The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-08
a Wonderful Runner,

In the early part of the present centur
: running matches were as popular as at til
present time. 1t was then excited by th
wonderful and almost incredible pcrfor
mances of one man. This man was Mcnsel
Ernst, born in Bergen, Norway, on Oclobe
10, 1899. lie was the son of scu cap
tale, and when still boy entered the Eng
llsh Navy. Although his powers as u run
ner were displayed even i'm his boyhood, II,
made three voyages to the East Indies, ant
had completed a three years cruise on tn,
frIgatc Calcdonian, before he made public
exhibition of them, which he first did b,
running race in London, when nineteen
years old. Though up to this time he had
no training, and had even lacked n pcdcs
TRAN ordinary opportunities for muscular
dcvcopcmrnt, he was famed Throughout
the navy as runner, and wonderful stories
us to his extraordinary powers circulated
among all branches of the service. At last
Il heavy sum of money was wagcrcd by the
officers of his ship that Mrnscn would run
from London to Portsmouth, a distance of
scvcnty-thrcc miles, in less than ten hours.
The feat was attempted and accomplished,
the distance hring covered by the young
sailor in exactly nine hours. Shortly after
, wards he ran from London to Livcrpool, n
''',"''SN VI '''' III tillIlS-tWO nOuCS.
/ Although th'E successful ns runner, AIrnscn
dld not quit ~.hc sea until after having dis
tnguishcd bravery in the battle of M
varino, fought Oct. 20, 1927. Soon after
That date he became Il professional runner
+ and, after winning n number of lesser
| matches, was induced TO undertake the great
/ feet of f,mning from Paris to Moscow. lie
started from the Place Ncndomc at four
O'Clock in the afternoon of June II, 1881
and entered the krcmlin at ten o'clock 4.
NJ, OF June %; having accomplished the
distance, |, Ii0 miles, in thirteen DAYS and
eighteen hours This feat created decided
sensation throughout Europe, and the en-
ploymrnt of Mcnscn ns Il courier cXtraorli-
nary by kings and princes became Il popular
! amusement III European courts He ran
from country to country and from court to
court, bearing c0nglatulation, coincidence,
or dcspatches OF greater importance, and
whenever matched against the regular
mounted couricrs easily succeeded in beat
ing them lie always carried with him
map compass, and as many BISCUITS and
ounces OF raspberry syrup, as there were to
nc days occupied on his journey In winter
nc took with him a pair of long, slender
Norwegian SNOW shoes, and i'm travelling he
always chose the most direct line, turning
out neither for mountains nor rivers but
climbing the one and swimming the other
lie never walked, but invariably ran, keep
ing up long, swinging lopc for hours at a
time without rest. His only rcfmshmcnt
one biscuit and ono ounce of raspberry sy
rup per day, and two short rests of ten or
fifteen minutes each in twcnty-four hours.
These rests he took while standing tree or
other object of support. At such times he
covered his face with handkerchief and
slept and after such nap he would pursue
easy when compelled to he quiet. ond ..n,,,I
not sit still for half an hour without feeling
a sense of suffocation. lie was a very ami
able man, Il fnvoritc with all who knew
him, and was made much of by his royal
patrons. In 1888, he started from Munich
at | p. NJ, June &, with dispatches from the
King of Bavaria to his son Otto, King Of
Greece. These dispatches were delivered at
Nauplia at Q 4. NJ, on July or seven days
sooner than il they had been sent by the re-
gular post. In 1896, while in the employ
of the British East India Company, Mcnscn
was charged with the conveying of dis
patches from Calcutta to Consantinoplc
through Central Asia. The distance is
5,Gl5 miles, which the messenger accom-
plishcd in fifty nine days, or in one third of
the time made by the swiftest caravan.
On this wonderful journey he made his
way across terrible deserts, awful salt
swamps, where, for hundreds of miles, he
saw no living being, and through countries
whose inhabitants were savage robbers, and
who lived in Il state of continual warfare.
The man seemed invested with super -natu-
raj powers, and his fame spread fnr and
wide. One of the most interesting pro-
blems of the age being the discovery of the
sources of the Nile, it was suggested that
this wonderful man be employed to follow
the course of the river to it's sources, and
thus determine them. Prince Pucklcr Mus
kan, who had himself travelled extensively
in Egypt, and had made several unsllcccss-
| full attempts to penetrate the hcadwatcrs Of
the Nile, offered to defray all expenses and
| reward NIcnscn handsomely if he would un-
dcrtakc tho trip. The indcfatgabc runner
consented to make the attempt, and on May
! II, l842, set out from MuslSan in Silcsia,
whence he ran to Jerusalem, where he had
some business to attend to- Thence he COLI
tinucd his way to Cairo and up the western
bank of the Nile, through Lower and Mid
die and into Upper Egypt. Here, just ont
the morning of Jan. %, 1843, to stop and
rest, leaning against n palm tree, with his
face covered by n handkerchief. Hc rested
so long that some persons tried to wake
him, but they tried in vain, for h" was
dead. lie was buried at the foot OF the
tree, and it was years before his friends in
Europe knew what fate had bcfallcn him.
Found At Ills DUTY.
It was winters night, many years ago /;
the ground was covered with frozen snow,
and black snow clouds hung overhead,
while an intense cold was made still kccncr
by the driving wind which scuddcd along
over the country side, carrying in Its teeth
q storm of icy snow flakes.
The clock in the Parish tower of Gray's