WHO WINS THE PRIZE? 83 



suers could " go as you please," but were ordered not to 

 injure stock by hard riding. Of these rides, which are 

 not under the spur of compulsion, a few may be given as 

 of interest. On September 17th, Lieutenant Scott, Sixth 

 Cavalry, and twenty-five men, started from Fort Stanton 

 towards Fort Bayard, and was overtaken in forty-two and 

 one half hours marching time, at a distance of one hun- 

 dred and thirty miles. The pursuers, Lieutenant Persh- 

 ing and twenty - seven men, made the one hundred and 

 thirty miles in fifty-four and one -half hours from start 

 to capture. On September 25th, Lieutenant McGrath, 

 Fourth Cavalry, and twenty-two men, started from Fort 

 Bowie to Fort Apache ; he made one hundred and seven- 

 ty-three miles in forty -two hours' marching time. On 

 September 26-27, Lieutenant Scott and twenty-five men, 

 in pursuit of Lieutenant Pershing, made one hundred and 

 ten miles in twenty-six hours ten minutes. On Novem- 

 ber 1-3, Lieutenant Pershing and twenty-two men, pur- 

 suing Captain Wallace, made one hundred and thirty 

 miles in fifty-seven hours. Captain Chaffee, in pursuit of 

 Captain Kerr, made on September 24-25 seventy miles in 

 twenty hours with seventeen men. 



These are but a few instances which any of our cavalry 

 officers can duplicate from their own knowledge. I could 

 quote very many more. Now, if we take the conditions 

 under which these rides have been made, viz., a common- 

 bred native troop horse, not always kept hard and ready 

 for work ; the exceptional weight carried, for all but the 

 courier work was done with full equipment ; the fact that 

 most of the courses were over country without roads, or 

 only trails, which are the merest apology for roads, and 

 often hilly and badly cut up ; that the pace must be made 

 for the slowest horses, and be such that weak factors in 

 the troop shall be respected ; that the incentive was thir- 



