New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-08-18
JOHN HARPER.

The Owner of the Renowned Horse Long,
fellow aud his HalG-brOther LittletOn.
[LOng Branch Correspondence New York Herald !
The great race-horse. which has this sea-
| son created more sensation that any racer
| IN America ever created before. will soon
| leave the racing grounds forever, and adopt
| life OF pampered ease at his home in the
bluegrass region of Kentucky. To-day
young Frank Harper left the park on the
| evening train for New York, en- route for
Saratoga, to bring LongfellOw to "Uncle
! Johns" stables, preparatory to the Journey
| home on Friday or Saturday. Frank says
! that the famous horse is irretrievablv
! broken down, and will never again make
| his appearance in public. He will be
| brought here so that he may be put in the
same car with the other horses belonging to
old John Harper, and be carried direct
without subsequent transhipment to his
home. He will be used probably next year
tor stock purposes.
| had talk Yesterday with John Harper
about LOngfellow, and it does seem at times
as though the old man still cherishes hope
that his horse may recover. He does not
like to admit that he is gone. He sat ON a
trestle under an apple tree at the back of
the farm house, and, as he tumbed the
fallen fruit about with the ferule of his
walking stick, he said that when he last
"gOt word over from the other course (Sara-
tOga) LOngtellOw was mendin' slowly. He
was able to put his foot to the ground some
times, but it still seemed to pain him lee |
tie"
Three or four negro boys, dusty and bare |
footed, were leading Extract Express |
and Littleton (LOngtellOw's half brother) |
around for their walks in circle of which |
the old man formed the centre.
AS Littleton passed the old man pointed |
toward him with his stick, and said, with a |
feeble drawl, partly due to his Kentucky |
accent:
THAT'S brave little hoss, thar, an
although he is a leetle light for the |
weights they put on him, l don't think |
leavin out Bassett. He's good hOss, and |
think he'll do some good runnin' on |
Friday"
When asked how long he had been in the
business of training and rearing horses, |
John said it was nigh forty years since he
first began to train horses, but his father
had been horse raiser all his life"
A queer life is that which poor old John |
leads. A felt hat, brown speckled home
spun suit, wrinkled shirt bosom, partly
concealed by black necktie and pair of
shoes that look precisely like army bTOgans.
his visible attire. He walks with
a halt in his right leg, and shutfles along |
with the other, and while he leans on his
stick with his right hand, his left arm
back His shoes slOsh about on his
weary feet, and light cough seems to
stick now and then in his throat. He
lives at his stables, eats from a rough
board table set temporarily under the
caves, his diet being little else than bread,
meat and potatoes, cooked in an iron pot
by one of his stable hands. He travels in
the cars with his horses, and can make
good comfortable night of it on a shock of
straw in the corner. And yet the old man
seems toleTably well pleased with his exist
ence, rises early and goes to bed early,
never drinks, is pleased always to have a
little quiet talk with strangers, but not too
much oft. He appeared for while on the
lawn to-day, and as his identity became
known, half the ladies on the grand stand
rose to their feet to look at the feeble old
man. Such is fame He had come over
from the stable to see Extract and Express
win, and added another disappointment to
the list which has checkered his life.