April 5, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
451 
heavy. A day before the race, they drink warm 
water, their limbs are massaged by their train¬ 
ers and bathed in hot water. 
There are two parties in each race, dis¬ 
tinguished by red and another colored band, 
worn on the head. The peculiarity of the race 
is that in running, each racer pushes a small 
ball, an inch and a half in diameter, made of 
oak root. This ball must be pushed only with 
the toes of the right foot. They are very super¬ 
stitious, and the medicine man tells them that 
if they touch this ball with the hands, they will 
go to hell. Only when the ball falls into a 
creek or a deep gulch are they allowed to take 
it out and put it on a place where they may 
continue to roll it with their toes. When 
everything was ready for the race I attended, 
the governor stepped forward, made a short 
speech, and, at a sign, the balls were thrown 
and the race started. 
To describe the whole race would be 
tedious to the reader, but I was astounded at 
the endurance manifested by the runners. The 
field had a circuit of fourteen miles, and the 
winner made twelve rounds without stopping. 
During the race the runners did not eat any¬ 
thing, but chewed pinole constantly, while their 
friends supplied them with water, so that they 
did not need to stop longer than to take a 
drink. The runner wears small bells around 
his belt to keep hiw awake, in case he should 
become too tired. They did not run very fast; 
but they usually make about forty miles in six 
to eight hours. I saw one fellow run four miles 
in half an hour. The sun was setting, and the 
women brought out torches, so that the race 
might be continued. Many dropped out; but 
toward eleven o’clock in the evening the race 
was won by a young Indian about twenty-three 
years of age. There was great rejoicing in the 
winning party. During the race the highest 
excitement prevailed owing to the heavy bet¬ 
ting. Everyone had his choice, and the bettors 
staked everything, clothing, their animals—in 
fact all their possessions, on the result. Tlie 
winner does not get any premium, but he makes 
a great conquest with the women of the tribe, 
and receives many presents from those who bet 
on him. The women also have their races. 
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with this difference; that their rules are not so 
strict as those of the men, and they usually run 
shorter distances. It is a beautiful sight to see 
'.hat the women among the Tarahumares are 
treated 'with more respect than in any other 
Indian tribe. 
After the feast I distributed many presents 
among the Indians, and, to my great regret, 
was compelled to begin the return trip to 
Parral. Leaving the Parral to Guadalupe y 
Calvo road, we turned, upon the suggestion of 
Pedro Jimenez, to the northwest to investi¬ 
gate some gold mines in the Arroyo de los 
Bueyes. I never expected to find anything, be¬ 
cause the whole formation did not have the ap¬ 
pearance of gold-bearing rock, but, to please 
the Mexican and a few civilized Tarahumares, 
I decided to spend a few days with them. It 
was one of the most strenuous rides I had on 
the entire trip, but finally we arrived at our 
destination, and put up our tents near a small 
spring. It was a cold night and I invited 
Jimenez to sleep with me in the tent, but he re¬ 
fused on the ground that bears were present in 
large numbers in the neighborhood, and he 
preferred to stand watch with a few Indians. 
They built immense fires to keep away the 
animals, and, being a fatalist, I turned in with¬ 
out bothering my head about the four-footed 
marauders. They are a sort of black bear 
which is inoffensive when not attacked. Noth¬ 
ing occurred throughout the night, and next 
morning I was ready to investigate the so- 
called gold mine. 
To please my companions, I stayed there 
for one day, cleaned out a small shaft, but, as 
I expected, nothing was found. Following the 
Rio de los Bueyes, we went down to the Rio de 
San Juan, in the Tierra Colorada district, which 
interested me greatly on account of reports 
that grizzly bears are to be found there. The 
reports were true, but it would require too 
much space to describe our hunt for the big 
animals. We followed the course of the San 
Juan River, which was full of all kinds of fish, 
and finally reached the capital of the district, 
Balleza. The alcalde (mayor) of the town re¬ 
ceived me cordially, and, as I had no more use 
for them. I dismissed my faithful Tarahumare 
runners, who returned to their villages, well 
paid and laden with presents. 
From Balleza I rode down to Los Banos 
(hot baths) where I met my old friend, Don 
Pedro Saenz, who tried to induce me to make 
a second Carlsbad of his hot springs. From 
here I took my last glance at the Tarahumare 
country, and, after four hours’ ride on horse¬ 
back, I reached Ojito, the last station on the 
Parral and Durango Railroad, where I took 
train for Parral, The four weeks I had spent 
among the Tarahumares were among the most 
enjoyable of my life. I had had a good chance 
to return to nature and to live close to nature. 
In my estimation, the Tarahumares would make 
excellent laborers, if handled rightly, and it is a 
great pity that these sons of the wildernes 
are too often mercilessly exploited by their 
Mexican neighbors. 
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