Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-08-22
REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE.
Two Hundred AIIeS Run In a Little
over Eight Hours.

, astOnish the advocates OF "blOodes
! stock high feeding and fancy training
) The English and Americans from thi
D older States, who have been brought uJ
D to use the Infamous pig skin saddles
double reiDs, martingales, short stiKrupi
} and whips, always stoutly assert, in spitj
OF the evidence of their own eyes, tha
Spanish-Americsn riding, with Span
; ish bit, comparatively heavy saddle, anC
long stirrup sitting at ease and perfectly
erect, with the legs Strengthened out al
full length, as IL they were walking, and
mounted on uDder-siZed horses of Ara
bian or Moorish descent, could not &C
cOmplish the distance, nor ride with 40
little fatigue as the Englishmsn, mounted
on his high h-bred, bob-tsiled bay, with a
little bit Of pigskin under him, a snaffis
bit in his horses mouth, on which he
pulled with both hands, and his main
strength all the time forcing his horses
neck out of its natural position, and
thereby impeding his respiration, while
he himself bobbed up and down like a
demented pump-hsndle, rising and fall
ing with every movement OF his horse.
A few years since 1 was talking to an
old Californian who mentioned the fact
that before the cessiOn Of California to
the United States, the young men of Los
Angeles were compelled to go to Santa
Barbara for their Incense to marry. The
distance was sixty-fve miles by noun
tain trsils snd along the seashore, taking
the shortest cut they could make, and
yet the young cdbdlLerOs made it point
of honor always to ride there and back
| within the twenty-four hours preceding
their marriage, making the entire dis
tsncs of one hundred and thirty miles,
I the toughest kind of riding in g hot, dry
| climate, with q single horse. They
1 would leave Los Angeles after dinner,
| riding st gallop sll the way, and reach
! ing Santa Barbara before midnight, take
s sleep until morning, get the license and
ride back in the blazing sun, arriving in
I season for the BuptiRls in the afternoon,
! then dance all night at the grand bail
given in honor Of the great event. An
EDglishman who heard this statement
remarked instantly, "Haw, well, that's
all very well for Hamerica, but an Hing
lishman would a done it in 'alf the
time % What more could be said?
Now it is well known that the greatest
feat OF horsemanship ever accomplished
in England was that OF Mr.. Oslbadistou,
who rode 200 miles in s hours and 42
minutes, and be was small man, riding
large, powerful horses. No other Eng
Iishman hiss ever equaled this feat.
In May, 1858, Jack Powers rode $50
miles in hours, 43 minutes and 81 sec
oDds, riding California stock and sub
sequently Tom McNabb rode 200 miles
in 10 hours.
About month since, party OF horse
men were discussing the question of the
comparative merits of imported blooded
stock and the common California mus-
tsngs, and the different styles Of riding,
when Edward Whippls offered to bet
$3.50 against $1,000 that no man could be
found to ride 800 miles in fifteen eonsec- /
utive hours. He was at once taken up
by Louis Burns and John Cahill, who
named n. II. Mowery as the man to
ride. The match was all agreed upon
on the spot, and since then there has
been constant betting going on as to the
result. You will see that he must aver
age q mile every three minutes for fifteen
consecutive hours, allowing nothing for
loss Of time in changing horses at every
second, third or fourth mile, accidents,
or unaccOuntable delays. The general
feeling was that he could never succeed,
and in the betting the odds were deci-
dedly against him. Yesterday Sunday,
August p, was fixed on for this race
against time.
The race took place at Bay View Park.
q few miles north of the city, over a
mile track. The animals, thirty in num-
Der, selected by Mr.. Mowery, were the
common CalifOrnis mustangs and half
breeds, none of them full-sized, but all
formed OF the indomitsble pluck and
life which belongs to the descendants Of
the gallant fleets which were ridden into
Spain by the fiery followers Of Muss and
Taric, when, at the bidding Of the Com
y-,ay-Iar Of Eaffh ff1l ha
of Africa poured into Europe, there to
spread the knowledge of the true God
and the law Of the Koran.
Mr.. MOwery is an old Californian, Rp-
parently OF about the middle age, weighs
I60 pounds, and rode with heavy Mex
lean California saddle, Spanish bit and
free rain.
At twenty minutes to five in the morn
ing he sprsng into the saddle and rode
the first horse four times around the
trsck-that Ia to say, four miles-at s
dead run. Attendants stood ready at the
stand to saddle and bring out the fresh
horses as he beckoned for them in COM
ing round; and be changed animals rap
idly, riding none of them three miles
after the first, and few of them more
than two. The Mexican dodge Of rush
ing" was constantly resorted to. An at
EeOUh1L MOQiu IluG OuG-lOuTlu Ou6-
third of the way down the track to meet
him as he came in wheeling his horse,
ride back Just behind him, yelling "Vam-
os! vamos whoop-Ah! vamos % and
swinging his hat as II frantic. This
would start the tagging animal into re-
doubled exertions, and be would come In
fairly flying. A single sharp pull on the
Spanish bit would stop the animal 10 8
second, and in two or three more the ri
der would be On fresh animal Rn1 of
again. Sometimes the mile or two miles
would be ridden one way around the
track, sometimes the other, in order to
relieve the rider by change as far as prse-
ticable.
Early In the morning the race track
was crowded with people, and before
.. m. the jam was immense. Up to u N.
the rider refused all assistance in mount
ing and remounting, but after that his
attendants would occasionally give him
q lift, apparently not so much because he
had required it as for fear that he might
do SO before the race was over. At the
end Of two hundred miles rest was ta-
ken, and a plaeard was displayed from
the iudges' stand that the two hundred
miles had been accomplished in eight
hours two minutes and fOrty-eight sec
onds-thus beating by forty minutes the
time made by Mr.. Osbaldiston with race
horses, in England. Then the start was
made on the third hundred miles, Mr..
MOwery having bad bath and other
wise refreshed himself, and appearing
good for two hundred more, If required. |
The bets now changed, and large odds
were offered on his winning, with bus
few takers, and those of the obstinate
English bobtsil and pig skin school.
He now made q mile in 2:0S, and the
average speed was 2:30 throughout.
across the track ct this time, and the
average speed must have been consider
ably unfavorably affected by this fact;
nevertheless be kept up his lick I" amid
the cheering Of the crowd, never isgging