167

not yet been round. "Em" was confident
of winning that $1,000 in gold.
"I'll be in Chicago in about twenty days,"
she said. "That's fifty miles a day. I'll
not ride that fast at the start, but will catch
up later. I know how to care for my horses
--feed them very little hay and plenty of
oats; rub them down night and morning;
give them salt when they want it and ride
them as little as possible at night. Riding
in the dark makes any horse nervous. I'll
do my hard riding in Illinois and give the
horse whisky if he gets fagged, which he
won't because of my lightness in the saddle.
Look out for me in Chicago about the
Fourth of July." The one horse to which
she referred, the one she relied most on, was
a noted "outlaw," or mankiller, of vicious
spirit and as yet unconquered nature. He
knows no control except his owners, and is
a lithe animal weighing about 1,200
pounds. Emma Hutchinson's home is
in Denver. She is 21 years old,
a brunette, and is called handsome.
Of her own powers of endurance
there is no room for doubt, for she has
repeatedly shown her stamina. Many times
she has slept in the saddle in the open air,
far from any other human being, exposed to
the fiercest storms. She has made many
long rides. With a single change of horses
she once covered 450 miles in seven days.
During this ride the roads were muddy and
the streams swollen, and for four nights
she slept without shelter. She left Denver
two weeks ago, and rode 300 miles to
Chadron, "just to toughen the horses" for
the longer ride.

Alas for Miss Hutchinson's boasts and
expectations. Almost at the last moment
before entries were closed she became full
of fear of interference and withdrew from
the contest.

Some Bad Men Take Part

All the riders are not so pleasing as a
woman rider. There's "Doc" Middleton,
for instance. He's 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and
weighs 180 pounds, is 45 years old and an
ideal rider and typical cowboy. Some
years ago "Doc" was a hustler and many
a hide that did not bear the Middleton
brand hung in his corral. He was for years
one of the terrors of northern Nebraska
and before that time was a power among
the desperadoes in the Black Hills country.
He has been in his time "very quick on
the trigger," and it is stated and not gain-
said that the notches on his stick are in the
plural. Of late years Middleton has not
been so handy with his shooting irons, but
he can get the drop just as dextrously and,
when he turns loose, his execution displays
its old-time accuracy. He lives a life of
ease and content at his ranch in northern
Nebraska, but the Sheriff is not a welcome
guest at his "shack." Middleton has made
several memorable rides- one at lightning
speed from Crow Buttes to Long Pine
barracks with a few hundred painted Sioux
in hot pursuit.

Somewhat like Middleton is John Flagg
of Big Horn Basin, Wyo. he took an
active part in the cattle wars last year and
would doubtless have shared the fate of the
murdered Ray and Campion in the Wyo-
ming rustler raids had he been less fleetly
mounted. "Snake Creek Tom" of Snake
Creek, Wy., is another rider with a "rec-
ord." So are "Rattlesnake Pete" of Creede,
Colo.; "Cock-Eyed Bill," of Manville, Wy.;
Sam Bell and Emil Albright of Deadwood;
Jim Murray of Eagle Pass, Tex.; Peter
Shangraw and Nick James of Pine Ridge,
Neb.; Sam Tyler of Kingfisher, O. T.;
"Dynamite Jack" of Crawford, Neb.; He
Dog and Spotted Wolf, Sioux from the
Rosebud Agency.

Conditions and Precautions

The conditions of the race are these:

This race open to any one riding Western
horses; only horses bred and raised West
of the Missouri river eligible to enter; each
rider shall weigh with stock saddle and
saddle blanket not less than 150 pounds, the
saddles to be "double cinch" stock saddles
to weigh not less than thirty-five pounds;
each rider to be limited to two horses; to
each rider will be furnished a route map,
and he will be required to register at places
designated by the committee. All horses
will be branded with a special race brand
on the day preceding start; purse will be
divided into four moneys, of which the first
shall not be less than $1,000.

That there may be no jockeying en route,
and that everything may be conducted "on
the square," each horse will be branded
with the Racing Association's mark the
night before the riders start, and each night
the riders will be required to register at
stations placed along the way. A rider
also can not have his horse drop dead at
the goal and gain a prize, for each must see
to it that his horse is in fairly good condi-
tion on arrival at the grounds, if he would
gain a premium.