The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-11-01

astounding stories of these savages.
 The favorite course is from Bucoyna | to the town of Minaca and return, a distance of 11O miles in all and over a trail exceedingly rough in places, At a race not long ago the Americans made up a purse of s100 to be awarded to the | winner. Great interest was manifested | in the race, for the sum offered IS quite a fortune to the members Of the tribe 1 A council of war was immediately held by the chiefs. and two ot the fastest runners were selected to do battle for the prize. The pair were also subJected to a close inspection by the Americans, who wagered large sums on the result. |. When all was ready the runners set out from Bocoyna first at SLOW swing ing gait. As they went along they warmed to their work and the pace was ouickened. To the surprise of everybody the winner made the full distance in 16 hours. This easily beat all previous worlds records made on cinder paths by the old time distance peds of England or America. Away back in 1882 J. Saunders of New York
 
 city ran no miles in 20 hours Is minutes 10 seconds; but Saunders good as he was, would have been miles behind the Indians.
 Each wear the Tarahumaras hold big race meet at the town of Siso- ouicke, and it is usually held in the month of November The race track takes in big skirt of country, and it is eight times around, the total dis tance being 140 miles On the last oc- casion of this meet the winner came home in 30 hours, and three others were close up. What was still more wonderful was that each runner was handicapped by having to kick wood en ball along the ground in front of him for the entire journey and he was disqualified if he ever touched it with his hands, Prior to the construction of 1 the railroad it was nothing for Tarahumara to leave Boycoyna for Chihuahua, a distance of 135 miles by way of the most direct trail over the mountains, one morning and return next morning. It is hard to believe that this 270 miles could be covered by 8 human being afoot in 24 hours, but it has been done time and time again by the Indians They seem to be possessed of greater lung capacity than any known race of people. They eat very little before making these long jour neys.
 As to their method of progression, it is very peculiar and adapted to long distance jaunts They move along in sort of a lope or sling trot which does not seem to be the least tiring, Some time ago a Mexican commander ar rived at Bocoyna and lie had with him an important dispatch which he desir- ed to send at the earliest possible mos ment to the War Department. The nearest telegraph point was Chihuahua. He entrusted the message to a Tara humara runner and it was delivered to the Federal telegraph operator in l exactly nine hours, and the runner was 1 back in Bocoyna in twelve hours Then he had sleep of only three hours, when he was sent with another mes- sage to the military commander at Parral, 200 miles distant It took him three day to make the round trip and when lie arrived home he was seem Iingly none the wore for the trip
 The Tarahumara have learned none of the vices of the white man and this is the great secret of their endurance. They arc strictly temperate and to- bacco is unknown to them. They have form of religion which they faithfully obseve. But little studied by scientists, this tribe possess traits of character and manner of living which bear strong evidence that they are descendants of
 the prehistoric race of cliff .dwellers
 which at some bygone time occupied the mountains of Mexico,