REMARKABLE RIDES

Evening Star, Issue 20376, 7 January 1930, Page 9

REMARKABLE RIDES

SPEED 114 OLD DAYS ANCESTORS ON HORSEBACK In these days of speed records by seaplanes and motor cars specially built lor til© purpose, the achievements of ancestors on horseback, before the advent of the modern speed monsters, are apt to bo -forgotten (says Mr F. JGreen in tho 4 Newcastle Weekly 'Chronicle’). ' l An outstanding performance .was the ride of Sir Robert Cary, following the death of Queen Elizabeth, in fGOb. Cary was a courtier first, last, and ail the time; he lived far beyond_ his income, and was ever ready to seize upon tho chance to improve his position at court or his fortunes. When it became a foregone concursion that the Queen could not recover, Cary decided to be the first to convey the news of her death to James V 1.,. or Scotland, as the latter would be sure to reward handsomely the bearer of the tidings that he had succeeded to the English throne. . . . In tho second week in March Cary sent a message to Edinburgh,' informing James that Elizabeth was sinking fast, and as soon _as the event . occurred he would ride north with the news. LONG AND HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. . While waiting at Richmond Palace, ■ where the Queen lay ill,-Sir Robert perfected his arrangements for -.the long and hazardous journey. Horses were ordered to be in readiness at various points on the road, so that he would, experience no delay 'after he had set out. ’ , ' . The Queen died on March 24# in tbe eary morning, and Cary, evading the orders of the council 'that no one should enter or leave the palace, started about 9 o’clock on his ride to Edinburgh. covered the whole journey _ of_ slightly over 400 miles before midnight on March 26, and travelled at an amazing rati of approximately 170 miles in 24 hours, allowing for change of, mounts and rest. , : c j Considering the primitive state or-tlie roads of that period, this was a wonderful achiefemont. Cary was rewarded by the gratified king, who made him Gentleman of the Bedchamber. Several years later he wa§ made Earl of Monmouth. ‘ , / ... Undertaken for a wager,, the riding feat of Cowper Thornhill, owuerof the Bell Inn, Stilton, Huntingdon, -in 1745, is generally accepted as a record. Thornhill, a great sportsman, wagered 500 gs he would ride from Stilton- to Shoreditch,, London, bkek to Stilton., and again to Shoreditch, in fifteen hours. The entire distance is just o|sr 225 miles. Therefore Thornhill fiadto maintain an average speed of. fifteen miles an hour to win his bet. _ ~ Relays of specially-selected . horses were arranged, and Thornhill won., his bet easily, completing the whoto course in 12h 17min, or at the rate of eighteen miles an hour. ■ DICK KING’S GREAT BIDE.’ The ride of Dick King in South Africa about 1842 was remarkable more for the heroic endurance 1 of man . and beast than for great speed. In March, of that year Captain Smith arrived at Port Natal with a small force 0f : '250 British soldiers. He occupied the fort on the point, and was almost immediately besieged by a Boer commando under Pretonous. _ In a desperate endeavour to improve his position Smith made a night attack on the enemy encampment, but was repulsed with heavy losses. It soon, became apparent that# unless reinforcements came up, the position would bo lost and the tiny force annihilated. The difficulty was to get a request for help through to the British settlement at Grahamstown, 600 miles away. W ■ ’Dick King, a wagoner ■ attached ;‘t© the force, volunteered for tile job. '. is he could speak most of the Kaffir dialects and knew the country fairly well, he was perhaps the only man in the foit with the slightest chance of succeeding in this daring enterprise. It being hopeless to attempt to get through the Boer lines, King and two horses and a • small quantity of food were ferried across the bay after dark. v**Tim task seemed impossible; there were no means of acquiring freshiidrses. King would have to ride each of hisjwo horses in turn, and conserve their energy and his own to cover the 600 miles of veldt which lay before him. It was in his favour that the natives were inclined to be less hostile to the British than to the Boers. Also thci© were a few Wesleyan missionaries sectored up and down the country, upon whom he could rely tor help. Luckily he had little trouble with the Kaffirs. Only one tribe took him prisoner, and they released him when he proved he was not a Boer. A FEVER-RIDDEN HOUSEMAN. After three days’ journey across the veldt, which consisted of open country broken by rocky ridges aud intersected with numerous deep rivers, having no bridges and few fording places, King became fever-stricken, In addition to the dangers of attack form wild .beasts, exhausting swims across the rivers, poor and inadequate food, be had to light against fever, with its blinding headaches, shivering fits, and terrific;‘thtrst. Despite the agony and weariness which racked his body, resulting in unavoidable delays which tormented his mind, this indomitable man and his gallant beasts struggled gamely toward their goal. Hero and there missionaries dosed him to' the best of their ability, but two precious days in all were lost owing to fever, • On the tenth day after leaving Natal King arrived, more dead than alive, in Grahamstown, and acquainted the settlement with bis comrades’ need of reinforcements. Including halts for rest, food, and sickness,. ho did sixty miles a day, and it is eStinmted.he crossed no fewer than 200 rivefs.

The Kaffir rising in 1835, seven ypais before Kind’s ride, was the occasion of another great ride to Grahamstojyn, undertaken by Colonel Harry Smith. Towards the end of December,. IS&i, news was received in Cape Town that a large body of Kaffirs had risen m the eastern part of the Cape, bringing death and destruction in their wake.i Sir Benjamin D’ Urban, then _ Governor of the Capo, sent Colonel Smith to the field of action, with full powers to taka whatever action ho thought necessarySmith’s journey was practically tiia same distance as that of King, but ti.a former was in the happy position oi being able to arrange suitable relays'Tib posting stations along the road. Tho ccflouei set out on New Year’s Day, accompanied by a Hottentot servant, _ At that period of the year tbo heat is intense at the Cape, and tliey suffered great, inconvenience. In spite of this tliev reached Caledon the first day. Before dawn the following- lay they were-on their way, and amvedsab gwellondam in time for breakfast, attei' which they made another good rick-of seventy links. The nest night found the horsemen in George, 100 miles farther on |)kir journey. Here Smith had to attend ..to various official duties and write letters; these he finished by 11 o’clock the same night. Three days’ hard riding brought them to Gra’hamstown, the colonel -being fresh enough to take over cokit niaiid. The entire journey was 'thus completed in sis days.