Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1899-06-29
RACE UP A MOUNTAIN
A KANAKA RUNNER DlSTANcED HALF
A DOZEN HORSES.

10 wes "A Terrific Test of Endurance,
aud the sturdy Subject of kaIakaua
Won Ensiis. TaouRh Two of the
Horses Dropped Dead.
Did any Of you ever hear OF 35
mile steeplechase for man and beast?"
inquired one of the California men in
a party Of turf followers when stories
of queer bets and long shots were go
ing around. We'll. there was IN af-
fair of that kind down in the Hawai-
ian bunch in the fall of 1883, when
that genial chile concarne proposition,
Kalaklua, was king of the islands.
There were no telephones joining the
islands then and state messages and
mandates were carried by the inter
island steamers and delivered by Ka-
naka runners. These runners could
gallop all day, like American Indians
in retreat or on the trail, and they
didn't know what getting winded or
tired meant.
"kalakaua thought a good deal of
these runners of his. He always main
tanned that they could go faster and
farther than horses over the rough
Hawaiian country. In this he was dis
puted by a number of the white at
| taches of his court. Kalakaua wager
ed $1,000 in gohs of 1000 with five of
| them that he would pick out a runner
| from among his Kanakas who'd get
| from lilo 10 the top of the burning
lake of kilauea, n distance of 80 miles,
quicker than any horse and any rider
could do the trip. They snapped the
king UP at even money. 1t looked as
If they had the good end of it, The
king and big party from Honolulu
sailed in one Of the interisand steam
ers TO IIilo, ON the main island of Ha-
wall, To see the finish.
THE king picked out huge, 1.-THE,
sinewy kanaka, a man about 80 years
old. who had been employed as n run
ner on the island of Maui for a mum
Der of years, to try the trick for him
Eight kanakas made the start
a-horscback, on native ponies, bred
away back from western cayuses-
strong, sure footed, nippy tempered lit
tie demons, thoroughly used to the bad
roads and the climbing. The king and
his party had gone up to the Volcano
House, nj the top of Kilauea, in coach
es the day before to be on hand to
greet the winner.
Now. ! understand that that road
from lIilo up TO the burning lake of
kilauea has been improved since the
time I'm speaking of, but it surely was
a bad trail then. 1t was only wide
enough for one wagon. and it was
about Is degree affair in the climb
all the way up. The palms that lined
the road used to get blown across the
trail by the score in big windstorms,
and the coach drivers counted it part
of their business to jump from their
seats every time they came to these
distractions and shoulder them out
of the way. his work had all been
attended TO carefully, however, in adj
vance of the race by order of Kala-
kaua, and it loked like pipe for the
cayuses, all of which had made the
run UP many time
"kalakaua didn't ask for any handi-
cap allowance for his man. The run
ner toed the scratch with the horses.
and they got off together at the crack
of the gun. The horses distanced the
runner from the jump. and he let them
distance him. He was dressed In n
q string, and he just took up steady
lope and let the cayuses get out of his
sight. For ten miles the cayuses were
far a hnKn him IN tI,% l.
couldn't even see them, but this Kama I
ka knew how to wait. The horses be- (
gan TO come back to the runner long
before the Half Way House was reach |
ed and the kanaka was just galloping |
along at the beginning Of the third |
hour with the same big stride he had |
started in with, his arms up and shoot /
ing out in front of him like soldiers on /
the double time drill There wasn't /
pant in him when he fetched up at the
Half Way House. He stopped down /
there to n spring beside the road and |
took n couple mouthfuls Of water. The
cayuses were up ahead bit, blowing |
their heads off, for they had been 20 |
ing at n clip that they had never been |
pushed to before.
"The Kanaka headed the bunch q
mile beyond the Half Way House. and |
1t was big romp for him the rest of |
the distance. He took position for
the remaining II miles of the journey
about a city block ahead of the with
Ing and painting horses, and he Just
stuck to his lopc like n man wound I'D.
He never let 'em get nearer than n
block to him for the remaining three
hours of the trip, looking back at them
with n grin once in awhile. When only
three miles yet remained before the
Volcano House was to be reached. the
kanaka took another drink out of q
spring and began TO draw away. The
Aanaka riders whipped and spurred
heir horses, but it was no good. The
kanaka runner disappeared out of
heir sight on the tortuous trail, and
when six of the eayuses pulled up at
he hotel veranda about three-quarters
If an hour later the runner was sitting
IN the steps, tanning himself and
Thinking Saki Two of the horsas bod !