Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-05-24
the roau ueep IN mud.
How 1t Was Done.

CHICAGO, May "a. - Bearings, the
cycling paper which managed the big
relay race from this city to New York,
Sunday night said:
The thousand-mile journey has been
characterized by an almost incessant
storm of wind and rain directly in the
riders faces. A late New York dispatch
says they will not reach there till mid
night. That will make 1903 hours, dur
ing which time they have had but nine
hours of clear weather. Seven-tenths
of the distance was unworthy the name
of road in the western relays. There
were some breakages of extremely light
wheels not intended by the manufact-
urers for such work, and delays also
occurred where the wheelmen deserted
the road, preferring to throw their
wheels over the fences and take to the
fields.
Despite all this, an average pace of
ten miles an hour has been maintained
The average speed to Buffalo, nine and
a half miles per hour, was higher than
that made by the eastern riders, who
averaged nine miles per hour over roads
which must have been superior to the
quagmires of Indiana and Ohio The
ride was divided into seventy-six relays,
the relays averaging thirteen and one
sixth miles in length. The shortest re-
lay--fve and half miles-was into AL
bany, and the longest thirty-seven miles,
between Napoleon and Bryan, O.
Shortly after the start the riders
We're twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
During Wednesday night over three
hours were lost. This was reduced to
one hour and forty-six minutes before
Rochester was reached, but the renewal
of the storm and the rough night ride to
Albany and down the mountainous Hud-
son river va ey were too much to ena-
BILE the men to maintain the gain. The
schedule was based on fair roads and
weather.
The splendid result is undoubtedly
beyond the power of horse relays of
equal length. 1t proves beyond doubt
that under fair condition the thousand
miles could have been covered by the
seventy-six relays at fifteen miles-an-
hour gait. A total of sixty-six hours.
General Miles Satisfied.
General miles said Sunday night,
with regard to the result of the bicyc-
lists, that even with the slow time
made, mis- former opinion as to the USE
fulness of the bicycle in the field was
confirmed. 1.-THE average, over ten
miles an hour" he said, could not be
beaten by cavalry in similar weather,
and travel for the infantry would be
practically impossible.
at g a dangerous achievement" said
General Miles. He was speaking of the
BICYCLE riders, and their stubborn fight
through the mud of five states. The fact
that the message did not arrive in New
York within scheduled time was no
surprise to him.
"The trip was remarkable success"
said he. "This experimental ride has
established the fact that the bicycle
would be of practical service in the
army, and it has also been of service in
calling attention to the wretched condi-
ton of the public highways in commun-
tiles that profess to be tolerably well
civilized. The matter of good roads
should receive more attention than it
has been given"
"Does the success Of the experiment
prove anything as to the Use of the bicy-
Gle in the armyT'
at confirms me in the belief that the
bicycle will be extensively used, and
that very soon. The wheelman can
travel faster than the horseman, he
makes no noise, does not form as large
target for the enemy, and, even if he
can not go some places where the horse
man can, In more instances he can go
where no horse could follow. The bicy-
Gle will certainly be used in the army
/ would not advise the use of the hghs-
weight speeding machines, as l notice
that some of them broke down under
the hard travel. A stout wheel of mo
dunn weight would be required"
He spoke of the famous mud march
of General Burnside's army in 1929,
when 100, 900 men tried, unsuccessfully,
to make a flank movement at the Rap
pahannock river, and, being caught in
storm, were bound to return to Fred
ericksburg, after journey Of twenty
miles.
Charles Conrad, of Clark's Hill, Ind,
died from lockjaw, caused by slight