F. X. Aubrey: Santa Fe trader who rode 800 miles in under six days
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Around 1851, Aubrey, a short, heavy-set man of 38 who had worked as a Santa Fe trader for ten years, wagered $1,000 he could ride alone from Santa Fe to Independence inside six days [4]. He sent a half-dozen of his swiftest horses ahead to stations along the trail [4]. Leaving Santa Fe in a sweeping gallop, he maintained that pace until he fell fainting from his foam-covered horse in the Independence square [5]. The ride took five days and nineteen hours and cost the lives of several of his best horses [5]. After being carried into a room of the old hotel at Independence, Aubrey lay in a dead stupor for forty-eight hours before recovering [5]. Louis as a conquering hero [2]. Weightman [3].
Sources
- The greatest physical achievement ever… (1891)The greatest physical achievement ever accomplished 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 …
- After his ride Aubrey became the lion of… (1891)After his ride Aubrey became the lion of the west, and was dined and feted at St. Louis as though he had been a conquering hero. He
- finally met his death at the hand of a friend… (1891)finally met his death at the hand of a friend. One day in 1854, in an altercation with Major Richard H. Weightman, the great rider was stabbed to the heart and dropped dead in Santa Fe. We have stood on th…
- It was about the year 1851 that Aubrey… (1891)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…
- He left Santa Fe in a sweeping gallop, and… (1891)He left Santa Fe in a sweeping gallop, and that was the pace he kept up during nearly every hour of the time until he fell fainting from his foam covered horse in the square in Independence. No man could k…