El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-07
He Rode A Mile In Less Than A Minute
Bcycs Paced BY Train Made the Distance In 81 ID
Seconds-e Done Better the Train Had Been
Faster-He Lost Reason Temporarily.

Charles M. Murphy, of Brooklyn, on
June 30 drove o bicycle q mile faster
than any human being ever before
drove any kind OF machine, anu
proved til at human muscle can, LOT
short distance, at least, excel the oest
nowar of steam and steel and iron.
| His time for the mile was 81 40 Sec
onds. s
he WAS paced by q big eight-wheeied
| locomotive of the Long Island rail-
road along q specially prepared track.
with all conditions perfect, q grace OF
three feet rise in q hundred, no curve
the weather clear and cool and still.
He ended his ride of less than q min
ute in good physical condition, but ap-
parentiy bereft of his reason, condt-
ton that continued for at least nVe
minutes.
The track arranged for Murphy's
ride, on which he was to enoeevor 10
make q mile on a bicycle In q mlnute,
was two and three-eighths miles long;
r. began half a mile west of May wood
and went on toward Patchogue. Five
blanks each 10 inches wide. and care
| fully plaued, were laid together along
the length of the course. The joiner
| work was without q flaw. Inc pianKs
were not tongued and grooved, put
| they were fitted edge to edge SO neatly
tn at spirit level laid across them any
middle. A billiard table was no
smoother or more mathematically level
than the track over which Murphy
rode.
He is a blonde man. with blue eyes
and light hair, feet and ! inches
high, and slimly built, weighing I4o
pounds, although he looks ~ POUNDS
lighter. He came out this aiternooa
| in the presence of a thousand men ana
women strung along the plauked part
of the railroad track on both s1oes'
Murrhy's wife set in q
DRAG drawn close to the
track in q road near the mile marx.
She is q young woman with strong
and pleasant face, and had her little
son with her.
Murphy wore blue wooden tights and
a thin light blue jersey with long
sleeves. He did not waste any time In
performing "grand stand" evolutions.
He came on the track, where The en-
zine with one car attached was stand
ing, riding his wheel, and gave his at
tention strictly to the task before MIN.
The train, like the track, bad been
especially arranged for him. A hood
had been built out from the rear of the
car i've feet, just the length OF bis
wheel. This extended from within six
inches of the track to the car roof on
cad side, 80 as to shut out any side
wind.
/. Exactly in the centre of the platform
of the car, says the Providence Journ-
al, q long strip of implanted white pine
Eve inches wide was set perpenolculer-
lv. it's upper end extending some 1nch-
es above the platform railing. Its lower
end lust clearing the track. Murphy
| was ordered to keep his eyes on this
strip and to follow and keep up with it.
The back platform of the car was
| Just high enough to catch the nut az
the top of the hardles OF the wheel, al
lowing the front wheel to go under;
| line of rubber bands was arranged at
the edge of the platform, while under
meath a rubber roller touched the
track and swept it clean as the car
ran.
The start was easy, comparatively,
but the stop had caused the Long Is
land railroad people some anxious
thought. Murphy did not seem to care
about that part of it. That be was to
be given an opportunity to ride mile
in q minute was enough for him. He
took no interest in the arrangements
for his safety and did not know what
thew were. The railroad people knew
that if he rode off the planked track
upon the ties at mile minute, or
anywhere near that speed, he would IN
questiopably be crippled or killed.
| C06Y QQQ6rGOOk W CacCk bh0 Coz
within the two miles the track ran, the
chances were that, being unable to
regulate his pace on the smooth track,
Murphy would drive into the rear plat
form with force which would wreck
his wheel, and probably injure him
seriously. He asked no questions
about how he was to get out, and his
wife seemed to be as Indifferent on that
subject as he was. Their idea was to
make the mile. About what was to
happen after that they were obviously
Indifferent. They took it for granted
that the railroad company would find
some solution and they were right.
The beginning of the mile was about
200 yards east of haywood station. 1t
was Omarked by wide black line
across the track and by flags at the
sides. The quarters were marked in
the came way.
At 4:3O the engine, tender and car
were run over the course to make sure
that everything was In good order.
Then they were backed to haywood.
Fifty men, reporters and representa-
tives of atk letic organizations, were In
the car. Mr.. Townsend. a bicycle
dealer of Brooklyn, Murphy's employ
err, was also there, and was the most
anxious man in the party. Two of the
newspaper men were chosen by lot to
stand on the rear platform with 81. B.
Fullerton. special agent of the Long
Island Railroad. who has served his
time at sea and roping steers in Tex
as, and J. II. Cummings, also OF the
Long Island Railroad, who is not only
Hne engineering officer, but big
strong man. These had been chosen