The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-09
THE SPORTING FIELD.
REVIEW !OF RECENT EVENTS OUT
AND IN DOORS,
Yeaestrinism-Th Coming C0ntc est for the
Ashley HeIt.

YedestrInism-The Coming Contest for the
Ashley BeIt.
The betting In New York on the race for the
Ashley belt has opened lively. O'Leary Is. Of
course a great favorite. the odds being large
" in his favor. In book-making the odds
against Hartman and Rowell are about even.
In the neghborhood Of 100 to 40. md the
chances Of Ennis are considered very slim
Hartman feels confident, and his intimate
friends think his chances against O'I,earv
about even. They put Ennis out Of the race.
and fail to see how Rowell can win. It is
claimed for Hartman that in a limit walk D
five days he has completed 80 miles each
day, leaving the track without blister or Il
sore Of any kind, and that he has improved
rather than gone backwards, and can show
about ninety miles day for six days. He Is
also good runner, and has made very fast
time for one and two miles at d time, when be
was not in the best condition. They argue
that Hartman is sound in every limb, not
easily sored, and has always lived d strictly
temperate and careful life, while O'Leary has
given way to excuses, and after his many
races, at last feels the effects Of the great
strain upon his system. Hartman will haye
friends from Boston to care for him during
the contest, which begins next week in New
York.
THE ENGLISH ATHLETES RECORD.
Before the Englishman left the HeyaM re-
porter had short talk with Rowel. who
seems to be a very pleasant young fellow
something like Hanlan about the face He
said that he had rather a rough passage and
was not sea sick, although both his friends
al 10 lIuf f,,r "a,
He did not get much exercise on board &c
the weather was too rough to make 1t an easy
task to walk the decks. There were two DAYS
however in which he managed To stretch bis
legs for four or five hours. He was evidently
quite satisfied with the arrangements that
had been made and began to feel that II he
could win the belt he was going to have a
thoroughly fair chance. His friend. Mr.
Simpson, said that Rowells early years were
passed rs waterman. He was attached to
Searles' boat house, at Cambridge and first
acquired bis taste for pedestrian exercises
while running with boats. lie once rOwed a
mile race OH the Isis against Harry CIasper
whom he defeated easily. He has appeared
quite number OF times rs q runner going
all distances, from q half mile up He ran
nine and u half miles inside the hour. and
nineteen miles In u little over two hours In
q six-h0ur running match, at Settingbourne
against a man named Vanderpeer he ran
thirty-two miles i'm four hours and stopped
rs his opponent had left the track In the
Six-day contest of last October he finished
third with four hundred and seventy miles,
but was twelve hours off the track Rowpll
comes from Chesterton, near Cambridge. il
twenty-six years Of age, five feet six inches In
height and weighs one hundred and forty
pounds. Mr.. Simpson appears to have great
confidence In his man, and thinks he iS the
best in England, He believes that q runner
can beat walker, and says that Rowel will
probably 20 one hundred and twenty miles in
the first twenty-four hours.
John Ennis, oil Chicago, another of the con-
testants, arrived yesterday morning from
Chicago, looking in excellent condition He
has been taking plenty Of exercise lately.
and recently skHted one hundred miles in
rather short time.
The spectators have commenced work
already, and there never was walk in this
country that Is likely to create 50 much bet
ting. At present the odds are 100 to $50
against OLeary, 100 to 30 against RowelI 100
to 80 against Hartman and 100 to 10 against
Ennis. There is considerable disposition to
bet on the distance made. Even money Is
freely offered that five hundred miles il
beaten, and some few small bets have been
made that five hundred and twenty miles will
not be covered. One gentleman McCarroll
OF South street, has offered to bet $4,000 to
$1,000 that no man covers five hundred and
fifty miles. IT the distance was made liv,,
hundred and forty miles the bet might be
taken.
RULES GOVERNING THE BELT.
The following are the rules which govern
the Ashley belt:
"The winner will have to defend his claim
to the belt for eighteen months. and should
he wish to have It in his possession he must
give security to the appointed trustees, and
undertake to restore 1T when called upon in
good condition. The holder If the belt Shall
not be called upOn TO compete in more than
two matches within each current year, and in
case OF his winning the belt in three sue
cesslve matches Tor sweepstakesl, it shall be-
come his absolute property, providing that
the whole OF the said matches Tor sweep
stakes have ben bona fide in every respect
The holder of the belt must accept all ehal-
lengeS (subject to the above cOnditiOus) for
not less than Gl00 side and be prepared to
defend his right to the same within three
months from the issue of any challenge In
the event Of n match being made anybody
may Join in by depOsting E100 with the
appointed stakeholder within four weeks pre-
vlous 10 the day fixed For the commencement
OF the race; the winner to take the belt and
the whole Of the stakes; the gate receipts
ialter all expenses have been paid to be dis |
trlbuted among the competitors as may be
agreed upon beforehand, with the approval
As O'Leary has already won fbe haIt IN +u,o
Sweepstakes, II he wins this time the trophy |
will be his absolute property
WEsToNs FAILURE fF COVERING 1877 MILES
In iOeO HOURS Is A FAILURE.
Westons one thousand hours expired aft
a.lU oh fLiuay AFTERNOON, February 3d. when |
he was at Slough, Eng and and when the
actual la, distance covered was 1977s miles, fall
ing zzla nhss below the stipulated 2O0O
Weston left London at II :05 a. m. January
IS, to walk over the turnpike roads Of Enc.
land, 1000 miles in 1000 consecIltive hours
binding himself however, not to walk during
the "a hours of each Sunday, which laft hi,t,,
only 800 hours, or b days 16 hOura actual |
time, TO do the task. His route was from
London to Dover, thence to Brighton. Ports.
mouth, Salisbury to Plymouth. where he
rested the second Sunday. From Plymouth |
he went through Cornwall and thence north
to Bristol and Gloucester to Worcester
where he was due the third Sunday. Keen, /
ing along toward the interior, his route was
through Birmingham to Shrewsbury thence
to Chester, Liverpool and Manchester to the
extreme north OF England. The fourth sun