Evening star., 1901-07-30
SWIFT MEXICAN RUNNERS
RACES BY THE STRANGE TAURI
MAURI INDIANS.
The Savages Travel Hundreds OF
Miles In FIeet-FOOte1
Fashion.

From the New York Sun.
| Most tourists IN Mexico see little OF TIT
strange Tauri Mauri Indians. The frs
| Tauri Maurf we saw was mail carrier
| among the San Lorenzo mountains, abou
12o miles south of Chihuahua. This In
dian makes two round trips over a distance
| of eighty-five miles twice week, making {
| total of some $40 miles a week, on foot
| Several times, when the government hat
! reasons for rushing malls to their destina
| ton, he made even three round trips II
seven and a half days. The route lead!
from Guarichio to San Jose de los Cruce,
| over as rugged a mountain trail as evel
tried a mountaineer's muscle.
The Indian mail carrier was bare-headeG
and bare-legged his entire suit consisting
of about three yards of narrow cloth wover
out of goats hair. On his back was a mai
sack that, with its contents, weighed fort!
pounds. This was supported by rtraI
across his forehead and another across his
chest. He came trotting down the hill
smoking cigarette and moving rs easily
and gracefully as if just starting out, in
stead of having some twenty miles already
to his credit that morning.
Chasing a Ball.
AS he reached the level ground in the
base ball on the ground, and, catching
1t deftly on his toes, gave 1t a throw for
ward and raced after it with the speed OF
deer, picking it up on his toes and
throwing it forward again without in the
least, so far as we could see, checking his
speed AS he overlook us the ball was
placed in his armpit, and he trotted along
by the side of the mules, chatting quite
socially.
The Tauri Mauri Indian carries one OF
these wooden balls with him everywhere
tucked under the armpits until he is in a
hurry; then it is thrown forward, and
away the owner rushes after it. 1t is their
way of keeping in training all the time,
and of hurrying themselves over the
ground. 1t is always thrown from the
toes, and never from the hand.
There are some $4,000 Tauri Mauri In
dians in Mexico. Twice every summer
they meet for sort of tournament 1t is
a custom centuries old. 1t was the writer s
good fortune to be present at one of these
periodical assemblies among the San Loren
ZoS, about twenty miles southwest from
Chihuahua.
The Tauri Mauris are long -limbed ard
slender, giving the impression of being
over the average height. There is scarcely
chests are deep, and their backs broad,
and their limbs as trim and muscular as a
greyhound's. They look as if created for
speed.
The great contest of the tournament was
a race. The wagers of the rival towns
were piled up in the center of the plaza,
and consisted Of strips Of goat t's-hair cloth,
bows, arrows, sandals, goats chickens and
sheep, with two wooden plows for high
prizes; but these were thrown far in the
shade when some American visitors added
cupful Of copper coins, gaudy litho-
graph and water color painting of a
cross surrounded with flowers. Such prizes
had never been offered in the memory Of
the oldest inhabitant, and the runners
swore that it should be the race of their
lives.
In the afternoon they asked us to look
over the course. To our astonishment we
found that it was twelve miles long and
that the circuit was to be made ten times
royal race, indeed, of 100 miles. The
race was to be run in the night and con-
cluded In the cool of the next afternoon
About o'clock in the afternoon every
thing was ready. Ten athletes stood on the
right side Of the plaza and ten on the left
To each side one wooden ball was allotted.
The racers were dressed in native trunks
of goats haircloth and many of these
were discarded before the race was over.
At the word both of the balls were thrown
forward and the twenty bounded forwa rd
at speed that 1t would tax a bicyclist to
keep up with. We thought that such
burst Of speed would soon tire them out,
but 1t was meant only for the start Of
three miles straight away across the val
ley. Before reaching the other side of the
course the runners began cutting off the
corners and racing ahead on the oval
course SO as to receive and carry on the
ball Of their party. The ball was pitched
forward by the foot Of the first on tha.
side to reach it, and IL rival could reach
1t first 1t was thrown back on the course
The purpose was to get the ball around the
prescribed course, no matter how, 40 lorg
as it was touched only by the feet of the
nj q rrrt% xI4
to lose all bets
Progress of the Contest.
Tripping, crowding and all the rough
work Of foot ball players were permitted
to prevent an opponent from reaching or
throwing the ball. Runners were permitted
to cut across the valley at jog trot, and
SO be ready to receive the ball as it came
along and then squirt with It, Umpires and
judges were stationed all over the route
to see that the ball was kept along the
designated tract. By Z o'clock the moon
light as day. Yells as fierce as any that
greet an audience at Yale or Harvard
greeted the bronze Stage Of Guachioclllc
as he hurled the wooden sphere through
the plaza, 100 feet ahead Of the ball from
Zapuri, on the first trip around the valley.
The race went on all night. Far into the
afternoon they ran, but in a little less than
fourteen hours the balls had made the
pieSCilDeu HuIuDeT OI ITlpS around the val
ley and four runners on one side and three
on the other were coming at the top of
their speed over the last three miles Of
grassy lawns toward the goal line was
drawn In the dust across the street at the
edge of the plaza and the crowd gathered
back awaiting the victors.
As they rushed toward us 1t was impos-
sible to say which would win. But as one
runner from each side reached the balls
one failed to catch the ball Of his side
fairly on his foot while going at full speed
and his throw was weak; the other. catch
ing the ball fairly, gave great bound and,
twisting his leg as If 1t were an arm
hurled the ball fair and square over the
line and over our heads. Zapuri had won
by hundred feet
How the crowd yelled, and how We
yelled with them, and how the reeking
victors were praised and petted as they sat
down to divide their winnings! Soon after
a course Of about ten miles was laid out
around the town and a race was run ny the
girls Of the two pueblos Like their broth
ers, they had only the blue sky over them
and about three yards of cloth and the 1e-
public Of Mexico around them; but how
they did run, and how they set the ball