THE WALKING MANIA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 139, 12 June 1879, Page 4

THE WALKING MANIA.

Tbe New York cr-rreepor-deot of the Sydmy Morning Herald thus describes the latest Ao-.encß-Mfnfaiion : . — The •** walkirg mania " during the pest month has re»cbed iis height Since the great Heehan-Sayers prize fight, indeed, no sporting event bas exci'ed anything like the interest which waa awakened iv the contest for the Asbley belt. Gilmore'sGaideD, wbich has a seating capacity of. twelve thousand, and which, on a pinch, cbo accommndbte nt least tweuly thousand persons, was for an entire week kept dangerously crammed during the progress of this historic* match. At the , outset, it was confidently expected that Rowell, the «• little Englishman," would fall an easy victim to the enduring powers and cultivated skill of the Irish-American, O'leary, or tha', at the wors', should O 'Leary fail, eiiher Harrimau, the Yfinkep, or Ennis, the Cotkonian, would keep the much prized trophy on this aide of the Atlantic. Looking back, it seems hard to believe that the American people could have been aroused to such a pitch of nervous excitement by so comparatively trivia] a matter. All classes of society, over the entire land, without regard to "age, sex, or colour, or previous condition," were affected by the same fever. At 1 o'clock on Monday morning, when tbo match began, the doors were besieged by a mob of spectators so eager to gain admittance . aod watch tbe opening of the struggle that there was very nearly a riot, and order had to be preserved by a free use of the policeman's club. From tbat time forward, day and night alike, the huge galleries of the Garden were thronged with people, many of whom never left the ball until the close of the match, subsisting as tbey beat conld by desultory lunches obtained at the bar. In the boxes nv.ny of tbe reigning belles and the very pink of fashion "rained influence" on the Bcene. It was, of course, on the last two or three days of the six, when tbe men were evidently suffering cruelly from tbe terrible strain, that the interest 'culminated. On the third day O'Leary broke down and left the track, nearly dead from disappointment and fatigue. Rowell had taken tho lead from the first, but Harriman was only a score of miles behind him, and it was hoped that he would still succeed in coming in first. Telegrams poured io upon him from all pans of the country, begging him to struggle to the last for the honor of his country. Ennis, also, had the usual Fenian following, who kept guard at the Bides of the track, and cheered him forward. The houses of the Irishman and Yankee— for each man of course had his own quarters —were buried with flowers, and almost at every round tbey were presented with fresh bocqoete. Poor Rowell had no Bach sympathetic encouragement. He held the unenviable distinction of being the man whom everyone wished to see beaten, and even his beet friends doomed it prudent to " let him alone." He still, however, trotted along the track, doggedly keeping his lead with a persistence that to the mass of the spectators was almost maddening. Great fears were felt that the feeling of .the crowd would end in an open riot, and at one time over a thousand policemen were in the hall to keep order. A drunken Irishman made an effort to strike at the wioning Englishman, but waa carried off at once to the police-station. A plot was reported to have been formed to squirt chloroform in tbe face of the obnoxious athlete, but the danger of the attempt was too much for the nerves of (he miserable cowerd who dreamed of it. On the last day the tide of popular enthusiasm had a happy turn, and ran in favor of plucky Rowell. Under an arrangement made between tbe men *, it was agreed that no contestant should be entitled to a share of the "gate money," which aggregated over 50,000 dollars,* unless he made 450 miles. At about his four hundredth mile the Yankee gave plain signs of • exhaustion, and it was feared that he would not only lose the match but would also fail to receive anything . . for, his effort to win it. In this emergency Rowell came generously to the rescue, at great- -pecuniary loss, and coached his rival round the ' track until he bad "-accomplished the necessary distance. Poor Harriman, when he limped but of his hut, looked like a corpse, and at the last Rowell had to take his arm and supported him round the course until bis limbs lost their stiffness. Tbis was the occasion of the wildest entbusiam. The ladies - waved their, handerchiefs and cried; fte men burrabed themselves? hoarse; md the band played by tarns*' Yankee Doodle" and the English National Anthem. Rowell thenceforth had his fail share of bouquets and applause, and when he left tbe track after completing his five hubdreth- mile he was hailed with a *** perfect ovation, " to use : the language of tbe sporting Press. His share of the '' gate money " was 20,000, dollars. This match has been succeed by scores of others. Every town of repectable dimensions has had its local six day walking match, just as every town that is a town at all, has been visited by oce of the twenty-nine operatic companies now roaming wildly' over the land, doiog "Pinafore." In Gilmore's during the past week, there LKlgLbeena female; walking match, with QQataJej-i^ari: 15 ' entries. One of the ""poor wc^ejnk had jet be carried off to ihe hospital,"' and" two or three others are dangerously jit. " At Louisville, a imetf *' walkist" has died on the track. Thus, the underlying brutality of these

exhibitions is coming to the surface, end will of course soon bring to an end this singular form of public amusement. That it is brutal an 1 cruel no one who hss seen such a contest in its later stages can doubt. The wretched athletes stagger along-, their lips blue with exhaustion, their eyes sunken, their faces drawn and set, their limbs palpably swollen. No doubt tbe tragic flavor which this lends to the contest is its secret charm — the seme cherm which marks the bull-fi hf, and which made the gladiatorial [combats popular in pagan Rome. Already there is a strong sentiment against these prolonged contests, and it will soon be as disreputable a thing to attend one as it would be to be present at a prize fight.