In Race of Several Miles West of Town.
Rigs Unable to Overtake Him.
Fellow was Apparently Demented-Ran Far and Fast with no Apparent Reason.
Strange and as apparently impossible as it may seem, a man apparently demented won a race against several horses over a distance of about eight miles, or from Odett’s corners, near Druce’s lake, to Jackson street, Waukegan.
Ordinarily such a statement would be laughed at, but when it is vouched for by at least a dozen or more persons it is different.
It was on Friday evening, about 7:30 o’clock, that Mr. Lock, janitor of the Episcopal church, his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, were returning from Druce’s lake. At the turn of the bridge in Gurnee they saw a man in the road ahead of them, running along at a good clip. They thought little of it until they saw him occasionally stoop as he ran to pickup stones or dust in the road and throw it into the wind as he rushed along.
On past the stores in Gurnee and toward Spauldings’ he kept his course, occasionally glancing back at the rig which was close to him.
Driver Unable to Catch Him.
Aroused by the man’s actions and the fact that he kept ahead of them, Mr. Lock whipped up the horse in an endeavor to catch up. Try as he might, Mr. Lock could not gain upon him.
Every little distance the man would drop down in order to seize dust and gravel and hurl it to the side of the road.
Thus the race continued all the way to town. At Jackson street the strange fellow turned south and hurried into the ravine district, where he was lost sight of by the occupants of the rig.
The occupants of this rig were later informed that a party of picknickers returning from the lake had run across the fellow at Odett’s corner and that he ran ahead of their rig, soon getting beyond their view.
Who the man is, whether he is demented, or what was his purpose, cannot be figured out. That the man was insane is evident, as a person in his right mind would unlikely be able to win a race against horses in the manner described.
While at no time did the rig get close enough for the occupants to get a good look at the fellow, the persons in question say that he was a short man and was either bareheaded or wore a small cap. He was poorly dressed.
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