Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-06-10
From the New York spirit Of The Tiues.l -srt .r
GREAT EQUEsTRIAN MATCH IN CALI

lFrOm the New York spias Of The Tfnss.l 80 :
GREAT EQUESTRIAN MATCH IN CALI
FORNEA.
One H,aldrsd aad ny HRss on Horss5aeE n 81
Hours, Forty thrss NiEHss and TAiFtyone Sesonas
One OF those astonishihg and dariBg aess Of horse
mauship which tax he power Of human enduranes
10 the utmost requiring the tests Tor The
/ rider te undergo 20 accomplish successfully took
place May ID, 1855, over the Pioneer Coarse. San
Francisco, California, which stands forth. We be-
hgYe, when all the facts which govern is perform-
ance are taken into eonsidsratol, as Withoat par.
allel in ancient or modern squestriaz fsafs Few
men, no matter nov experienced as riders thsy nay
BE- W0uld be wiling 10 attempt such an undertaking
as We new have 70 record, much less be able 10
4 pefiorm The distances on horseback Withinthe same
I space Of time. There are but few instances kaOHn
/ where he physiqus Of man was found capable 81
I bearing up agsinst such overwhelming exsrtion
I and fatigue which che subj0ined account Of per
son riding hundred and ifty miles on horseback
in the remarkable time Of str hOurs or lkrss HsiH-
Nss aad l1gy 0as ssc0uds discloses, even amer IN
dergOing the most arduOus training. The facts are
substantially as follows, and may be implicitly re-
lied upon. -.
7 match was made q few weeks since for S., 900,
between Mr. J. n. Daniels proprielor Of the shove
named course sad Mr. John Powers, 9 celebrated
horseman from Les Angeles for the latter 20 ride
one hundred and fifty miles -Hithin eight hours,
mounted on Calif0rnia mustangs, and 70 uss as
many Of them IS be desired By she terms Of the
agreement Powers could make as many changes and
stoPpages as be desired, 50 thai be performed the
inateh 10 the time anottsd him. That Be did i
successfully none-Wh0 were present and Hifassssd
the skin with which he managed the horses he rods
and the easy grace with which he preserved his
seat inthe saddle, from the commencement to the
termihaiion his sslfimpOsed task, can de1y. Il
was, indeed, q Hereuisan undertaking, bat il only
goes 60 prove TIE great powers Of Physical ehdu-
rance which some men oaa bring themselves 70 by
3 severe course Of exercise. rrH 10
There vas an immense c1ncourss Of spectators
present thrOugkOut TIE entire day, and It ID under
stood as high as S60O0W taken al the gate which
may afford some ides as % the deep interest," The
community felt IN the match, Hhea such . large
amount was collected az one dollar tickut for id
mission TO witness its progress The livery stables
did thriving business. Every kind Of vehicle vas
pressed into Service and h0rssdssh, from mule %
a Thoroughbred, vas brought into general requisi-
ton, and nade to answer the wants o. the pablie.
For wonder, The demand fsz quadruPsd5 vas con-
siderably larger than The supply, and hundreds Of
persons who could neither obtain hoTse, or wagon
seat IN An omnibus, had.to philosOphicGlly con
tent themselves b. walking cut and in, or else fore
90 the pleasursble opportunity Of seeing what was
10 be seen. The Brannan- street sad ed Mission
and Folsom street roads we're thrqDged ali day long
BY all classes aRes, sexes and conditions and what
in ftful gusts raising high clouds Of dust overhead
filing the air with its particles and scattering ii
ABOUT in every direction, they presented rather
motley array, and il appearances would indicate,
had anything else but agresable tine IN reaching
their desffuafi56s 1la -erra er .e. feI,.aa =
The FIRST mile Of theone hundred and Rfty Wss con-
menoed at precisely two O'Clock a. N, and Powers
finished the match, riding ne mile over, between
three and four o'clock ?. m He used twenty i've
CalifoFnia horses during the trial All Of them
were Of the wild Mustang breed, grass fed, IN
groomed and had never seen the inside % stable.
In California, these Mustangs, when properly
trained make excellent ''lssso' horses sad 0nly
used BY paeqBsros for haating up and chasing wild
cattle. They possess great game and bottom, bat
at times very uatraotsble, aud liable a. any
moment % jump stiff legged OF bolt the track. On
several occasions Powers although very expert
hosemsh, came within IN ace Of being dislodged
from his By the raetioasness Of the animals he
rode Only tRo stoPpagss were made By him, each
of seven minutes duration When mounting or die
mounting he did SO without assistance, averaging
about i've seconds each change The first hour
he rude twenty DiBe miles, and up to the one hun
bred and tRenty-eighth mile showed little or no
distress Alter that he seemed 10 drOOp little but
revived, aud encouraged his horses, one az
another ne rode with his voice, and kept plying
occasionally whip and spur to urge them faster
along
THIS he continued to do up to ths end Of his jour
ueJ almost MlLnOuI luLefAusel0us anu OCCASIONALLY
shifting himself shout in has seat, 10 relieve
the strain upon the muscles and tendons Of his back
and legs. he rode on 3 California saddle, with
heavy maeleas, and the last ffly miles Of the dis
lance changed horses every mile At times, in
making these changes, and 70 further relieve him
self, he would run a few steps alongside Of his
horse, aud them while the animal At full speed
deXterously leap into the saddle, and with shout
and yell bound away at terrific gait All The
horses ridden BY Powers we're taken BY the lass0 as
they were wanted, unshod and without any prspar-
dtion whatever, At the conclusion Of the match
they were turned out again, and allowed to roam
about the fields, without being sponged blaRketed
Changes we're made sometimes every four miles, and
then again at The conclusion Of each mile.
The Pioneer Course is fHll mile round, perfectly
level and with pretty regular turns A very high
wind vas blowing at The time, ard the effects Of It
considerable imPeded the speed Of the horses, and
somewhat inoonvenieneed the rider, as most Of the
way he reeeivedit directly in his face, while the
heavy clouds Of dust which i swept along almost
Blinded him. Il may safely be estimated that the
wind and dust were equal to ONE ten seconds dit
ference in time against both horse snd rider each
mile
T During The progress OF he race saialp boy, son
of Mr. James Dennison, displayed some very beau I
tful riding, as, mounted Californis mustang,
he dashed st headlong speed, nov and then along
side OF Powers, holding in his hsnd glass Of
water, and this, too, without splitting drop In
this way Powers was considerably refreshed without
losing time,
At the conolusioa Of the match Mr.. Powers dis
mounted amid the loud huzEss Of the vast assem-
blage present and With the exception that his eyes
we're some what hlooishOt seemed as usual and less
fatgued than might be expected after the wonderful
feat lie had performed lie responded TO the call
and said Gentlemen, thank you for your cdesrs.
have performed he feat thin the time pro nised,
and notwithstanding some Of the newspapers mem
toned hat it was difficult thing viii bet S. coo
no man in California do it within ny time =
Mr. Osbsldistou, when be rode 200 miles, with
twenty -eght horses, in eight hours and AZ minutes,
il England had hloodsd horses, well groomsd, TO
perform his lime, and had such could hsve done
the distance be made IN much less time
PIONEER COURSE SAN KRAECIsco, CALlPoRNIA
SUNDAY, Nay 2, 1S59-Match against Timefor $4,000
- Powers to ride enc hundred aud htty miles
within eight hours, mounted on California mus
tangs and 10 use as many Of them as he desired
Mr.. Powers used twenty-five horses. At the end
Of each teuth nile the table sh1Ws the time con
sumsd in going that distance: M.
Miles. Hours. Minutes. Seconds
40 90
20 81 %
so Is e