The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-02-10
cuRIoUs cHaMPIoNsHIPs
Records Made ia Competitions One Sci
dom Hears Of.

Records Made So Competitions One Sci
dom Hears Of.
Outside the range Of champion
Ships and records recognized by ath.
letie and kindred associations, there
are many competitions and cham
pionsbips which are full of interest
but Of (which even the sporting world
knows little.
Few of these outside competitions
are more interesting than the silt
races Of the south OF France, and the
performances achieved are triumphs
Of skill and endurance. Not long ago,
in a race at Bordeaux, a young silt
racer, Anne Martin, eclipsed all rec
Ords by covering a distance Of BIS
miles in rs hours So minutes, or at
the rate of about IS miles a day for
more than three consecutive days.
The feat seems the more remarkable
from the fact that his stills weighed
no less than 16 pounds and were six
feet long.
Nogent, a small town on the Marine.
in France, is the scene Of some re-
markabIe contests every year. Among
recent contests have been a race fol
eripples and a b~oard-rolling contest;
but the strangest Of all was the whip
cracking competition, in which M.
Lermission carried off the champion
ship. There were no fewer than so
competitors, and the prize was award
ed to the man who could produce the
widest range Of Cracks with his
whip in the shortest time. The win
ner Of the prize produced 80 Of these
distinct sounds in rapid succession,
and crowned this performance by
cracking the "Marseillaise' with his
whip.
Another curious competition is
That between the portanieres, or wom-
IN porters, in France, and the cham
pionship is awarded to the woman
who can travel most quickly carry.
ing a heavy burden on her head. In
a recent contest Margaret Puiol, a
woman a little under 40, covered nine
kilometers (more than 81 miles) in
65 minutes, carrying on her head d
burden weighing 40 pounds.
Tasmania has recently introduced
a new form Of sport in an 'interna-
tional chopping contest" between
rival manufacturers Of saws and axes.
The competing firms are represented
by picked teams, and valuable prizes
are offered to the winners.
At San Francisco, not long ago, an
exciting competition was held for the
championship Of the world Of ely
casters" The long-distance cham,
pionship was won by w. d. Mans
field, Of San Francisco, who eclipsed
all records with a cast of III feet 4
inches, or 10 feet more than his near.
est rival.
The championship among belE
ringers was carried off a short time
ago by an Firth team, who rang a
peal Of double Norwich Court Bob
major Of 15,072 changes on the local
church bells. The peal was com
menced at eight o'clock in the morn
ing and continued for nine hours and
twenty-five minutes, a marvellous feat
Of endurance as well as Of skill.
The town of Lille is the paradise
Of the smoking champion. At a re-
cent contest for the championship
a workingman succeeded in reducing
to ashes an ounce and three-quarters
Of tobacco within the space of 19
minutes, a record which will be diff.
cult to beat.
From smoking to drinking is, per,
haps, a natural transition, and it i
doubtful whether anyone will care
to dispute the title of champion
whisky-drinker of the world" with
DR.. Mooney, Of Kentucky. This bib.
ulous physician boasts that he hai
drunk 20 glasses Of whisky every day
for SO years, OF an aggregate Of 365,
900 glasses for the halfrcentury. EY
cry year he has consumed a ton O.
whisky, or approximately his owl
weight Of spirit every month for 81
years. The most marvellous thing
is that he should have lived to boas.
Of such a record.
A competition which is probably
unique was the invention Of a lane
agent, who wished to dispose Of a p1ot
of land for building purposes. TX
encourage enterprise he offered &
prize Of e100 to the purchaser whC
should first erect a house on his land
with a second prize Of ESQ. This bait
proved attractive, and soon an excit.