THE MOST REMAEKABLE RIDE ON -RECORD.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 2499, 30 August 1890, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE MOST REMAEKABLE RIDE ON -RECORD.

(I*AIX MALL BUDGET.)* H lit is a matter of astonishment to many that in this age of feats of endurance so little has been hoax’d ©f equestrian feats of the Captain Buraaby order. Since the famous ride to Khiva, perhaps the most notable achievement of the kind was that lust year of Comet Asaj'eff, who, it will be rememberecl, rod© from Lubeen (iu Poland; to Paris. Few are aware ? however, that both Burnaby’s and AsayefFs teats are now being surpassed. A Siberian Cossack, Dmetree x’jeshkoff by name, is now on a rkle from Blagovjechen.sk, in Eastern Siberia, to St. Petersburg. Blagovjeohensk is a Cossack station ou the Amour, in latitude 50deg. N., longitude 127 deg. E., and the distance Pjtslikoff will liave fo cover before he reaches his destination is about 8,000 versts, or <>,400 English miles. The intrepid rider set out on the 7th of November Last, and on the _*7th February, 113 days afterwards, at *1 o’clock iu the sifternoon, arrived at Omsk (oodog. N., 74deg. E.), having accomplished 4,900 versts, or nearly 3,300 miles, of his journey. On the 3rd oi April he resumed his task. The hero of this remarkable feat, a man of some education, is commander of a hundred in cue of the Cossack regiments stationed ou the Amour, and has had therefore to obtain leave of absence from his duties so enable him to carry out his project. The ride is remarkable enough on account of the distance to be covered, the many dangers and difficulties of the road, and the trying nature of the climate of the districts through which the road lies. But more remarkable than any other cii*cumstance is the fact that the same hoi’se will cany Pjeshkoff from one end of his journey to the other. This animal, which ou its arrival nt St. Petersburg will be as much an object of admiration as its rider, is of the ordinary Cossack breei. It was born in Sibei’ia, and was purchased by Captain Pjeshkoff for 100 roubles, or £ls. It is thirteen years old, and of a light grey colour. In height it is 1 arshine 15 rei’saks, and is therefore much under the average size. At Omsk it underwent an examination at the hands of General Taube and various officers ©f the staff, and was reported to be in excellent condition, save that the hair ou its back had been worn away by the constant friction of the saddle. In the person of Captain Pjeshkoff it has only a light weight to carry, that officer weighing only 3 poods ’221b., bat saddle, saddlebags, and accoutrements, etc., bring up the total weight to be carried to 4 poods 381 b. This weight in English measure, taking the pood as being equal to Bfllb. a.oirdupois, would be about 11-J stone. The food of the horse consists of oats and hay. Captain Pjeshkoff has noted in the diary which he keeps the weight of these consumed per diem, and has observed that the appetite of his steed increases as the distance travelled becomes greater. At the start, 81b. of oats and 101 b. of hay per day were sufficient to satisfy it, but by the time Omsk was reached 30lb. of the former commodity and 14lb. of the latter were required. As for drink, for the greater portion of the journey, thus far, the horse has drunk no water in the liquid form, being obliged to be content to quench its thirst by eating .snow snatched up on the road. An English hdfse reduced to such necessity would not survive the ordeal, but most Cossack horses are used to it, and receive no harm whatever.

The line of route fxom Blagovjeehensk to Omsk lay through Stivjfensk, Verebnevodinsk, Irkutsk, Atchensk, and Tomsk, and at each o-f these places stoppages were made, amounting in all to twenty-five days and a half. To obtain the exact time occupied in the saddle between 7th November and 27th February, it will be necessary, therefore, to deduct this number of days from the 113 days comprised in that period. Throughout the whole journey to Omsk. Captain Pjeshkoff states that he met with no untoward or unpleasant circumstances until ho reached Tomsk, where he h«td tho misfortune to excite the suspicions of the police, and to be obliged for one night to put up with ouch accommodation as is usually accorded to suspected people. He was treated at first very rudely by his official captors, and was only released on furnishing sufficient evidence that he had no designs ou the life or the property of the citizens. Captain Pjeshkoff"s dress consists of a short wadded coat, a fur cap, long fur boots, and fur gloves, etc. As an extra protection from the cold he wears also a short fur overcoat, aud a bashalik or cowl, which is drawn over his cap whenever it is windy. His arms are a sword, a revolver, and a “Rcensbal” or two-edged dagger His saddle, which is of Moscow make, contains all the neeesai’y conveniences for carrying fodder for his horse, his own changes of linen, horseshoe nails, hammer, and other such necessaries. He carries no provisions, buying whatever lie requires iu the shape of food at the different stations and villages on the road.