Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-10

It was. he completed the whole journey OF
400 miles within three days.
& Nearly century earlier the great Vol
sey. then royal chaplain, made remark
ably quick journey to the low countries to
interview the Emperor Maximiiian. L.eav-
ing London at o'clock in the afternoon,
he Travelled by boat to Gravesend. rode
through the night to Dover and cross sing
to Calais. finished his journey on horse
back reaching Maximilian the same even
ing. On the following morning he rode
post haste back to Calais, and was at Rich
mond at sunset, after travelling to Holland
and back In little more than two days.
To find anything like match for these
feats. We must come down to the last CEN
fury, when South Africa was the scene Of
two astonishing performances. In oue
Sir Henry Smith, just after the out
break of the Kaffir war, seventy years ago.
carried the news from Cape Town to Ora
Jamestown in six days. riding a distance of
100 miles over q wild and almost trackiess
country: and again Richard King is credit
ed with notable feat of endurance in
riding GO miles. from Durham to Grahams-
town, in ten days. through a country in
tested with enemies aud over multitude
of swollen and bridge1ess rivers, every one
of which his horse had to swim.
In recent years the most famous of long
distance rides was that inaugurated by
the German emperor thirteen years ago,
when 200 officers essayed to ride from
Berlin to Vienna. a distance of $50 kilo-
meters. The winner was Count Starhem-
berg. who completed the long journey in
II hours 20 minutes, thus securing silver
bust of the kaiser, in addition to a money
prize of E1.00o His unfortunate horse did
not survive the contest. A little later Capt.
SpiHberg covered the $40 miles between
Saarbrucken, on the frontier of Lorraine,
and Rome in thirteen days. crossing the
st. Gothard Pass and spending twenty
hours each day on horseback.
few years since five lieutenants of the
18th Hussar Regiment of France accom-
plished wonderful feat. Leaving Gray at
3 o'clock in the morning, they rode seventy
two miles to Belfort, arriving at in the
afternoon. They then dismounted, put on
civilian clothes, and walked to a town
twenty-four miles away; here they dined,
then walked back to Belfort, saddled their
horses. and completed the journey to Gray,
which they reached the following afternoon
at 3 o'clock, having covered 1872 miles In
thirty six hours on horseback and on foot.
A very memorable performance was that
of Cowper Thornhill, host of the Bell Inn
at Stilton. in Huntingdonshire. who made
three journeys between. his house at Stilton
and Shoredtch Csurch-a total distance of
213 miles-tn II hours and II minutes, thus
winning a wager of 800 guineas; as was
also that ride OF Bernard Calvert of And
over, who, leaving Shoreditch at o'clock
In the morning. rode to Dover, crossed to
Calais and back and. remounting his horse
arrived at Sheredftch at O'Clock the same
evening, after covering 142 miles on horse
back
Squire Osbaldeston once covered 200 miles
at Newmarket in hours 40 minutes, using
no fewer than twentyelght horses; Mr..
Wilde rode 127 miles at the Curragh in @
hours 81 minutes; and Leon. the Mexican
rider, whom many of our readers will re-
member, rode sos miles in less than fifty
hours in February, 1877. In 1904 Jennlson
Shafto won substantial wager by riding
fifty miles on Newmarket Heath in ] hour
40 minutes. using ten horses.
In November, 1T98. officer In the
Ayrshire Light Dragons put 100 guineas
In his pocket by riding fifteen miles on
the Chelmsford and Dunmow road In sixty
nine minutes with his face to his horses
tail; and as finish to these riding feats
a jockey cleverely piloted a donkey over
Journey OF 100 miles at Newmarket In
twenty-one hours, though odds of 100 to 10
were laid that the as would not do the
distance under twentyfour hours.