Richland beacon., 1873-09-27
A British Sportsman.
III, Fcats OF Arms.

His Fcats OF Arms.
A testimonial has been given of late,
tbough not of much material value, to
CAPTAIN Ross, the veteran rifie-shot, by
the Wimbledon volunteers, upon his
retirement from public shooting. AS
sportsman, his career has probably been
unrivaled. His walking, when he had
been training for a month or two, aver
aged five miles an hour. Indeed, he
once accomplished, "fair toe and heel, y
six miles in fifty-six minutes on the road
between Melton and Leicester. How
ever, his greatest feat on feet was per-
formed not as principal, but as umpire,
which shows us that there were other
giants of pedestrianism i'll those days, l
think the date was 1887, as well as he.
A large party of spol tsmen were assem-
bled at Black Hall, in Kincardineshlre,
Scotland, about the beginning OF Au-
gust. All of them had been shooting
snipe and "Aapper" ducks in large
morass on the estate. and wading among
bulrushes for seven or eight hours, since
which they had had capital dinner.
II WAS not a moment to propose walking
anywhere, vet at nine o'clock, when the
ladies' had gone to the drawiDg-rOom,
and Ross had dropped asleep IN his
chair. he was awoke by Sir Andrew
Hay with these unreasonable words
Ross, old fellow, l want you to Jump
up and 60 as my umpire with LORD
Kennedy to Inverness. / have made
bet of e., 500 side that 1 get there on
foot before him." Over the Grampian
range the straightest path that could be
taken from Black Hall was about one
hundred miles, certainly over ninety.
Ross's answer was short, but to the
point: "All right; am ready" They
started at once, in their thin shoes and
silk stockings, but their servants rode
after them with better fOOt-gear, and
overlook them after they had gone
about seven miles. "My idiot, how
ever" to use Ross 8 own words, drought
me certainly worsted stockings, but IN
stead of shoes pair of tight Yelling
ton boots. His excuse was that my
shooting shoes were damp from wading
in the moras in the daytime, 80 that L
had to make the best of it in the Wei
lingtons, The sole of one boot vanished
TWENTY-FIVE miles from Inverness, and l
had to finish the walk barefoot" They
walked all night, next day, and all next
nipht-it rained torrents all the way
and got to Inverness at A. NJ. Sir
Andrew Hay had gone by the coach
road. a good one, but thirty-sfx miles
further round, and arrived at 10 A. NJ.
However, in his umpires, Ross, opin-
ion, Hay had won, because Lord Ken.
nedy, "being good deal beaten, Z had
leaned on the arm of his attendant IN
going ND and down hill. The question,
It WAS agreed, was to be referred to
CAPTAIN Barclay, the then great author
ity on walking, but was ultimately drop
ped, luckily for his lordship. Stree
afterward Barclay said he should have
given it against him.
This Lord Kennedy was a sporting
wonder in his way, and jealous OF Ross {
rer rutation in the same line. He could
not ride SO we'll as the captain but
he thought he knew a man that could
one Captain Douglas, and backed hln
for very heavy sum to win certa,r
steeple- chase against the former. Tht
night before the race his lordship sen
for his adversary, and said that az 81
large sum was pending on the race I
would he we'll that there should be NJ
openipSs for squibble, and that there
fore the jostling and crossing which IN
vsI;dates flat race should be permitted
"Ah. YOU mean that we may rid
over or even kill each other, if we can,
said Ross.
"Just So" was the others candle
reply. -
Radical, met, therefore, on that under
standing. The first jump was five
barred gate, and Ross when within MT
wards of it, saw that Radical meant :
refuse so,-remembering the bargain Q
the previou.A evening, he held his ow
horse well in Aand. and when the Other
close to the gate, turned round IN iroi !,
of him, he stuck the spurs In and rod
at horse and man, knocking Dougla
over the gate, and leaving Radical o
his own side of it. "In these shoE
keeping days." remarks Ross In the LEI
ter which describes this little clrcun
stance. 3" dilliDg a man that way woni
be brought in wilful murder. but 1t wa
not 20 in 1856" This was rough rldin
indeed, but, except Osbaldistone, "th
souire." as he was called, no man wa
his equal across the country.
OF his shooting, those who undel
stand such matters will appreciate
when we state that he once shot te
brace of swallows in one day with
pistol and single ball. And it is yer
significant that though living in fir:
eetinR times, and acting as second !
- duels, he never acted as prime
o(essional duelists, with all to
- Aopor with which they ai
il seems, not