179

DRON, DAWES COUNTY, NEBR

THE COWBOYS ARE OFF !
---------
The Great Race Starts in the
Presence of 3, 000
Pepole.

And Under the Eye of the Of-
cers of the Humane
Society.

Horses and Riders Eger for
the Long Race to
Chicago.

WHO WILL BE THE WINNER ?

Cowboy race ! That's all you could
hear in Chadron for the last week, and
it still continues to be the leading topic
of conversation. When the time arrived
for the race to start Tuesday afternoon,
crowds of pepole began to gather
in the vicinity of the Blaine hotel.
The streets were filled with a struggling
mass of humanity, anxious to get a look
at the horses and men who were to take
part in the greatest race of the kind ever
attempted, while the roofs, windows and
other points of advantage were prempted
long before the start. In the
hotel balcony sat members of the committee
and Messrs. Fontaine and Tatro,
of the humane society, looking down on
the busy scene below. It was a great
big crowd. There must have been close
to 3, 000 people on the ground, and if the
humane officers had not thought before
that Chandron was interested in the cowboy
race they must have thought so
then. The street was filled, and out east
for half a mile the road was lined with
expectant faces. In the shade of the
Signal office the cornet hand formed and
played several pieces of music to liven
the scene. One by one the riders
came with their horses. As they rode
up they were loudly cheered by their
friends, and it was evident from the
mighty yell that went up when old Doc
Middleton made his appearance that
Doc was Chadron's favorite. When all
had arrived their photograph was taken
in a group, after which the line was
formed and everything was ready for
the start. It was expected that at least
twenty-five or thirty entries would be
made and it is probable there would
have been that many but for the cry
raised by the hummane element and the
feeling outside of Chadron that perhaps
the race might not start at all, which
kept many out of it. As it as there
were but nine starters. The names of
the entrymen, the horses and their riders
are as follows :

Mike Elmore, Hemingford, Neb. : Two horses
---" Wide Awake, " bay gelding ; " Monte Cristo,
brown stallion. Dave Douglas, rider.
Doe Middleton, Chadron, Neb. : Two horses---
" Geronimo," brown gelding ; " Bay Jimmie,
' Doc Middleton, rider.
Abe Jones, Whitewood, S. D. : Two horses---
" Romeo, " bay gelding ; " George," black gelding.
Geo. Jones, rider.
P. G. Cooper, Crawford. Neb : two horses----
" Outlaw," buckskin gelding : " Joe Bush, " Sorel
gelding. Emmet Albright, rider.
Joe B. Gillespie, Coxville, Neb. : Two horses---
" Billy Mack, " chestunt gelding ; " Billy Schafer, '
gray gelding. Joe B. Gillespie, rider.
Jas. Stephens, Ness City. Kan. : Two horses--
" Gen. Grant, " brown gelding ; " Nick," brown
gelding. Jas. Stephens, rider.
Joe Campbell, Denver, Col. : One horse---
" Boom-de aye," bay gelding. Joe Campbell
rider.
Chas. Smith. Hot Springs, S. D. : Two horse
---" Dynamite, " sorrel gelding ; " Red Wing, " bay
gelding. Chas. Smith, rider.
* Jack Hale, Strugis, S. D. : Two horses---
" Poison. " chestnut station ; " Sandy," bay gelding.
John Berry rider.
* Ruled out by committe from compettion for
prize.
Registering Stations--- Chadron. Long Pine
O' Neill, Wausa ( in Neb. ), Sioux City, Galva, Fort
Dodge, Iowa Falls Waterloo, Manchester,
Dubuque (in Iowa) , Freeport, DeKalb and Chicago,
(in Illinois).
Friends of the men who were about to
start one their long journey of 900 miles
crowded around to shake their hand and
wish them godspeed. Emmet Albright,
John Berry, Doc Middleton and Joe Gillespie,
being from this county, seemed
to attract more attention than the others,
and they were the recipients of
many kind of words from all sides. Secretary
Weir went around to check of the
list of horses and riders and give each
man a route map showing the point
where they would have to register, and
everything was ready. J. O. Hartzel
stepped to the front of the balcony
give the boys the parting injunction
the committe and fire the shot that
would send them their way. He said
" The time has now arrived for the star
in the great Chandron-Chicago cowboy
race Remeber, boys and take good
case of your horses and uphold the good
home of Chadron and the State of Ne