The Atlanta constitution., 1896-06-01
How the Greeks Rejoiced When LouCes Won


pion of the world. Greek, was a con-
testant. To the astonishmcnt and adnii-
ration of the multitude Garrett won. lie
also won putting the shot hands down.
And so it was through the whole series.
when you consider that these young
fellows only landed i'm Athens two days
before the games, their success after SO
long a trip is really remarkable.
"The only things America lost were the
| l,500 meter and the aMrathon race
| both by the same chap. who really did his
best. but not in form on account of
the long journey.
"The 1,5oO meter race was won by an
! Australian. but fellow was so close
| that it was hard to decide.
The Marathon Race.
"The Marathon race was won by a Greek.
| This was "A twenty-siX-mile race, and our
| man entered because he was the only Amer
| lean that had done any cross country rum
ming but he had never run over fifteen
miles.
1.-The Marathon race was the event of the
| whole tournament. and | was glad a Greek
won 1t. We had won enough anyway, and
had any foreigner gained this victory there
would have been weeping and wailing over
the whole of Greece.
"But 1 must give you a special account
of it, You will. of course. remember from
your boyhood days of the battle of Mara
thon and Of its vital interest to the Athen-
ians.
"Tbe Battle of Marathon"
"Well. It was fought on the plains OF
Marathon, about twenty-siX miles from
Athens. and victory perchinG upon the
Athcnian banners, a fieet-footed courier
was dispatched to carry the joyful tidngs
to the anxious and waiting Athenians. II
you ask why they did not send messcn-
ger on a horse, | Will have to say l am
somewhat hazy on that point myself but
have not taken the trouble 10 clear il up.
Besides. you must not interrupt with
troublesome questions. suffice II TO say the
messenger was afoot and made the trlp
H. the remarkably short time of three
hours and thirty-ive minutes. After an
nouncing the victors 10 the people, assem-
bied in the Asora. he dropped dead. think
heart disease. brought on by the excitement
must have killed him, for the Greeks are
running over the same road nearly every
day or SO nowadays, and maay of them
make it in better time without any serious
result. The winner OF this race made 1t IN
two hours ami hfty-e. sht minutes.
Preparations for the Struggle.
Great preparations were made Tor the
successful issue Of this historic race and
on which the Greeks set such store. Troops
l!ned the roadside the whole distance. The
runners. in five patches. each group leaving
at a stated time am interval behind the
other 80 as to have only four or hyc run-
ners at the same time We're pre- etded by
about one hundred cavalrymen in front
Of cacn batch to clear the way. And they
and all the infantry along the roadside were
needed to keep back the tremendous
crowds that lined the road for the entire
twenty-six miles OF the course.
$4,000 People See the Finish.
"The end of the run was TO be III the
Stadium in front of the king. The hrSt
batch OF runners were to leave Marathon AT
O'Clock and the rest At intervals or one
minute In the meantime the contests were
going at the Stadium ana the Americans
were winning everything. l was seated at
the inner erd of the stadium near the KING
and such multitude OF people 1 never
saw before. At least S0.eo0 people We're IN
sight. There was not standing room IN the
Stadium and the surrounding mus were
slmIlN a mass OF packed humanity.
About half-pas; o'clock interest in what
was going on began to wanc and people
began to cast anxious looks toward the
entry My wonder was how any one on
foot or horseback was gong to ct through
that Jam.
Waiting for the Victor.
presently there was "A stir ana the cav
alrymen began to arrive. the officers first,
ana as they reached the entrance they
drew up i'm line on either SIDE and KEEP; the
people back.
FINALLY there was seen to he terrible
commot.ou in the dense throus alons the
road AS tar AS one could see. TAen =
Greek mag was run up on the pole at the
entrance sisnfyins the nationality OF the
victor. ana such roar OF voices as cheer
after cheer rent the ar you cannot mas
me 1t was indescribabie.
Directly a lonely, weary, plodding tel-
low 5 seen u cross the gaze si!s and 10
bend his tired steps toward the king Ihe
Wno.e mu.t-tude are On on tnrll Zee. c"evltns r,.s
ana yelnng ana waving thelr mats, pare
sons or Whatever tncy have. Flowers, mats
umbrella, hands fuN Of money, Sold and
siivpr watches 80 nyinS after tine luchy
hero.
The Crown Prince Runs Beside Him.
The crown prince OF Greece and his
brother. Prince George, run tine length OF
the Stadium alongside che winner pattih5
him on the back and conducting him before
the king who has been standing waving
mis- military cap so violently that only the
visor is left ia his nand, ana as the pistol
shot announces that the great event is
over, pande emOnium breaks loose. MenpefS
of tn. king household prominent caD.net
ministers ana officers OF the army rushed
upon the poor fellow, huSSlnG a1u Kissing
him ana carrying on all sorts Of antics.
Offered n Bride and a Dowry.
zone prominent old lady who did not
know who the fellow was from Adams oA,
s,ug out chat he could marry her daugn-
Ter with ZOO francs dOwry. ! hope she
will give him the dowry without the dauSh-
ter for the fellow was poor, nut ne mad a
wife.
''Wcn, sir I was glad Greek came in the
victor especially this was the last day
of the sports. which thus wound up in =
blaze of glory. whereas otherwise a cloud
Of despondent gloom would have settled
over everything.
athens was illuminated that night from
Acropolis to the lOwliest hovcl fireworks
'ad galore ana everything en.fete.
There We're eight Greeks running and
the first three to come in We're Greeks
The American broke down half way and
was brought home in a carriage. The
Greeks have been training for this race
for a long time and it was expected and
only natural that they should have the
winner among them. Besides, they had
every incentive and inducement to win.
Free Shaves for a Lifetime.
"If the winner was a Greek d barber
promised to shave him gratis all his life,
a shoemaker had engaged to furnish him
shoes, a hotel keeper to feed him and a
large merchant to keep him in clothes 50