The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-05-21
RACE UP A MOUNTAIN
The Wonderful Feat of a Gaunt
Kanaka Runner.
BEAT HALF A DOZEN HORSES
1t Was Terrific Test of Endurance,
and the Sturdy Hawaiian Native
Won Easily, Though Two of the
Competing Horses Dropped Dead.

and the Sturdy Hawaiian Native
Won Easily, Though Two of the
Competing Horses Dropped Dead.
did any of you ever hear Of thirty
five mile steeplechase for man and
beast?" inquired Il California man in
party of turf followers when stories
of queer bets and long shots were go
ing around. We'll, there was an affair
of that kind down in the Hawaiian
bunch in the fall of 1888. when that
genial gambler. Kalakaua, was king
of the islands. There were no tele-
phones joining the islands then. and
state messages and mandates were car
ried by the interisland steamers and
delivered by Kanaka runners. These
runners could gallop all day. like
American Indians in retreat or on the
trail. and they didn't know what get
ting winded or tired meant.
"Kalakaua thought good deal of
these runners Of his. He maintained
that they could go faster and farther
than horses over the Hawaiian coun-
try In this he was disputed by num-
Der of the white attaches of his court
Kalakaua wagered $1,000 in gobs of
$1,000 with FIVE Of them that he would
pick out a runner from among the ka-
nakas who'd get from Hilo to the top
Of the burning lake Of kilauea. dis
lance of thirty-fve miles, quicker than
any horse and any rider could do the
trip. They snapped the king up a even
money 1t looked - + they had the
- IA
party from Honolulu sailed in one OF
the interisland steamers to Hilo, on
the main island of Hawaii. to see the
finish.
The king picked up a huge. 1.-THE,
sirewy kanaka. a man about thirty
years old, who had been employed as
q runner on the island of Maui for a
number of years. to try the trick for
him Eight Kanakas made the start
a-horseback. on native ponies. bred
away back from western cayuses -
strong. sure footed. nippy tempered
little demons. thoroughly used to the
bad roads and the climbing. The king
and his party had gone up to the Vol
cano House, at the top of Kilauea, in
coaches the day before to be on hand
to greet the winner.
'Now. | understand that that road
from Hilo up to the burning lake Of
Eilauea has been improved since the
time I'm speaking OF. but it surely was
a bad trail then. 1t was only wide
enough for one wagon, and it was
a forty-ive degree affair in the climb
all the way up. The palms that lined
81 Il hn
trail by the score in big windstorms,
and the coach drivers counted 1t a part
Of their business to jump from their
seats every time they came to these
distractions and shoulder them out Of
the way. This work had all been at
tented to carefully. however, in ad-
vance OF the race by order Of Kala-
kaua. and it looked like pipe for the
cayuses, all Of which had made the
run up many n time.
"kalakaua didn't ask for any handi-
cap allowance for his man. The run
ner toed the scratch with the horses.
and they got off together at the crack
of t." -un. The horses distanced the
runner from the Jump and he let them
distance him. He was dressed in a
q string. and be just took up 4 steady
lOpe and let the cayuses get ont of bis
sight For ten miles the cayuses were
so far above him on the trail that he
couldn't even see them. but this Kama.
ka knew how to wait
The horses began to come back &c
the runner long before the Halfway
House was reached. and the kanaka
was just galloping along at tie begin
ming of the third hour. with the same
big stride he had started in with. his
arms up and shooting out in front OF
him like soldiers on the double time
drill There wasn't a pant in hin
when be fetched up at the Halfway
House. He stopped down there to Z
spring beside the road and took a cou
pie of mouthfuls of water The cay
uses were up ahead a bit. blowing their
heads off. for they had been going at :
| clip that they had never been pushed
TO before.
The Kanaka headed the bunch g
mile beyond the Halfway House. and
it was q big romp for him the rest OF
the distance. He took a position fol
the remaining seventeen miles OF the
journey bout city block ahead of the
writhing and painting horses. and ht
just stuck to his lope Ike man wound
up. He never let EN- get nearer thar
a block to him for the remaining thret
hours of the trip. looking back at them