It was about the year 1851 that Aubrey…

chunk 1007 · paragraph 1403

ccomplished in this country, was the ride of F. X. Aubrey from the plaza of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the public square at Independence, Missouri, a distance of over 800 miles, through a country inhabited with warlike Indians; a large part of the way was then a sandy desert. It was about the year 1851 that Aubrey gave this wonderful test of human endurance, before which all other attempts of the kind pale into insignificance. He was a short, heavy set man thirty-eight years of age, in the prime of manhood and strength. His business for ten years as a Santa Fe trader had made him per- fectly familiar with the trail and all stopping places. He was a perfect horseman, and al- though there were great riders in those days, none of them cared to dispute the palm with Aubrey. On a wager of $1000 he undertook to ride alone from Santa Fe to Independence in- side of six days. It was forty years ago that he undertook the terrible feat. It was to be the supreme effort of his life, and he sent a half- dozen of the swiftest horses ahead to be station- ed at different points for use on the ride.