The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1879-05-02
54listcll
The Greatest Runner in History.

The present interest in pcdcstrianism man
| Tested by the gathering Of throngs ofpeople
| to witness walking and running matches,
was equally great in the early part Of the cen
| tury but was then excited by the wonderful
and almost incredible performances of one
man. This was Mcnsen Ernst, born in Bcr-
gen, Norway, on October 10, 1893. He was
| the son of a sea captain and when still II boy
entered the English navy. Although his
powers as n runner were displayed even in
boyhoOd he had made three voyages to the
East Indies, and had completeda three years
cruise on the frigatc Calcdonian, before he
made a public exhibition of them, which he
first did by running n race in London when
nineteen years old. Though up to this time
he had no training, and had even lackeda
| pedestrians opportunities for muscular de
| velopment, he was famed throughout the navy
| as a runner, and wonderful stories as to his
| extraordinary powers circulated among all
| branches of the service.
At last II heavy sum ofmonGy was wagcred
| by the officers Of his ship that Mensen would
| run from London to Portsmouth, a distance
| of - miles, in less than ten hours. The feat
| was attempted and accomplished, the distance
| being covered by the young sailor in exactly
| nine hours, Shortly after he ran from Lon
don to Liverpool, a distance of $50 miles, in
| 30 hours Althoughdhus successful as a run
ner, Mensen did not quit the sea until after
| having distinguished himself by bravery in
| the battle of Navarino, fought October 90,
| 1927. Soon after that date he became pro-
| fessional runner, and, after winning a number
of lcsser matches, was induced to undertake
| the feat of running from Paris to Moscow
| He started from the Place Vendome at 4
| O'Clock in the afternoon of June IA, 1881, and
entered the Kremlin at 10 o'clock A. NJ, of
June %, having accomplished the distance of
| 1860 miles in Is days and Is hours.
| This feat created q decided sensation
| throughout Europe, and the employment of
| Mcnscn as a courier extraordinary by kings
| and princes became popular amusement in
| European courts. He ran from country to
country and from court to court, bearing
messages of congratulation, coincidence or
| dispatches of greater importance, and when
| ever matched against the regular mounted
couriers easily succeeded in beating them
He always carried with him q map, compass
and as many biscuits and ounces of raspberry
syrup as there were TO he days occupied on
| the Journey In winter he took with him a
pair of long, slender Norwegian snow shoes,
| and in travelling he always chose the most di-
| rect line, turning out neither for mountains
nor rivers but climbing one and swimming
| the other, ran, keeping up a long, swinging
lopc for hours at a time without rest. His
| only refreshmcnt was one biscuit and an
ounce of raspberry syrup per day, and two
short rests of ten or fifteen minutes each in
twenty four hours. These rests he took
while standing and leaning against Il tree or
other object of support. Al such times he
covered his face with handkerchief and
slept, and after such n nap he would pursue
his way apparently AS refreshed as though lie
he had slept for hours He was very uneasy
when compelled 10 be quiet, and could not
sit still for half an hour without feeling a
sense of suflocaton. He was II very amiable
man, and was made much of by his royal
patrons.
In 1888 he started from Munich at p. NJ,
June 6, with dispatches from the King OF
Bavaria to his son Otto, King of Greece
These dispatches were delivered at Nauplia
at A. NJ, on july 1, or seven days sooner
than if they had been sent by the regular post.
In 1886, while in the employ of the British
East India Company, Menscn was charged
with the conveying of dispatches from Cal
cutta to Constantinople through Central
Asia The distance is 5615 miles, which the
messenger accomplished in 80 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 ofmiles, he
MoS I'm, =, 80 anu
MY Tho an snemcd invoste1 with s,,nnrn"tnro,