Figure 180 represents two Japanese porters and their usual load, which is much more difficult to transport than a jinrickisha carriage. In other Eastern countries, palanquins and other means of conveyance are still borne on the shoulders of couriers, and it is not so long since our ancestors made their calls in Sedan-chairs borne by sturdy porters.
Some of the letter-carriers of India make a daily journey of 30 miles. They carry in one hand a stick, at the extremity of which is a ring containing several little plates of iron, which, agitated during the course, produce a loud noise designed to keep off ferocious beasts and serpents. In the other hand they carry a wet cloth, with which they frequently refresh themselves by wiping the countenance. It is said that a regular Hindustanee carrier, with a weight of 80 pounds on his shoulder,—carried, of course, in two divisions, hung on his neck by a yoke,—will, if properly paid, lope along over 100 miles in twenty-four hours—a feat which would exhaust any but the best trained runners.
The "go-as-you-please" pedestrians, whose powers during the past years have been exhibited in this country and in England, have given us marvelous examples of endurance, over 600 miles having been accomplished in a six-days' contest. Hazael, the professional pedestrian, has run over 450 miles in ninety-nine hours, and Albert has traveled over 500 miles in one hundred and ten hours. Rowell, Hughes, and Fitzgerald have astonishingly high records for long-distance running, comparing favorably with the older, and presumably mythical, feats of this nature. In California, C. A. Harriman of Truckee in April, 1883, walked twenty-six hours without once resting, traversing 122 miles.
For the purpose of comparison we give the best modern records for running:—
100 Yards.—9 3/5 seconds, made by Edward Donavan, at Natick, Mass., September 2, 1895.
220 Yards.—21 3/5 seconds, made by Harry Jewett, at Montreal, September 24, 1892.
Quarter-Mile.—47 3/4 seconds, made by W. Baker, at Boston, Mass., July 1, 1886.
Half-Mile.—1 minute 53 2/3 seconds, made by C. J. Kirkpatrick, at Manhattan Field, New York, September 21, 1895.
1 Mile.—4 minutes 12 3/4 seconds, made by W. G. George, at London, England, August 23, 1886.
5 Miles.—24 minutes 40 seconds, made by J. White, in England, May 11, 1863.