Omaha daily bee., 1911-11-04

the speed OF the modern railroad train is I
compared with that of a snail, stop,
watch held on the latter when covering
measured course of one yard gave
its speed as exactly ten minutes,
As a walker man is several thousand
times faster than a snail, though he is
some 100000 times slower than a ray
of light. The worlds record FOR walking
is held by G. II. Gouding, who covered
one mile in six minutes and twenty-nine
seconds. In making that record Goulding
was obliged to cover trifle less than
four and one-half yards each second But
a mile in fifteen minutes is good average
walking. Man can run bit faster than
he can walk Tommy Connect some
twenty years ago ran a mile In four
minutes, fifteen and three-fifths seconds,
and his record has never been equalled.
Record in Sprinting.
over shorter distances man can run
still more rapidly. Although barred by
a technically from having his name on
the official record books Arthur Duffy
could undoubtedly sprint faster than any
man who has yet lived. Duffy ran one
hundred yards on more than one occa-
sion in eight and three-fifths seconds
and II is more than probable that he
even clipped that figure by one-fifth Of
a second
Almost as far back as the days of Con-
neff. Timothy Donoghue strapped a pair
OF ice skates to his feet and glided over
a mile of ice in two minutes, twelve and
three-fifths seconds.
Rightfuliy deserving mention in any
written record of speed is the raoehorse
Salvador, also belonging to tho days OF
a generation back. That marvellous ami
NAL ran "A mile with a man on his back
in one minute, 80 and one-half seconds.
And his record too, has never been
equalled.
so much for speed unaided by mechani-
cal ContrlVances.
II was not until man learned to har-
ness the great forces of nature that he
was able TO shoot himself through space
at a steadily increasing rate of speed.
To the automobile, one Of mans latest
playthings, belong the premier honors for
speed. Burman, driving a motor car
propelled by a gasoline-fed engine COW
cred a mile in twenty-four and four
tenths seconds. Than which no man has
ever travelled faster
Railroad Pace.
A close second comes the steam railroad
engine. In March, 1901, an engine on the
Plant line in Florida, drawing a short,
light train, went from Fleming to Jack
son, a distance of five minutes in two
minutes thirty seconds. Had that pace
been maintained for one hour the train
would have covered 40 miles. Since the
day he first persuaded the air to bear the
burden Of his weight man has Travelled
rapidly when In that element; he has had
| to or fall. To go a mile minute In the
! air IS a regular occurrence. OF greater
speed there are but few instances.
| So far as is known the fastest flight
! that has yet been made through the air
was accompanied by Lieutenant Fequant,
a daring French aviator. who was timed
| on one flight at the rate Of 100 7-lo miles
an hour.
! On the water man has been obliged to
| travel comparatively slower. The Maple
Leaf III, with it's accredited speed Of
| ffty-seven miles an hour Is by far the
! fastest craft ever designed. II is, in fact,
| from twelve to fifteen miles an hour
| greater speed than has ever been claimed
! for other vessels.
| Next In point Of speed 10 the Maple
| Leaf ILL., ana first in point OF utility Is
| the torpedo boat destroyer Flusser OF the
| United States navy. Capable OF carrying
! a considerable crew and OF navigating
almost any water. two qualities not
present in the Maple Leaf the Flusser
has been sent rushing through the water
at the rate Of thirty-fiye miles an hour
Perhaps the most remarkable maritime
achievement OF man is the steamship
Mauritania; 100 feet long capable OF
carrying between 1900 and 1000 souls, with
food and fuel sufficient for city IN It's
hold This giantess OF the seas has
/ spanued the ocean from Queenstown TO
New York in five days ten hours and
| four minutes.
| sailing on Ice.
One other experiment man has made
| in his search for speed has met with no
| lnconsiderable success.
with a combination Of sled runners and
! hugo sails he has built a curious craft
| designed solely for speeding across the
| frozen surfaces OF ponds. rivers and
! lakes Remarkable speed Is attained by
| these ice boats. one named the Wolver-
inc. IS credited with covering twenty
miles In thlrty-nine minutes and fifty
seconds, making a turn every two miles.
on a level stretch OF ice. with booming
breeze astern, a mile a minute Is fair
estimate Of the speed OF an ice yacht
g. a