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Show 66 JT 1T-7T' H H99 iviiQM mm Jnkms bment vK . nJ , 'V 'X . rS t V; V'" j x -'(5- f 4 .,, A-V 4 f $ i f I' y V ' ; iA u?vw V i .7 - -7 rf'di sl .'.-vn Its IjJ- JN . .. , . r-.. ............. f 4 X ;nX 4 lJ A'f 7-4 ,X. VtjA xxHn 7" - u 1 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON V 1 t v, 'til 4 A ,'Wiy9i oiher duy Charles ("Bronco , - ' '- ,V.S 'I Charlie") Miller trotted his brown Vi i'' 1 - - 1 ware down the streets of Los An- . J l, "i-JX ge'es, having completed a modern f W VtS . JWC fl ' . ,, .hr'Xit-.W '5siV.m- s was until they were ready to mount. Capt. 'Sf. i pony express" rule of 3,000 miles v i -jmj-v vj WZfA? t, , T, , o 1. , ., . ,', I AJ , .. ' ,. , r,Z . ' -- X' -J kSTo -S .-. SSiWs-s:--strttM Se-" ,- : ? Frank Parker won in 8 hours and 25 minutes. I iVfl. 1 from hew ork City. Once again i';f,;3w'-' s:": i .'.:!; . .. . ., , , ... A1 ,r ,, ... , . ... :..ovs" : f'-i;;mmx:--. Major Henry Romeyn in an article in Outing fcti L the mail has come through in the sa ssm jwssiiaii-jMii.;. , ,. , ,, , jii. TStft y ... c - . , ,, . sK::5i:;ii In 1904 gves some old records of long distance VrxraVvx record time of seven months, 24 s--': .: v?x.;; SQO j . . , . , Sisw.??;5w;, s: fc:.wsfsssfs-' riding ;n the American army. MM ,!lyS,a1I,,d 6;4Hh0"rs! snld Press $MSm$mHMnmmmmmmm Felix N. Auhrey in ISSl rote in 5 days and dispatches at the time 14 hours from Santa Fe to Independence, Mo. He .JbZl Interesting as was Miller's feat x , . rode 830 miles and used 7 horses. -mam y because he is e.ghty-two , j y -v , 4 , , Thomas ,Q carrylng dispatches years old ana is said to have once been a pony , V for General Kearney, rode from Santa Fe to express rider-It was by no means unique for , 1 V,,W Fort Leavenworth, 832 miles, in a little less feats of-long distance and endurance riding , , than fla 9 horses Mogt of Wg fresh have become fairly common in recent vears , . "" yw:' :f H , ... . ,. . . , , , ; . , . . V, ? ::':.'''. v. horses were caught from herds of horses betas be-tas witness the stories told by some of th s;-.x :; , . ... . .. , t . , xtitvmmmmm. , iimm f 5!4ssa&ifi 1 longing to the Indians, pictures shown above). But the principal inter- ::':'"'w ....f .-. -':v : est In such feats lies in the fact that they re- WMmXmA Jolln Ker:'-V in 1SjT rode from Fort Brl(,ser a .'., i,4. : L ; a-e-j t-g jror(. Leavenworth with dispatches, more than By ELMO SCOTT WATSON V7"yHK oilier day Charles ("Bronco 3 Charlie") Miller trotted his brown I ninre down the streets of Los An-: An-: geles, having completed a modern ( "pony express" ride of 3,000 miles I Yi ) from New York City. "Once again V J the mail has come through in the VyjSw-' record time of seven months, 24 TWKJ days and 6',4 hours!" said press Nmlffl'S dispatches at the time. 33-si Interesting as was .Miller's feat mainly because he is eighty-two years old ana is said to have once been a pony express rider It was by no nienns unique, for feats of-long distance and endurance riding have become fairly common in recent years (as witness the stories told by some of th pictures shown above). But the principal interest inter-est In such feats lies in the fact that they remind re-mind us Americans that even in this airplane and automobile age horseback riding over long distances is not yet a lost art. -They also raise the question of records made In such feats of endurance and an outstanding authority on the subject, Wayne Dinsmore, secretary sec-retary of the Horse Association of America, has supplied the following information on that ubject: The longest distance traveled by horse and rider in 24 hours seems to be that covered by the couriers of Gen. Wesley Merritt, who in 1879 covered 170 miles in a little less than 24 hours. This would be at the rate of 7 miles an hour for the full time. It is not certain whether or not they changed horses on the trip. In the "endurance tests" or long-distance rides the most important requirement is generally recognized to be the condition of the horse. This form of sport commenced in Europe after the close of the Franco-Prussian war and became be-came an international sport beginning in 1S92 when there was a race between Austro-Hungar-ian and German officers. These were under the auspices of the emperors of these countries and were in the shape of races between Berlin and Vienna. The Austro-Hungarians were victorious, but it cost the lives of many horses. In 1904 In a ride between Lyons and Vichy 32 horses took part ; six of these had to give up. In the Vienna-Berlin ride, out of 199 horses taking part 27 horses died. In another one from Dresden Dres-den to Lelpsic, out of 33 taking part, not less than ten horses succumbed. In the Brussels-Os-tend ride out of 22 taking part two died on the road and two more after arrival. In the Upsala-gtockholm Upsala-gtockholm ride only one rider out of 21 gave np. This shows that care and attention to the condition of the horse on the long distance rides is steadily increasing. On October 30, 1912, Capt. Frank Tompkins rode the pure-bred Arab stallion Kazzia from Northfield, Vt., to Fort Ethan Allen, a distance of 51 miles, and back the same day. This horse, which stood 14.2 hands hipli and weighed 9H0 pounds, carried a 175 pounds on his back. The most important feature in the performance, however, how-ever, was that after the journey of 102 miles in a single day he showed no weariness and was in condition the next morning to have repeated re-peated the feat. Time on the road, 15 hours and 80 minutes. On September 6, 1912, this same horse, ridden 1. Charles ("Bronco Charlie") Miller starting on his 3,000-m;!e modern "pony express" ride from New lYork City to Los Angeles to carry messages of greeting from residents on the Atlantic At-lantic coast to those on the Pacific. 2. Leo Gianmarine upon his return to Los Angeles, after riding clear across the United States and back again, a trip which with many "detours" brought his total mileage up to 9,150 miles. 3. "The Pony Express," a statue by Mahroni Young. 4. Boyd Jones, fifteen-year-old boy from Ama-rillo, Ama-rillo, Texas, on his horse "Molly" which he rode from Texas to call on President Hoover at the White House. His trip to the National Capital took 78 days. 5. Maj. James Unger of Oshkosh, Wis., shown upon his arrival in Atlanta, Ga., during a long journey on horseback which began on Thanksgiving Thanks-giving day last year. He plans to visit every state capital in the United States and return to Oshkosh by Thanksgiving day, this year. The purpose of the trip is to test the endurance of his mount and if he is successful in completing the 20,000-mile journey he will receive a prize of $25,000 offered by W. J. Umstead of Kensington, Kensing-ton, Md., a noted Eastern race horse owner and breeder. 6. Senor Aime Felix Tschiffely, an Argentine school teacher, shown at Washington, D. C, after completing his 10,000 mile ride from Buenos Bue-nos Aires. 3 by Parker Tompkins, went from Northfield to Winsor, Vt., 70 miles, in 13 hours, including all stops; and two day later he returned on a very hot day, covering the distance including all stops in 15 hours. Captain Eeid rode 154 miles over .hilly country, coun-try, carrying ISO pounds in 30 hours and 42 minutes, winning first prize in an endurance test. The horse was a three-quarters Arabian called Halcyon. A pure-bred Arabian, Taquis, covered the same course with 100 pounds in 30 hours and 37 minutes with Lieut. It. M. Parker up. The United States Cavalry Journal of July, 1915, contains an account of an officers' endurance endur-ance race run after three o'clock in the afternoon after-noon and through the dark over a 71 mile course. None of the officers knew where the course was until they were ready to mount. Capt. Frank Parker won in 8 hours and 25 minutes. Major Henry Romeyn in an article in Outing in 1904 gives some old records of long distance riding in the American army. Felix N, Auhrey in 1S51 rode in 5 days and 14 hours from Santa Fe to Independence, Mo. He rode 830 miles and used 7 horses. Thomas Tobin in 1846, carrying dispatches for General Kearney, rode from Santa Fe to Fort Leavenworth, 832 miles, in a little less than 11 days, using 9 horses. Most of his fresh horses were caught from herds of horses belonging be-longing to the Indians. John Kerley in 1S57 rode from Fort Bridger to Fort Leavenworth with dispatches, more than 1,000 miles, in 17 days, using only 4 horses. In 1S47 Col. John Fremont with two compan-' iqps rode from Los Angeles to Monterey. Each man had three hort'es and changed every two hours. The first day they rode 125 miles between be-tween daybreak and nightfall ; on the second day 135 miles between daybreak and nine at night ; on the third day 70 miles between eleven o'clock and sunset; and on the fourth day they , completed the journey, riding 90 miles, at. three in the afternoon. In June, 1868, a man named Morris rode from Saguche to Fort Garland, Colo., a little less than 100 miles, between 3 a. m. and 1 :30 p. m. Two days later the same horse, a coal-black bronco, was ridden more than SO miles. After the establishment of the "Pony Express" Ex-press" just before the Civil war many notable rides were made. 500 ponies and 200 men were engaged In this work, SO of them being riders. The latter were selected mainly on account of their experience in the saddle, because they had been tested and were able to stand the fatigue of a gallop extending over 100 miles. At that time news was carried from ocean to ocean In less than 10 days. The last message of President Buchanan, in 1SG0, was brought into San Francisco in 8 days and 5 hours, while President Lincoln's first address reached there in 7 days and 14 hours. Of course these long distance runs were with changes of both horses and riders. Probably the most notable ride of any single rider was that of Buffalo Bill (Col. W. F. Cody) who on one occasion, finding that the rider who was to relieve him had been killed by the Indians, In-dians, rode 3S4 miles in 24 hours, changing horses 86 times. This was an. average of 16 miles an hour, day and night. Bob Haslam made one ride of 264 miles. James Moore, a frontiersman, in the 60s rode 2S0 miles in 22 hours. In 1923 the Tony Express celebration committee com-mittee undertook to reproduce the old pony express ex-press run, riding from St. Joseph, Mo., to San Francisco. The total distance was 2.1S0 miles, which was covered in 158 hours, nearly two days better than the best old express record. Across California there were 34 relays, a distance of 259 miles, which was covered In 13 hours and 45 minutes, an average speed of 1S.83 miles per hour. ( by Western Newspaper Union.) |