The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-30
WINS A LITTLE FORTUNE.
MIRA ZOE GAYTON WALKS 1895
NILES AND SCOOPS IN $4,000.

Fad 226 Days to Walk From San
Francisco to the Grand Central d.
PIT, New York-She Beat that Time By
Thirteen Days - Lost Twenty-four
Pounds on the Journey.
Fron1 the Nelo York Sun.
! In the dining room Of one Of the large
hotels in San Francisco one day last year
was a party Of actors and actresses with a
sprinkling Of sporting men. One of the
number was George II. Clark, well-known
sporting man who has the reputation of
being one Of the heaviest
gamblers vest of the Rocky
mountains. Clark had related imam enter
tanning style the experiences of two young
men who rode on horseback from this city
to the Golden Gate. They averaged on the
trip about fifteen miles a day.
Zoe Clayton, the actress, who in the
palmy days Of the Old Bowerv theater in
this city, when ferdinand Hoefle was man
ager, was the leading lady, was an eager
listener to Clark's story. After he had con-
cluded Mrs. Clayton jokingly remarked
that she could walk the same distance in
the time the horsemen took to ride it.
| Clark was somewhat nettled with the re
the achievement of the two men as being
| little short of marvellous.
"Pn wager 81 900 that you cannot do it.
Clark exclaimed.
II will accept that for Mrs. Gayton," an
! swered a well-know commercial man.
Upon her agreeing to undertake the jour-
ney, the match Yves made. and forfeit put
up then ana there. Numerous attempts
we're made subsequently, to dissuade the
plucky woman from undertaking such an
arduous and exhausting task. When it was
found that she would not abandon her trip,
the skeptics. who did not believe her capa-
| BILE of covering the distance in the required
time, 226 days, offered to wager large sums
of money that she would fall. All such
wagers were accepted.
W hen no further wagers were forthcom-
| ing it was discovered that S24, 900 had been
| posted on the result OF the longest tramp
ever undertaken by woman. In the face
of many prophecies of failure Mrs. Clayton
never lost her nerve, but went quietly at
work preparing for the journey. Naturally
| OF an lndoleDt disposition, with constitu-
ton imperiled by the ever changing life of
an actress, the only thing that worried her
was the exposure to the elements and the
hardships she was sure to undergo.
On Aug. &c, at 4 p. M, she crossed the
ferry to Oakdale. The next morning at
o'clock, accompanied by her manager,
| tive, j. L. Price, and the actresses little
cocker spaniel Beauty, she started off at a
brisk pace In order to win the wager it
became necessary for her to make at least
fifteen miles a day. Before nightfall on
the first day, twenty-six of the 1896 miles
had been covered. On Aug. 90, she covered
twenty-five miles, and the following four
| days twenty-three, twenty-five, twenty
| three, and nineteen miles respectively. She
arrived at Sacramento on Sept. 2.
AT the start of the long tramp Mrs. Gay
| ton wore a bloomer costume, but she soon
abandoned it. The little party created
much interest as they strobe through the
| sleepy California villages. To the woman,
accustomed since a child to the glittering
glare of the tbeater, and now wandering
along in the open country, it soon became
novel experience Whenever possible rooms
were secured for rest during the night, but
often the party were forced to form a hut
composed of railroad ties to keep off the
heavy dew.
On Sept IA, 300 miles having been COW
cred, and being we'll on the way to Winnie
mucca, New, Mrs. Clayton fell and sprained
her ankle. This necessitated rest for some
days. After this they were overtaken by a
| blizzard, and all suffered severely from the
intense cold. The schedule Of fifteen miles
a day was kept up as much as possible. The
longest distance covered in one day was a
| llUCle less IMAM forty miles.
After leaving Battle Grove. collection of
hutS in Nevada, no houses were sighted for
three days. The party also went without
food during that period. Very little bag
gage was carried. Two small hand sachels
| contained everything.
| The route chosen was along the railroads
Being frequently taken for tramps, they
suffered many rebuffs. At places where
the party made known their errand they
| oct
noon the weary pedestrians were gladdened
by the sight of the mauy hills of Albany
| The hOmestreatch had been reached, and in
a few more days the long journey would be
over.
The fine weather of the past few DAYS
raised the spirits of the pedestrians consid-
erably. Upon their arrival at Kingsbridge
they were greeted by a rabble, of which the
small boy was predominant.
Therest Of the journey wss little short of
an ovation, and the five mounted policemen
detailed as an escort had all they could do to
keep the crowd in bounds. The route from
High Bridge was along Baily avenue to
Sedgwick thence to McCombs Dam bridge.
| to Seventh avenue, to Ninetieth street; then
down Fourth avenue to Forty>third street.
to the Grand Central station, where crow &
of several thousand people had assembled.
Mrs. Clayton arrived at her journey's end
at exactly 1851 o'clock, winning with thir-
teen days to spare. After short rest at
the station the party took a coach to the
Police Gazette office, where they were pho
tographed.
Mrs. Zoe Clayton. whose real name is
Zoereka Topezera, was born in Madrid,
Spain, in 1854. She came to America with
her parents when but years old She made
her debut on the stage as supernumerary
at the age of IA. She gradually arose in
the profesSan and quickly gained wide-
spread reputation in the west and south.
When Mrs. Clayton started for Frisco
last August she weighed 163 pounds. Now
she weighs but 139. She is feet inches
tall. Her face shows the effects of long
journey, being as bronzed as an old sea
captains
In answer to query yesterday whether
she would like to undertake the trip a sec.
ond time, her reply was:
mot for the world. When l left Sar
Francisco my hair had not gray hair in
it. W hat you see there now are due to the
strain l. have been under, and had all
| could do to keep from breaking down.