Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24
TWAS GOING SOME"
How Ralph Paine Broke the Record
in Cuba.
Esipa raiu.. in Recreation.

Halph Iau., Ia Recreation.
In my own experience. beginning with
college foot hal. those sporting actiyittes
which were seasoned with :. re danger
to life and limb are recalled with the
keenesl zest. As an alleged war eorre-
Sp"ndent in three campaigns added
shooting and foot racing to the list of
sports with whose rules | was fairly
familiar. While the Yale athletic trainers
had appraised my rhy siaue rs better
adapted 10 throwing the hammer Or put
Ting the freight ear than the lna-yard
uaSh. ! lived To oyerturn these expert
JudSmen tS. While to my lasting regret
James l.. Sullivan and other officials of
TIE Amateur Athletic Union We're un-
aNnidah!N absent. and therefore unable 10
verify tie records and give them official
sta us. TIER" Is every reason 10 believe
that through the tropic veydure Uf "A val
ley near Guantanamo. Cuba. | had ths
unique distinction OF running the TOO
yard dash in . seconds fiat the ool-yard
dash in - seconds and the quarter mile
In close la ~ seconds. for the farther I
went the faster | flew Needless, Ia say
II csc were all new worlds records pro-
feS<ionai and amateur.
\ battalion Of husky American marines
had been lighting twice their weight ~
Spanish infantry two nights and DAYS on
end. under harassing and ncessar-
cross fire which swept the hard held
camp on the hill. On either side OF tsis
hill lay small. green valleys the enemy
Keeping under cover along the opc0sta
slopes At length there came luli in
tn" action. \ correspondent whom mod
eSty forhldS me To name observed that
far ZIP one of these valleys lay the huge
boiler of burned sugar estate. and thai.
said boiler would be a safe fortress from
which to look matters over at much closer
range. Borrowing rifle from a wounded
corporal he Jared hastily toward tho
sugar boiler amid the profane shouts oe
a dusty squad of marines:
Come back you fool.
They'll turn loose again directlv''
They did. 1t happened that the Pilgrim
was wearing a wide brimmed Spanish
straw hat taken from deceased soldier
OF CASTLE. The American marines had
no other targets than these straw hats
as slimpsed In the dense underground.
Ihey therefore opened a brisk fire from
their hillside at this solitary straw hat
bobbing up the valley. The spanish
troops. knowing that none of their men
was down there. fired with much en-
fhusiasm ut the same bull s-eye. The bull
lets hummed both ways They raked the
atmosphere from left and right The
poor fool whom friend and foe were try
ing to POT had not the wit to think of dis
carding the damnable straw hat as liza
Sprinted for the shelter of the sugar
boiler. which appeared TO have been
moved at least eighteen miles AWAY
There are witnesses alive today who will
swear that when his tracks were fol-
lowed next morning brown patches were
found where his flying feet had scorche,l
the grass. Bullets aimed to stop him
passed twenty feet to the rear when they
crossed his trail. These troops had not
been trained wings shots and we're
therefore handicapped.
NeerinS 10 the first person. for I am
honestly proud of those sprinting records
tand why make pretense of a mod.stv
which is superfiuOus?), / Glove the bullet
spattered atmosphere with distinct
whistling sound. and my heels flew SO
hisls with each terrific stride that they
clattered against the back of my head
like the shoes of an overreachiug horse
AT length reaching the sugar boiler I
dove into Its end with tremendous veloc-
lily ana lay painting while l listened 10
the peltng drive of bullets against its
sides like rain on a farmhouse roof
In this spirited fashion were shattered
obiterated and showed under all known
spr.nting records. ancient and modern.
They We're achieved under the most flaw
less amateur status, moreover. because
no financial inducements could have led
me to start from scratch with flight Of
krag and Mauser bullets and beat them
to the tape.