Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1867-11-09
A Race Extraordinary.

I some years ago q lace was run al
the Hague, in Holland, which ior
its novelty excited more than ordi,
nary interest. Ii was between q
fsttrotting horse in harness and q
full-grown hog; single heat-dis-
tance, six English miles-f0r wa
ger Of one thousand guilders.
The circumstances which led to
this unique trial of speed were MS
follows; AT a sporting club ut the
Hague n young member of the club
eXpatiated upon the beauty, sym
mctry and extraordinary speed of u
trotting horse he had that day pur-
chased, expressing an eager desire
to get up MATCH toprove the supe
rior qualities Of his horse. A gen.
tlemen, engaged in hand at cards,
but -whoroiattention had been at
tracted by tho ardent and impas-
stoned remarks Of the speaker,
quietly remarked; "Come, sir, don I
bc Dragging so much about the
swiftness Of your horse, for have n
hog which, for n trifling wager, |
would not hesitate to run against
him" Peels of laughter greeted
this strange proposal, tp which
when partially subsided--the owner
of "Grunty" quietly interpreted
"Well, gentlemen, | now challenge
to run my hog Nero against that
gentleman's fast trotter in harness,
one straight heat, six English miles,
for one thousand guilders a side"
''Donc |" "Done" was the eager re-
sponse from many voices. "Pro-
vided," the challenger resumed,
"that the horse carry two persons,
and that fourteen days time be al
lowed me for training my animal" ="
"Agrced p "Agreed p resounded all
round; for the joke was deemed too
good and too novel to give it tho
go-by.
Preliminaries being satisfactorily
arranged, and the stakes deposited,
it was agreed that the match should
come off that day fortnight at IL
o'clock A. M. precisely; and the
beautiful avenue leading from the
Hague to the sea-shore at Schevenin
gen was selected rs the course. The
news of this extraordinary match
for trial of speed between a fast
trotting horse and fullgruwn
porker spread like wild-fre, and
caused the most intense excitement:
not alone in sporting circles, but
among the people generally-all
eager to see the fun. The day was
anxiously looked for, and the train
ing oe N GRO began.
On the first day poor Nero was
starved STRICT orders having been
given by his owner that no one
should feed him, himself alone at
tending to that matter. On the sec
opd day Nero was pretty sharp set,
when, punctually at II o'clock, his
master made his appearance. A
rope was securely fastened to one of
his hind trotters, and his master
drove him, with many a kick and
forcible persuasion, all the way over
the course to Schcveningen, where
he fed him upon scanty meal of
two herrings, which Nero ravonous-
ly devoured after which he had to
trot it back to the Hague. 1t may
be proper here to remark that the
hog prefers fish to any other kind
0f food. ...... .....,..
On the third day Nero felt per-
fectly ravenous, but he had to bide
his time, and his master had to re-
sort to the strictest hog discipline to
start him of when, at II O'Clock, he
presented himself to drive him over
the course. After a liberal and en-
ergetic application of the booted
foot, and u little loud and angry
discussion between the respective
parties, they arrived at their jour
neys end, where Mere was regaled
with three herrings, being one extra,
and which he dispatched voraciously
in double quick time, looking for
more, but in vain. He was then,
with much coaxing and kicking,
persuaded to resume the return trip
homeward, and which was safely
accomplished, although not without
considerable opposition, accom-,
panied by vigorous squeeling and
determined grunting on the part OF
Nero.
On the fourth day, punctually at
eleven o'clock, when his master pre-
sented himself, Nero seemed to un-
dcrstand somewhat the object OF
his calling; he walked off not only
without compulsion, but with con-
siderable alacrity, at a good round
pace, to get to his journeys end,
where his master regalcd him not
alone with his coveted dinner Of
three herrings, but, as a reward for
his tractability and good conduct,
with one herring extra, and which
Nero devoured with incredible
velocity as soon as they came with
in reach of his grinders.
On the fifth day Nero was fully
up to the game, and his master ex-
perienced considerable difficulty to
keep up with him. At Schevenin-
gen the usual allowance, now, OF
four herrings was placed at his dis
posal and disposed of by him in a
short time.
On the days following, and up to
the timo of the race, his master had
no further difficulty with Nero but
to keep up with him ; Nero invaria-
bly, taking the lead, although on The
return trips the same difficulties al
ways recurred. A vigorous appli-
cation of boots was in such case the
only convincing argument with
Nero, who never could see the point
nor comprehend the necessity Of this
back-track movement, and ever
obstreperously squeeled and grunted
his objections. deeming this extra
exercise probably superfuous to his
health as he had never shown any