Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-05-02
.n,,r D A u
Indian Foot Race in wiscorsin
i'll 1914.

over hear of the most re-
"Dla yo" naoe eyer run in Wisconsin,
%arkapiI ara else for that matter?'
any old-timer the other day. No?
E kfI will tell you about 1t, Tor l saw
eIself. In the summer OF 1914 with
mysell. T was making a business trip
y nll.'t u now the Oneida Reservation.
wA'a' nn;s sportsman, Henry Stan
81. Stopping there at the time,
N. WAC Ian taken sick while OF q hunt
pVlpS and the Indians were taking
slltP him. Stanton one day witnessed
re " racc bv some of the young bucks,
i an idea struck him. 1t afterwards
N J" * others, to their sorrow. He had
fu nnnnr bucks try their speed, and
pe vas was sending letters to his friends
po' ond south. They were contiden-
1@1stters, but the answers promised
a. a. all the money he needed. He then
IN u. notices to the sporting fraternity
n IL on q certain day that summer
EIlg he would wager his pile that a
~ race of ten miles could be made in
u" n,;nutes. 1t seemed preposterous.
ba a fow locomotives had ever made
0s Stanton. however, knew what he
-s ,hout. With a trusted buck, Peep
F"nav, he engaged ten Indians and put
low on the trail, on a ten-mile straight
.ratrh and return, the Indians to re-
lave each other at the end ofeach mile.
f. had them practice in secret at night.
ppe lav Peep-o-Day,' informed Stan
[on that a stranger had offered him q
,r;be to let him see u trail race. s4All
[;nbt said Stanton, take his money
va 1et him see it, But Stanton had
H.. men make poor time, and thus de-
Eejyed the briber.
The day for the race arrived, and
N;th it about fifty Of the sports of st.
Tn,is. New York and other cities. The
,ettips ran high, with odds against the
heat being accomplished. Among the
crowd was a young man named Des-
movers. from Detroit, on his way to
Green Bay with $4,000 in money and
accepted paper to pay debts and con-
tract for furs.. The race was duly
opened, the first young buck making
his mile in sixty-four seconds, just four
seconds short. The next young buck
was about to start when a chief-'One.
Eye-Gone'-grasped him in his arms
and said he was his son and the run
would kill him. Stanton hastily ex-
planned that in their attire, with clouts
like circus riders and a belt tightly
strapped over their stomachs, no harm
could be done them. But time was
wasted in the controversy, and the
Young buck reached the stand with
Stanton thirty seconds behind.
The betters against Stanton and his
crowd now began to laugh and jeer and
freely offered ten to one. Stanton and
his friends looked sad and detected
enough. But they took all the bets Of
tered just the same, and right here
young Desnoyers lost his head and put
up 10000 Of his money against the
making of the race on time. 1t is said
some 5000, 900 changed hands there and
then, but l don't know about that. The
sum is probably exaggerated, but was
large enough. The race went on.
The third buck made his mile in fifty
seconds, reducing the losses to twenty
seconds. This was kept about the same
until the ninth buck stepped to the
front with total gain of five seconds.
The buck last must make up the fifteen
seconds now lacking. He was a tall,
gaunt, wiry Indian and seemed to be all
legs. The betters against Stanton be-
gan to waver and now calls for even
bets and even odds by Stanton and his
friends failed to bring the response.
The buck started on time. And such
strides! From six to eight feet each,
and he went like a whirlwind let loose.
tie must make his mile in forty-fve
seconds Or all was lost. 1t was an ex-
citing moment. But the buck got there
with both feet and had just two seconds
to spare. There was no greater excite
lnent over the result. The gamblers
present We're accustomed to winning
and losing large amounts. One st.
Louis man, however, did make a remark
about a 'put-up job and ever drew a
defrlnger and demanded his money re-
turned. Stanton raised his arm and
the fifty more bucks who stood around
to witness the race dropped their long
blankets and stood calmly leaning on
mg~Iy-looking guns. That settled it.
me race was e The young racing
bucks spent money freely for awhile,
as dld also the chief who interferred
with the race. Young Desnoyers was
never seen again, either in Green Bay
Or Detroit. 1t was said he went south
70 redeem his lost thousands. 1t was
me most remarkable foot race ever held
III the world, and We're the newspapers
THAT day what they are now columns
upon columns of its report would have
i9llowed. As it is, this is, I believe,
'ne hrst time it has been in print"
ColOrs Cannot BE Remembered.
1t is not generally known that it is an
lhlp9sslbility for a buyer to carry" the
made III, OF any particular color in his eye.
nlis has been a great failing with the
majority of the retail buyers who look
ai'er the ribbon stock of the big dry
SEo ~ and notion houses of the city.
anese buyers control fancy salaries and
are as sharp eyed and experienced as