We go back 135 years to the presidential election of Nov. 4, 1884. Grover Cleveland, the Democratic governor of New York, was running against James G. Blaine, a Republican and former Maine congressman who had served as Secretary of State under Presidents James Garfield and Chester Arthur.
The race was characterized by personal attacks, with each side hurling shameful allegations at the other—so much so, that it practically overshadowed any actual issues that might have mattered to voters.
Blaine’s camp alleged that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child, while the Democrats accused Blaine of corruption.
The election result was very close—Cleveland netted the popular vote with 4.9 million, ahead of Blaine by just 58,000 votes. Even in his own home state of New York, Cleveland won by just 1,047 votes—and had he lost it, he would have lacked the electoral votes to secure his win.
On Nov. 5, second only to Blaine himself in disappointment must have been P.B. Lespinasse, a farmer and real estate man from Spring Valley, N.Y.
You see, Lespinasse had made a rather strange bet on the election results, and had come up on the wrong end of it.
Lespinasse, a staunch Republican, had bet a Democratic friend that Blaine would come out on top. If he lost the bet, he boasted, he would walk the nearly 225 miles from New York City to Washington, D.C. while carrying a live pig and rooster. He was to reach the capitol in time to witness Cleveland’s inauguration on March 4, 1885—and if he failed to do so, he would forfeit $100.
On Feb. 1, 1885, Lespinasse walked to the railroad station in Haverstraw, N.Y., joined by a brass marching band. He boarded a train to New York, and the following day, from Madison Square, he began his long journey to Washington.
The Rockland County Messenger reported, “The pig weighs 18 pounds, is in a box on his back, and the rooster in a basket made for the purpose of easy movement hangs in front. So the rooster has his head and tail out and could be plainly seen. The pig and the rooster and the box and basket were all highly decorated with the national colors.”
Lespinasse posed for a photograph with his rooster and pig before starting out on his trek—that’s the image accompanying this article. He made 600 postcards from the image and sold them for 25 cents each to help finance his journey.
Once the story hit the papers, Lespinasse became an overnight celebrity. Eager crowds greeted him as he reached city after city.
By Feb. 23, he had reached Baltimore, Maryland. He rested there for a couple of days before carrying on to the inauguration.
The Baltimore Sun reported the following on Feb. 24, 1885: “He carried in his arms a bristling little white pig and a big rooster, both of which he intends to present to Mr. Cleveland on March 4, provided the police don’t interfere. A large crowd of boys followed him as he walked along Baltimore Street to the Carrollton Hotel. He will remain here for several days before starting on his tramp to Washington.”
The Sun added, “He says he feels all right. The pig and rooster seem very fond of each other.”
In Baltimore, Lespinasse was interviewed by a reporter.
“I have fared grandly, and the people have treated me in every respect as I would have wished,” he said. “I came through Jersey City, Elizabeth, New Brunswick and Princeton, where the students to the number of 500 or 600 turned out and gave me quite an ovation. At Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington the crowd escorted me through with a band of music, and I was well treated at Newark, Havre de Grace and Rosedale.”
Lespinasse swore that he walked every step of the way, except for one instance where he had to take a ferry.
He added, “But you may bet that I will take a train back home, an express at that.”
On March 3 Lespinasse reached Washington, D.C., and the following day he witnessed Grover Cleveland becoming the 22nd president of the United States.