El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-18
ANTELOPE RACE WITH TRAIN.
Thrilling Story of the Twenty-Three
Mile Run in Forty-Three Minutes
The Animals Were Shot at Several
Times. But They Got Away Unharm-
ed
From the Tucson Citizen.

From the Tucson Citizen.
Rev. w. A. Brewer is at the Orndorfi
hotel. He is rector of st. Matthews
military school for boys. and is making
a tour of Arizona in the interest of his
| school. Rev. Brewer tells a story,
which. were he anything else in the
world but a churchman. might be re-
| ceived with doubt as to its accuracy.
But the story is an interesting one. and
we do not question for a minute but
that it is made up of unauthorized
truth. The story told by Mr.. Brewer is
as follows. and describes race which
took place in northern Arizona be-
| tween two antelope and a locomotive:
We left Williams. Ariz., Friday. De-
cember %, 1900. at 1890 p. m. for the
Grand Canon of the Colorado. About
eighteen miles out of Williams ION the
Grand Canon railway Mr.. Charles E..
| Howard. Mr.. II. S. Wantes and myself
heard popping sound. but did not
realize that it came from the engineers
rife. Just at Howard station, however
l looked out to the east and within 125
yards of the track were two beautiful
creatures racing parallel to the track
and even to the engine. They were an
telopes. a buck and doe. the former
with prongs of antlers. The buck was
the larger. They had reddish brown
backs. dark heads, whitish gray TANKS,
and a dark, short tail set between two
striking white rumps. The engineer
popped away at them, then stopped the
engine and tok kneeling aim. Still
they went on parallel to the track,
sometimes as close as so yards. never
| more than $50 yards away. The
splaShes of dust showed some close
shots. but aiming from a moving en-
CINE does not induce accuracy. At
Padre Mr.. Howard got off the engine
and again took aim from the ground.
The antelope seemed to have only
one instinct namely, to keep ahead of
the engine monster. Once they came SO
close that it looked as if their pastures
were to the west and that they were
trying to cross the track ahead of the
engine. Down into the washes and up
the rocky sides they forged ahead at a
spelling pace. Sometimes the doe would
pass the buck but oftenest the buck
was in the lead. The plateau was open.
covered with sage-brush about a foot
and a half high, with occasional wash
es and slight undultations and now
and again outcroppings of wallapai or
dark porous disentegrating volcanic
rock. The train never went slower
han ten miles an hour and often had
to steam up to thirty-five miles and
more. in order to keep pace with the
wild racers of the plateau.
LdteT the engineer
seemed scarce, and during the last six
or eight miles of the chase no shots
were fired. From time to time the
whistle would blow, too-too. too-toO.
and the antelopes would redouble their
pace.
Once as we crossed deep draw with
rocky sides we thought that we had
lost them. Suddenly they came in
view far ahead. and the engineer had
to put on full steam in order to come
up with them. At last, after a close
chase or race. of % or % miles by
careful computation. we lost them in
some low hills. But there can be lit
tie doubt that the chse was the long
est antelope chase ever recorded. in
the given time, 43 minutes. 1 have
asked the engineer. fireman, and con-
ductor of the train to read the fore
going account. correct the estimate of
miles and length of time, and sign
their names.
(Signed) H. l.. Wantes, conductor; H.
G. Scheel, engineer; w. E. Sower. fire.
man.