The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1874-01-06
Written for The Spirit of Democracy
THE TER - les;
A Dandy's Adventure win q Colt.
STAFFORD, OHIo, Dec Is, 1873

STAFFORD, OHIO, Dec. 10, 1850
Mr.. EDITOR: We occasionally hea
some talking Of Cuban affairs, the Vii
giiius and the destiny Of her ill-fatet
crew; others gabbling about the pressur
of the times and the money panic. "
haven't the money down here. but "
have the panic |dreadfaliy J Sipce I'll
recent horse fairs aud the wonderful feat
lately performed by the appiahled It'll
pet, Copper Bottom fast horses ap
pear to be the rage With some the ex
element has been so high and unren:ls
teu. that it has assumed chronic toEe
and they have ii ON The brain. Fessse
IL this aiiment was confined to What ~
temus" would call fast young lnen:I1bir
recently it has been known to attack tiii
aged and hoary. Some of the old salt;
now have it to an alarming degree
had it once, when q boy in nv teens
1, with other boys of Our neighborhood
had wonderful passion for riding o.
breaking wild horses. as we termed it.
After some lofty tumbling, narrow es
cspes and psiaful bruises, we succeeded
in quieting several of the wild and fari
Gus steeds "A
My father had fine young Rat Catch
er mare; she was three years old, q
quick as cat aud wild as a gazelle; sh,
had never felt the pressure of mant
hand, of great beauty, of fiae form ant
symmetry,it was thought by good judges
that by proper training she would sur
pass the "Woolly Goose" in 9Isccfalnes'
and eeleri,y, mare Of much notoriet,
and tar-famed for her speed on short
stretch. We we're eager and wild to try
our skill with the Rat Catcher, but wers
set dreaafuliy aback by the expostula
tions of my father, who. said the marc
should not be tampered With untit,sta
hing time, when he would probably pu
her, under the care Of an experienced
horse tamer The injunction was \ It'd,
more than We could forego'; We felt ou'
passions cropped hut unsubsi led, whef
she seemed to tempt US more than eve
in her play. as she gracefully tossed be
head aud gamboled in the field. Ouranx
iety to handle her became screwed up tt
such pitch that We determined to carr.
out our project on the sly.
Shortly after, my .fsther being called
away on business afforded us the covet
ed opportunity. The boys assembled a
our place on Sunday afternoon; all TIN
good people, had returned from church
and all was quiet Bnt then, to mar on
scheme, here was Jim ---, or Dand,
Jim, as he was commonly called, will
half dozen Young ladies' that had,re
turned vita our folks for dinner. Dand'
Jim was one of those Young men tha
followed no business in oarsic,iiar-hi
inclination to Industrial pursai.sk received
me merit. AL whse tsnewsbi bi'a Ket is,s,
how it was that he managed tn keep u
appearances, as he always went we
dressed, wearing white starclied shirt
with standing collar, tidy boots, and
tall or high crowned hat. He attende'
all the big meetings, picnics and socia
parties for miles around,a was, Away
well supplied with gossip of the neigh
borhood, which he was generous enougl
to publish gratuitously. SO wondrou
was his faculty for spinning yarns that
tale never grew less by his telling; h
would nearly exhaust the English vocab
ulary to set it off. In cunning he was
match for the Kings fool. He could dt
most anything but keep a secret. Any
thing in his possession, pertaining to Sc
crecy,he was keen to tell though it wouft
have hung his best friend as high as Ha
man The boys detested him, bat 70
all he seemed to have some favor witt
the girls Watching an opportunity WI
gave him the slip, and with ropes am
bait we stole down the long pasture tielt
on the big run, in which was old Bsll,
and the Rat Catcher In the lower enc
Of this field was piece Of ground, nea
half on acre in area, known as the q,
stomp, grown up in haw and thorn bush
es, and nearly surrounded by mir,
swamp from fifteen to twenty feet wide
near the edges of which, in many pia
ces, the thorns were so dense as to b
almost as impregnable as an osagi
hedge iej--a lait
In the upper end Of the field we Sc
the snare with moose, after the fasiiial
of arope halter, and put in the bait =
The Rat Catcher SHE'D at first and coua
not be induced to come nigh it until w
biidled old BaIly and ted her near tht
bait When the colt cautiously slippet
her head in and bit, the boys, BY tlex
trous jerk Of the rope. captured her,
She flounced like fish; the fun was eX
cellent, One of the bows ejacaiated:
s.Isn't that delightful? She is a it'll
bit the quickest We have had at the enr
Of the string; she has the spring, and j.
qn;cker than a steel-trap."
She was performing beautifully. ans
we were elated with our prize aud tilt
prospect OF plenty of good fun ;the bo}i
were in ecstacies, when we were siart'e'
by the Ehooping and yauping of Jiu
and the girls, that stood grinning at IA
through the fence. We saw that we wef,
detected. We could not have been NOR,
mortified by the introduction OF an edi
tor or half dozen reporters. We knew
that if we were not sold that we were II
the market, and felt very cheap w,
were about in the same dilemma as thi
Dutchman with the wolf-we had caugh
her but couldn let her 60 jim and th'
girls took position on the fence, wa
on old Bally giving directions, while th,
boys and the colt maneuvered in tn
ring. After she had simmered down :
little the object was to back her; for thi
purpose one of the boys took position
On a high stump near where we hat
shared her, and we thought nv the aid o
Old Bally and our maneuvering to brin.
her alongside. In ons of her freaks sh
backed square up,to the fence where jim
was standing. The boys cried out
Jump on, Jimn' The command wa
so imperative, and ! suppose without pre-
vious thought on. Jim's part he lit fai
on her back with The agility of mon
KEY, when she became frantic, maxim,
desperate leaps upward, and as sh
touched the ground she bounced like
f Dot ball.
In making desperate leap, by dex
trous twist Of the head, she shed the hal
ter and commenced wheeling around u
in circle with surprising quickness -
Jim was now without bridle or guy line
and for all the assistance we could be t.