Neil, my comment was about the distance they would have had to travel in a certain amount of time. Not who was involved. I actually made my living horseback when I was younger. Still ride when I have time. I have ridden some of the SEMO trails trying to match the recorded rides made by Leeper, Reeves and others. A historian once told me that one of the criteria the first appointed county commisioners had to take into consideration when choosing the location of seat of government was the distance that would have to be traveled by the citizenry. During the 1840's when the size of the counties was becoming smaller, the ideal situation was to have the courthouse placed centrally within the county boundaries where every citizen had no more than a 12.5 mile trip to court. The idea being that most, but maybe not all, could make the trip there and back home in one day. If the average citizen was expected to be able to travel 25 miles in a day, and, take care of business, then the better than average trooper could certainly exceed that distance, and according to records, frequently did.