Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1905-03-30

that stop it? Not for one little minute.
The citizens who donated the money
wanted racing. Who did it they cared
not. The faster the better. They |
chose the Judges and timekeepers and
the race was announced for schedule |
time
1t seemed as if all eastern Iowa and
western Iowa We're ranged about the |
track when the great day came. All
along the 300-yard course were dense
masses of yelling people And all
along the same course were earnest
faced sgents" with hands full OF bills
Betting suddenly took All enormous
Jump. Council Bluffs money got into
circulation. The odds went down, down
uutil they were even. And Pierre had
its total worldly wealth stuck squarely
and firmly on its beauties
Council Bluffs drew first place in the
race and came out on the track. A sigh
of relief went up from its supporters.
1t is true there were familiar faces
missing, but in their places there We're
those Of "Whitey' Whitney, "Sheeny"
Lozier Fred Pepper and freddy
Hough-all as we'll known. foot racers
as ever breasted a tape in the west
1t looked Ikea cinch. Council Bluffs
went mad. Pierre merely chuckled.
GO" The big race was on. The
Council Bluffs team fairly flew down
the magnificent track. Along with the
racers went Otto Cornie]son and Char
lev Nicholson, the Bluffs couplers. 1t
was tremendous pace for them, but
| they stayed with the bunch. The local
talent in the traces dropped out tagged
near the end, but the professionals
never faltered Thirty eight seconds
was the time to the finish and then the
two couplers, eXertlng every nerve,
made the phenomenal feat OF ;O21a
! coupling. Council Blnifs' time was
;4l15 1t had never been beaten. The
air was so full Of Council Bluffs hats
that the sun wasn't visible for full
ten minutes.
Then the Pierre team moved up to
the starting point and a whoop OF de-
light went uptrom the whole northwest
Volunteer? Well if Harry Bethune
George ketteman, Ed Skinner, Charley
Friend, r.. b. Matthison and Jack Har'
mon, all among the worlds sWlftest
footracers, were amateurs, the team
was simon pure That's all. Pierre
had gone to the end of the earth fol
talent, and she had got it. Not a mar
in the traces who couldn't do 300 yards
, in :33, And behind the cart We're Geo
". Britt and John Devore, the cham
, pion couplers of the world. Never haC
such a galaxy of footracers been seel
9 in front of hose cart.
Pierre went mad. Dubuque wen
. mad. 1t had staked its last dollar OF
Pierre, being in the secret, And Coun
ell Bluffs? Well, the Buffers say
that it had been played on them, bu
= they never peeped Only Tom Bow
man, later Congressman Bowman
turned his pockets inside out.
"Whooshm he circulated, more il
sorrow than in anger "Who1l TAX
=, me to supper"
= Like the wind the Pierre team spe
. up the track on its warming up. The
= the men crouched for the start an
- were off. A whirlWiud would hay
. taken their dust. Never was sue
70 running seen. shouts, yells, Wavin
handkerchiefs flying hats, urged thel
forward. The men in harness ansWere
. the ovation. They tairly burned u
- the ground; 10000 yards in recor
= time Then something happened.
1S Two things happened. They we
80 Britt and Devore. These men we
the champion couplers Of the worl
;, but they were not SO good on the foe
j, race. The awful pace was KILN
"a them. They were gasping for brea
- and hanging onto the tail of the cal
nc their toes III the ground and pulled t
UT harder, but 400 pounds of tired beef |
a. hind them was too much. The spe
-, slackened Even then the watches we
!, 81 at the finish, but Britt and Devc
- were done for. Like blind men tn
he grouped for the coupling and stumbl
ht over each other. 1t took them 0512
u, make the connection. The time W
of :4215 Council Bluffs had won. Pie
~, overreached herself
~. That's the story of one OF the great
~ hose races of all times. Thousands
;af dollars changed hands and Coun
a., Bluffs was on edge for months aft
of ward Dubuque was broke flat a
+or Pierre--Well the old timer in Pie
for will shed tears yet when he speaks
,n- the occasion 10 give itself the dou
rro cross and beat itself at its own ga
q, surely is the bitterest fate that can