The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1927-06-09
MEXICAN INDIANS
FLEET OF FOOT
Tarahumares Excel Other
Aborigines in Covering
Long Distances.

Minaca, State of Chihuahua, Mex
1t has long been a well-known fact to
Americans of this part of Mexico that
the male members of the Tarahumare
Indian tribe excel all other aborigines
In fleet-footedness and endurance. The
record made by Leoncio San Miguel,
q Tarahumare runner, in covering the
distance between Pachuca and Mexico
City, 100 kilometers, equivalent to 60
miles, in 9 hours and 81 minutes,
which seems to have created a stir in
the sporting world recently, has been
eXcelled times without number in the
ordinary run of life of these lowly In
dams upon their native heath in the
rough region west of here
No white person is better qualified
to speak authoritatively about the Ia
rahumare Indians than Charles r.
Wallace, an Englishman, who, for
nearly forty years, has made his home
in the little Tarahumare village of
Guazapares. Don Carlos, as Wallace
Is called, has been operating a one.
man mine and ranch of few thou
sand acres bordering the Indian coun-
try, and purely for human companion
ship he asked and received permission
of the head men of the tribe to make
his home among them.
Indians Legal Adviser.
On many occasions he has repre-
sented the Tarahumares in matters
that came before both the state and
federal governments. He is highly re-
spected by the Indians, and he has
i. been given an insight into many sof
their tribal customs and traditions.
Don Carlos was at Minaca to lay in a
supply of provisions for his own use
during the winter, which is severe in
these attitudes, when the published re-
port reached here of the long distance
running record made by Leoncio.
ITO person who is not familiar
with the running feats of the Tara
humares, Leoncio's record doubtless
stands out as notable performance"
Don Carlos said. when he comes
back to his people, he will laugh about
1t and his friends will laugh with him.
| Why. do you know that it is not at all
an unusual thing, and certainly it was
almost a weekly event in the days be-
| fore the railroad was built as far west
as Minaca from Chihuahua, for Tara
humare runners to be sent with mes
sages from Guazapares to the city of
Chihuahua, a distance of 592 miles,
there and back, by road they had to
travel, and that they made and still
make the round trip in five days, in
Guiding the time off for eating and
sleeping.
Pays Tax on Time.
"On one particular occasion when
wanted to get tax payment to the
mining Office in Chihuahua before the
date of delinquency arrived, 1 en-
ployed young Indian to take the
money and letter there and he made
the oneway trip in less than two days
and was back in Guazapares before,
the end of the fourth day. The boys
name was Serrance, and for beauty
| of body and powers of endurance /
don't believe he ever had an equal.
He is still living-an honored member
of the tribe. He is now past forty
gears old, and his fast running days
are over, although he can still hold
his own against many men much
younger than he Is.
ut may be hard for an outsider to
believe the statement, but it is a we'll
established fact that it is not consid-
cred any remarkable feat for Tarahu-
mares to run It's miles to 200 miles
without stopping. Is it any wonder
that the record made by Leoncio in
covering the distance of GO miles with
out stopping will not create any stir
among his own people?
Capture Wild Horses.
"When l first located at Guazapares,
there were thousands of wild horses in
The foothills of the Sierra Madres and
1t was common practice for Mexican
ranch owners of that region when
| they wanted to collect drove of the
animals for their own uses or for mar
ket to send a few Tarahumare Indian
runners to the grazing ground of the
wild horses to round them up and
drive them to the ranches. The Tara
humares could run as fast or faster
| than the ieet-footed horses and they
Invariably brought in the drove when
assigned to the task. The soles of
the feet Of the Indians are so thick
and hard that the toughest sort of
travelling has no effect on them.
1.-THE Tarahumares do all their deer
hunting on foot When they sight
deer they run the animal down, even
If it takes day or two days to &C,
complish its exhaustion. The men are
great hunters and are expert with
bows and arrows, although they get
the keenest enjoyment in running