Show I RACED ThEIR I LIVES I II I H HAVE last Just turned returned l from frem m Webb T I CUy aty said the Old Ott Sport and andI I the people down there are still talking about the Boatwright gang of toot foot racing fakirs I was told that in ines ine tees es e s thaw than a yeses e time the gang cleaned len up over on fixed Sued races That Thet appears to b be a large sum in ia that part of Missouri but from rom my point of view J it St is a smell small amount too small in fact Pact to brag about Twenty age the Ute Pacific states and aad territories were golden solden fields for the foot race men Only a few of or the thera races ra were on OIL the square but every one was wag a bank deposit creator for the men who promoted them At that time Harry Bethune was the acknowledged tape champion of the country He could sprint 1 yards in inless inless less leas than ten seconds at any time in condition or out of ot condition Gibbons GI and aad IHl Ryan other fast cinder path men were also much in the public eye Harry Barr D Downey of Tombstone Tomb tone was another fat fast un flu They Then there was Wu Pete Musgrove a Carson arson City bartender who was the champion of the sagebrush country for several years I never could get the proper edge on Bethune If he was crooked he nev never never never er displayed any signs of It ia lit public Be He traveled from the British Columbia line ins to the Mexican border and from the tp to the ocean for tor several everal years His winnings amounted mounted to more than Ulan M His backers probably made three timea J as IlS much Gibson and Yan were also aJeo ready money makers but like Bethune they ther were fast spend spenders ers ens When I r heard of the bunch all were on en their uppers and 00 doing the MIca Micawber MI MIcawber ca act 0 It was ia Tombstone Ark Arte that I first saw sa w Gibson en anti ansI Ryan race con oen continued 0 ed the Old Sport Gibson oa looked i like Uke a young colt It fresh from fromn college and Ryan would have passed for fot a di divinity divinity divinity vinity student anywhere Ryan broke into the tang camp He came as 5 a book agent Money was plentiful in the thet t great camp in those thOe days and nd I the sport feria germ was in ev fT blood Two weeks after Ryan appeared In Tombstone Tomb tone Gibson arrived at Tucson only seventy miles mUes distant He talked foot race from the start The two dally daily newspapers took him up and made sar sarcastic sarcastic sarcastic I castic remarks about alto Tombstones lack Jack of raring talent Jert Then Ryan Ryn disclosed di clo ed his Identity to several of the boss boos faro dealers of the camp He was tried out and ana he made good Earp then the marshal of the camp Morgan Earp Wyatt Watt Earp Doc Holliday Leslie Lesu Blackburn all noted gun and card men were admit admitted admitted admitted ted to the Ryan syndicate A formal challenge ge was wag sent to Gibson who had organized a syndicate of Tucson sports among them Jake Levy Rob Chisholm Chis olm Harry and Dan Tuttle After a parley It was decided to run the race in Tombstone T mD tone The distance was fixed feed at yards and it was wu agreed to transform Third street from Allen Alleg to Fremont into a cinder path patk Gibson Gl eon and his hi backers arrived in ill Tombstone three days before Defere the race day The Th runners were formally for formally formally mally introduced Both acted as s if they had never ver met before Detore The men men kept on training anti and both appeared to te be in the pink of condi condition tion it s The Th Tucson men played their pile on Gibson and the Tombstone sports were already planning how they the would spend their winnings Mike lUke Joyce Joyee the pro proprietor proprietor of ot the Oriental saloon loon wall the m g safe reo was Awed with the money the sports had bad wa wagered wagered No one in hi the camp suspected that Gibson n and Ryan were in collusion collu collusion collusion sion The rival syndicates were composed of ot honest men although gamblers by profession The night before Detore the time set for the race a sport from El Paso Pa reached the camp cam He had heard of the proposed race and had gone to Tombstone to play his money He caught a glimpse bf bt Ryan Ry n and he Immediately lately turned to tOll a chance ac acquaintance acquaintance and said quietly Til bet an even ev n thousand that I can describe the other fellow The remark caused comment and aid an explanation waa was demanded I lost lie 1 r on a foot race in Silver City three months ago he said Aid and I get JI s 1 I Ia a square eze deal Then n he described the theother theother r other fellow low His description fitted Gibson to a T I I Late that night a conference of sports was held in the faro room of ot Campbell 8 Hatchs saloon on OR Allen street All the members m of the two syndicates and the El Paso Puo sport were ete i present II It was first decided that the race i should uld be run as scheduled S The foot i racers were to be permitted to remain in ignorance of ot the presence of ot the man manfrom manfrom manfrom from SI III Paso Pa o It was also ateo decided that tbt all 11 bets be should stand staB just as as they lay Jay and that the best man should win the therace therace therace race at it 0 it At the appointed hour the next morning Gibson and Ryan attired in racing harness barness s appeared appe red at the t head hea l lof of the course The conditions J pf f the therace therace therace race were read to them th l 1 Then they were told to toe the scratch When I lire fire my gun youre toure off said saM the tile master of ceremonies Then hen raising his voice the master of ceremonies said Boys get ready Two dozen down men shifted the revolvers r vers in their belts Take your places pl ees was the second command Two rows of determined looking men marched down the cinder rinder path said md took positions about twenty feet apart Turning Tinning to the mystified foot racers the master of ceremonies lles then said ina in ina a tone that carried conviction with it i 1 j We dont know whether you fel fellows fellows fellows lows are crooked or not and we don dont t care cu You fellows have got ot to make makeI I good If either of ot you ou fake or throw the th race h he will be buried with full camp camp honors tomorrow There Thee are thirty men in this square squar q edeal deal party part and we have bullets to waste No Now get ready The best be tm maid maji wins ber her and his part oTE U Last posit p will be paid to him K e eThen w r Then Th the masl master of ceremonies ceremonies raised his firing a the next mo meat the runners loses off offIt It was the prettiest pr t sprinting you ou ever saw The getaway was clean cleanthe cleanthe cleanthe the struggle for the lead superb and the dash for the tape the most exciting windup I ever saw The gun men for forgot forget forget get got to keep their eyes ejes peeled and they yelled y led like Uce crazy crazy Indians The spectators several thousand in number threw their hats in the theair air and danced about like at a 2 sun festival Well Ryan won by a hair helt Everybody was satisfied except ex ept the runners Gibson looked like a dead de d man mail w when en he be reached his training quarters I He ran to win and when he realized that he was beaten he expected a hail of f t bullets to come pouring in his bis direction direction tion He was waa afraid to turn hIs head after Ryan had cut the tape Ryan also showed signs of the ter tr terrible terrible strain he had been subjected to Gib he said we quit this camp to today today day Gib was willing That night open o house was kept at t the Bird Cage theatre but Gib andRyan and andRyan ane Ryan were not among the guests Was an attempt made to fix the therace thera therace race ra e Old Sport was asked We never heard beard a word that would lead even a Sherlock Holmes to con conclude conclude conclude clude that a fraud had been planned he replied The foot racers may m y have been on the square from toe to finish for aught we knew w Over Ov was wagered wag red on n that race and the losers agreed greed with the winners that it was worth the money It t was my ray luck to tai t be b in Reno Nev five live years later continued the Old Sport when Ryan nyan arrived there look looking looking ing for easy money He put up at Al Whites Palace hotel and soon had all the sports of John Sparks town talking foot race Pete Musgrave over in Car Carson Carson Carson son City Cy C heard beard of or Ryans boasting and nd he promptly p ti sent a representative e to toReno toReno toRena Reno Rena A match was quickly arranged Again the betting i was as heavy heay Reno and Carson City were great rivals In those days and the people bet high and often orten The race was run r run n in a street and Ryan won in a canter The best man won again for among the th spectators were half a dozen ozen of the men who had stood guard over the cinder inder path In Tom stoke As I have stated the winnings of the Boatwright gang are not worth brag bragging bragging bragging ging about said the Old Sport In con conclusion conclusion conclusion More Mere money has been wagered on ona a dinky horse race on a a sagebrush track in Nevada and there was no se sa sequel sequel quel qUelin in the form of a grand jury investigation investigation to mar the he pleasure the occa ston slon afforded Kansas City Star |