American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-12
How Mr.. ROdman Bought Goldsmith
Maid.'

THERE is always a charm about stories
which are true. Fiction is pleasant, and it
may be so wrought by a skillful hand as
TO carry the reader away completely and
| lead him to suppose, for the time being,
that what he reads is reality and not
romance. Still, this feeling will only last
till the story is finished, and then he
wonders that he was so foolish rs to cry
| over it when common sense tells him II
| was only batch of unrealitics skilltully
| strung together. 4 true tale, however,
will be remembered long after the fiction
/ is forgotten. and it is a true tale which l
| now purpose to narrate.
| Mr.. Rodman wGS Il Western farmer
| who cultivated a couple of hundred acres,
or thereabout, of excellent land, and was
| something of 4 stock-breeder besides
| He had Il fine eye for horses and cattle,
| and especially was he an adept in judg-
| ing the former. Nobody could surpass
him in proper appreciation of a horses
| points. He would take IA long journey
at any time to view a promising colt, and
| yet, strange as it may seem, he had never
| attended IA horse race. Not that he had
any conscientious scIuples against the
| sport-on the contrary he would have
delighted in it had opportunity offered
But he lived far from any race track,
was great homebody, and up to the
time of which l am writing he could
never make up his mind to take so long Il
journey, even though it were to witness Il
| fast trot.
| There came a day, however, when he
was aroused to a pitch of enthusiasm
which absorbed him entirely in spite of
| himself. The announcement reached
him in Michigan paper that the queen
| of the trotting turf, Goldsmith Maid, and
| the flyer. Judge Fullerton, who will one
| day astonish the world by the fastest
| mile on record, were to trot at East Sag
| NAV. He determined, therefore, for
once in his life to witness a trOt between
| two flyers. Accordingly he set out and
| in due time reached the scene of action.
When the day fixed upon for the sport
| arrived he was on the ground, and was,
of course, deeply interested in every
| thing which he saw and heard He had
been warned repeatedly before leaving
| home of the sharpers and tricksters
| which he would meet, and had deter
mined to keep Il bri ght lookout and give
all such wide berth.
Great was his excitement when the
Judges bell rang and the cry Bring up
your horsesr" greeted his ears, and when
the animals began to score previous to
starting for the race he was filled with
admiration at their superb action and
| their splendid points generally. He had
| raised some tolerably fast stock himself,
but he had never seen horses step like
that before, and could not help saying to
himself:
"How it would astonish the folks at
home if l should take that little mare
back with mer' Poor man! He had not
the slightest idea of the value of the an
imals. He little dreamed that his entire
farm, with all its stock and fixtures,
would not purchase half interest in
Goldsmith Maid, and he really cherished
the notion that he might perhaps become
the possessor of the little mare without
any very great sacrifice.
While he was thus turning the matter
over in his mind, suddenly his ears were
saluted by the cry of the auctioneer in
the pool stand. Mr.. Rodman knew moth
ing of pool selling. He had never seen Il
wager made except in the Old-fashioned
way, and he naturally concluded that the
auctionecr was selling the horses out-and
out instead of selling bets on them.
Here, then, he thought was chance to
buy Goldsmith Maid, and with Il fast
beating heart he approached the group
which surrounded the pool seller.
How much for first choice of these
two horses, Goldsmith Maid and Fuller
ton?" exclaimed the auctioncer. Come,
gentlemen, give me bid. Start 1t at
anything you please How much"
Three hundred dollars!" exclaimed
one of the group.
-Four hundred dollars" chimed in
Mr.. Rodman.
Five hundredr' exclaimed another
looker-on.
six hundredr" called out Mr. Rod
man, and from that out he continued to
bid till the little mare was knocked down
to him for $500.
"Thats big price for horse" unused
Mr.. Rodman; g the biggest ever paid
but l think she's worth it."
Going down to the track he found the
driver of the Maid warming her up pre-
vious to starting for the heat
"Here, your he exclaimed, in a tone
of authority, "come down out o that ere
sulkey and strip the harness off o that
mare. She amt goin' to trot to-day
The driver, supposing Mr.. Rodman to
be either drunk or crazy, paid no atten-
ton to the demand, but sent the mare
along to the quarter-pole at IL lively gait,
and then, turning, walked her leisurely
| back.
Didn't l tell you to get down and
| take that mare out of harness?" demand
| ed Mr.. Rodman angrily.
| The driver knew not whether to laugh
| or swear at the demand, but at last his
| better nature prevailed, and he said, jocu
| larly:
| Whats the matter with you, old fel-
low? Don't your clothes fit your"
| You'll find out what's the matter
With me pretty soon IL you uon 90 us
tell your returned Mr.. Rodman, with
severity. "The mares mine. l have
| just bought her, and l shan't allow her
to trot in this race. De you hear me?"
"WhO did you buy the mare from?"
asked the driver, who began to think
that Mr.. Rodman had been made the vic
tim of some practical joke
| why, from that fellow up on the
stand there" replied Mr.. Rodman-'' the
| auctioneer lie knocked her down to
me for $500, and here's his receipt" And
as he spoke he held out the pool card
which he had received.
| Receipt" exclaimed the driver with
IA grin. That's no reccipt-that's
| pool ticket. You bought the mare
first choicc-that is, you bet 5000 agin
the balance of the pool that she would
win the race, and you'll win the money,
| too, old man, if you hold on to the ticket.
| But for buying the mare for $500,
| why, bless your innocent soul, that sum
| wouldn't buy hair out of her tail, Why,
| 100000 in gold wouldn't buy this
beauty"
| Mr.. Rodman was very angry. He sup
| posed the driver to be either Il Swindlcr
or trificr, and with flashing eyes he
said:
You can't come any of your city
tricks over me. I've heard all about you
fellows down here, and if you expect to
humbug me as you have others you'll
miss your calculation. DO you hear
me-" And Selling the mare by the
bride he cried out vociferouSly for the
police.
by this time a crowd had gathered
around who seemed to enjoy the Joke