter Wanderwell and members of expedition crew in car no. 2 en route to Florida. Rifle and flag displayed on automobile. Handwritten on negative: "1921, USA, en route Florida." Handwritten on sleeve: "En route to Florida. North America, USA, 1921."
View of Wanderwell expedition crew posing with car no. 2. Handwritten on front: "Stripped down T, 1921, tripod & sirens & #2. 2 crew, Detroit, 1921." Handwritten on back: "1921."
View of Walter Wanderwell and members of expedition crew posing with car no. 2 in Florida en route to Europe. Buildings and palm trees in background. Handwritten on negative: "En route Europe, #2 car, Florida." Handwritten on sleeve: "En route Europe. North America, USA, Florida, 1921.
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