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ESTEBAN ENDS HIS LONG JAUNT. Thoroughbred Loses Only 3 1-2 Pounds, on Test Trip from New York to Chicago. The Locohatchcc gelding, Esteban, and ids rider. II. II. Weatherly, reached Chicago Tuesday night from New York City, having followed the air line from New York to this point over the Alleghany mountains via Eastern. Reading, Harrisburg Huntingdon. Holli-dayslmrg. Johnstown, Pittsburg. Steubensville, New Philadelphia, Millersburg, Mansfield, Upper Sandusky, Lima, Fort Wayne, Warsaw and Valparaiso. The last 522 miles or the journey were made in nine and a half days. Concerning his trip. Mr. Weatherly made the following statement for Daily Racing Form upon arrival here: "Esteban has had to travel a greater distance to reach Chicago than the most direct railroad line. The wagon roads do not follow the railroad tracks. Again. I avoided the hard macadamized roads in favor of the softer going in order to save Estebans feet for the return trip to New York. The horse has his fathers good hoof and he will stand a lot before hitting New York City again. Harking back to our start from Pittsburg into the western stretch, on leaving Half Moon, about twelve miles west of Pittsburg, I had my only little difference with Esteban for, on making the turn to the northwest to take the road leading into the next town on my line of travel, he stopped short and turned his neck seemingly to ask me where I was taking him. Thinking I might have made the wrong turn. 1 referred to mv route memorandum and found "Shades of Death" and "Purgatory" were the names of the next two towns. However, mellow going in both these places made amends for their names and Esteban galloped through them and into Hollidays Cove, where we got out only riding through West Virginia, and on to the banks of the Ohio river, across which Esteban got Ills only ride between here and New York, when he was ferried over into Ohio. I found oats pretty scarce in Ohio hardly anv western oats and what I did find were the long, thin ones with no meat to them. So I had to feed corn as well. From New Philadelphia until I reached Lima a stretch of 200 miles I found no oats at all and so had to depend upon corn altogether. I was fearful that Esteban would show signs of quitting, for no horse, however much of a thoroughbred he may be. can startd up on corn, a fat generator, when the muscle maker, oats, is what he needs. However, I got oats again at Lima and put six quarts into him four times a day from there on and. on nutting him on the scales yesterday. I found he had lost only three and one-half, pounds since leaving New York. "From Steubensville to Lima I traveled at night, the weather being too hot for continuous day work, and in doing so lost only nineteen miles, being given the wrong turn at Dunkirk. 0 at two oclock in the morning, when leaving the barn there at which Esteban had his late feed. It was pitch dark and no sign to show jme the points of the compass. This necessitated a sixty-four-mllo ride for him in place of forty-five, as mapped out. and robbed me of a days sleep which, I had looked forward! to. not having been in bed for five days. We have had to contend with more difficulties than are apparent in making the ride from New York. including lime water, poor oats, no oats. oor hay, the danger of contagious diseases, shoeing., heat, rain and hailstorms. However, Esteban is in as good shape as when he left New York, and in ten days will hit the trail for the return, via South" Bend, Toledo. Cleveland. Buffalo, Rochester and Albany. Esteban will certainly carry his rider there in eighteen days. Time of this sort would be impossible over the route by which we came west, for the. going Is so bad that a two-inllo gait per hour has to be maintained over the mountains. "In looking back over the trip from New York I consider the Journey across the Alleghanies equal to 500 miles of the going I had through Ohio and Indiana. It was through no fault of the horse that he did not make continuous progress from New York. Anyliody Inclined to make light of Estebans effort is invited to ship one of their horses to Chicago and hit the trail witli him on the return journey. In making this ride I hope Ive done some little toward adding to the fame and glory of the gallant American thoroughbred running horse, and helped to prove the absurdity of the idea that thoroughbreds are useful .only for racing."
