42 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. ii, 1908. 
MENNEN’S 
□ ORATED TALCUM 
TOILET POWDER 
and insist that your barber use 
it also. It is Antiseptic, and 
will prevent any of the skin 
diseases often contracted. 
A positive relief for Chapped 
Hands, Chafing, and all 
afflictions of the skin. Removes all odor 
of perspiration. Get Mennen’s-the original. 
Put up in non-refillable boxes, the "box that lox." Guaran¬ 
teed under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1906. Serial 
No. 1542. 
Sold everywhere or mailed for 25cts. Sample free. 
Try Mermen's Violet (Borated) Talcum. 
GERHARD MENNEN CO., Newark, N. J. 
You Need Our Catalogue 
Whether you intend to sow for pleasure or for 
profit. 
The CULTURAL DIRECTIONS will be 
found invaluable. 
Our 107th successive annual edition is ready 
for mailing. Send for a copy now. 
WE MAIL IT FREE. 
J. M. THORBURN (EL CO. 
33 Barclay St., Thro’ to 38 Park PI. 
New York 
Moose Hunting and Salmon Fishing 
and other sketches of sport. Being the record of per¬ 
sonal experiences of hunting game in Canada. By T. 
R. Pattillo. 300 pages. Price, $2.00. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO. 
Mullins Steel Boats Can 9 t Sink 
-the fastest and safest boats built. Made of pressed steel plates, with air cham¬ 
bers in each end like a life boat, they are absolutely safe. Faster lighter and more 
buoyant than wooden boats—practically indestructible-they don t leak, crack, 
dry out or wear out, and every boat is absolutely guaranteed. The ideal boats for 
pleasure, summer resorts, boat liveries, etc. 
Send for catalog of Motor Boats. Marine Engines, Row Boats, Hunting and Fishing Boats 
THE W H MULLINS COMPANY, 126 Franklin Street. Salem. Ohio. _ 
$ 
% 
i 
§ 
1 
Houseboats and Houseboating 
BY ALBERT BRADLEE HUNT 
A volume devoted to a new outdoor field, which has for its purpose 
three objects: 
FIRST —To make known the opportunities American waters afford for enjoyment of 
houseboating life. 
SECOND —To properly present the development which houseboating has attained in 
this country. 
THIRD —To set forth the advantages and pleasures of houseboating in so truthful a 
manner that others may become interested in the pastime. 
The book contains forty specially prepared articles by owners and designers of well- 
known houseboats, and is beautifully illustrated with nearly 200 line and half-tone 
reproductions of plans and exteriors and interiors. A most interesting chapter is devoted 
to houseboating in England. 
Outdoor people, and, above all, city people, will be greatly interested in this volume. 
The people of the United States are turning more and more toward an open-air life in 
summer, yet the lands accessible to centers of civilization are being taken up and utilized 
so rapidly that they are each year growing more and more expensive. 
The work is printed on extra heavy paper, and is bound in olive green buckram, 
price is $3.00 net. Postage 34 cents. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY 
346 Broadway, New York 
a 
The 
AN INDIAN FOOTRACE. 
“The most wonderful race I ever saw, in . 
which an Indian ran 105 miles in sixteen hours, 
took place recently in the State of Chihuahua, 
Mexico,” remarked Teron C. Crawford, of Lon¬ 
don, in the Washington Post. 
“The man who won this race,” continued Mr. 
Crawford, “had the benefit of training (through 
his ancestors) for hundreds of years. He is one 
of a tribe of native Indians—the Taramaharas— j 
the members of which carried messages for the 
Montezumas. Prescott tells us that this man’s 
ancestors carried fish to the table of the king 
subdued by Cortez from a lake 270 miles away, 
and did it in one day. If they were developed 
to that endurance as runners in that day, how 
many centuries did it take their fathers to 
achieve such perfection? 
“These Taramaharas in the province of 
Chihuahua to-day are the direct descendants of * 
those who ran with messages and carried fish 
for the Montezumas. In recognition of their 
efficiency the Mexican Government made them j 
the carriers of its messages. They are simple , 
people, live almost entirely nude and in the 
open air. The chests of the men are developed 
to wonderful power, and their entire bodies give 
evidence of the physical training they have re¬ 
ceived. They are monogamists. They live in 
rude log huts, quite different from the Mexican 
adobe. 
“This race was between twenty of the swiftest 
runners of the tribe. Those who participated 1 
wagered almost everything they had. Their j 
fellow tribesmen bet on their respective favor- ; 
ites. Felicio Cruz, the winner, bet his wife , 
against thirty goats. This was not particularly , 
strange, for the tribesmen often exchange 
spouses. The Indians and the Mexicans for 1 
miles around were wrought to a high pitch. 
Each of the runners was attended by his wife 1 
and a friend or two. The course was laid out 
in a circular track in a great divide in the moun- j 
tains. ■ 
“When the Indians, their bronzed bodies i 
shining in the sun, lined up for the start at 11 
o’clock in the morning there was a great crowd 1 
to see them. At the signal each kicked a ball 
about the size of one of our baseballs, made of < 
feathers and lined with leather. This each had 
to keep kicking all the way along the course of j 
105 miles. And each was accompanied by a 
mounted guard to see that no trickery was re¬ 
sorted to. 
“All day they ran, the interest of the crowds ■ 
of watchers along the course never abating. ; 
When it grew dark the mounted guards accom¬ 
panying the runners carried great torches so ! 
that each contestant might see the ball he was , 
kicking. I saw the horses, their mounts and 
the runners themselves outlined against the twi- * 
light on a high hill at one time during the race. 
It was an inspiring and beautiful sight. Though j 
I was keeping late hours, my interest never 
ceased. I stayed up until the finish. 
“At last, at 3 o’clock in the morning, accom¬ 
panied by his guards and many friends, Felicio , 
Cruz finished the last lap in the race. All the 1 
others had dropped out. He had won thirty ! 
goats and about all the blankets in the tribe 1 
and kept his wife. The natives gave him a great 
ovation. I was satisfied with the purchase of 
the blanket he wore a part of the time he ran. j 
“What effect did the gruelling contest have ^ 
on Felicio? Apparently none whatever. He did 
not go to bed; in fact, did not sleep for five 
days. During all that time he sat on a rude 
bench outside the door of his hut. He ate but i 
little. At the end of the five days he was as 
fresh as ever. He is a wonderful man.” 
WOODCRAFT. 
By Nessmuk. Cloth, 160 pages. Illustrated. Price, $1.00. 
A book written for the instruction and guidance of 
those who go for pleasure to the woods. Its author, 
having had a great deal of experience in camp life, has 
succeeded admirably in putting the wisdom so acquired 
into plain and intelligible English. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO. 
