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OLD-TIME QUARTER HORSE RACING. Personal Recollections of a Veteran Who Had Himself Taken a Hand in the Game. "The name of that colt," said a veteran racing man one day recently, "brings to my memory recollections of the good old days when .you could match a quarter horse at almost any crossroads in the west and southwest, and you were liable to he trimmed about as often as you trimmed the other fellow. for It was part of the religion of those people in that region to lx- ready to hold their own doing anything. They bellcred with all their hearts that the Lord helps those who help themselves. "My good friend Brown and 1 had plucked a few pigeons along the Atlantic coast, and incidentally we had lost some of our own plumage jn Mississippi. whew our feelings were hurt Boaaewbal by people who not only took our money hut hinted that their success had been mainly achieved through their superior training ability. The] conceded that our horses were better than theirs, hut they had oat-trained the firm of Patterson and Brown, and that was a bitter pill to swallow. "We decided to try new pastures and shipped Into Indiana, where there were In those days some mighty smart quarter horses, but nothing the equal of a nag in our string, though he had been beaten in Mississippi through I hut, We baited at Cambridge City and gave it out that we were on the loahont for sonic smart animals, principally horses with a turn of speed, though we were prepared to oi-k up an old carriage or saddle horse if a really high-anas animal should be encountered. "You all know bow solemn and innocent Brown looks naturally. Well, on the occasion of our visit to Cambridge City it seemed to me that he had never appeared more guileless. We made friends around town and were DKtty good customers at 1be bar. I did the drinking for Patterson and Brown for reasons which will appear later in my story. and though there was plenty of opportunity to talk quarter horse neither of us said a word until one evening a prominent resident of Cambridge City coaxed Brown inlo consenting to run one of our saddle horses against a mare he owned. " Just for fun. was the wav he put It at first, tli. .ugh subsequently he wauled to lief .0t. "1 happened alone ensnallj shortly after Brown had made the race and 1 upbraided him shamefully for burning up our money, finally walking away. Brown followed me to the stable where our horses were put tip and T slipped him a roll of money. He had on a Ions linen duster snch as country folks wear In the Bmnmertime and before returning to the hotel where the local horseman was holding forth he put a few chunks of had into his pockets. You know Brown neeer weighed more than DO imanrta those days, though he stood five feet ten inches In his socks. "When he came into the room, where quite a crowd had gathered, having heard of the proposed race. Brown wanted to beg off. saying that 1 had threatened to dissolve partnership if the match was run. The more he begged the stanneher the other man was. and finally quite reluctantly Brown put up his hundred dollars. The local sharper covered it. and the money was put in the hands of the hotel proprietor as stakeholder. " Thats a forfeit of . said the local man. and the day of the race we will post the other hundred. "I wish yon could have heard Brown plead and beg. Patterson certainly would quit him now. he said. and. another thing, he had no jockey. "That WonM be all right, the local man snid. Tie had I neighbor who had a son that could ride very well and he would get him to take the mount. Kut Brown argued that his horse was very hard to handle and that he would probably 1» compelled to ride himself. How niucli did be weigh? Fully 110 pounds as he stood. Oh. that could be arranged. If Brown rode they would put up ■ colored boy of eejaal weight who worked In the stable. "They went to a neighboring grocery store, and sure enough Brown tipped the beam at 140. Both sides got ready for the match, and the whole town woke up. The event brought a number of sports from out of town and some even came up from Kentucky, among them the man whose name is recalled by that Noeky built chestnut colt over there. "He had raced against me once and the minute he saw BM be Bang out. Hello. ! giving the name I usually raced horses under, though I will say that I assumed a name only because I was a government official at home and wanted to enjoy my favorite sport under cover, as it were. It was not through desire to be earning or secure anything SO which I thought I wasnt entitled. "I tipped a wink to the man from Kentucky id he sheered off into the crowd which Jammed the apantry road where the race was to be run. For a few minutes I beard him offering to bet on our horsn, and so eager were the local fellows to get some of the good thing that he was surrounded in ■ moment. After he had on a thousand of his own I BSOtioned tf him that we would like some of it. too. and he bet thai crowd to a standstill. I had put "p a thousand la town in small packages, getting odds for some if It, and we stood to win quite i buich when tie horses appeared. "When Brown said that ht would ride our horse himself because he was unruly at the start he sprained the truth badly, for If ever there was an ask and answer bene that knew his business It was that particular animal. He could turn on a five cent piece and jump twenty two fe.»t the first stride. If it wasnt a go he would pull up with the gentlest touch of the reins ami walk back to the scratch like a plough horse coming home after a hard days work. "Brown had heard something of the horse they had pitted against us. He was peculiar and as cranky as an old maid with several hens setting and a thunder storm coming. When I gave him my hand to part him up he remarked in his soft voice that he thought we had an easy thins. "Brown rode in his shirt, trousers and socks, dis-earding boots in order to save every ounce of weight, and If the other fellows could have put him on the scales they would have had the surprise of their lives, for tiu weighed not a pound more than 120 as he stood. They were so cocky that they had put up the colored sta.de boy already referred to and he-looked 130 pounds at the very least. "When they came to the scratch our horse lost some of his apparent dullness — he had stood stolidly by the roadside when he wasnt walking about led by Brown — and happening to look up I saw my red faced friend from Kentucky in the crowd OH the Other side of the tree lined road. He covered his mouth with a freckled and hairy band to hide a smile thai threatened to become ■ guffaw. "The fences along the road for -KM» yards, the dis-tame of the race, were covered with people and the roadside was well night impassable, a lane fifteen feet wide through which the horses were to pass being kept clear by marshals. As Brown rode for ward, bis long legs dangling and the reins held loosely, be seemed so Innocent and unwary that I COOld nol trust myself to look at the Kentuckian. who I knew was i n joying the situation quite as much as I was. "The colored la. I bad bis work cut out for him from the moment thej threw him into the saddle. The horse curvetted and reared, and the boy kept his seat only through an exhibition of skill which betokened him no ordinary horseman. Our horse was rendj always, lie and Browu working in perfect harmony. Time and time again they scored, and all the while the home horse was becoming hotter and more high tempered. The owner finally asked permission to turn his horse, and from the appearance of his face as he stepped forward for the task be knew that his money was gone. Browns skill In handling his mount and the perfect manners of our candidate made it plain to all and there were many quarter horse experts in the crowd that it was an experi need rider and a horse of unusual merit they were up against. "Finally they were away with Brown in the lead, and the race was over right then. Some of tin in paid with pretty ]K or grace, and it was hinted more M hss broadly that it wouldnt be healthy tor us to tarry too long in town. As we had the money WO were nothing loath to exchange Indiana for Ohio, and B few davs later found us snugly located in a prosperous town in the interior of that state not a hundred miles from Columbus. "I bad a few pretty smart trotters at home and was always willing to pick up a four cornered fellow if I knew where one could be found. We had been in town perhaps ten days and I bad made sev era! excursions into the country in quest ol likely material, when upon Coaming home one evening Brown confided to me that he thought things were shaping themselves for a match. "There was a pretty smart mare owned just out of town and in response to a few hints that we had BMW thine good in our string there came a proposal to run 300 yards for 00. We each put up a for feit of .*v10 and a few days later I went over near tin- Indiana border to look at a roan trotter that could do 2:30 three times on a half mile bull ring. 1 was washing my bands in the back room • •! i country hotel preparatory to going in to dinner when I thought 1 heard familiar voices outside at the bar. .. . ".Made a match, have you. was a query that floated my way. " Vcs. for |BW with a man named Brown, was tie- Bl BW r, . , • " What does he look like; came the gnt voice •• A simple sort of fellow, quite tall and with one eye. " Simple. hevV was the answering retort. Ob. yes: Browns simple, all right. Say. youre beat, youre beat right now. "I sneaked out the bach way. hitched up my horse ami was on my wav when the dinner 1x11 was calling the bunch to the table. I lost no time in getting to town and told Brown that we might as well yet ready to move, for I knew what was coming off the next dav. We were told that we could keep the .00 and there were a few gentle reminders that the stalls we occupied would be needed. "I think, though, that Browns crowning effort raimi somewhat earlier in his career. He had picked up a fat little horse not much more than 14.2 hands and kept him pretty well under cover, breaking him to harness and using him as a sort of general purpose animal. If there was an errand to be run Buttons, the name the little fellow got from Mrs. Brown when be was list brought home, was pressed into set Vice, and smart as I considered myself those days I wasnt on to the fact that the little chap could flatten out like a true quarter horse flier until Brown invited me to see him step one morning. II- bad the pecuUar churniug motion with his ta.il seen occasionally in quarter horse families ami bis short leg-, fairly twinkled when he. got down to business.. There was an old chap in an adjacent town in South Carolina who never lost an opportunity t" take a fling at us. and when we math- a niacb to run our pony for a couple of hundred a side against a horse of sonic reputation a hundred miles or so up the stale he lost no time in prophesying that W" Would lie beaten and soundly at that. "We were beaten, all light, and on our way horn ■ we put up at the town where our garrulous1 frien I lived. We bail scarcely bedded our horses down that evening and had our sapper before the old chap appeared. He was grinning and chewing a rye straw, "Cot beat, didnt rout* was his salutation. T knowd youd get it. Why. that bull of yours cant beat anybody. " lb can beat anything round these diggings, was Browns answer before I could say a word. " I g..t an old fellow can bent you for twenty-live. was the ready comeback. "WcU. they made a match to run two days later and we lost. Brown rode and appeared much crestfallen at the outcome. When be dismounted he looked his horse over carefully as though trying it figure out how he had been beaten. Shaking his head, he said: " Tin nol satisfied and Ill run you for another twenty live in half an hour. "That was lemon pie for our opponent and the money was put up at once. Brown looked ready to cry when he was beaten worse than at the first essay and he walked off leading the black pony, apparently as disconsolate as though he had lost everything of which he was possessed. "That evening the old fellow came around to our quarters to gloat. He was poking a lot of fun at us and our pony, when Brown ventured the opinion that he thought the pony was off his true form and that with a reasonable time to prepare hiin he could beat bis oonquerer of the afternoon quite handily. " "Jive you all the time you want and run you for 00. was the old fellows reply to this. " Ill go you, said Brown, counting ont his money and handing it to one of the hangerson. "Of course the local horseman couldnt crawfish then and he put up his wad. " When dye want to run? he asked. " Well. drawled Brown with a twinkle In his selitary eye, I was going to say In two weeks, but Ive just thought of a date I have day after tomorrow, so if youre ready well run In the morning. "I can still hear the yell that went up from the bystanders." concluded the veteran. "They knew us well as the man who made the match that the race was over right there. Oh. yes. Brown was simple, all right." — New York Sun.
