The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-08-04
NUMBER IS.
The Indian FOOt.Race.

The Governor of San Juan-for each
pueblo has a Governor of its own nomi-
nation and election-gravely walked
down to clear the course. In his hand
he bore as sceptre what seemed to be a
bottle of whisky, but what in reality
was a whisky bottle filled with gun
powder that he distributed as largesse
to the Indians with guns, and behind
him came company of guards in their
finest clothes bearing green branches
and wearing part of them, at least
garlands of green leaves upon their
shocks of hair. These guards he dis
tributed, at intervals of hundred yards
or SO, in couples along the course: the
couples being taken, apparently, from
the opposite sides. This preliminary be-
ing settled tremendous old patriarch,
with a waving mass Of gray hair down
to his shoulders and wrinkled beyond all
expression, stepped out midway in the
track bearing in his hands an ancient
drum. He was clad gaily in yellow
buckskin 1eggfngs, checked shirt that
he ostentatiously wore outside of them
and a battered old straw hat, once black,
that he carried on his head as proudly
as kings in pictures were their crowns.
With becoming dignity he sounded a
long roll upon his drum the signal for
the race to begin. Long before he had
finished, two lads, the youngest of the
racers, had started out together ard on
an easy lope came down the course, while
the three or four thousand spectators
sent up ringing yell. As the boys ar
rived at the goal two men started out,
not together, but as far apart as the boys
were when they came in. This was
rather puzzling, but after little inves-
tigation the principle of the race was
| clear. The two sides were divided, each
into couples, one man of each pair be-
| ing at the end of each track. AS a run
| ner came in his partner at once started
| out, while the partner of the man who
| lost the heat had to start as far in the
rear as the distance by which the heat
had been lost. The final victory rested
with the man whose man came in first
on the final heat. One advantage of this
arrangement, as far as the spectators
were concerned, was that the race was
going on all the time and as the mai
behind frequently overlook and passed
the man who had started out ahead, vic
tory constantly trembled in the balanc,
and from start to finish the excitemen
was kept at fever heat. For the mos
part the running was magnificent, thu
1.-the forms and vigorous muscles coming
out grandly under the spur of emulation
and the encouraging shouts of tn
crowd. Indeed, the encouragement wa
rather overwhelming, vigorous partisan
breaking through the line of guards ant
coming close to the runners to shou
"Aca p "Aca l" "Our side p "Ou
side r The scene along the course
meanwhile, was as picturesque as it wei
could be. Pressing close upon eacl
side over its entire length was tn
brightly dressed crowd of Indians an
Mexicans, on foot and on horseback
brilliant scarlet blankets and white robe
giving the high lights, while softer co
ors shone in the shawls and wraps of th
Mexican women, and SO graded off int
the warm browns Of the ground and c
the clay houses to the black sombrero
of the men. Higher up, along the roo
of the houses, the same color effect we
repeated against the brilliantly clea
blue sky. And down the wide lane tr'
versing the crowd from end to end, th
magnificent fellows went tearing alon
as hard as ever they could go. It was
barbaric rendering of the Olympia
games.-iSan Juan (M. M.) Cor. Phalt
deI13hiG Times.