Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-04-04

The ENDURANCE OF HORSES. exploits
of peculiar character are reported in a re-
cent number of an italian military paper.
On the morning of Dec. Sd last party of of
ticers, consisting of Captain and eight Lieu
tenants of the Fifth Regiment of Cavalry,
left Milan at 3 o'clock to ride 80 miles in
five days. The horses ridden were the charg-
ers of the officers, and We're not of any par
ticular breed neither had they been trained
in any way for the journey, the object in view
in undertaking the expedition being simply
to ascertain what an ordinary horse might be
expected to achieve in case of emergency in
actual warfare. Only three officers finished
the ride, and these succeeded in riding the
80 miles in l03 hours. Some time before
this Capt Selvi, of the Italian cavalry, sue
cessfully accomplished the task of riding
from Bergamo, in Lombardy, to Naples, a
distance of about 5SO'miles, in ten days. He
rode a gray mare, Sandman born and bred,
but her grandsire was n pure Arab. She is
about seven years old, and stands little over
fourteen hands high. The last stage was rid
den not without the greatest difficulty, the
mare being distressed beyond measure, and
she broke down completely at the gate of Ma
pies Neither one of these events can COM
pare, however, with John G. FremOnt's cele-
brated ride in California, over thirty years
ago. At daybreak on the 22d of March, lS47,
Lieut.. -COl. ITtuOnlt lutn hu OllbtI III lut
Dragons, accompanied by his friend, Don
Haisoos Pico and one servant, set out from
Los Angeles to proceed in the shortest time
to Monterey. on the Pacific coast, distant full
400 miles. The way was over a mountainous
country, much of it uninhabited, with no
other road than trace, and many deties to
pass. Each of the party had three horses
nine in all, to take their turns under the sad
die. The six loose horses ran ahead without
bride or halter, and when wantedfor change
were caught by the lassO. The first day they
rode l25 miles. The next day they
made another 1876 miles, passing the formida-
BILE mountain of Santa Barbara, and counting
upon it the skeletons of some fifty horses,
part of near double that number which per-
ished in the crossing of that mountain on
Christmas Day. 1916. That night they rest
ed at the house of Don Pico. Here the nine
horses from Los Angeles were left and eight
others taken in their place. They started at
II o'clock, rode 20 miles, halted for the night,
and the fourth day out entered. Monterey at
2 o'clock in the afternoon. On March 2G
Fremont set out ON his return. The after
noon was already well advanced when they
started, and only 80 miles was done that even
ing. The second day out Col. FremOnts
horse carried him for 30 miles without
change and without apparent fatigue. Thir-
ty more miles were ridden that day on anoth-
er horse, and then the night was passed at
Don Pco's home. The next day the party
set out for Los Angeles on the same nine
horses which they had first started out with,
and reached that place at O'Clock ON the af
ternoon of the 29th of March. The whole
distance of 500 miles had been gone over in
1853 hours, or at the rate of five miles an hour,
day and night. The actual time spent in the
saddle was not more than 100 hours. On
this ride the grass in the road was the food
for the horses none of which were shOd.