THE GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE MATCH.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 5375, 21 December 1885, Page 4

THE GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE MATCH.

•A twelve hours go-as-you-please match came off at the Public Hall on Saturday between 6. J. .Haylett and Jas. M'Gregor, thje stakes betog £50 a side. The contest was quite as interesting as such contests usually are, probably a little more so owifigpo M'Gregor being well known to evje^lpersrtn in Greymouth as a good allrouAd athlete, as much at home at running, walking and jumping as at cricket or doing Highland steps. Comparatively lijtle seemed; to be known generally of what^ .Haylett could do on the track, though there were rumors that he was no novice at go-as-you-please matches { elsewhere; .But as he possesses a likely looking leng'h of leg, without a superfluous ounce on his anatomy, and as he was the challenger, it was surmised that he knew what; lye was abput. M'Gregor, although in tip-top condition, labored under the disadvantage of being a novice in such contests. But good-humored confidence was shown in every line of his countenance. Haylett/- on the other hand, had a worn und.weary louk,or,.as a wag phrased it, "as if he had not long left an hospital.'' Bat hi 3 action indicated no weariness if his face did. It was about ten minutes past the advertised time belore the men were sent away on the saw. dust. It, was; rather awkward for both that the track wan not . larger,, and of a different shape. It required 34 laps to make a mile, and the course had four disagreeable corners to round;; one being more awkward than"- the other ,thre«. It appeared to be a little narrower, an 4 waa not further improved

by the addition of a piano in the corner. During the course of the day several small collisions or stumbles occurred. It was surprising -there were, not a great many ;more. Nothing would be easier thi^n to jostle in the*excitementof arace in rounding such abrupt and inconvenient turns. "Although the track was kept fairly well supplied with saw dust, it did not require niuch of a slip' to expoiae the slippery fltfbri M'Gregor was , the first to' in'prease his pace after walking "a few laps, when he dropped into a leisurely swinging gait, a good deal faster, than a walk. Haylett did not disturb himself at first, but after a while equalised M'Gregor's gains. Shortly after first starting out Haylett : hada*fall, and the mark, remained on ,the knee cap during the rest ; of the day, ? as if the blood had shown through. During the greater part of the- time Haylett confined himself ,to walking, while his opponent varied the •monotony] -by droppingTinto a half run. The first seven Or eight hours furnished little to indicate how the contest was likely to go! * Haylett was more leisurely and unconcerned than his opponent,; who was allowed at one time to go ahead about a niile'and a quarter! It was only during the last two or three hours that Haylett gave any indication of' how he intended to get ' "oh laven terms with' M'Gregor, and astonished every one by the way. he bounded round the track, almost in half the time M'Gregor was doing it ; and when hid from view he darted off at top speed until he once more tooki.up his position. He used to repeat these tactics until he had very largely reduced the distance (between him and M'Gregor. ft was seen that if he could keep up these tactics he had a good chance of winning. For some unaccountable reason M'Gregor allowed all his previous rapid work to be neutralised lap by lap until both at length arrived an even term. : Then a dispute contest ..ensued.. ,Up to , this this time M'Gregor seemed to be quite, unable to hold his own against the bounding way in j which Haylett iwent along when making up lost ground ; but at last, when neither had any advantage. ■ except (that iHaylett was in front,. M'Gregor being close at his heels, the, tussle , became most desperate arid exciting. It Was at this part of the race that M'Gregor put out a speed and energy that astonished keen observers of both men. Lap after lap he tried in, vain to get" ahead of his : opponent f -but Haylett had- the inside track, and always -seemed to Jiave the necessary stride in reserve to, get a foot or two ahead. If a Babel-like noise, composed mostly of wild yells of encouragement to " Jimmy " to put it on, thenthe excitement was of a very respectable description indeed/ It ws at this stage that the men collided once or twice at the piano corner, and then hooting and cries of "Foul, foul" were deafening. The excitement and noise were so great that when time was called the competitors did '■> not hear it and( iwettts another lap 'before- stopping. ; At' the' first call Haylett was about a yard and a half ahead, and at the second only a few inches, of course confusion reigned for ariew, moments^'but,, everything was soon; quiet N<> decision was then given "as to "the winner, "probably it was reserved, in view of- a' protest on .(the ground of ah alleged foul." ' Ittherb 'was any iou], v such as was alleged, it would haye 1 excited no attention in the beginning or middle "of the raceT Ifjn'ay^be' men-' tioned that' tlieimen sometimes slipped a little during the day. M 'Gregor had once to put out his hand against the wall to steady himself ; and during the last few laps he had. the. misfprtune.,.tq slip and. stumble. . ; ■'■/-■ l'K-i':" Altogether the contest was creditable alike to 'both. r It was a "splendid pie'ee i.of endurance, and considering the difficulties of the course 61 miles and 6 laps showed considerably more than the average "turn, of speed. Both, men took rests during the day, and bottleholders were in plenty when they were on- the track. Dr MacCarthy waited on Haylett with a sponge saturated with actic acid, while som c one else obtained a dash of Rimmel's Vinegar forM'Oregor. Soda bottles, too, were in requisition, withadrop " when they felt dispoged," with raw eggs and other comfortß of that kind. Then there was such a prodigal supply of advice to Mr M'Gregor that it must have been a little overwhelming. ;

The two men totally differ in style. M'Gregor walks very erectly, what mightbe described as the perfect , military carriage— head well up, chest thrown outj and a swinging heel-and-toe stride—aitocrether a very much prettier carriage than Haylett, who walks a good deal out of the perpendicular by leaning forward, but still slips along at a rattling rate, letting the heel fall almost simultaneously on the ground with the rest of the foot, with a plantigrade look. But it is when he comes to the running part, bending his body well forward, taking enormous strides at the same time that he astonishes people at the rate at which he covers the ground. There is some talk of getting up another match between these performers again.