Indian marathon on Redwood Hwy. early big event
During 1927, the Redwood Empire Association, as an advertising feature, planned an Indian marathon race on the newly completed Redwood Highway.
This race started at San Francisco City Hall and ended at the city hall in Grants Pass, Ore., a distance of 462 miles.
As in most events of those days, a carnival atmosphere soon prevailed. The runners who signed up were given names which sounded more “Indian” than their own. Several of the young men came from the Happy Camp and Klamath River areas and were called Mad Bull, Flying Cloud, Rushing Water and Red Robin.
One of the nonIndians to run was a man from Hornbrook called The Great White Deer. Of course, they had to have a queen, so a contest was held, and a pretty Indian girl from Orleans won hands down, and she became Princess Little Fawn.
There is no doubt that this promotion was meant to improve property values along the new route and to convince travelers that they should use the new highway as opposed to old Route 99, when going to Oregon.
This began to attract the attention of many notables such as Warner Brothers. Then California Gov. Jimmy Rolf, and San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi, plus David Selznick, the famous Hollywood movie producer took notice.
And there were many others including the starlet Myrna Loy; and Edding Scott, who wrote the World War I marching song, “Hinky, Dinky, Parlez Vous.”
The runners had sponsors who took care of all expenses before and during the race including pace cars and inspectors. According to Great White Deer, he was sponsored by H. B. Littler & Co., the West Coast representative for Durante Motor Co.
Instructions for the race were simple. You could run, walk or crawl -- or any other way -- as long as it was under your own power. Each man was given a letter to be delivered to the mayor of Grants Pass from the mayor of San Francisco. Records are skimpy for this race, but it seems that there were only 11 entrants.
Six days, 23 hours and 16 minutes after the gun sounded in San Francisco, Mad Bull delivered his letter in Grants Pass with Flying Cloud a close second. First prize was $1,000.
This race and others along the same route have since been referred to as the Mad Bull Run.
The following year, the same race was held, except this time, there were 37 entrants including some Indians from the Southwest and other parts of the country. Of course, as the race got larger, it became publicized nationally. Opinion grew that the Indian boys were being exploited, and consequently, first prize was raised to $5,000.
Some of the runners were introduced on radio and dined at places including the Commercial Club and the Press Club. Ballyhoo was a sign of the times, and much was made of them right up to the start of the race June 14. When the race started, Mad Bull and Flying Cloud were the odds-on favorites.
After approximately 400 miles of bunions, blisters and bloody socks, Flying Cloud passed Mad Bull near Gasquet, Calif. on Redwood Hwy., and went on to win first prize with a time comparable to that of Mad Bull the previous year.
John Wesley Southard, known as Mad Bull; and Henry Thomas, (Flying Cloud), were men of small stature, but any man that can run 65 miles every day for a week must have a heart as big as the country he came from.
(Previously published in Mt. Shasta “Siskiyou Scene”.)
